Troupes coloniales

The Troupes coloniales (French pronunciation:, "Colonial Troops") or Armée coloniale (,"Colonial Army"), commonly called La Coloniale, were the colonial troops of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900, these troops were designated as Troupes de marine ("Marine Troops" or just "Marines"), and in 1961 they readopted this name. They were recruited from mainland France and from the French settler population as well as indigenous populations of the empire. This force played a substantial role in the conquest of the empire, in World War I, World War II, the First Indochina War, and the Algerian War.