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The French Army and its African soldiers : the years of decolonization / Ruth Ginio.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: France overseasPublisher: Lincoln, NB : University of Nebraska Press, [2017]Copyright date: ©2017Description: 1 online resource (281 pages) : illustrationsContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • computer
Carrier type:
  • online resource
ISBN:
  • 9780803299511 (e-book)
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: French Army and its African soldiers : the years of decolonization.DDC classification:
  • 355.3089/9604409045 23
LOC classification:
  • UA709 .G55 2017
Online resources:
Contents:
Historical background: the Army, the empire, and the decolonization of French West Africa -- The aftermath of World War II: frustration, protest, and rebellion -- The military reforms: a new Army in French West Africa? -- African troops in the wars of decolonization: Indochina, 1946-1954 -- African troops in the wars of decolonization: Algeria, 1954-1962 -- Alternatives to independence: the Army's colonial vision in French West Africa -- Adjusting to a new reality: the Army and the imminent independence -- Conclusion.
Summary: "An examination of the role of the French Army in French West Africa and its relations with its African soldiers from the end of World War II to the final demobilization of African troops from the French Army in 1964."--Provided by publisher.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Colombo Available CBERA10001928
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Jaffna Available JFEBRA10001928
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Kandy Available KDEBRA10001928
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

As part of France's opposition to the independence of its former colonies in the years following World War II, its army remained deeply invested in preventing the decolonization of the territories comprising French West Africa (FWA). Even as late as the 1950s, the French Army clung to the hope that it was possible to retain FWA as a colony, believing that its relations with African soldiers could offer the perfect model for continued ties between France and its West African territories.

In The French Army and Its African Soldiers Ruth Ginio examines the French Army's attempts to win the hearts and souls of the local population at a time of turbulence and uncertainty regarding future relations between the colonizer and colony. Through the prism of the army's relationship with its African soldiers, Ginio considers how the army's activities and political position during FWA's decolonization laid the foundation for France's continued active presence in some of these territories after independence. This project is the first thorough examination of the French Army's involvement in West Africa before independence and provides the essential historical background to understanding France's complex postcolonial military relations with its former territories in Africa.


Includes bibliographical references and index.

Historical background: the Army, the empire, and the decolonization of French West Africa -- The aftermath of World War II: frustration, protest, and rebellion -- The military reforms: a new Army in French West Africa? -- African troops in the wars of decolonization: Indochina, 1946-1954 -- African troops in the wars of decolonization: Algeria, 1954-1962 -- Alternatives to independence: the Army's colonial vision in French West Africa -- Adjusting to a new reality: the Army and the imminent independence -- Conclusion.

"An examination of the role of the French Army in French West Africa and its relations with its African soldiers from the end of World War II to the final demobilization of African troops from the French Army in 1964."--Provided by publisher.

Description based on print version record.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2016. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The changing relationship between the French military and African soldiers between 1945 and the early 1960s is the central topic of Ginio's book. Though this subject has drawn much attention from scholars, Ginio's broad overview of French West Africa offers a very well-organized approach to the changing political programs of French military commanders. The embarrassments of how badly former soldiers were treated in the aftermath of WW II led to improved pensions and other benefits for veterans in the 1950s. Ginio (history, Ben Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Israel) provides overviews of the social aspects of the experience of West Africans who fought in wars to retain control over Vietnam and Algeria, although there is relatively little information on specific campaigns and military achievements. The author concludes that veterans proved to be relatively opposed to decolonization because of post-1945 reforms that improved access to education and other forms of support. She also documents how military officers who seized power in African countries in the 1960s and 1970s used the same rhetoric of how the army transcended politics that the French military had promoted in the decade before independence in 1960. A valuable resource for historians of African decolonization. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Jeremy McMaster Rich, Marywood University

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