Institution

Tirailleurs

Tirailleurs were colonial infantry units of the French army recruited from French territories in Africa and Asia, including Senegal, Algeria and Indochina. They fought in French colonial campaigns and in both world wars. They were paid at rates far below their French counterparts, illustrating the empire's reliance on colonial manpower.

Tirailleurs
Image: Claude Truong-Ngoc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 profiles

Mentioned in 1 state history

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tirailleurs. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tirailleurs
MLA
“Tirailleurs.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tirailleurs. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Tirailleurs.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tirailleurs.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tirailleurs’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/tirailleurs (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻