“They were quickly formed into 19 units of the Bataillon de l’Infanterie Coloniale.”

By George Yagi

BY THE fall of 1914, France was facing a crisis. It had only been at war with Germany for a few weeks but already Kaiser Wilhelm’s armies had driven the French forces back in a series of surprisingly costly engagements. Paris was saved at the Battle of the Marne, and the frontlines had stabilized, but it was going to take fresh troops and lots of them to drive the Germans from the soil of France. The country’s leadership quickly turned to its empire for help. And help they did. Nearly a million colonial soldiers would serve France in the First World War. They came from West Africa, Algeria, Madagascar, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia.

In fact, Indochina would provide 97,176 recruits to support France’s efforts on the Western Front. The great majority would make the journey from Vietnam, primarily from the regions of Tonkin and Annam, while Cochinchina supplied some additional volunteers. Meanwhile, Cambodia also contributed a contingent of 1,150 men. Among those gathered in total, 48,922 served as soldiers and 48,254 enrolled as workers.

While some were adventurers, many signed up to join the conflict to escape poverty. Natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, food shortages, and social unrest caused many to enlist, lured by bonuses that would provide much needed relief for their families. On arrival in France, they were quickly formed into 19 units of the Bataillon de l’Infanterie Coloniale. Four were organized for combat, while 15 served as labor battalions. Not limited to operations in France, its members would also be deployed to the Balkans and the Middle East. By the end of the war, over 12,000 would lose their lives in the service of France. Often referred to as Annamites after the Southeast Asian mountain range, the soldiers from Indochina had a unique experience as they fought a brutal war and also had to navigate the complexities of life in a new land. Here are some of their stories:

The Comforts of Home

For those far from home, there were some products that the Indochinese considered a necessity. While sailing to France from Vietnam, Corporal Nguyen Van Ba had issues with the rice ration aboard ship, which was never fully cooked due to the kitchen staff’s inexperience with the Asian staple. Concerned about the future availability of rice, when stopped at the port of Djibouti, Nguyen immediately described it as a “miserable and barren country with no rice fields.”

During the war, great effort was taken by the French to provide the Indochinese with rice. For those stationed in Paris in 1917, their daily ration included 340 grams of rice, along with tea. One private remarked of the situation.

“We lacked nothing except [fish sauce or] nuoc mam,” he said.

However, by mid-1917 supplies of rice were becoming scarce. As Tet approached in early 1918, Adjutant Duong Doan commented that all they had to celebrate the New Year was “stale bread and salted fish.”

In addition to the rice shortage, with supplies from Asia dwindling towards the end of the conflict, soldiers also found themselves without thuoc lao tobacco and opium. During the final days of the war, many would attempt to have these items sent from home by their families as prices soared in France.

Cultural Clashes

Soon after their arrival in France, Indochinese troops were viewed as a curiosity. Blackened teeth quickly caught the attention of the French. In Vietnam, it was believed that the blacker the teeth, the more attractive the person. However, lacking the language skills to explain this to the French, the Vietnamese began responding with this common answer: “We lacquered our teeth to prevent them from having cavities and becoming decayed.”

Long hair also proved problematic between the two cultures. To the French, close cropped hair was a matter of hygiene in louse infested camps and trenches; among the Vietnamese flowing locks were a point of personal pride. When in one case a French lieutenant ordered 200 Vietnamese stationed at Toulouse in 1917 to cut their hair, the recruits responded by rolling on the ground and crying. Despite the colonial troops’ disobedience, two senior officers appeared who were sympathetic to the cultural beliefs of the troops and calmed the situation with a promise that none would be punished.

In addition, Vietnamese men in the rear on leave often broke social norms by dating and even marrying French women. Government officials did much to dissuade such unions and made it difficult for French women to travel to Vietnam to join their husbands. However, despite the obstacles, 250 mixed marriages had taken place in France by 1918. Among these couples were Sergeant Le Van Nghiep and a schoolteacher named Jane Vidal.

Le summarized his experience: “For more than a year we have suffered together. Together we have shed many tears to fight for only one goal: to be united. She has cried a lot because of me. [On the other hand,] I am a betrayer, the worst betrayer [of my country]. [But] I already swore my allegiance to my love. Alas, neither the difference in our races nor the vicious attack by people could take me away from her.”

Combat

Prior to their departure from Indochina, very few recruits had received proper training, due to the belief that they would play a primarily supportive role to those at the front. However, as French casualties piled up, colonial troops were sent into combat, with some taking part in the fighting at Verdun, the Somme, Chemin des Dames, and Champagne. In 1917, the Vietnamese would also serve beside the newly arrived American forces.

On his experience at the front, Private Nguyen Ly Mai recorded: “Day and night the two enemies fought each other with all their might – with airplanes and bombs, with submarines and torpedoes, and with tanks and mines.”

Another disheartened private added, “To take one German prisoner the French had to sacrifice 10 men.”

Private Quach Van Khai pessimistically commented, “Every time they [Vietnamese soldiers] went to the battlefield, they waved the white flag and went over to the enemy’s side.”

While such attitudes towards the war mirror those of their French counterparts, others were more optimistic. While on guard duty, Sergeant Ho Van Phuong regularly exchanged insults with his German adversaries as they taunted him across No Man’s Land shouting, “Annamite, Annamite!”

Corporal Pham Van Luong often led soldiers on patrols, eventually clashing with German troops in September 1918. Catching the enemy by surprise, Pham later received a promotion to sergeant and was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

Following fierce fighting at Aisne in 1917, one veteran by the name of Thanh recalled of the battle: “250 out of 330 men in my company were already dead. Besides me, of all the men I have known since I left the village, only 12 are still alive.”

Despite the horrors of combat, Private Cu Quyen summarized: “If I were to listen to my heart, I would leave this place immediately. However, since I came here to make money, I will stick to it.”

Dr. George Yagi Jr. is an award winning author and historian at the University of the Pacific. Follow him on X.