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hiver·nage

Hivernage was the practice in the French Army of withdrawing sub-Saharan African colonial troops from colder theatres to overwinter in warmer climates. Such troops were first deployed to Morocco from 1908 and losses were experienced due to disease in colder weather. When the Senegalese Tirailleurs were deployed to France in 1914 for the First World War an informal hivernage system was implemented, with the troops withdrawn to southern France and northern Africa over winter. The system was formalised in 1915, at the instigation of black deputy Blaise Diagne, with the troops to be withdrawn between November and March. In some cases troops, particularly tirailleurs malgaches (from Madagascar), were able to remain in the field all year round. Special camps and hospitals were established in the south of France to house the tirailleurs during the hivernage periods. The soldiers appreciated the respite, which they considered recompense for the lack of home leave, but were also required to undergo additional training in this period. The tirailleurs were able to mix with the local French population and left a positive impression. At Fréjus, a centre for hivernage, a memorial to the First World War tirailleurs was erected in 1994. Hivernage was also practised during the Second World War between December 1939 and March 1940. The Vichy French government unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the German authorities to implement hivernage for tirailleur prisoners of war, some of whom were held in Eastern Europe. In Summer 1944 tirailleurs returned to Western Europe with the Allied invasion of France. In Winter 1944 these men were forced to hand over their arms, uniforms and equipment to white Frenchmen of the French Forces of the Interior. This was officially described as hivernage but criticised as a means of removing black soldiers from France on the eve of victory. The disarmed tirailleurs were housed in camps in France, Britain and Africa but were badly treated and there were several disturbances, including the Thiaroye massacre, before the end of the war.

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