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Algeria at the time of World War was a French colony that France was attempting to turn into an overseas version of France through emigration and other policies such as education. More than 150,000 Algerian soldiers fought with the French during World War I. We are not sure yet about French policies like consciption. They presumably varied for the French colonists and Algerian natives. I think that French Algerian and native/Arabic people might have been put in different units. We also do not know how conscription was implemented in Algeria. The French 45th Division played a role in the Miracle on the Marne which stopped the German drive toward Paris (1914) was an Algerian Division. [Keegan, pp, 109, 111] Algerian troops in the Ypres Salient were among the first to be hit by poison gas which the German introduced. The troops reported a strange yellow cloud drifting toward their position. There were also Zouave units. Zouaves wewe recruited from Algerian Berber tribesmen and the European emigrant population in Algeria. I have also noted references to "white Zouaves and native riflemen". [Keegan, p. 198.] Zouaves were Known mainly for their flamboyant uniforms with bright colors. The uniforms were all to visible on the battlefield. Within a year after the War began, the uniforms were standardized to more sensible khaki. French commanders concluded that the smoke was a cover for a German attack. The Algerians were were ordered to hold their positions. As a result, they were decimated. The Germans broke the Salient and the Allies had to retreat. Nearly 25,000 Algerian soldiers were killed. France recruited about 86,000 Algerian laborors to work in war industries in France. Many Algerians stayed in France after the War, perhaps as many as 70,000 men. Many supportd their families at home with remittances. It was also an eye-opening experience for the individuals involved. The Algerians who served in the Army and who moved to France during the War would play an role in the independence movement that began to develop after the War.
Keegan, John. The First World War (Knopf: New York, 1999), 475p.
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