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The 4th Colonial Infantry Division (4e Division d’Infanterie Coloniale, 4e DIC) was a unit of the French Army which saw combat in the Battle of France during World War II. It played a major part in fighting along the Somme River but was ultimately largely destroyed during the German Fall Rot operation in June 1940.
The precise meaning of the terms "colonial troops", "colonial army", marine troops or "troops of the French colonies" has changed several times since the 18th century: During the 18th and early 19th centuries "marine infantry" was the title used to identify French troops stationed permanently in France's various overseas territories.
The Colonial Army Corps, originally the Army Corps of Colonial Troops, is a unit of the French Army established by decree on June 11, 1901. It was composed of units from the Colonial Troops stationed in mainland France.
By the end of World War II, the Free French unit counted 273 certified victories, 37 non-certified victories, and 45 damaged aircraft with 869 fights and 42 dead. [39] On 31 May 1945, Normandie-Niemen squadrons were directed to Moscow by the Soviet authorities, who decided to allow them to return to France with their aircraft as a reward. [40]
2nd Colonial Divisionary Artillery Regiment; 202nd Colonial Heavy Artillery Regiment; The Division was first stationed in the Alps, but later moved to the North, where it fought in the Seine and Loire regions. The Division was disbanded after the capitulation of the French Army in June 1940.
The regular French troops consisted of four battalions of the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment 6 e REI (according to Dentz, these were the best troops available to the Vichy French command) and three battalions of the 24th Colonial Infantry Regiment (French regulars enlisted for overseas service).
After the Americans landed in Algiers in 1942 during Operation Torch, the colonial troops of the French Army of Africa, until then under the orders of the pro-Nazi republic of Vichy. General Charles De Gaulle , head of the French government in exile , drew on this military personnel to create the CEF (Corp Expeditionnaire Français).
Such colonies may lie overseas or in areas dominated by neighboring land powers such as Imperial China or Tsarist Russia. Colonial troops have been used by imperial powers whether ancient (such as Carthage [1] and Rome), or modern (such as Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Portugal).