In the years between 1901 and 1913, no changes took place to the number of Zouave battalions on the peace establishment of the French Army. That is, of the twenty units of that type, sixteen were based in North Africa, two at the Fort de Rosny in Paris, and two at the Camp de Sathonay, just outside of Lyon.
For administrative purposes, the battalions in North Africa remained under the direct control of their parent regiments. The battalions in Europe, however, were paired off to form groupes de zouaves. (The fifth battalions of the 1st and 4th Regiments of Zouaves belonged to the Military Government of Paris, those of the 2nd and 3rd Regiments to the Military Government of Lyon.)
When on active service, Zouave battalions usually fought as part of ad hoc battle groups called régiments de marche. (In many cases, the Foreign Legion, the Tirailleurs algériens, and, once they were formed, Tirailleurs marocains, also formed régiments de marche.)
Between 1911 and 1914, ten of these twenty battalions took part in operations in Morocco and the occupation that followed. However, as no reservists had been mobilized, these units filled gaps in their ranks with drafts drawn from the ten battalions that were not deployed. Thus, while the flags of the Zouave battalions stationed in Paris and Lyon remained in those cities, many of the men serving with the ‘metropolitan’ battalions found themselves seconded to outfits serving in Morocco.
On 5 October 1913, the Minister of War approved the formation of four new battalions of Zouaves. The first of these to assemble, the 6th Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Zouaves, began its organizational existence on 20 November 1913. The three others, the 6th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment, the 6th Battalion of the 4th Regiment, and the 7th Battalion of the 4th Regiment, stood up on 20 April 1914.1
All four of the new battalions found homes in North Africa - one in Algiers, one in Constantine, and two in Tunis. (Thanks to this measure, the 4th Zouaves, which was stationed in the capital - and namesake - of Tunisia, became the largest regiment of its type in both the Armée d’Afrique and the French Army as a whole.)2
On 15 April 1914, the French Parliament passed a law that, among many other things, called for the formation of two additional regiments of Zouaves. Bearing the numbers five and six, these were to be permanent units, each of which was provided with the same sort of overhead as the four existing regiments and a ‘variable number of battalions’.3
The First World War would break out before either these new outfits saw light. However, I find myself wondering about the form the 5e and 6e régiments de zouaves might take. In particular, I wonder whether the battalions of these regiments would be taken from older regiments or formed afresh.
Please feel free to use the comments section to offer your thoughts.
Source for Photo
The photo at the top of this post, which shows soldiers of the 3rd Regiment of Zouaves, comes from a collection of several hundred color photos taken by Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud, an official photographer of the French Army, before, during, and after the First world War. Called La collection d’autochromes de Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud (1866-1951), it can be found on an official website of the French Republic called Images Défense.
Loi du 23 Décembre 1912 (Modifié par la de 15 Avril 1913) relative à la Constitution des Cadres et des Effectifs de l’Infanterie (Paris: Charles-Lavauzelle, 1914) pages 66 and 72 (Gallica)
The Armée d’Afrique consisted of all elements of the French Army normally stationed in Algeria, Tunisia, and (after 1911) Morocco. Units raised for service in other parts of Africa formed part of the Troupes coloniales.
I would think forming new battalions would depend on the availability of personnel to serve as NCOs, officers and above all, soldiers. Creating brand new battalions, even with existing ones to draw cadre from, is a reasonable, but resource intensive process. I posit the new regiments would have been composed largely from the already formed “extra” battalions.