What language did colonial troops of France, Italy, UK (such as indians) and other speak in wars like WW1 and 2...

What language did colonial troops of France, Italy, UK (such as indians) and other speak in wars like WW1 and 2? Did they speak their native language and their european officers spoke that as well, or did they speak english/french/etc in the colonies?

The colonial troops had to "speak" French, and their officers rarely bothered to get into their men's culture. In any case the orders were always in French.

I read on wikipedia just now that british officers for Indians were expected to learn hindi, but I guess the indian colonials were a bit more "respected" than the africans.

The French colonial troops were taught a simplified sort of French, as they were expected to be too dumb for actual French.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Français_Tirailleur

Part of it, I suppose, is that the brits wanted to just extract resources from their colonies and be as hands off as possible as long as that worked. Whereas the French wanted, in addition to getting resources, to attach the colonized peoples to the republic.

>I guess the indian colonials were a bit more "respected" than the africans.
Certainly, but also Africans had dozens languages.

So did every other troups europeons included?
Half of French fighters didn't even speak french to begin with and used southern d'oc dialects

Nah France was not Austria Hungary, maybe some retarded Corsicans didn't speak French but at that time everyone was taught in French at school.

>british officers for Indians were expected to learn hindi,
Big if true. Seems a waste of time as most of the Indian subcontinent wouldn't be speaking hindi back then

>corsicans
>brittons
>alsacians
>basques
>gascons
>all the fucking occitan dialects from central and southern france

>everyone was taught in French at school
And everyone has been taught english at school for around 30 years
Does it mean all the sub-40yo french are fluent in english?

Since I know Italy was quite big on integrating their colonies, giving the population citizenship and all that, did they also have something like that language? or maybe teach italian/learn to speak some native stuff, any info?
"British officers in the Indian Army were expected to learn to speak the Indian languages of their men, who tended to be recruited from primarily Hindi speaking areas."

i always wondered how did conscription in India worked, does anybody know?

Alsacians fought for Germany, so...
And no, I did not mean that French was taught as a foreign language, I meant that French was the only language at school for everyone since 19th century. And in every administration, town halls etc. So basically in 1914 a young man unable to speak French was a fucking curiosity.

English dialects, it caused problems
>That time an ANZAC barged into a meeting and asked which bastard stole his kettle

well, I was referring to more "ethnic" troops rather than Australians, Canadians and the likes

>And everyone has been taught english at school for around 30 years
>Does it mean all the sub-40yo french are fluent in english?

>foreign language vs own countires language used in every aspect of society

Boongs and Maoris serving spoke English too mate

Most "colonial" troops were, well... colonists, as the name implies
"Ethnic" troops were such a minority I seriously don't get what all the fuss is about recently, especially since most of them never ever saw a battlefield and were relegated to logistic roles

Senegalese and Algerians saw a lot of action, but they did indeed speak French

>own countires language
For all intent and purposes, France was never seen as an actual country until very recently
Hell, southern and northern french weren't even considered to be the same racial group

>Very recently
So like what 1750? Aquitanian and French is pretty mutually intelligible

No conscription. Volunteers only. I think they were worried that if they conscripted in india it would forment the independence movements

>France was never seen as an actual country until very recently
wtf user?

> but also Africans had dozens languages.
Hindi is just one of the many many languages, that India still has.

It was fully voluntary
In WW2 the free french especially used a ton arab and africans in north africa and south europe and even had to "whiten" the army that was to march into paris to look better lol
Also Indians was heavily engaged in fighting in africa, mediterranian and ofc the indian/burma area in WW2. Italy also used a lot of eritreans etc in east african campaign of ww2.

And in battles in the colonies was mostly native

Japanese Coup in Indochina 1945
6500 French Troops
>16500 French
>48500 Native
East African Campagin
371 000 Troops
>113000 Italian
>260000 Native

Im not just talking darkies shipped to the western front

>Aquitanian
Lmao what the fuck is that?
We're not talking about antiquity dood

It wasn't, at least not by the people. The French unicity has been hardline republican LARPing until late 19th

1750?
Ask any European after 1000 if the country of France exists and he'd answer yes.

65 000*

Not to mention the whole campagin all over africa in WW1

>We're not talking about antiquity dood
>Posts Provence and Languedoc as if they weren't still LARPing as Aquataines in the 18th century
Shut up cunt, even now there are LARPs about it
France as a polity and France as an ethnostate are entirely different things mate

Just because they didn't speak standard french in their daily lives does not mean they didn't think of france as a country or their country.
You're slapping anachronistic ethnonationalist attitudes on people who didn't ask for that.

>slapping anachronistic ethnonationalist attitudes on people who didn't ask for that
It is a pretty well-known fact that "germanic" french north of the Loire river abhorred the "latin" southern french for whom they were little better than niggers.

They were not "larping", and it started even before the Revolution. Anyway to stay on topic, every French soldier in 1914 spoke French (even the colonial troops).

>France as a polity and France as an ethnostate are entirely different things mate
>france and france
>entirely different
Yeah right.
But even if that was true, you were talking about France as an actual country, which it fucking was at least since the Capetians. You don't need to be an ethnostate to be an actual country.

No it's not.

Well, now you know.

>Capetians
I'll just remind you about the civil wars and the whole Plantagenet thing

The fact that you say so would rather make me file this idea under "bullshit" that "well-known truth".
Civil wars only happen in actual countries. Otherwise it's just war.

No, where did you here that?

Is that an mg42 barrel shroud?