Milsurp After Hours

To all you real Frenchmen, Francophiles, Francophones, collectors of French arms and militaria,
Une Glorieuse 14 Juillet ou Jour de la Bastille. 1789-2009. 220 ans.

Merci à vous

I will be celebrating Bastille Day by setting up a WWI French display at a local French Bakery. There are supposed to be a bunch of French speakers and French citizens who live here coming to see the display according to the owner. She has a picture of me from last years event hanging in her store along with the original French poster vonmazur gave me when I meet him in Alabama. I will make sure to get pictures of the display.
My friend will also be showing up in his WWI Italian uniform as well.
Patrick

She has a picture of me from last years event hanging in her store........

Why were you hanging in her store last year Patrick

Looking forward to seeing the pics

Here are a few pictures of the event that Tony and myself did for Bastille Day
I am sorry the pictures are a bit dark but we were inside all day as it was 100 degrees outside and A/C was going so you can imagine where we stood around for the event ... Inside.
We had alot of people come visit us, there were a few gentleman who were in the French Army at one time, they liked my impression and knowledge on the WWI French poilu, weapons and equipment.
Alot of people commented that my French was very good considering that I had learned alot of it on my own. One lady who was there teaches French language and is going to give me lessons so that I can speak conversational French.
One of the gentleman was a military news correspondent/ photographer for a French newspaper, he had served in the Colonial forces in Indochine at Dien Bien Phu and later in many other parts of world. His last stint was in Balkans in the 1990's as now he has retired and is living here in NM.
We also had a gentleman from Switzerland who was in the Swiss military and served on the French and Italain border during WWII, he said he loved his Schmidt-Rubin M1911 he carried during his military carrer.
Tony's impression was also much appreciated as well, he looked sharp in that uniform .... Now to get him to CA so the Austro-Boche will have someone to really HATE !!! ;D. ( I got this 1917 dated American-French Soldiers Handbook and that is how the Austro-Hungarians were called, Germany was called la Bochie. American soldiers were called le Biffin (Doughboy) )
Patrick

Good set of pics Patrick, thanks for posting them.

That's an interesting event. I'm sure the patrons of the French bread company were delighted.

Good photos.

Loved the rat
Your picture, with facial hair, makes me ask - What was the French military stance on beards and moustaches ? Did they, like the British, actively encourage it pre WW1 ? Or was it not allowed ?

Prior to the war, moustaches and beards were allowed but had to be trimmed and have a military apperance. As WWI went into trench warfare and the French soldier was in the trenches for long periods of time, they did not shave regularly, beards and moustaches started to fully develop, well a long story short, it caught on. When these men went out of the front-lines to the rear the civilian population saw them and called them poilu, which in French is slang for unshaven one or hairy one, well the name stuck, this is why the French soldier in WWI was called a POILU. Now this name had been used before in France during the era of Napoleon Bonaparte though the term grognard (grumbler) was much more common. This name is still used for French soldiers particularly the infantryman.
Patrick

This name is still used for French soldiers particularly the infantryman.

Of course now it is almost universally important for French combat soldiers to shave their heads and have as little hair as possible