Pontifical Zouaves

Created on January 1st 1861 on the model of the troops of Zouaves of the French Army, whose exotic uniform was very popular in the middle of the 19th century, the battalion of the pontifical zouaves , become regiment at January 1st 1867 consists of volunteers, mainly French, Belgian and Dutch, come to defend the pontifical State whose existence is threatened by the realization of the Italian Unité with the profit of the Piedmont. Their history is identified with the last decade of the State of the the Holy See (1860-1870). The regiment is laid off the September 21st 1870 following the disappearance of the Papal States.

The creation of the body of the pontifical zouaves

En 1860 the fate of the pontifical State appears critical. The catholic powers ignore the question, also the secret chamberlain of the pope Pie IX, Xavier de Mérode, former serviceman become pro-minister of the War, decides to call upon Louis Christophe Leon Juchault of Moricière to reorganize and order the pontifical army. To increase manpower, Moricière resorts to enrôlement voluntary and called upon the catholic States. Belgians and French will constitute a battalion of the Franco-Belgian riflemen under the orders of the Viscount Louis de Becdelièvre. This one personally wanted to equip them with the uniform inspired of the zouaves, and adapted to Roman heat. Enough badly accommodated by Lamoricière which has many other more urgent problems, it has the support of Mgr of Mérode and the Pope himself; the riflemen are thus called pontifical zouaves before even the official creation of the body. The Piedmontese one crush the Pontifical ones with the Bataille of Castelfidardo (September 18th 1860) and the State of the pope is reduced to only the Latium. The disaster makes flow the volunteers to Rome: the battalion of the pontifical zouaves consists of part of the Franco-Belgian riflemen and the Irishmen of the battalion of Saint-Patrick, to which had been added, before the battle, some " croisés" of Henri de Cathelineau.

Characteristics of the pontifical zouaves

Manpower and the geographic origin

Until 1864, the zouaves counts between 300 and 600 men then their number was to rise between 1500 and 1800 before reaching the maximum of 3200 little before the fall of Rome. Between 1861 and 1870, there was more than 10.000 engagements concerned with 25 different nationalities. Most were the Dutchmen, the French and the Belgians but one finds also the Swiss ones, Germans, Italians, Canadians and even of the Americans. On 170 officers, one counts 111 French and 25 Belgians. Their chaplain is Mgr Jules Daniel, Nantes, assisted by two Belgians, Crowned Mgr and Mgr of Wœlmont.

Pour the French, the departments constituting the current areas of the Brittany and the Pays of the Loire represent more of the third of the total. This multitude makes ignore the considerable contributions of North, the area of Nimes, and the south of the Massif Central. If Flemish and Dutchman were often of origin popular, the nobility was well represented at the French and the volunteers of Wallonia. Their common point is their attachment with the Roman Catholic church: their combat is seen like a Croisade to defend the capital of the Catholicisme and the Liberté of the pope against the revolutionist Garibaldi and the king anticlerical Victor-Emmanuel II. Their religious engagement is often inseparable from their political commitment: many are the French who claim Légitimisme.

The uniform

De color gray-blue, it comprises a short jacket with soutaches red with the released collar, large baggy pants retained by a broad red belt and a small kepi with square visor. The officers carry black soutaches. The tiara and the cross keys of Saint-Pierre are engraved on the copper buttons. The officers carry boots and the soldiers of the yellow puttees. The behavior of the pontifical zouaves had not filled with enthusiasm the Curie. A cardinal had had this word: “it is well a French idea to equip as Moslems the soldiers with the pope” but the idea had rained in Pie IX. The pay was high from where the qualifier of Mercenaire used by their adversaries for the discréditer.

An useless body?

Le command is entrusted again by it to colonel de Becdelièvre but it is very quickly replaced by colonel Allet, Switzerland for a long time with the service of the Pope. However, the intransigent and belligerent line defended by Mérode and that incarnates the zouaves appears repudiated in 1865: by the Franco-Italian convention of September 15th, 1864, Italy commits itself respecting the pontifical State and France to withdraw its troops in the two years and on October 20th, 1865, the secret chamberlain sees itself withdrawing his ministry with the profit of the general Hermann Kanzler. But if the Piedmontese one, indeed, cannot move any more officially, they support in writing pad the harassing which Garibaldi and its " carry out; shirts rouges". It is with them that the zouaves will know various " accrochages" in the defense of the borders of Latium, until the confrontation of 1867.

The countryside of 1867 and Mentana

The return of the dangers

Avec the transfer of Venezia by Austria beaten by Prussia in 1866 and the withdrawal of the French troops, the radical wing of the Italian patriots starts again the projects of annexation. Garibaldi declares come time “to make collapse the pontifical hut” and with the Congress of the Peace of Geneva on September 9th, 1867, it qualifies the papacy of “negation of God (…) the shame and the wound of Italy”. For the zouaves, Garibaldi is seen like the Antéchrist. It organized a small army of volunteers of 8000 men and it tries to republish the forwarding of the Thousand which had succeeded in Sicily in 1860. In December 1866, Athanase of Cart of Contrie became lieutenant-colonel of the zouaves always under the Al command

In October, with the complicity of the Italian government, the garibaldiens invade the pontifical State and try to organize the insurrection of Rome. October 22nd, the project of rising fails, for lack of a popular support, and the destruction of the barracks Serristori, housing usual of the zouaves, by an underground mine does few victims. The garibaldiens seize Assembles Rotondo on October 26th while a French task force unloads with Civitavecchia the 29 to assist from Pape.

The battle of Mentana

Le general Kanzler carries out the pontifical counter-offensive. The November 3rd 1867, in the locality of Mentana, the zouaves and the pontifical police officers supported by the Roman legion (or legion of Antibes) made up of French volunteers inserts the small army of Garibaldi and the brigade of the French Army of the Polhès general gives the blow of thanks to the garibaldiens by the use of frightening the Chassepot model 1866, rifle which makes it possible to draw 12 blows at the minute. However the zouaves had seemed the true winners of the day: at the time of the victorious procession of November 6th, the generals are discovered with their passage and crowd shouts: “Lives Black and white IX, Vive France, Vive the zouaves, Vive the religion! ”. Mentana ensures at the pontifical State a three years respite which will allow the meeting of the Concile of the Vatican I.

The fall of Rome

La Franco-German Guerre of 1870 causes the withdrawal of the French troops and the invasion of what remains Papal States by an Italian army of 70.000 men under the command of the Cadorna general. Opposite, pontifical manpower do not exceed 13.000 men including 3000 zouaves, also Kanzler chooses it to concentrate its efforts in the defense of Rome. September 20th the Italian artillery bombards the Roman fortifications. The pope asked Kanzler to cease fire as of the first blows of gun to the great spite of the zouaves dreaming to fight. 11 zouaves only are killed during the exchanges of shots. The following day, the regiment of the zouaves is laid off and the French are repatriated in Toulon.

The legion of the volunteers of the West 1870-1871

De return in France, Cart proposes its services with the government of the National defense which authorizes it to found an irregular force by leaving him any freedom and the uniform of zouave but on the condition of changing the name into Legion of the volunteers of the West. The new body is pointed out with the Bataille of Orleans (October 11th). The two battalions are attached to the 17th army corps of the general Louis-Gaston de Sonis mid-November. December 2nd, 1870, during the Battle of Loigny, the zouaves, under the banner of the Sacred Heart, try to take again the village of Loigny in a load remained famous: Cart, wounded is made prisoner but succeeds in escaping shortly after. January 11th, 1871, the zouaves charge again, with at their head the Gougeard general, and manage to take again to the Prussians the plate of Auvours, near to Mans. In the surge of the bad news, these local exploits, which do not have an influence on the continuation of the events, impress however, in particular the soldiers. Cart having become general, it refuses that his " légion" take part in the crushing of the Commune of Paris. Not by sympathy to this cause (!) but because it does not agree to fight other French against: it already showed it while resigning of the army of Austria in 1859 at the time when this one was opposed to France. Finally the Volunteers of the West are always in Rennes in May 1871. May 28th, the legion of the zouaves is devoted to the Sacré-coeur of Jesus and, the war being finished, the battalions are dissolved on August 13rd.

The engagement of the pontifical zouaves

Sur the diplomatic and ideological plan, the pontifical zouaves are attached to the hardest line of the Roman Curie of the time. They cause a considerable mobilization financial on behalf of the catholics, in particular in France, even the officers must often pay their equipment (what can explain why they profit from relatively modern equipment.) In all the western world, many priests launch calls to be engaged in this body, and the zouaves died in the combat appear with the eyes of much like modern martyrs. In fact, the oath that lent the soldiers can seem rather representative of the motivations which animated them:

I swear with God the Almighty to be obeying and faithful
with my sovereign, the Romain Pontiff, Our Very Holy Father
the Black and white Pope IX, and with its legitimate successors.
I swear to serve it with honor and fidelity and to sacrifice
my life even for the defense of its majestic and crowned personality,
for the maintenance of its sovereignty and the maintenance of its rights.