Abject Submission

The Central African Chad Mission was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa. This expedition operated jointly with two other expeditions which advanced from Algeria and Middle Congo respectively. With the death of the Muslim warlord Rabih az-Zubayr, the greatest ruler in the region, and the creation of the Military Territory of Chad in 1900, the mission accomplished all of its goals. However, this success followed numerous misadventures, including the refusal of the expedition commander and his second-in-command to follow orders from France, and their subsequent murder at the hands of their soldiers. In the end, only one of the nine Europeans leading the mission, Paul Joalland, reached Chad.

Structure and Directives

The mission to Lake Chad set out from Dakar in November of 1898. It moved through French Sudan, which is now Mali. It was composed of Senegal and West African troops. There were also at least thirty interpreters on the mission. But the majority of the troops were those who had been pressed into service. The force was directed by European officers. They had artillery, machine guns, hundreds of rifles, and millions of rounds of ammunition.

In command were captain Paul Voulet and his adjutant Lt. Julien Chanoine. The captain, a 32-year-old son of a doctor, was said by his fellow officers to have a true love of blood and cruelty coupled with a foolish sensitivity. The lieutenant, son of the general and future War Minister Charles Chanoine, was judged impulsive, ruthless, and cruel out of cold-bloodedness as well as for pleasure. Both had already proved their ruthlessness and efficiency two years before when they invaded the Mossi Kingdoms and conquered it capital Ouagadougou.

The mission was the brainchild of Voulet, who saw it as a means to further his career. He actively sought support from French politicians, which was difficult to obtain because conflicts divided and preoccupied the Minister of Colonies Andre Lebon and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabriel Hanotaux. The political crisis of the Dreyfus Affair also consumed the attention of French politicians, making it even more difficult for Voulet to be heard. In spite of these obstacles, he successfully obtained approval for his project, with the help of his adjutant Chanoine.

The four months of delay in the start of the mission--and the very limited funds granted--had dire consequences for the future. Voulet completely ignored the local hierarchies and took liberties with the orders he received, which were anyway very-vague--he was only asked to explore the territory between the Niger and Lake Chad and put the area under French protection. The Minister of Colonies merely said, "I don't pretend to be able to give you any instructions on which route to choose or how you are to behave towards the native chieftains". In the opinion of the British historian Gerald Regan, this meant "giving carte blanche to two known psychopaths in uniform", especially considering Voulet had already told the governor of French Sudan that he meant to crush any resistance by burning villages.

Division and Reunion of the Column

When the column reached Koulikoro, on the Niger, it divided. Chanoine led most of the expedition overland across the 600-mile bend of the river, while Voulet traveled downriver with the rest of the men, and reached Timbuktu, held by Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Francis Klobb who provided him with another 70 tirailleurs and 20 spahis. Chanoine had increasing difficulties finding provisions for his large column in the arid region where he marched; he started pillaging the villages on the way and gave orders for anyone trying to escape to be shot. In addition to these troubles, a dysentery epidemic broke out. By the end of the first two months, the mission had lost 148 bearers to dysentery.