image of soldier 39

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Senegalese Rifleman (Sudan) (see in Wikipedia)

Handsome typical African with a slim body under his loose-fitting jacket: the sky blue colour brings out nicely the pure bronze colour of his skin. He comes from a free people and, no doubt, from a noble family; he has nothing of the slave about him and his eyes have a direct gaze; his heavy full-lipped mouth pouts with a scornful expression. He is proud to be counted among an elite corps, which has had a bloody history but scarcely ever met with opposition to its bayonets. He is one of those who were counted on for offensives, whose arrival in a sector meant a hard battle and a fierce fight. Since the coming of spring and all summer he has given freely of his strength and his blood, and when the sky was veiled in fog he was sent to the edge of the blue sea where the golden sun rested the warriors’ bodies and replenished their hearts with the vitality which makes men brave.