Vintage Military - Part 5

 World War I - Les Poilus

In World War I, the French gave their soldiers the nickname "poilu" (pronounced pwah-loo*), meaning "hairy one."  The soldiers were called poilus whether they were actually hairy or not.  It was an affectionate term, like the British soldiers being called "Tommies" and the American soldiers "doughboys".  Here are some photos of World War I "hairy ones".  All are from a French website, and all are dated 1914-1918.

* Apology to my French viewers: "pwah-loo" is the closest that I can get in English to how "poilu" is pronounced because the French "u" sound doesn't exist in English.

This is a French postcard labeled "The bath of the poilus."  Note that most, if not all, of these men taking tub baths have mustaches, one possible origin of the term "poilu".  More about mustaches below.

This photo is titled "The ingenuity of our poilus - the shower," showing a shower improvised out of a watering can.

This photo was called "Poilus off-duty.  Sport fest at Courmelois, near Reims."

This one was labeled "Poilus at the showers in the 3rd line behind Thuisy near Courmelois."

These are poilus in a German POW camp.

This one says "A shell hole, rainwater, voila, totally comfortable for washing."

Our last photo was labeled "8th infantry regiment soldier cul nu (bare ass)."  Under the photo was written "Bored photographer, July 1, 1915."

Some sources claim the term "poilu" (hairy one) referred to the soldiers' mustaches.  In France, in the 1800s and up to World War I, mustaches were not only fashionable, they were a mark of prestige and authority.  Servants and cafe waiters were forbidden by law to have mustaches, because of their inferior status – waiters were not called garçons (boys) for nothing.  In 1907 the waiters actually went on strike in Paris for the right to have mustaches (they won).

I found some fascinating information on a Belgian website (and remember that much of World War I was fought in Belgium).  It said that when America entered the war in 1917, hundreds of thousands of American soldiers suddenly arrived.  The U.S. Army required them to be clean-shaven.  The Americans were bigger than the Europeans on average (better fed?).  The site relates how in southern Belgium, the girls were attracted to these fresh, big, clean-shaven young hunks.  Suddenly, the mustache went out of style, and the European soldiers shaved their mustaches off.