The Phoenix index., 1940-02-03

MT on to their units In the line or
reserve. Arab soldiers are also
this place somewhere in
'ance" is how it is called; they
I'VE a mosque, while those of the
uddhist faith have their Pago3a
he Annamites and othe;S from the
II East have found the Shrines
iIch were built in 1918 by officers
the colonial armies. Senegalese.
afagascans, Ara55, AnnamiteS
reolcS AI4tilI,ans, al can take, and
take all kinGs of 'nghly techni-
i courses and pursGe studies 10
ench warfare, etc.; many of
lese who are already sergeants
i'll soon become officers by their
wn intellectual and moral merit.
7 wonder how many of the first
AIMED I have seen throughout the
ears in different towns and re-
ions of the south of France where
he climate is a little less different
winter to their native Africa
nan the frost-gripped or rainSod-
en- fronts which stretch from the
Jorth Sea to Switzerland? But their
informs are solid, their food sub
3tantial; these things are at least
material groundwork and they
re assured.
Just now I looked closely at five
5enegalese soldiers In the street
.Ild stood behind them to see how
gley were dressed. 1t is the same
inform pretty we'll as that of the
french soldiers in the street and
,tood behind them to see how they
were dressed. 1t Is the same uni
Iorm pretty well as that of the,
french soldier-a thick khaki over
coat which buttons up to the top,
strong boots, and puttees, but with
the red fez On their closely crop.
ped heads. They were all so young,'
talking IL their language, gazing
down the white mans long long
street. L hope Hitler's words, If
they know them, will give them
spur of anger when the moment
comes for them to make those bay
onet charges.
Indian MoSlem troops have recent
ly arrived; they are under Indian
rs well as British officers and are
probably by now at the front, they
will be under Indian military law.
The British army is providing extra
winter clothing for them; they
came with many many mules and
special foods: rice CHI "a kind OF
butter) dal 0entils), alta "a sort OF
flour) and chillis and spices ana
millions of Indian cigarettes. Live
animals have been brought by Oh
ficers of the British general Staff,
Tor these have to be killed accord
ing to Moslem rites.
Not long ago Ghandi sent a mes
sage to one of the leading EngllSil
papers, the News Chronicle" OF
which this was one OF the mann
points: No wonder Hitler has chal-
lenged the British government 10
prove its sincerity by recognizing
india as a free nation. Whatever
NAV be his intention in issuing thus
challenge it cannot be denied that
it is pertinent.
I suppose that ali Of the people
of the two empires must De repre-
sented by their nationals on French
soil, either in the fighting Inc OF
in reserve, or at war work. ms Is
how a French journalist, announcer
Kessel, came across some men OF
Africa in the very foremost tront
position, one which had JuSt peell
captured by them:
"On the parapet facing that OF
the enemy was a stone niche ana
in it already two Senegalese trail
leurs who were stretched out along
side of a machine gun. They didn't
oven look at us as We went py-
Their eyes were fixed on the land
scape which they henceforth dom
mated. and their, brown faces stood
out on the rock like magnificent
SCULPTURES and were almost tIle
color of the rock itself. The colonel
made a tour of the position; it had
been occupied less than an hour
and already its defenceS were al
planned out"