Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa The Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa ( French : " Bataillons d ' Infanterie Légère d ' Afrique " or BILA ) , better known under the acronym Bat ' d ' Af ' , were French penal military unit s , serving in Northern Africa and made up of men with prison records who still had to do their military service or soldiers with serious disciplinary problems . History . Creation . Created by king Louis Philippe I on 13 June 1832 , shortly after the French Foreign Legion , the Bat ' d ' Af ' were parts of the Army of Africa and were stationed in Tataouine , Tunisia , in one of the most arid and hostile region of the French colonial empire . The original " Ordonnance royale " ( Royal order ) creating this corps provided for two battalions , each of eight companies . A third battalion was created in September 1833 . According to the order the rank and file of these units were to be drawn from : ( i ) serving soldiers who had been sentenced to existing disciplinary companies and who had not completed their period of army service upon release ; and ( ii ) civilian convicts who upon completing terms of imprisonment had still to meet their obligations for compulsory military service . Initial service . The newly raised Bat ' d ' Af ' saw active service for the first time during the conquest of Algeria . They participated in operations at Bougie in 1835 and took part in the siege of Constantine the following year . Between 3 and 6 February 1840 at Mazagran in Algeria , a detachment of 123 chasseurs of the 1st BILA , under Captain Lelievre , held off repeated assaults by several thousand Arabs . This action won the first battle honour for the corps and was subsequently commemorated in all battalions by memorial ceremonies on 6 February each year . Subsequent history until 1920 . As discipline and living conditions in the Bat ' d ' Af ' were extremely harsh , " Bataillonnaires " , colloquially named " Zéphyrs " or " Joyeux " ( " Joyous ones " ) , usually nicknamed their unit " l ' Enfer " ( " the Hell " ) or , ironically , " Biribi " ( a game of chance of that period ) . However they fought bravely in the Crimean war , won high honours during the First World War and in the various colonial wars . They also assumed the role of construction troops , building not only desert forts but also roads and bridges . " Biribi " reached a peak between the 1880s and 90s , where it played its most conspicuous role . In May 1888 the corps was enlarged to five battalions , each of six companies . Three battalions ( 3rd , 4th and 5th ) were based in Tunisia while the remaining units served in the southern districts of Algeria . On the eve of World War I two battalions were on active service in Morocco . During 1914 - 18 three " bataillons de Marche " ( " marching battalions " detached for particular service ) served on the Western Front with distinction ( see Battle Honours and Fourragères below ) . The permanent units remained in French North Africa , providing garrisons and mobile columns . Character . One of the factor fuelling French army ' s disciplinary battalions was the need to avoid a seeming contradiction : men , whose crime in civilian life resulted in the loss of civil rights , gained an undeserved privilege in being exempted from military service . As their integration into regular formations could have spread indiscipline among soldiers , the solution was to incorporate them into disciplinary battalions . Although the Bats d ' Af are commonly described as penal units , their purpose was not punishment but segregation in what were officially described as " redemptive combat units " ( " corps d ' epreuve " ) . In addition to petty criminals and military offenders , the rank and file also included a number of soldiers suspected of Communard sympathies during the 1870s and the ringleaders of several mutinies in metropolitan regiments in the early 1900s . Finally , there were also some volunteers who chose for reasons of promotion or other motives to serve in the Bats d ' Af . In opposition with the prevailing discourse about criminality of the time influenced by Cesare Lombroso ' s eugenistic theories , the disciplinary battalions of the French Republic were supposed to show that criminals could be redeemed through hard work and combat . Georges Darien , a soldier condemned for insubordination was sent for 33 months in the Bat ' d ' Af ' . In 1890 , he published a novel , named " Biribi " , where he described and denounced the horrific treatments and corporal punishment s which he endured in the Bat ' d ' Af ' . Many " Bataillonnaires " displayed tattoos covering much of the body , as was customary in the French criminal underworld of the early 20th century . Interwar period and World War II . Their bad reputation and doubts about their efficiency as a mean of rehabilitation , led to the dissolution of most Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa during the Interwar period . Following the disbandment of the 1st and 2nd Battalions , serving personnel were transferred to the 3rd Battalion in 1927 . In the course of France ' s general mobilisation in 1939 , twelve additional penal battalions of Light Infantry ( BIL ) were created but the historic title of Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa ( BILA ) was retained only by those units continuing to serve in French North Africa . During 1939 - 40 both the BIL and the BILA served primarily as construction units , working on fortifications , railways and roads in France , Algeria , Tunisia and Morocco . All were disbanded between July and October 1940 following the battle of France . Final years and disbandment . A single company of the BILA was re - established in April 1944 , becoming a full battalion in September 1948 . It was based at Tataouine , the original garrison of the Bat ' d ' Af ' . This formation provided a marching battalion , renamed " Bataillon d ' Infanterie légère d ' Outre - Mer " which participated in the First Indochina War by manning a number of posts in the Bencat sector . Upon returning to Tunisia in November 1952 it was merged with the depot detachments of the BILA . Now designated as the 3rd BILA , the unit was transferred to Algeria following Tunisian independence in November 1956 . The battalion was reduced to one company in October 1962 , which was stationed near the French nuclear testing facilities in the Sahara from 1963 to 1966 . This last remaining component of the Bat ' d ' Af ' was then transferred to French Somaliland where it was disbanded on 31 March 1972 . Between 600 . 000 and 800 . 000 men served in the Bat ' d ' Af ' from 1832 to 1970 , mostly from the working class of Paris and Marseille . Uniforms and insignia . Throughout most of their history the Bat ' d ' Af ' wore the uniform of the French line infantry , modified according to the overseas conditions under which they had to serve and with some regimental distinctions . The latter included yellow piping on the blue and red kepi , yellow collar numbers , and for full dress green woollen fringes on their red epaulettes . As light infantry the Bat ' d ' Af ' wore silver buttons and rank stripes rather than the bronze or gold of the line regiments . A bugle horn appeared on buttons and other insignia . Prior to 1914 the most commonly worn uniform of these units was white fatigue dress with white covered kepi and blue waist sash . The medium blue greatcoat of the French infantry was worn on the march . A full dress uniform of dark blue tunic and red trousers ( white in hot weather ) could be worn on parade or for off - duty wear . From World War I on the Bat ' d ' Af ' were distinguished by " violet " ( light purple / red ) collar patch braiding and numbers on their khaki drill uniforms . Khaki sun - helmet s appeared during the 1920s and 30s as an alternative to the kepi , which itself could be worn with khaki or white covers according to the occasion . White dress uniforms were reserved for cadres . Fourragères . Those units recevied the fourragère s of the following medals : Battle honours . On the Regimental Flag of the Bat ' d ' Af ' were embroided those battle honours : Cadres ( NCOs and officers ) . The difficult task of obtaining sufficient non - commissioned officers for the Bat ' d ' Af ' was resolved by creating two categories of " sous - officiers " . The " cadres blancs " ( " white cadres " ) , like the officers , were professional soldiers who served a term with the BILA before continuing their careers with other regiments . The " cadres noirs " ( " black cadres " ) were former " bataillonnaires " who chose to remain with the Bat ' d ' Af ' on promotion , after finishing their original terms of service . Disciplinary companies . The Bat ' d ' Af ' should not be confused with the " compagnies d ' exclus " ( " companies of the excluded " i . e . thieves ) of the French Army , which were stationed at Aîn - Sefra in Southern Algeria . These penal units consisted of military convicts condemned to five years or more hard labour and were judged unworthy to carry weapons . Upon completion of their sentences such convicts might however be required to complete their military service in the Bat ' d ' Af ' .