Poilu

Common card · No. 457851

Poilu (; French: [pwaly] ) is an informal term for a late 18th century–early 20th century French infantryman, meaning, literally, 'hairy one'. It is still widely used as a term of endearment for the French infantry of World War I. The word carries the sense of the infantryman's typically rustic, agricultural background, and derives from the bushy moustaches and other facial hair affected by many French soldiers after the outbreak of the war as a sign of masculinity. The poilu was particularly known for his love of pinard, his ration of cheap wine. The image of the dogged, bearded French soldier was widely used in propaganda and war memorials. The stereotype of the poilu was of bravery and endurance, but not always of unquestioning obedience. At the disastrous Chemin des Dames offensive of 1917 under General Robert Nivelle, they were said to have gone into no man's land making bleating noises—a collective bit of gallows humour signalling the idea that they were being sent as lambs to...

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