Indigènes — Italy
North African soldiers of the French Army — Algerians, Moroccans and Senegalese — fight in the Italian campaign, experiencing the paradox of liberating France while treated as second-class soldiers in their own army.
The French Expeditionary Corps in Italy, commanded by General Juin, included approximately 130,000 North African troops. Their May 1944 breakthrough at Monte Cassino was decisive in cracking the Gustav Line after months of Allied failure. The Moroccan Goumiers were particularly effective in mountain warfare that regular troops could not manage.