Paul-Jules Joalland (8 November 1870 – 27 September 1940) was a French officer, known mainly for completing the

Voulet–Chanoine Mission The Voulet–Chanoine Mission, also called Central African-Chad Mission (), was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa. This expedition operated jointly ...

. He was one of the six officers of the latter expedition, and was an artillery expert with the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. The Voulet-Chanoine Mission was commanded by the captains Paul Voulet and Julien Chanoine, entrusted in 1898 by the government with the mission to explore and conquer the territories between the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

and

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

, with the ultimate goal to unify, Jointly with other two similar expeditions, all French territories in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. The brutalities and massacres committed by the expedition after leaving

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

brought the authorities to replace Voulet and Chanoine with Lieutenant Colonel Klobb; the latter was killed close to

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 235,605 as by the 2012 census. It is situated east of the capital Niamey and north of the Nigerian city of Kano. History ...

by Voulet on 14 July 1899, and shortly after Voulet and Chanoine were killed by their troops, that recognized as commander Joalland, who was promoted to the rank of captain. Joalland left Zinder on 3 October, reaching, with 170 riflemen,

; hearing later that the Foureau–Lamy Mission, advancing from the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

, was close, he went up the east side of the lake, and met it on February. The two joint missions, under the command of Major Lamy of the Saharian Mission, now returned south to Joalland's base camp on the right bank of the

Chari River The Chari River, or Shari River, is a long river, flowing in Central Africa. It is the main source of water of Lake Chad, which is located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Geography The Chari River flows f ...

. On 21 April 1900 Joalland and Lamy encountered the Gentil Mission, that had been proceeding from the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

. The following day all the French forces united clashed with the greatest ruler in the region,

Rabih az-Zubayr Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah (; c. 1842 – April 22, 1900), also known as Rabih Fadlallah and usually known as Rabah in French, was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who established a powerful empire east of Lake Chad, in today's Chad. B ...

; the French triumphed, guaranteeing the conquest of the

Chad Basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered approximately on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is approximately coterminous with the sedimenta ...

. Before the end of the year, Joalland returned with his men back home, after having successfully completed the mission. In 1927 Joalland was given the honorary title of commander of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, the premier distinction in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Two years later he was nominated Brigadier General of

colonial troops Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various Military organization#Commands, formations, and units, military units Military recruitment, recruited from, or used as garrison troops in, colonial territories. Colonial background Such colonie ...

. He died on 28 September 1940.Web.genealogie
at web.genealogie.free.fr

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joalland 1870 births 1940 deaths French generals People of French West Africa