Exhibition Soldiers at play – Part3: Sport and excellence in the armed forces
Rugby and international military competitions
Rugby was introduced to France by British sailors and spread from the 1870s onwards. On the front, the game was encouraged by the French army to promote physical and mental toughness. It offered combat experience and accustomed men to confrontation and pain. The game was therefore seen as good training for soldiers. However, the troops preferred football during their breaks, as the violence of the scrums could be a reminder of the battlefield. Little by little, the game lost ground because of the loss of many young players from the major clubs and the French national team, and a committee was even set up to preserve it. At the start of 1916, it was international competitions that gave rugby a new lease of life in France. Rugby was the New Zealander’s sport of predilection, but was also very popular with the British and Australians. At the rear and on the front, the context was conducive to inter-allied play, helping the French perfect their game and sharpen their competitive spirit. They discovered the rapture of stadiums during spectacular matches between New Zealand and Australia. The All Blacks and their famous haka already drew in crowds during their European tours. On 8 April 1917, the French military team faced the All Blacks for the first time at the Parc des Princes stadium. The French Rugby Federation was founded two years later.
Inter-allied games
Since the first Inter-Allied Games organized during the First World War, sporting events have helped maintain fraternal ties between victorious armies, asserting their strategic position as victors in the world. The next games would take place only in 1945, in Rome, then in 1946, in Berlin. Team sports matches were organized, alongside individual sports such as athletics and boxing aimed at showcasing champions. They were an opportunity for civilian and military spectators to meet at an event both patriotic and entertaining. The image here shows another sports event during the Allied occupation of Berlin, just months after Germany’s capitulation. After so many years of war, sport was a new means of mobilizing soldiers behind the flag and maintaining their competitive spirit and fitness – but in a peaceful setting. Moreover, the use of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, a key showcase of Nazism, was another symbol of the physical strength and moral fibre of the victorious armies.
Swimming in the armed forces
Since the 19th century, learning to swim has been recommended in military spheres. As infantry captain Viscount de Courtivron explained in his 1823 treatise On Swimming and its Application to the Art of War, the ability to swim is a definite advantage when it comes to progressing, advancing or fleeing during a battle. Fifty-three years later, a decree made the teaching of swimming compulsory in schools and in the forces. This policy may explain why barracks, particularly those in colonial territories with a Mediterranean climate, had modern infrastructure and open-air swimming pools. In Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, soldiers’ everyday life involved long periods of waiting between manoeuvres. The organization of sporting competitions within the barracks itself was a means of holding regular festive events where the local civilian population would mingle with the troops. These encounters were also a means for the army to assert its presence in these territories.
Rehabilitation of the wounded through sport
Before 1914, there were few facilities in France that offered sports for people with disabilities. The Great War was a turning point in this respect, with 4 million French soldiers wounded. Starting from 1916, the Joinville academy was responsible for using gymnastics to rehabilitate as many recovering soldiers as possible. Some of the wounded men were sent to physiotherapy and training centres. After the war, several athletes stood out as examples, like runner Joseph Guillemot and boxer Eugène Criqui. The former suffered lung atrophy, while the latter’s face was disfigured; but both earned their places as champions thanks to exceptional determination. They confirmed that the drive for physical excellence restores the body and confidence. On 4 June 1922, two French and Belgian football teams, made up of deaf players, faced off in Paris, in the first official international competition for players with disabilities. Other initiatives followed, laying the foundations of parasports, like the “Stoke Mandeville Games” in 1948, which are seen as the forerunner of the Paralympic Games and Invictus Games. The former are open to all, while the latter are reserved for military and civilian forces personnel. These two events continue to offer the athletes concerned an opportunity to excel and earn their places as champions.
