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The Voulet–Chanoine Mission or Central African-Chad Mission ((フランス語:mission Afrique Centrale-Tchad)) 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 with two other expeditions, the Foureau-Lamy and Gentil missions, which advanced from Algeria and Middle Congo respectively. With the death of the Muslim warlord Rabih az-Zubayr, the greatest ruler in the region, and the creation of the Military Territory of Chad in 1900, the Voulet–Chanoine Mission had accomplished all its goals. However, this success followed numerous misadventures, including the refusal of the expedition commander and his second-in-command to follow orders from France, and their subsequent murder at the hands of their soldiers. In the end, only one of the nine Europeans leading the mission, Paul Joalland, was to reach Chad. ==Structure and directives== The Voulet–Chanoine Mission to Lake Chad set out from Dakar in November 1898, moving through French Sudan (modern Mali). It was composed of 50 Senegalese Tirailleurs, 20 spahis (both units recruited in West Africa) and 30 interpreters, but the bulk was formed by 400 auxiliaries and 800 porters that were pressed into service. The force was directed by nine European officers, the two commanders, the artillery expert lieutenant Paul Joalland, Lt. Louis Peteau, Marine-Lt. Marc Pallier, the medical officer Dr. Henric and three NCOs. The expedition was fully armed with artillery, machine guns, hundreds of rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition. In command were captain Paul Voulet and his adjutant Lt. Julien Chanoine. The captain, a 32-year-old son of a doctor, was said by his officer colleagues to mix "a true love of blood and cruelty coupled with a sometimes foolish sensitivity"; while the lieutenant, son of the general and future War Minister Charles Chanoine, was judged impulsive, ruthless and "cruel out of cold-bloodedness as well as for pleasure". Both had already proved their ruthlessness and efficiency two years before, when they invaded the Mossi Kingdoms and conquered its capital Ouagadougou.〔S. Lindqvist, ''Exterminate All the Brutes'', p. 163〕 The mission was the brainchild of Voulet, who saw it as a means to further his career. He actively sought support from French politicians, which was difficult to obtain because conflicts divided and preoccupied the Minister of Colonies André Lebon and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabriel Hanotaux. The political crisis of the Dreyfus Affair also consumed the attention of French politicians, making it even more difficult for Voulet to be heard. In spite of these obstacles, he successfully obtained approval for his project, with the help of his adjutant Chanoine. The four months of delay in the start of the mission—and the very limited funds granted—had dire consequences for the future. Voulet completely ignored the local hierarchies and took liberties with the orders he received, which were anyway very vague—he was only asked to explore the territory between the Niger and lake Chad, and put the area "under French protection". The Minister of Colonies merely said, "I don't pretend to be able to give you any instructions on which route to choose or how you are to behave towards the native chieftains". In the opinion of the British historian G. Regan, this meant "giving ''carte blanche'' to two known psychopaths in uniform", especially considering Voulet had already told the governor of French Sudan that he meant to crush any resistance by burning villages.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Voulet–Chanoine Mission」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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