I have often noticed that when the discussion of World War I and World War II comes about, the dominant narratives center around the battles in Europe, the Pacific, and North Africa, along with the heroism of Western powers such as the united States, Britain, and the Soviet Union. However, an essential part of these wars remains largely ignored: the role played by Sub-Saharan Africans. It is estimated that over one million Africans were engaged in various capacities during WWII alone but both despite their sacrifices, they have been written out of mainstream history, forgotten by both Western and the African educational systems. This neglect does not only dishonour those who fought, bleed and died for a conflict that found it’s origins Europe but it also deemphasizes Africa’s role in it.
At the onset of World War I, nearly all of Africa was under colonial rule, so no wonder the European powers turned to their colonies for soldiers as well as labourers. Britain, France, Belgium, and Germany recruited African troops, while some voluntarily went, the majority were enlisted through forced conscription. These men were deployed to battlefields in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and within Africa itself. The East African Campaign was a particularly brutal theater where African soldiers, along with thousands of forced labourers to fight in harsh conditions, or offer support in a variety of ways, such as porters, cooks and so on, against the German colonial army. West African soldiers also played a role in the war, with French forces deploying the Tirailleurs Sénégalais to fight on the Western Front.
Beyond combat roles, African contributions extended to grueling manual labour. The Carrier Corps, made up of African porters, transported supplies, weapons, and rations across difficult terrains. The scale of this forced labour was staggering, with over a million Africans were drafted specifically for these duties, often subjected to starvation, disease, and exhaustion. Without them, European armies in Africa would have struggled to maintain their campaigns like the Tanganyika Campaign of WWI and the East African Campaign of WWII, where a variety of reasons such as: the lack of infrastructure, the difficult terrain as well as the cost effectiveness of it all. However, when we look at these battles in posterity, the heroics and valiance of the Europeans outshines the support the Africans offered.
As the outbreak of World War II, the demand for African soldiers and labourers surged even further. Britain, France, and Belgium once again conscripted Africans, and by the war’s end, hundreds of thousands had served on multiple fronts. With the West African and East African troops playing significant roles in the Burma Campaign, where they endured the brutality of jungle warfare against the formidable Japanese forces. These soldiers, were mostly drawn from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and other colonies.
In North Africa, African troops served under British and Free French forces in battles against Germany’s Field Marshal Rommel. Meanwhile, African colonies supplied essential war materials such as rubber, oil, and minerals, which kept the Allied war machine operational. Despite these contributions, African soldiers still faced systemic discrimination. They were paid far less than their European counterparts, given inferior equipment, and treated as expendable. Many were promised rewards and recognition after the war, yet those promises were largely broken and in some cases, African veterans who tried to speak up were met with violence. The most famous of such incident was the Thiaroye massacre of December 1st, 1944 where French forces opened fire on soldiers from the Tirailleurs Senegalais, who were protesting poor conditions and defaulted pay. Another such example occurred four years later, in Ghana (then Gold-Coast), was the 1948 massacre of ex-soldiers, where British authorities opened fire on unarmed veterans protesting for their rightful benefits.
Despite their sacrifices, African contributions to the World Wars remain largely absent from historical records, from both Western and African narratives. African school curricula focuses heavily on the colonialism and independence struggles, they tend to offer little on African involvement in global conflicts. While Western history books, in turn, emphasize the roles of Allied and Axis powers while overlooking the contributions of African soldiers. And unlike their European counterparts, many African soldiers have not been immortalized or honoured with war memorials and such, while the names of many remain missing from the historical record.
One of the key reasons for this erasure is the Eurocentric framing of history. The World Wars are often depicted as conflicts between major powers, with little attention given to the colonies that provided vital support. Many European governments had no interest in acknowledging African contributions, as doing so would have strengthened anti-colonial sentiments. The colonial administration deliberately downplayed Africa’s role, ensuring that its people remained politically subdued. At the same time, African scholarship has done little to correct this narrative. Few academic studies focus on the role of African soldiers, and African historians have not pushed for this history to be included in national education systems.
However, there is growing interest in documenting these forgotten contributions, and some efforts are being made to preserve oral histories and recognize the sacrifices of African veterans. The failure to acknowledge Africa’s role in these wars is not just a historical oversight, it is a disservice to the continent’s identity and legacy. This history must be reclaimed and integrated into educational curricula, both in Africa and the West. Schools should teach about the African divisions that fought in Burma, the porters who carried the war on their backs, and the countless unnamed heroes who never returned home.
Honouring these soldiers is not just about historical accuracy; it is about justice and African pride. African governments must take responsibility for recognizing their veterans as well as their part in the world wars, whether by building memorials, preserving their stories, or ensuring their families receive proper recognition. The world wars were not just European conflicts, they were global struggles as the name suggests, and since the African continent paid its share in blood and sweat, history must reflected that
Written By : Kuranen ‘Kronichles’ Aminde
