French Equatorial Africa

French Equatorial Africa was a confederation of French colonies in the central part of Africa, from the late 1800's until shortly before full independence from France in 1960. The four colonies are now the modern-day nations of Gabon, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Chad (Chad did not join the confederation until 1920). Gabon and Congo are primarily covered by rain forest, while the Central African Republic area is mostly savannah and Chad is mostly covered by desert.

French Equatorial Africa was not a battleground during World War I, though French and Belgian-French forces attacked the German colony of Cameroon from the French colonies.

In late 1916 or early 1917, a Belgian military expedition led by Major Boucher and Henri Defense (Indiana Jones) entered the territory from the Belgian Congo and reached Franceville on foot. Their mission was to reach Cape Lopez to retrieve a shipment of Belgian arms that had run aground near there, and return with their weapons to German East Africa to help in the taking of Tabora. In Franceville, the expedition chartered the Collette under Zachariah Sloat and took it to Port-Gentil (passing Lambarene), but sustained additional casualties along the way, though the group was saved by an Ubangi orphan that Sergeant Barthelemy had rescued. At Port-Gentil, with Major Boucher's succumbing to tropical disease, Defense took over the mission, and received the shipment of arms from Colonel Pernod.

On the return trip in January 1917, the crew fell ill and the ship was captured by Joseph, who worked for Albert Schweitzer. Initially distrustful of the German doctor, Jones later realized that Schweitzer was no enemy, but a savior of human life. Jones and Schweitzer used the boat to reach a Pahouin village to save the chief's son, and Jones learned about Schweitzer's philosophy. Returning to Lambarene, Schweitzer and his wife were arrested by French troops under Emile Rostand for deportation back to Germany. Despite Jones' and Remy Baudouin's pleas, the French military forced the German nationals out of French lands. With news that Tabora had already fallen, Jones and Baudouin were re-assigned to escort the weapons back to Europe.

Locations Within French Equatorial Africa

 * Gabon
 * Cape Lopez
 * Port-Gentil
 * Ogowe River basin
 * Lambarene
 * Pahouin village
 * Franceville

Notable French Equatorial Africans

 * Colonel Pernod (French)
 * Captain Emile Rostand (French)
 * Albert Schweitzer (German)
 * Helene Schweitzer (German)
 * Joseph
 * Zachariah Sloat
 * Dutchman
 * Pahouin Chief
 * Pahouin Chief's Son

Appearances

 * The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
 * "German East Africa, December 1916" Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life
 * "Congo, January 1917" Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life
 * Comic Adaptation of "German East Africa, December 1916"
 * ''Comic Adaptation of "Congo, January 1917"