The Armée d’Afrique was formally part of the French metropolitan army comprising a separate army corps. It is noted that in 1873 the term Armée d'Afrique was used with reference to the troops of the 19th Army Corps (19e Corps d'Armée).[6]It was one of 21 army corps of the Metropolitan Army formed in 1870.[7] It was the only corps whose military district did not cover mainland France.[8] As such it was separate from the French Colonial Forces which came under the Ministry of Marine and comprised both French and indigenous units serving in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere in the French colonial empire.