DESERT PIONEER

In the early years of the 20th Century, crossing the Sahara Desert was achievable, but incredibly time consuming. The sole mode of transport available was the camel, which took around six months to complete the 3,000+km journey from north to south, with the meandering route determined by the proximity of wells and oases that dotted the region.

France’s colonial possessions in Africa back then covered both ends of the desert – Algeria in the north and French Sudan and French West Africa (now Mali, Burkina Faso, Upper Volta and the Ivory Coast) in the south. Linking the two required a journey by ship around the Atlantic coast, or the aforementioned camel train. Both were long and arduous.

A rail link across the desert was considered possible, but such a link wasn’t felt necessary until World War I, when the demand for natural resources became urgent. When the war ended, the idea didn’t, leading to one of the great expeditions of the age.