Barras, PiauÃ
The expression Barras called in the soldiers' language since about 1870, the army, the military, the Bundeswehr in Germany rare, as Barras was primarily used as a synonym for the Wehrmacht. In the expression for Barras to be called up for military service = Barras is specifically for military service.
The origin of the term is uncertain. It is believed that it was derived from the French statesman Count Paul François Jean Nicolas Vicomte de Barras ( 1755-1829 ). However, the expression in France itself is probably unknown. Conscription was new. Before the soldiers were recruited with premiums. For " Barras need " could therefore go back to him. He was at the time of the introduction of conscription (France was the first country in Europe) with four other one of the directors who presided over the Republic, and was in that body from 1797, the leading figure. Another explanation is a derivation from the Yiddish: there called " baras " a kind of flat bread, which served as food for the soldiers. An additional interpretation: the military would therefore be the place where one can earn his bread.
Today, the term especially in Bavarian, Franconian, Ruhr German, Swabian, Alemannic and used in Austria. These are countries and regions, have provided for the Grande Armée soldiers. In the war against Russia, more than half of the soldiers were ( over 300,000 ) not French.
Miscellaneous
In 2000, the British Special Air Service resulted in Sierra Leone through Operation Barras, during which a group of serving under the UN flag Royal Irish Rangers out of the hand was freed by rebels.