There were Zouave units in the French army from 1830 to 1962. They were some of the most decorated units in the army. During WWII, German soldiers in Italy were appalled when knife weilding Berber tribesmen who had infiltrated through ‘impassible’ mountains came howling out of the dark. Because of their unbridled sexual appetites, their women accompanied them. American troops called them ‘Gomers’ a corruption of their real name. Apparently, the only difference in appearance between men & women was the lack of a beard. Both habitually wore their boots hung around their necks when on the march. They were people that gave Zouave its military reputation.
Zouave was a corruption of Zawar, the region from which Berber tribesmen were first recruited by the French. The Ottomans had made use of them for generations.