 | It has been suggested that this article should be split into a new article titled Flatters expedition. (discuss) (July 2023) |
Paul Flatters | |
|---|---|
 Flatters around 1880 | |
| Born | Paul-François-Xavier Flatters 16 September 1832 Paris, France |
| Died | 16 February 1881 (aged 48) |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Soldier |
Paul Flatters (16 September 1832 – 16 February 1881) was a French soldier who spent a long period as a military administrator in Algeria. He is known as leader of the Flatters expedition, an ill-fated attempt to explore the route of a proposed Trans-Saharan railway from Algeria to the Sudan. Almost all members of the expedition were massacred by hostile Tuaregs. The survivors resorted to eating grass and to cannibalism on the long retreat through the desert. After a brief outburst of public indignation the fiasco was forgotten.