The 1931 "notice sur les Officiers Interprètes" by the unit's commander Abribat (a notice largely inspired by the 1876 "Les Interprètes de l’Armée d’ Afrique" by Laurent-Charles Feraud) began: Conquerors have always been surrounded by interpreters, a necessity to keep their operations moving, but it took Bonaparte to formalise the military interpreter's role and function.