The origins of the current French Foreign Legion stem from the “Old” Foreign Legion (“Ancienne” Légion Etrangère), a unit created by the royal order of the French king in March 1831. However, its lineage is also far more complex.
France has a long history of using foreign volunteers—mainly the Swiss—in its military. The first Swiss units had served the French king since the late 15th century. In August 1792, during the French Revolution, a law allowed for the creation of a Free Foreign Legion (Légion Franche Etrangère). As a combined arms unit comprising infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers, the Legion was to consist of “foreigners only.” Later, during the Napoleonic Wars, tens of thousands of foreign volunteers served the French Empire until Napoleon’s defeat in 1815.
In September 1815, the Royal Foreign Legion (Légion Royale Etrangère) was established by King Louis XVIII of France. The Legion absorbed the Swiss and other foreign recruits from eight short-lived, recently disbanded foreign regiments. In 1816, the Royal Foreign Legion was redesignated as the Hohenlohe Legion. Five years later, in 1821, the Legion was once again retitled, becoming the Hohenlohe Regiment. The unit was commanded by Colonel Louis Aloysius, Prince of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein, a German prince who had served in the military since 1792. In addition, six Swiss regiments served within the French Army until their dissolution in August 1830.
Subsequently, foreigners couldn’t be admitted into the French Army. Following a January royal order, the Hohenlohe Regiment was disbanded in late February 1831. It was the last French Army unit consisting of foreigners. At the same time, its French or naturalized officers, NCOs, and soldiers formed the 21st Light Infantry Regiment. (In practice, the Hohenlohe Regiment was only renamed.) Non-naturalized foreigners had to leave the new unit and the Army—but not for long.
Having seen problems with dismissed foreign veterans and with several hundreds of foreign deserters asking for asylum in France, the French government had to react quickly. In early February, the first military depot for foreign deserters was established in northeastern France at Langres. Led by an officer of Italian origin, Major Sicco, the depot saw mainly German-speaking volunteers asking for military service in France.
On March 9, 1831, a new law was issued. Adopted by France’s Chamber of Deputies and signed by the king, this law enabled in France the potential establishment of a legion composed of foreigners. In French colonies, the new law permitted the potential establishment of units consisting of natives or foreigners.
The next day, March 10, following the issuance of the law, King Louis-Philippe I ordered the establishment of the Foreign Legion (Légion Etrangère). As the order prescribed, the new Legion would be composed of seven battalions divided into eight companies. Each company had to comprise men who were of the same nationality and who spoke the same language. Candidates had to be between 18 and 40 years old and be at least 155 cm tall (5 ft 1 inch). The Legion was to be stationed outside France, in Algeria (North Africa), where France had started a campaign in 1830.
The non-naturalized foreigners who had previously served with the Hohenlohe Regiment joined the new Foreign Legion. They were followed by volunteers from the depot in Langres.
The 1831 Legion, now called the Old Legion (Ancienne Légion), had served in Algeria before being dispatched from the French Army and handed over to Spain in late June 1835. Its approximately 4,100 legionnaires left Algeria for Spain in early August 1835 to fight in the First Carlist War for Maria Christina, Regent of Spain. In December 1838, the Spanish government officially disbanded the significantly reduced original “Old Legion.”
Meanwhile, in 1836, a new Foreign Legion was established in France by a December 1835 royal order of King Louis-Philippe I. It would again serve in Algeria. Three battalions of this Legion (now called the New Legion, or Nouvelle Légion) were formed in November 1836 and September and December 1837, respectively. The 1st Battalion under Major Bedeau moved to Algeria in December 1836. The Legion returned to North Africa after 16 months.
In early January 1839, 222 survivors (63 officers and 159 legionnaires) of the original “Old Legion” returned from Spain to France. At Pau (in the south of the country), they were dissolved on the 17th. Out of the 200+ survivors, 64 legionnaires decided to join the “New Legion” in Algeria.
Following the creation of the 2nd Foreign Legion (open to Swiss volunteers only and thus nicknamed the Swiss Legion) in January 1855, the “New” Foreign Legion became the 1st Foreign Legion. At the time, its men fought against the Russians in the Crimean War (1854-56).
In the summer of 1856, both Legions (each consisting of two regiments) were disbanded, and an interesting reorganization took place. Swiss legionnaires from the recent 2nd Legion formed the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE). Legionnaires from the long-serving 1st Legion formed the 2nd Foreign Regiment (now 2e REI). The reasons for this crosswise retitling could have stemmed from the long tradition of Swiss volunteers serving France.
The 1st Foreign Regiment (still nicknamed the Swiss Legion by legionnaires of the 2nd Regiment) was disbanded in 1862. Those legionnaires seeking to continue serving France merged with the 2nd Regiment, which became simply the Foreign Regiment (substituting the title for the Legion). This unit took part in the famed campaign in Mexico (1863-67), which, thanks to the heroic Battle of Camerone, gave the current Legion its character and ideology. In 1875, the Foreign Regiment was renamed to the Foreign Legion. Since that time, this Foreign Legion has never been disbanded or retitled. It still serves France today.
Because of this complex history, the very first “Father of the Legion” (Chief of the Foreign Legion), the renowned General Paul-Frédéric Rollet, decided to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Foreign Legion on Camerone Day (April 30) of 1931. This date marked the anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Camerone. The tradition was accepted and hasn’t changed since then.
Finally, in the 2010s, to mitigate problems with its complicated lineage, someone inside the Legion decided to replace March 10 (officially used as the birthdate of the Legion until the 2000s) with the neutral date of March 9 (the date of the law creating “a legion”).
However, the most important thing is that the Foreign Legion is still active. The world’s most unique military force has maintained a long tradition of providing brave foreign volunteers who are ready to fight and die for France. Vive la Légion!
| Royal Order of March 10, 1831 of King Louis Philippe I | |
|---|---|
| Art. 1 | A Legion composed of Foreigners will be formed. This Legion will be called Légion étrangère. |
| Il sera formé une Légion composée d’Étrangers. Cette Légion prendra la dénomination de Légion étrangère. | |
| Art. 2 | Foreign Legion battalions will have the same formation as French line infantry battalions, except that they will not have elite companies. As far as possible, each company will be made up of men from the same nation and speaking the same language. |
| Les bataillons de la Légion étrangère auront la formation que les Bataillons d’infanterie de ligne francaise, excepté qu’ils n’auront point de compagnie d’élite. Chaque compagnie sera, autant que possible, composée d’hommes de méme nation et parlant la méme langue. | |
| Art. 3 | The Foreign Legion will be assimilated to French regiments in terms of pay, mass and administration. The uniform will be blue with simple madder piping and the pants the same color; the buttons will be yellow and will bear the words Légion étrangère. |
| Pour la solde, les masses et son administration, la Légion étrangère sera assimilée aux régiments français. L’uniforme sera bleu avec le simple passepoil garance et le pantalon de même couleur, les boutons seront jaunes et porteront les mots Légion étrangère. | |
| Art. 4 | Any foreigner wishing to join the Foreign Legion can be admitted only after having made a voluntary commitment before a military sub-intendant. |
| Tout étranger qui voudra faire partie de la Légion étrangère ne pourra y être admis qu’après avoir contracté, devant un sous-intendant militaire, un engagement volontaire. | |
| Art. 5 | The duration of the contract will be a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years. |
| La durée de l’engagement sera de trois ans au moins et de cinq ans au plus. | |
| Art. 6 | To be accepted for enlistment, foreigners must be no more than forty years old, at least eighteen, and 1 meter and 55 centimeters tall. They must also carry 1) their birth certificate or other equivalent document; 2) a certificate of acceptance from the military authorities stating that they have the qualities required for good service. |
| Pour être reçus à s’engager, les étrangers devront n’avoir pas plus de quarante ans, et avoir au moins dix-huit ans accomplis, et la taille de 1 metre et 55 centimetres. Ils devront en outre être porteur 1) de leur acte de naissance ou de tout autre pièce équivalente; 2) d’un certificat d’acceptation de l’autorité militaire constatant qu’ils ont les qualités requises pour faire un bon service. | |
| Art. 7 | In the absence of such documents, the foreigner will be brought before the General Officer, who will decide whether the enlistment can be accepted. |
| En l’absence de pièces, l’Étranger sera envoyé devant l’Officier Général qui décidera si l’engagement peut être reçu. | |
| Art. 8 | Soldiers of the Foreign Legion may reenlist for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years. Re-enlistments will not entitle the soldiers to a high salary until they have completed five years’ service. |
| Les militaires faisant partie de la Légion étrangère se pourront rengager pour deux ans au moins et cinq ans au plus. Les rengagements ne donneront droit à une haute paie qu’autant que les militaires auront accompli cinq ans de service. | |
| Art. 9 | Our Minister Secretary of State for the War Department is responsible for the execution of the present order. |
| Notre Ministre Secrétaire d’État au Département de la Guerre est chargé de l’exécution de la présente ordonnance. | |
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Related article:
French Foreign Legion History