Second Foreign Legion – Swiss Legion

The Second Foreign Legion (also 2nd Foreign Legion, 2nd Legion, 2nd Foreign Brigade, or Swiss Legion) was a Swiss unit of the French army, created in France in early 1855 by Emperor Napoleon III. It was to take part in the Crimean War. However, the war ended earlier than expected. Therefore, in 1856, the Swiss Legion was transformed into the 1st Foreign Regiment and stationed in Algeria, North Africa. Distinguished by its green uniform, the regiment retained its Swiss character until 1859. That year marked the end of three hundred and fifty years of Swiss troops in the service of France.


L'article en français : Deuxième Légion Etrangère – Légion Suisse

2nd Foreign Legion - Swiss Legion - History

 

Introduction

In December 1848, Napoleon III (nephew of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815) became the first President of the French Republic. After his proclamation of the Empire in December 1852, he became the country’s last monarch and Emperor of the French. In 1854, to reduce Russian military power in the Black Sea and prevent Russia from threatening the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Napoleon III and Great Britain decided to intervene and attack the Russian naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea. The war began.

But the Crimean War needed men. The French and British governments had to find new volunteers, even abroad. Switzerland seemed ideal for both countries. The Emperor, who had lived in Switzerland for many years and served in its military, decided to renew the Swiss presence in the French army (abruptly interrupted in 1830) and create a Swiss brigade made up of two regiments. The British had the same idea. This led to the creation of two Swiss legions: one in France and the other in Great Britain.

However, France already had a Foreign Legion (well known since the conquest of Algeria in the 1830s and 1840s), which was fighting in Crimea at that time. The latter was therefore renamed the “First Foreign Legion”.

 

Second Foreign Legion: Creation

The Second Foreign Legion (Deuxième Légion Etrangère, also known as the Swiss Legion) was created in France by imperial decree of Napoleon III on January 17, 1855. It was to consist of two infantry regiments with two battalions of six companies each and, in addition to the regiments, a battalion of tirailleurs with ten companies. The tirailleurs (“skirmishers”) were a type of mobile light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns.

General Ulrich Ochsenbein took command of the 2nd Foreign Legion. A Swiss politician, former federal councillor and military officer, he was a close friend of the Emperor.

The depot of the 2nd Legion was set up in Besançon, eastern France, about 40 miles (60 km) from Switzerland. The majority of Swiss volunteers were recruited from the French-speaking cantons of this country of four national languages. The first recruits arrived in France in February.
 

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - General Ochsenbein
General Ulrich Ochsenbein, commanding officer of the Second Foreign Legion/Swiss Legion.

 

Second Foreign Legion: Units

The 1st Regiment of the Second Legion was organized in Dijon, west of Besançon, on March 26. It was commanded by Colonel Bonaventure Meyer. This Swiss-born officer had served in a Swiss regiment in France from 1820 to 1830. In 1831, he joined the “Old” Foreign Legion (1831-39) as a lieutenant and fought with it in Spain. In 1838, he was transferred to the “New” Foreign Legion (created in 1836) in Algeria, which became the 1st Foreign Legion by imperial decree on January 17, 1855. He retired as a major in 1851. He did not receive the rank of colonel until he joined the Swiss Legion.

The 2nd Regiment of the Second Legion was organized in Besançon on March 16. Two weeks later, the regiment moved northwest, to Langres. Colonel Marie de Granet-Lacroix de Chabrières took command. In 1843, this French officer joined the 2nd Regiment of the Foreign Legion (2e RLE) in Algeria. He served as a battalion commander until 1848, when he was discharged from the army.

At the end of May 1855, Colonel de Chabrières was sent to Crimea to take command of his former unit, the 2nd Regiment of the First Foreign Legion.

In return, the command of the 2nd Regiment of the Second Legion in Langres was given to Colonel Benoît de Caprez, a Swiss-born officer who had previously commanded the 2nd Regiment of the First Legion in Crimea. This colonel began his brilliant military career in 1816 as a second lieutenant in a Swiss regiment of the Royal Guard, an elite corps of the French army. In May 1831, he joined the “Old” Foreign Legion and fought with this unit in Spain. In 1837, he joined the “New” Foreign Legion in Algeria. He became commander of its 2nd Regiment in 1851.

The Skirmisher Battalion (Bataillon de tirailleurs) was organized in Auxonne, between Besançon and Dijon, on March 13. It was commanded by Major Lion, a French officer who had never served in the Legion.
 

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Regiment - Cravat
Cravat of the regimental color of the 1st Regiment, 2nd Foreign Legion.

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 2nd Regiment - Regimental Color
Regimental color of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Foreign Legion. On the reverse side, an inscription ValeurDiscipline. This Napoleonic motto was replaced on Foreign Legion flags in 1920 by Honneur – Fidélite.

 

Second Foreign Legion: Uniform

Regiments

The uniforms, weapons, and equipment of the Swiss Legion regiments were identical to those of the regiments of the First Foreign Legion. The only difference in the uniform of the 2nd Legion was the color of the cloth: the regulation dark blue was replaced by light green.

The bonnet (headgear, future képi) was made of dark red (garance) cloth for the turban and light green cloth for the stripe/ribbon. The front was decorated with the regimental number. Officers wore a green shako, a tall cylindrical military cap with a plume.

The tunic and jacket (this one reserved for the barracks only) were made of light green cloth. The buttons were stamped with the regimental number in the center and surrounded by the inscription “2e LEGION ETRANGERE”. Grenadiers (robust soldiers who led vanguard assaults) wore dark red epaulettes, while voltigeurs (sharpshooters and elite skirmishers) had yellow epaulettes. Riflemen (fusiliers) wore green epaulettes with a scarlet (bright red) neck/bezel. The greatcoat was made of bluish iron-gray cloth.

Pants were made of dark red cloth. At the barracks, Swiss legionnaires wore cream-colored canvas pants.

The men of the 2nd Legion regiments were equipped with the Mle 1822T infantry rifle and a sword bayonet.

 

Skirmisher Battalion

The legionnaires of the Skirmisher Battalion had the same armament and equipment as the French chasseurs à pied (“hunters”, light infantry trained to excel in marksmanship and rapid action tactics). The only difference was that the light green cloth replaced the dark blue.

Skirmishers wore a light green shako with a dark green plume. The tunic and jacket were made of light green cloth. The buttons were embossed with a hunting horn (the French chasseurs‘ insignia) in the center and surrounded by the inscription “2e LEGION ETRANGERE”. Their epaulettes were green with a yellow neck/bezel. Pants were made of bluish iron-gray cloth, with yellow piping. Skirmishers also wore a hunter-style belt with a special open-frame buckle and the blackened leather cartridge pouch of the chasseurs, as well as their bluish iron-grey capuchon (a shortened sleeveless hooded cape).

They were also equipped with the Mle 1822T infantry rifle and saber-bayonet.
 

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - Tirailleurs - Skirmishers
Tirailleurs (Skirmisher Battalion) of the 2nd Foreign Legion with their officer during an instruction in France. They wear green shako, light green tunic, and bluish iron-gray trousers tucked into jambières (leather gaiters). A contemporary watercolor by Adjudant Escher of the 2nd Legion. His paintings remain a very rare testimony depicting the French Swiss Legion.

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - Soldiers
Another watercolor by Adjudant Escher depicting the Swiss Legion. From left to right: musician, an NCO with skirmishers, vivandière (or cantinière, serving in French regiments as sutlers or canteen keepers), pioneer-sapper, captain, sergeant (with voltigeurs), and another captain.
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - Buttons
Buttons of the 2nd Foreign Legion/Swiss Legion. Left, that of the 1st Regiment. Right, that of the Skirmisher Battalion, with a hunting horn of French chasseurs. Painting by ADC Burda.
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - Skirmishers - Capuchon
Capuchon of the Skirmisher Battalion, 2nd Foreign Legion. A sleeveless coat of French chasseurs. Painting by ADC Burda.

 

Second Foreign Legion: Men

In principle, enlistment in the 2nd Legion was reserved for the Swiss. Many of them were young men; minors (under 21) accounted for thirty percent.

On the other hand, the regimental colonels recruited German shoemakers, tailors, and musicians as specialists for their workshops and bands. In addition, there were several French and Italians among the new legionnaires of the 2nd Legion.

Out of more than 130 NCOs, twenty-five were Frenchmen transferred from other corps and twelve Swiss arriving from the 1st Legion. Three or four NCOs were of other nationalities. The rest were selected from among the Swiss candidates.

The officers were also mostly Swiss (40 officers, including General Ochsenbein). Two-thirds of these Swiss officers belonged to noble families.

 

Second Foreign Legion: France, 1855-56

Still in France, the legionnaires of the Swiss Legion were busy organizing units in their garrisons, or with training and maneuvers.

From August 1855 onward, the monthly number of recruits dropped rapidly. By November, following the French successful assault of Fort Malakoff that resulted in the fall of Sevastopol, the Crimean War was practically over. That same month, there were only forty-nine new recruits. The enlistment bonus was raised from 30 to 50 francs. Unfortunately, it was too late to make a difference. Furthermore, the British Swiss Legion still paid its recruits 150 francs as a bonus.

At the beginning of January 1856, one year after its creation, the Second Foreign Legion still had very limited strength. The 1st Regiment comprised only seven companies, having raised all the six of the 1st Battalion and the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion. In the 2nd Regiment, four complete companies had been formed within the 1st Battalion, and cadre for the remaining 5th and 6th Companies, while the 2nd Battalion still existed only on paper. The Skirmisher Battalion managed to raise no more than three of the planned ten companies.

On March 30, 1856, the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Crimean War. At that time, the Second Legion consisted of only 58 officers and 1,170 men. Recruitment had not produced the results expected when the corps was created. An important reorganization was to follow.

A decree of April 16 therefore provided for the disbandment of the two French Foreign Legions. The Swiss legionnaires were sent 120 miles (around 190 km) to southwest the following month. There, at Camp Sathonay near Lyon, the 2nd Foreign Legion was ultimately disbanded on June 25, 1856.

General Ochsenbein was discharged. Seventeen Swiss officers resigned and received one year’s pay. The remaining officers and men, however, were ready to form a new unit.
 

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - Legionnaires - Garrisons - Map
Garrisons of the Second Foreign Legion in France. The main depot was based in Besançon. The 1st Regiment was stationed in Dijon, the 2nd Regiment in Langres. The Skirmisher Battalion was organized in Auxonne. In May 1856, the 2nd Legion moved to Camp Sathonay near Lyon and was disbanded there the following month.

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - Legionnaires - Garrison - Barracks
Swiss Legion regiments’ men at their barracks, by Adjudant Escher. From left to right: two fusiliers (riflemen) with green-red epaulettes and a bluish iron-grey capote (greatcoat); legionnaire wearing a garrison service uniform with cream-colored canvas pants; sergeant from the voltigeurs with yellow epaulettes; grenadier with red epaulettes on guard duty.
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - Lieutenant Bochatay
Lieutenant Bochatay of the Second Foreign Legion in one of the rare photos.

 

1st Foreign Regiment: Algeria, 1856-59

The decree of April 16 provided for the dissolution of the two Legions and the creation of two new foreign regiments. And so, the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE) was organized at Camp Sathonay on June 26, 1856, from the men of the former Swiss Legion, led by Colonel Bonaventure Meyer. The latter had previously commanded the 1st Regiment of this Legion.

Later, in Algeria, the older and more experienced 1st Legion was transformed into the 2nd Foreign Regiment (2e RE, now 2e REI), under the command of Colonel de Chabrières.

Why did the 2nd Legion become the 1st Foreign Regiment and not the 2nd? Because Napoleon III considered the Swiss Legion to be the heir and repository of the traditions of all the old Swiss formations that had served France prior to 1830, whereas the 1st Legion was only formed in 1831 (the Old Legion) or 1836, respectively.

The new 1st Foreign Regiment was still considered a Swiss unit. The regiment was made up of Swiss soldiers, and all Swiss recruits from the 1st Legion were assigned to it. It also retained the green uniform and all the distinctive attributes of the disbanded 2nd Legion.

The regiment consisted of two battalions with eight companies each; the former 1st Regiment constituted the 1st Battalion, the former 2nd Regiment the 2nd Battalion. The Skirmisher Battalion was transformed into two companies of chasseurs, which retained their equipment and uniforms (although the shako was replaced by a green kepi). Each company was assigned to one of the two battalions.

On July 6, 1856, the 1er RE, with a modest strength of 1,021 men, moved to Philippeville in Algeria (the town that would become the garrison of the 2e REP a century later), where it was reinforced in August by 600 men from the 2e RE (the former 1st Legion) returning from Crimea.

In June and July 1857, a task force of the regiment (around 600 men under Major Lion) took part in operations against rebels in Kabylia, a mountainous and forested region in northeastern Algeria. Subsequently, Swiss legionnaires began roadworks in Grande Kabylie (Great Kabylia), in the Bône, Sétif, and Bougie sectors.

In 1858, the 1st Foreign Regiment (still called the “Swiss Legion” by the men of the 2nd Regiment) began to lose its unique character. In April, its Swiss-born commanding officer, Colonel Meyer, retired. He was replaced by Colonel Dupin de Saint-André (captain with the 2e RLE in Algeria from 1847-52), then in August by Colonel Granchette, a Crimean veteran who had never served with the Legion. Finally, in November, Colonel Michel Breyer took command. A French officer, it was also his first experience with the Legion.
 

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - 1856-59 - Algeria - Map
In Algeria, the 1st Foreign Regiment (ex-2nd Foreign Legion) was stationed in Philippeville. From 1856 to 1859, its men took part in military operations and road construction work in the sectors of Bône, Sétif, and Bougie.

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - 1856-59 - Algeria - Chasseurs - Légionnaire
Legionnaire of the Chasseur Company, 1st Foreign Regiment (Hunters, ex-Skirmisher Battalion, 2nd Foreign Legion) in Algeria, around 1857. In Africa, the green shako was replaced by a green bonnet de police (future kepi). An original study of Major Brecht from the 1er RE (ex-2nd Legion).
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - 1856-59 - Algeria - Chasseurs - Clairon
Clairon (bugler) and a chasseur (in a uniform used for operations) with the Chasseur Company, 1st Foreign Regiment in Algeria, around 1857. A contemporary study of Major Brecht.
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - 1855-59 - Colonel Meyer
Colonel Meyer. A Swiss officer, he commanded the 1st Regiment, 2nd Foreign Legion in France from 1855-56, and the 1st Foreign Regiment (ex-Swiss Legion) in Algeria from 1856-58. Prior to 1830, Meyer served with a Swiss regiment, then with the “Old” Foreign Legion (1831-39) and, from 1838, with the “New” Foreign Legion (1836-56).
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - 1856 - Flag
Regimental color of the 1st Foreign Regiment (ex-Swiss Legion), received in December 1856.

 

1st Foreign Regiment: Italy and Algeria, 1859-62

By early 1859, most of the Swiss legionnaires had left the unit, their two- to three-year contracts having come to an end. The regiment was down to 500 men (at the same time, the operational strength of the 2e RE was 1,400 legionnaires).

Meanwhile, a new war broke out in Europe. This time in Italy, between France and Austria. In April 1859, the 1er RE left for Corsica to try to recruit Italians ready to fight alongside the French. However, the recruitment effort failed to produce any results.

In May, the regiment entered Italy and, in early June, its 480 men fought bravely at Magenta with their comrades-in-arms of the 2nd Foreign Regiment, under the command of Colonel de Chabrières. This former colonel of the 2nd Legion was killed there (today, the barracks of the 2e REI in Nîmes bear his name).

In August 1859, the 1er RE returned to Corsica. There, two months later, it learned that an imperial decree of October 14, 1859 had abolished the green uniform and all the distinctions of the former 2nd Legion. Following the decree, the 1st Foreign Regiment was given the same organization as the 2e RE. This marked the definitive end of the Swiss Legion.

The 1er RE remained in Corsica until February 1860. The regiment then returned to Philippeville and was finally disbanded two years later, in late February 1862. All that remained was the original Legion, the 2e RE, which became the Foreign Regiment.

With this regiment, several men of the former Swiss Legion took part in the Mexican campaign (1863-67). Among them were a certain Lieutenant de Diesbach-Torny, son of an officer of the Cent-Suisses (elite company in the service of the King of France), and Lieutenant Trog, brother-in-law of Colonel Meyer. Trog joined the 2nd Legion at the age of twenty-one; he retired from the French army in 1894 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
 

2e RE - 2 RE - 2nd Foreign Regiment - Foreign Legion - Battle of Magenta - 1859 - Colonel de Chabrieres
Battle of Magenta in Italy (June 4, 1859) and the death of Colonel Granet-Lacroix de Chabrières of the 2e RE (now 2e REI). He was among the first officers to join the Second Foreign Legion in 1855 and the first commander of its 2nd Regiment. Watercolor by P. Benigni.

Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - 1858-59 - Colonel Brayer
Colonel Brayer. Commanding officer of the 1st Foreign Regiment (ex-Swiss Legion) in Algeria from 1858-59. He had never served in the Legion before.
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - Lieutenant de Diesbach
Lieutenant Gabriel de Diesbach de Torny in Mexico in the 1860s, as an officer of the Foreign Regiment. He came from a Swiss noble family with a long military tradition in the French army (e.g. Régiment de Diesbach in the 18th century). He joined the 2nd Legion in April 1855 and served until 1866.
Second Foreign Legion - 2nd Legion - Swiss Legion - 1st Foreign Regiment - Johann Eduard Torg
Major Torg. A Swiss citizen, Johann E. Torg joined the 2nd Legion in June 1855 as a simple soldier, at the age of 21. He served with the 1st Regiment of his brother-in-law, Colonel Meyer. Second Lieutenant in 1857, Torg served with the legionnaires until 1867, in Algeria, Italy, and Mexico. He retired from the French army as lieutenant colonel in 1894.

 

Conclusion

For the Crimean War (1854-56), France and Great Britain sought Swiss volunteers for their Swiss Legions. In terms of recruitment and organization, the British Legion was the most successful. In contrast, the French Swiss Legion was intended to be a traditional formation, following in the footsteps of the Swiss troops who served France from 1481 to 1830. However, the British recruitment bonus was five times higher than that of the French, and the Swiss still remembered how they were treated during the 1830 revolution in France. So it’s hardly surprising that recruitment didn’t work out as Emperor Napoleon III had hoped.

Moreover, the Crimean War ended earlier than expected and the two Swiss Legions did not take part. Colonel Dickson’s 3,300-strong Swiss Legion in Britain was disbanded in May 1856 (the disbandment lasted until October), while the French Swiss Legion was transformed into a foreign regiment in June 1856 and retained its Swiss character until October 1859. That same month, Swiss federal law prohibited Swiss citizens from serving in foreign armies. Thus ended three hundred and fifty years of Swiss presence in the French army.

Symbolically interesting is the green beret which, one hundred years later, around October 1959, became the official headgear of the entire Foreign Legion. It recalls the distinctive green color of the Swiss legionnaires, now forgotten, and the green kepi of their elite units…

 

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Main information & images sources:
Képi blanc magazines
LCL Henry Dutailly: La 2ème Légion Etrangère (Képi blanc, 1975)
Raymond Guyader: Le légionnaire suisse 1855-1859 (Uniformes, 1983)
Gén. Grisot, Ltn Coulombon: Légion étrangère 1831 à 1887 (Berger-Levrault, 1888)
Evelyne Maradan: La Légion suisse au service de la France (Revue Militaire Suisse, 1989)
P. Cart-Tanneur, Tibor Szecsko: La vieille garde (Editions B.I.P., 1987)
Raymond Guyader: La Légion Etrangère 1831/1945 (Gazette des Uniformes, 1997)
Adolf Merz: Johann Eduard Trog (Oltner Neujahrsblätter, 1960)
Google Maps
Wikipedia.org

 
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The page was updated on: January 18, 2025

 

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