DOCUMENTS: 1948 Cartoon Chronicle of Basic Training | French Foreign Legion Information

This is another contribution to our DOCUMENTS series. Discover an exceptional cartoon booklet that humorously portrays the journey of Foreign Legion recruits toward deployment in the First Indochina War in the late 1940s.

The humorous cartoon booklet was officially published by the 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment (1er REI; now 1er RE) in Algeria, French North Africa, in 1949. The illustrations, however, depict scenes from basic training conducted a year earlier, in 1948, at the Instruction Battalion, Foreign Regiments Joint Depot (DCRE) in Saïda, western Algeria. This illustrated military satire vividly portrays the path of aspiring legionnaires — from the initial recruitment and selection process, through the stages of basic training, to the final preparations for deployment. At that time, the Legion was engaged in the third year of the First Indochina War against the Viet Minh.

The talented author of the drawings was then-Captain Jean Hallo, who combined rare artistic expression with military observation, and whose extensive service experience helped him to acquire the sense of irony and insight needed to create his authentic, memorable illustrations for this booklet. A graduate of the prestigious Saint-Cyr military academy in 1939, Hallo chose to join the French Foreign Legion at the outbreak of World War II and was assigned to Saïda as a training officer for fresh recruits. Between 1941 and 1943, he served with the 4th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (4e DBLE) in Senegal, and subsequently fought in the campaign against German forces in Tunisia. In 1944, he participated in the liberation of France and the final operations in Germany until the end of the war in May 1945. From 1946 to 1948, Hallo served in Indochina.

In the years that followed, he again saw action in Indochina and later in the Algerian War. Hallo left the Legion in 1960 but remained closely connected to it throughout his life. In 1994, he published Monsieur Légionnaire, a heartfelt tribute to the men of the Legion. Born in 1915, General Jean Hallo passed away in 2000 at the age of 85.

Approximately 40 illustrations appeared in the booklet; below is a selection of the most interesting ones. Click on the images to enlarge them: