50 years ago, on May 24, 1976, a helicopter transporting Foreign Legion elements crashed during a military exercise in the Horn of Africa. Six legionnaires died immediately; another two died from their injuries later. At the time, this was the deadliest day for the Legion since the end of the Algerian War in 1962. Although largely forgotten today, even in France, this sad event and its victims should be remembered.
45 years ago: The last operational battalion of the Foreign Legion was disbanded
In 1969, the legionnaires deployed to Chad in Central Africa to carry out their first combat action since 1962, when the Algerian War ended. The events in Chad demonstrated that in the new post-colonial era and with a dramatically reduced army, France still needed forces capable of intervening rapidly everywhere around the world. And that the considerable downsizing the Foreign Legion after the war in Algeria was not the best idea. Thus, a new operational force consisting of legionnaires would be created in 1971 and serve until 1977…
Read more45 years ago: The last operational battalion of the Foreign Legion was disbanded