100 years ago, on September 17, 1925, the Foreign Legion held a Syrian village against thousands of Druze fighters during the Great Syrian Revolt. Their costly but decisive stand became the first major French victory of the conflict and one of the defining moments in the Legion’s history in the French Levant (Syria, Lebanon).
95 years ago: A bloody clash in southeastern Morocco
95 years ago, on August 31, 1930, a small French Foreign Legion unit found itself surrounded by thousands of tribal fighters in a semi-desert land of southeastern Morocco. Outnumbered and abandoned by most of their auxiliaries, fewer than 200 legionnaires fought for hours against overwhelming odds…
Read more95 years ago: A bloody clash in southeastern Morocco
PHOTOS: Foreign Legion Saharan Battery from 1939 to 1942
The latest part in our series on interesting photographs presents an exceptionally rare collection depicting members of the first officially established Saharan unit of the French Foreign Legion, spanning from mid-1939 to the weeks following the Allied landings in North Africa in late 1942. These images include the only publicly known photographs of a Foreign Legion Saharan unit taken before the Second World War.
Read morePHOTOS: Foreign Legion Saharan Battery from 1939 to 1942
25 years ago: Tragic accident involving Foreign Legion recruits in August 2000
25 years ago, on August 7, 2000, a tragic accident occurred near Castelnaudary, France, when a truck carrying recruits from the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE), the school of the French Foreign Legion, left the road and crashed into a tree.
Read more25 years ago: Tragic accident involving Foreign Legion recruits in August 2000
PHOTOS: Golden Age of Foreign Legion Veterans’ Handcrafted Products (1975–1992)
A new part of the PHOTOS series. Today, we explore the now-discontinued products from the workshops of the Foreign Legion Institution for Disabled Veterans (IILE), which were prominently showcased in vibrant, regular color advertisements in Képi Blanc, the French Foreign Legion’s magazine, from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s.
Read morePHOTOS: Golden Age of Foreign Legion Veterans’ Handcrafted Products (1975–1992)
70 years ago: A large center for Foreign Legion disabled veterans was completed
In May 1955, a large semicircular building in southern France, containing 200 beds and modern medical and support facilities, was completed and inaugurated. It opened to wounded legionnaires as a center for their professional and social reintegration. As the Legion’s needs evolved after the 1950s, the institution adapted to new challenges, housing older, often solitary individuals facing personal hardships.
Read more70 years ago: A large center for Foreign Legion disabled veterans was completed
80 years ago: Second World War ended for legionnaires in Europe
Between 1939 and 1945, the French Foreign Legion men saw nearly every front of the Second World War – from Norway and France to North Africa, the Middle East, Italy, mainland Europe, and the jungles of Indochina. They fought under both Vichy and Free French command in some of the war’s most challenging campaigns. Our new article traces the Legion’s complex role during the war, its internal transformations, battlefield engagements, and the legacy it carried into the postwar world.
Read more80 years ago: Second World War ended for legionnaires in Europe
Colonel Raphaël Vienot (1804 – 1855)
Colonel Raphaël Vienot was a distinguished French officer who concluded his military career as a colonel in the French Foreign Legion during the Crimean War. One of the Legion’s most important figures in history, Vienot became renowned not only for his leadership abilities but also for the bravery and dedication he demonstrated in service to France, ultimately sacrificing his life during the night assault of May 1–2, 1855.
110 years ago: French Foreign Legionnaires in Southeastern Europe during World War I
In early March 1915, a battalion of the French Foreign Legion was formed in Algeria to participate in the Allied campaigns in Southeastern Europe, including engagements in Gallipoli, Serbia, Greece, and Macedonia. Discover the harrowing journey of these nearly forgotten men, whose odyssey ultimately led them to Odessa, in what is now Ukraine…
Read more110 years ago: French Foreign Legionnaires in Southeastern Europe during World War I
85 years ago: Foreign Legion regiment was constituted in France
85 years ago, on February 25, 1940, a Foreign Legion regiment was constituted in France. Its task was to defend the country against Nazi Germany during the first stage of the Second World War. A few weeks after its constitution, the men were heading for combat.
Read more85 years ago: Foreign Legion regiment was constituted in France
PHOTOS: 1st Battalion 2e REI in Vietnam’s Faifo around 1950
Another part of the PHOTOS series. See a small set of nice pictures taken in French Indochina’s Vietnam from 1950 to early 1951, during the First Indochina War (1946-1954). These few photographs belonged to a German legionnaire serving with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) there at the time.
Read morePHOTOS: 1st Battalion 2e REI in Vietnam’s Faifo around 1950