Since 1831, the French Legionnaires have made history on the battlefield. Here are three pivotal battles the French Foreign Legion has fought that have changed the course of the world forever.
The Battle of Solferino in 1850 during the Italian Campaign
The Battle of Solferino was a decisive engagement in the Second Italian War of Independence, a crucial step in the nationalist struggle to unify Italy. The French Army, led by Napoleon III supported the Sardinian troops of Victor Emmanuel against the Austrian Army of Emperor Franz Joseph I.
In the context of separatist movements to gain independence, the Italian Risorgimento inspired many people from all over Europe to establish nation-States.
Considered one of the best armies in the world at the time, the French Army suffered from poor organization and was not even able to number its troops properly. But that didn’t prevent them from winning the battle, which was particularly bloody and resulted in a total of 2,492 killed, 12,512 wounded for the Allies, more on the Austrian side.
The ‘zouaves’, led by Col. Signorino were critical in securing positions for the army led by Mar. McMahon while the Austrians were marching towards Castiglione. They showed great bravery and ended up fighting using bayonets. The Foreign Legion was especially remarkable during the fights: only 6 soldiers died and 38 got wounded, an incredibly small number compared to the overall loss. As a result of this battle, Henri Dunant decided to address the atrocities of the war by forming the Red Cross, a neutral group of doctors who would provide care for the wounded soldiers regardless of their origin.
The Battle of Camarone in 1863 during the Mexican War
This is probably the most famous battle the Foreign Legion fought and most certainly one that put them on the map. In this heroic mission, 63 soldiers from the Legion, led by Capt. Jean Danjou, resisted for over a day the assault of 2,000 Mexican troops. Besieged in a building of a hacienda of the village of Camaron, they fought fiercely even after Danjou was eventually killed. They fought as if possessed, shouting ‘Vive La France’ during the attacks.
With ammunitions and food dwindling, only six men survived – but they didn’t surrender. They engaged the Mexicans, led by Col. Milan, in hand to hand combat and eventually got captured. The Legionnaires, now led by the senior surviving NCO Corp. Maine, firmly negotiated the terms of their defeat with Col. Milan, who gave in to everything, allegedly claiming: ‘What can I refuse such me? No, they are not men, they are devils.’
With it began the Legend: ‘The Legion dies, it does not surrender’. To this day, ‘faire Camerone’ is still used in the Legion to instill courage and thurst for victory. The Legionnaires remember this incredible battle and celebrate April 30 as ‘Camerone Day’, notably by reading the ‘Camerone Story’ in honor of the troops who died in combat.
The Bir Hakeim Battle in 1942 during World War II
This is probably one of the most epic battles of the Second World War. The French were in dire need of a victory, largely to revive the morals of the resistant army and to delegitimize cooperation with the Vichy regime. At Bir Hakheim, the French Resistance, supported by the Legion, brought honor back to France.
The 2nd and 3rd Demi Brigade of the 13th Regiment of the French Legion was instrumental in this decisive victory against the Nazi regime on Libyan territory. Led by Lt.-Col. Dimitri Amilakhvari, a French military officer of noble Georgian origins and an active resistant, the Legionnaires successfully delayed the German and Italian troops’ progress in North Africa. This was used to show the world that France was still a glorious nation in spite of the 1940 defeat.
In the middle of the Bir-Hakeim battle, Lt.-Col. Amilakhvari wrote: “We, foreigners, have only one way to prove to France our gratitude: to be killed”. He survived, and was made a Companion of the Liberation, a decoration second only to the Légion d’honneur. He died in combat in October 1942 during the Second Battle of El Alamein and was decorated posthumously in 1955 as Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by Charles de Gaulle.
