The French Foreign Legion is among the most recognisable military branches in the world.
That's probably because its legionnaires come from at least 140 different countries. The Legion
is a part of the French Armed Forces, though it doesn't swear its allegiance to France,
only itself. The Legion has existed for less than a decade shy of 200 years and had fought
all manner of fights prior to the Second World War, throughout which it saw action in multiple
theatres and even faced off against itself at one point. In this video, we provide an
overview of the French Foreign Legion's movements throughout the bloodiest war in human history.
Even before the rise of the Nazi Party in 1933, the French Foreign Legion had its
fair share of German members. As the decade went on, more and more Germans signed up,
and the Nazis kicked up a fuss, accusing the Legion of brainwashing them into doing so.
The Nazis even burned books that so much as gave mention to the Legion. It didn't seem to work,
however. The Legion's ranks kept filling up until 50% of its privates and 21% of its NCOs
were German . As you might have guessed, this was a ploy. The German intelligence organisation the
Abwehr were behind it. They wanted to dilute and then seize control of the Legion in anticipation
of the German invasion of France that was to come. Simultaneously, Spaniards fleeing
their country after the civil war and Jews fleeing Europe were signing on as legionnaires.
After Germany invaded Poland, Poles and Czechs were added to the mix,
and the Legion was beginning to sweat. Germany had shown its hand, and the Legion's ranks were
filled with Germans. To combat this, the Legion sent as many Germans as they could
out of France to Legion outposts in North Africa. Out of sight, out of mind—sort of.
It's also important to note that the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment had been stationed in Syria
since October 1939, while the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment had been in French Indochina since 1930.
Of course, not every German legionnaire was an Abwehr implant. Along with non-German
legionnaires, there were many Legion-loyal Germans In North Africa who were getting antsy about this
whole World War II thing. It was killing-time, and they were stuck in the desert doing training
drills. The higher-ups caught wind of their unrest and decided that the Finns could probably use some
help in the Winter War. Out of the loyalist legionnaires stationed in North Africa,
the 13th Foreign Legion Provisional Demi-Brigade was formed. At the same time, several Legion
regiments were getting amped up in France, waiting for the Phoney War to become an actual war. As for
the 13th, the Winter War came to an end before they could get to Finland and make things even
harder for the Soviets. Itching to do something, they set their sights on Norway instead.
The Germans began their advance on Norway in early April 1940, and a French, British,
and Polish expeditionary force teamed up with the Norwegians to try and stop them. It didn't work,
and the Germans took control of the country. But the Allies still had superiority in the
Norwegian Sea and weren't willing to let the Germans make use of the vital port of
Narvik. Supported by Allied naval power, French and Polish mountain troops, and Norwegian troops,
the 13th launched an amphibious assault. The legionnaires went toe to toe with German mountain
units in the icy peaks of Norway, first taking the village of Bjerkvik and then fighting their way
south to Narvik. When they got to the port, however, it was empty. The Germans had legged
it. The Legion gave chase, but by then the turd had hit the fan in Northern France,
and the 13th was pulled out of Norway before they could lay down the law.
As with most Allied forces in the Battle of France,
things did not go all that well for the Legion units that participated in it.
They all took heavy losses, and in the weeks after France raised the white flag, the Legion units in
Europe were disbanded. The 13th had been in the UK during the surrender, and on the 28th of June,
its legionnaires had an important decision to make. They could either side with the French
government-in-exile and fight for the Free French or join the Nazi-collaborationist Vichy French in
Morocco. Only around 830 of the 1,619 legionnaires in the UK chose the Free French. As a result,
the Legion was sundered—as was the case with France in general. Those 800-odd legionnaires
became the 14th Foreign Legion Provisional Demi-Brigade. The 13th, for a time, didn't exist.
From the Fall of France in June 1940 to January the following year, the 14th
fought in the Battle of Dakar in West Africa and further down the African coast in Gabon.
While this was going on, the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment fought for the Vichy French against
Thailand in the Franco-Thai War. In early-1941, the 14th decided 13 was a better number
and switched back. The 13th spent February and March fighting for Free France against
the Italians in Eritrea, utterly decimating the Axis in the underratedly bloody Battle of Keren.
After Keren, during the British invasion of Vichy French Syria and Lebanon,
things looked like they were going to get a little too hot. Allied with the British,
the Free French clashed with the Vichy French in this bloody desert campaign,
and the 13th found the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment looking back at them across the
battlefield. What happened next is unclear. Some sources claim that the two units went toe to toe,
while others stand against this notion. In favour of the latter, as many as 1,000 legionnaires of
the 6th integrated into the 13th after the Allies defeated the Vichy French forces in
the Syria-Lebanon campaign in mid-July 1941. We'll re-address this argument at the end of the video.
Bolstered by the 6th, the 13th went on to Libya, where it served in one of the Legion's most
celebrated engagements of the Second World War: the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Here, the Free French,
their legionnaires, and the British put up an epic defence that slowed the Axis advance right
down before it was brought to a grinding halt in the First Battle of El Alamein.
Some 3,700 Allied troops stood against as many as 37,000 German and Italian troops,
and the 13th found themselves crossing bayonets with a force of German legionnaires.
Many of these legionnaires were the men the Legion had sent to North Africa at the start of the war.
They were légionnaires, to be more specific, and part of the 90th Light Infantry Division.
The 13th played an especially crucial anti-tank role in this battle,
destroying 35 of the Italian Ariete Division's 70 tanks.
After retreating from Bir Hakeim, the 13th participated in the Second Battle of El Alamein.
Following this, the Legion regathered itself in preparation for the Tunisia Campaign.
The 13th, along with two Regimental Combat Teams and a Cavalry Regiment,
fought in Tunisia from January to May 1943, after which these four units were disbanded and then
reorganised once again. From all the units in North Africa, what was left now was the 13th,
the aforementioned Cavalry Regiment, and the Foreign Legion Regimental Combat Team or RMLE,
which was essentially a catch-all for everyone else. The 13th participated in
the Italian Campaign for a time, but after that, these three units set their sights on France.
It was payback time. Alongside the Free French, the French Resistance,
and several other Allied nations, the Legion returned to France under Operation Dragoon,
beginning with a landing in Southern France that often gets overshadowed by Operation Overlord,
which took place around three months earlier. The Legion was involved in fierce fighting,
including in the infamous Colmar Pocket, until France was finally liberated in May 1945.
While the war in Europe might have been over, the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment was still in French
Indochina, now fighting against the Japanese. Long story short, they took heavy casualties and got
the hell out of there. But that wouldn't be the end of the Legion's involvement in that part of
the world. A year after America bombed Japan and World War II came to an end, things in Indochina
became heated, blooming into the First Indochina War—into which the Legion went balls-deep.
As always, we'd love to know what you think—especially about the supposed
Legion-on-Legion clash in the Syria-Lebanon campaign. Can you shed some light on what
happened there? Did the 13th and 6th actually make war on one another? More generally,
did you know the French Foreign Legion was so involved in World War II? And do you know of
any cool stories about what they did? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.