The Foreign Legion.

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  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      ALGERIA; SPAIN; FRANCE
    • Subject Terms:
      FRANCE. Armee. Legion etrangere
    • Abstract:
      A history of the French Foreign Legion, or the Légion Etranger, is presented. It was established in 1831 from troops gathered from various European armed services creating seven battalions made up of combined German and Swiss forces, Spaniards, Italians, combined Belgian and Dutch soldiers, and Poles to maintain France's colonial possession of Algeria. Algerian tribal members under the leadership of Abd el Kader battled the Legion. The Legion was removed from Algeria in 1833 to fight in the the First Carlist War in Spain. Other notable military services include the Tonkin campaign which led to the Sino-French War of 1883-1888, the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-1871, and the Franco-Dahomean War of 1892-1894. Legionnaires in literature are also considered.