French Foreign Legion Could anyone add more re The Legions participation in WW2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Foreign_Legion thank you regards Clive
I think some of the legion went on the Vichy side. The 13th DBLE fought each other in North Africa, half on our side half Vichy. I think i am correct on this, maybe someone else knows better. Steve
13 DBLE were deployed to Norway and were returned to UK where they decided to stay on the Free French side. They did find themselves fighting other legionaries in Syria, but not, I think, in North Africa. While some of the French did oppose the Op Torch landings, they didn't do it for long before they joined our side. Chris
Some FFL did resist the Japanese invasion of French Indo-China in WW2. See link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_French_Indochina This made some of the troops involved entitled to the Colonial Medal, Médaille Coloniale with the bar 'Extreme Orient'.
How well do you understand French, Clive? The respected French magazine 'Le Point' ran an article about the Foreign Legion during the Second World War last year (which is online). This is the link to that article: http://www.lepoint.fr/editos-du-point/jean-guisnel/la-legion-etrangere-2-de-narvick-a-bir-hakeim-29-04-2013-1661044_53.php
I found these photos in my great grandfather's POW logbook. Anyone on this thread able to make some educated guesses?
http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/32054-war-diary-1st-battalion-irish-guards-september-1939-july-1944/?p=674447
Hey DBF, is your post a reference to the photos posted or just a general response to the thread? I've no idea how my great grandfather came by the photos when he was a POW as he was captured in France, June 1940. He did have a brother who was in the desert campaign but it seems unlikely he would have been able to send pictures like these without censorship of some kind.
Would seem like a fair guess. I'm wholly ignorant of what the FFL were up to during the war but thought someone on this board might be able to make some use of the pics.
Some guesses from Jericho as to the location of the FFl troops in the photos... http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/60567-pow-logbook-pictures-and-more/?p=701100
A really interesting read on a German Jew, who escaped to France and somehow got to French North Africa (Vichy ruled). Part 79: Link: https://bruckfamilyblog.com/post-79-dr-otto-brucks-path-to-the-french-foreign-legion/ Part 80: Link:https://bruckfamilyblog.com/post-80-dr-otto-bruck-in-the-french-foreign-legion/ There's more, Part 81 photos of his time in the Legion and Post 82 his time in the British Army
Try your new best friend - Google Translate...works wonders on all the Euro languages and allows we Brits to research across Europe...
I read earlier this year an article / memoir by a RAF pilot who had flown air strikes against a very long convoy of the Legion leaving their "home" or training base at the town of Sidi Bel Abbès, in French Algeria en route to resist the Operation Torch landings. As it was not my focus I did not note the web link. Now whether the Legion would have fought the Anglo-US forces is a moot point. My recollection is that no Legion units joined the Operation Dragon invasion of southern France and the later invasion of Germany. Wiki refers to a thousand Vichy Legion joining a Free French Legion unit, 13 DBLE, who participated in Operation Dragon. See: French Foreign Legion - Wikipedia