French Foreign Legion During World War 2

Discussion in 'Allied Units - Others' started by CL1, Jul 13, 2013.

  1. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

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  2. Sussex by the Sea

    Sussex by the Sea Senior Member

    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
     
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  3. chrisgrove

    chrisgrove Senior Member

    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
     
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  4. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Murray, Edmund "Eddie" (IWM interview)
    http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80014406

     
  5. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

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  6. ritsonvaljos

    ritsonvaljos Senior Member

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  7. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    thanks mate
    google translate works ok.
     
  8. Incredibledisc

    Incredibledisc Well-Known Member

    I found these photos in my great grandfather's POW logbook. Anyone on this thread able to make some educated guesses?

    image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
     
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  9. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    Tunisia?

    All the best

    Andreas
     
  10. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/32054-war-diary-1st-battalion-irish-guards-september-1939-july-1944/?p=674447
     
  11. Incredibledisc

    Incredibledisc Well-Known Member

    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.
     
  12. Incredibledisc

    Incredibledisc Well-Known Member

    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.
     
  13. Incredibledisc

    Incredibledisc Well-Known Member

  14. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    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
     
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  15. Roddy1011

    Roddy1011 Senior Member


    Try your new best friend - Google Translate...works wonders on all the Euro languages and allows we Brits to research across Europe...
     
  16. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    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
     

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