by Douglas Porch: Harper-Collins 1991

If you want a serious book on the noted and notorious Foreign Legion of France, this is the one. You can tell that it is a serious study since it contains NO coloured pictures, which must make it unique among the plethora of books on this subject that have erupted in the last few years!

Porch writes a careful, dispassionate and balanced evaluation of both the military and social aspects of the Legion, from its creation to its role in the 1990's.

I found the most fascinating chapter to be that which covers the creation of the 'Traditions', or rather myths of the Legion in the 1930's. It tums out that many of the features which we associate with the Legion, and those that are endlessly repeated in videos on the subject-the annual Camerone Parade and the white kepis-were more or less invented by General Rollet in this period. It even turns out that the famous hand of Captain Danjou was not found on the field of battle, but had been bought by a bunch of Austrian soldiers a few years later from a farmer who lived a hundred miles from the battlefield of Camerone. Needless to say, this is never mentioned by the Legion!

From the point of view of Europa, the most valued aspect of the book is its clear and fair evaluation of the performance of the Legion in the Second World War. It turns out that the most effective performance was that of the 'Volunteer", rather than the Regular units in 1940. These units (owners of Fall of France will know them as the 21, 22 and 23 RMVE), performed admirably in the debacle that swept away the French Army.

The book also emphasizes the often forgotten fact that very few of the 'Old' Legion fought in the ranks of the famous Free French 13th Demi-Brigade. The majority of the initial soldiers were in fact refugees from Franco's Spain. Porch also reiterates the acute dislike between the Legion units of the Army of Africa and those in the Free French, a hatred that resulted in the latter receiving minimal reinforcements from the Legion depot at Sidi ben Abbes.

Apart from our period, a military buff will find a mass of information on the Legion. Porch is particularly good on its performance in Vietnam, where the problems of leadership and tactics clearly foreshadow those which affected equally good units of the US Army in the 1960's, and on the role of the Legion in the Algerian war and the attempted military coup.

An excellent work, and highly recommended.