Inside the French Foreign Legion
Adventures with the World’s Most Famous Fighting Force
N. J. Valldejuli
Stackpole Books, Essex, Connecticut, 2023, 384 pages
Book Review published on: March 22, 2024
Very few U.S. citizens serve in the French Foreign Legion, but N. J. Valldejuli, an English-born American, spent two years within her ranks. Valldejuli’s Inside the French Foreign Legion provides the reader with a glimpse into the world of one of the most storied of modern military forces. The book is a collection of interviews from former legionnaires and two future wives who provide candid and multiple perspectives regarding the Foreign Legion. Legion history, training and the men who serve in her ranks are closely examined.
The book is rich with Foreign Legion history and lore. It explains how the force came into existence in 1831 by royal decree of King Louis-Philippe to garrison in the new African possession of Algeria. One learns that North Africa was the legion home until 1962 and that the famed Kepi Blanc (white hat) from that period is still in use by all enlisted legionnaires. It further discusses Foreign Legion actions from Crimea (1854–55) and Mexico (1863–67) to modern twenty-first-century operations in the Middle East, Africa, and global French territories. And uniquely, that Legionnaires take an oath to the Legion and not to France, which may explain some unique aspects of their training.
The author’s description of Foreign Legion recruiting, selection, and initial training is well documented. The Legion is a relatively small military force of nine thousand legionnaires. Men from all over the globe but mostly Europe, Asia, Latin American, and Asia look for a chance to serve and, in some cases, a chance to start their lives over. The Legion is careful of who is allowed to enter into its four-month basic training course. Chosen candidates are fully immersed into a grueling and regimented lifestyle of military training, learning French, and surviving in a cultural melting pot of hypermasculinity. Through the process of multiple interviews, you empathize with recruit legionnaires as they undergo hardships and become acquainted with the personalities and eccentricities of the Legion members. One learns that it is the crucible of sustained and intense training and forced teamwork that forges disciplined and capable Legionnaires from a pool of culturally and linguistically diverse young men all searching for a daring and different path to their lives.
The book’s focus is on life as a junior enlisted legionnaire. This includes barracks life, standing duty, serving on kitchen and other working details and participating in Legion ceremonies. You see the life of a young soldier, with the endless ruck marches, weapons training, runs, and of course, deployments. There are also elements of leave and liberty, partying, getting into trouble and in some cases, desertions. The author describes a timeless quality to the training and development of a young legionnaire but there is no discussion of how the Legion is adapting and evolving to meet the challenges of modern combat.
The book is well written and interesting. The story would resonate with anyone who works or has interest in the Foreign Legion, light infantry, or foreign forces. The Foreign Legion is a light infantry and cavalry force, designed for worldwide operations and rapid deployment. The Legion is special due to its uncompromising standards of training and discipline which has created a legendary mystique and an intense esprit de corps of its Legionnaires. Inside the French Foreign Legion is an examination of this unique and historic military force, I highly recommend it.
Book Review written by: Col. Robert Sherrill, U.S Marine Corps, Retired, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas