THE FOREIGN LEGION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16372, 28 October 1916, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE FOREIGN LEGION.

I STORIES OF THE FAMOUS ft*' FRENCH CORPS. , T P&rtout ou nous somrnes passes, ;;.■>!; Partout ou nous sommes tombes, : : Nous avons some do la gloire, WAV' . Rataplan I v'.." —Old chant of the Foreign. Legion. •'■The romantic story of Lieutenant-Colonel ■ 'J. F. Elkington, of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, whose return to his former tank in the army was recorded in last 1 'Saturday's supplement, and was the resuit of hi* gallantry while serving in the 'ranks ° the French Foreign Legion, has re-aroused interest in that famous corps. V The old idea that the Legion is a regi- \ ment of wrongdoers is exploded, most of those who compose it joined form pure ' love of adventure, for it is a regiment . that it always on service. ~". Bv far the greater part of the men serving in the Foreign Legion aro Alsatians and Lorrains who consider themselves Frenchmen, although they have been born under German rule. It is for this that tliev have enlisted. All Frenchmen who enlist have i*> produce their papers, and this is often the reason that one finds men " on the strength who call themselves Belgians or Italians, when they were born and reared in the Republic. Finest Fighting Fores. It is said by competent authorities that the Legion is the finest riehting force the I world has ever seen. It is the "Old ■ Guard" of today, and its prestige in the French army is wonderful. Its men are regarded by the average poilu with the same awe and wonderment that a child , bestows on a tall Guardsman in his busby j and full regimentals. In this it is of in-1 calculable benefit to the army of France. ' It is recruited from men of all ages, and, the man who gives his age as 18 is sure, to be younger than he says; the man who says he is from 35 to 40 is bound to j be older. We in England hold that a, man over the age of 45 is a doubtful man' to send on foreign service, and yet the Legion who are over that age—fighting, { inarching, and standing hardship better than younger men in other armies. ' In his enthralling book on the Legion, Frederic Marty tells of an ex-bishop, a professor "who was fond of war," a German nobleman, a barrister, and an exdiplomatist, all of whom served with him. Of Englishmen in tho Legion ho did not meet more than half a dozen in the whole course of his service. All of them with the exception of two had served in the British army. At the same time the regimental rolls of that time said that there were 51 Englishmen and 28 Americans serving then. The "Zephyrs." There are battalions known as the "Zephyrs." These are the penal battalions, and are as a rule gent to serve in Algeria, or at any rate in some colonial station where life is not a bed of roses. There is a story, too, of a French officer of the regular army who enlisted in tho Legion. One day on parade he was noticed by his general and recognised. The general asked him his name, and he gave his alias. This the general knew was not his real name, and he pressed .him for the truth and got it. He nad been an officer under this particular general, and. the latter kaew that it was not any disgrace that had made him join under another name. He promoted him sergeant on the spot, and soon after from sergeant this man rose to commissioned rank through an act of gallantry. The Legion has seen a great deal of active service of the most difficult and trying kind, and at one time after the Dahomey campaign they had an aggregate of 75' per cent, of their strength on the casualty list. It is a wonderful corps, and it is not strange that there is an atmosphere of romance connected with it, for it has made many men whole again and given men back that thing that iB more precious than life —self-respect. In the present war it is keeping up its tradi» tions; it is doing more, it is surpassing itself, and the German troops who meet the men of the Legion in open field are likely to find this true. '