NOTE: please, DO NOT POST unless you add a documented info or, even better, an historical pic or painting!!
I watched some movies and read some books about the Foreign Legion, but I admit that I knew very few about their presence and battles in Mexico, in the 1860s !
I was always interested and fashinated by those rejected ppl that would gain respect for their corageus actions in desperate battles.
I just ADDED THEM in the game, as Mercs at the moment, and you can play as one of them and lead them in
-CUSTOM Battles for Single Player
-...and in Lan MULTIPLAYER. !!!!
And there was a particularly "desperate" battle in which they showed entirely their value!
http://www.google.it/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=camerone%20battle%20of&source=video&cd=1&ved=0CDgQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6QSMadFhrW4&ei=NeEeUMXSPOKJ4gS1l4E4&usg=AFQjCNEKze76PsZitRsfZIsjhhQZkGirzw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camar%C3%B3n
Capitaine Jean Danjou (Bad Language, ....not for Kids! )
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/danjou.html
EDIT by Gabby:
Ok! I see the first question got answered.
I will add some History now, then.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Légion Etrangère was formed on March 9th, 1831, by a royal decree signed by King Louis-Philippe.
At that time, many European nations had been disrupted by revolts and unrest, and there were many foreign mercenaries and discharged soldiers hanging around the streets of Paris.
Louis-Philippe's position as King was far from secure and his efforts at empire building in North Africa were not going very well.
According to tradition, the idea of employing these potentially troublesome foreigners to consolidate France's hold on Algeria was suggested by Marshal Soult, one of Napoleon Bonaparte's ablest generals. Whether or not this is true, the Legion was formed using officers from Napoleon's Grande Armée and men from Italy (hehehehe, I' M ITALIAN!!), Spain, Switzerland and other European countries.
There were also some French recruits who were trying to escape the attention of their local Police, plus some who were 'volunteered' by magistrates eager to empty their jails!
The rule forbidding Frenchmen from enlisting was introduced quite soon thereafter and remained in place till very recently. The Legion first saw action in Algeria, it's bravery and fighting prowess promoting it from its initial status as something little better than a penal battalion.
However, in the years since its formation, the French Government has seen the advantage of having troops whose families cannot vote, and so the Legion has served with distinction in such diverse campaigns and places as the Crimea, (Russia), Spain, Indo-China, Madagascar, Taiwan, Chad, Zaire, Somalia, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia and Kosovo.
It's most famous battle occurred on April 30th, 1863, at the hamlet of Camerone, some 64 kilometres (40 miles) west of Vera Cruz, Mexico.
A half-strength patrol from the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, Legion Etrangere, led by Capt Danjou, protected a gold bullion convoy by holding down more than 2,000 Mexican regulars and guerrillas.
After several fights against the Mexican lancers just beyond the deserted La Trinidad Hacienda at Camerone, the Legion took cover within the old walls of the farm house. There, for over 10 hours, they withstood repeated assaults from the growing Mexican force, with Capt Danjou obliging his men to swear on his wooden hand (he'd lost his hand in the Crimea) to fight to the last man. Finally, the surviving officer and 4 legionnaires fixed bayonets and charged into the midst of the massed juaristas. The officer was mortally wounded, 2 of his men were killed and the other 2 were about to be slaughtered when a Mexican officer saved them. He shouted: "Surrender"! "We will only if you promise to allow us to carry and care for our injured men and if you leave us our guns". The Mexican officer's famous reply was "Nothing can be refused to men like you"! The Legion has never regarded Camerone as a defeat but rather as the prime example of "fidelity to the mission." For the Legion, Capt Danjou's men had kept their promise; for 11 hours, they had resisted 2,000 enemy troops. They had killed 300 of them and had injured as many. Their sacrifice had saved the convoy and so they had fulfilled their mission.
Now, wherever they may be serving, Legion units commemorate the gallantry of the 3rd of the 1st every April 30, 'Camerone Day'. Anyone considering joining the Legion should think about the moral of this story -- that a legionnaire is expected to die rather than abandon the mission!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gab
PS please, DO NOT POST unless you add a documented info or, even better, an historical pic or painting!!
I watched some movies and read some books about the Foreign Legion, but I admit that I knew very few about their presence and battles in Mexico, in the 1860s !
I was always interested and fashinated by those rejected ppl that would gain respect for their corageus actions in desperate battles.
I just ADDED THEM in the game, as Mercs at the moment, and you can play as one of them and lead them in
-CUSTOM Battles for Single Player
-...and in Lan MULTIPLAYER. !!!!
And there was a particularly "desperate" battle in which they showed entirely their value!
http://www.google.it/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=camerone%20battle%20of&source=video&cd=1&ved=0CDgQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6QSMadFhrW4&ei=NeEeUMXSPOKJ4gS1l4E4&usg=AFQjCNEKze76PsZitRsfZIsjhhQZkGirzw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camar%C3%B3n
Capitaine Jean Danjou (Bad Language, ....not for Kids! )
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/danjou.html
Soooo, I will set a question here:
-what does the French Foreign Legion Corp still celebrate every year?
What was it about?
Also, in this new Topic, any pic, info and vid about this Corp is welcome, but please, limit it at ONLY THAT 1860s mexican context!
So...who s gonna start??!!
-what does the French Foreign Legion Corp still celebrate every year?
What was it about?
Also, in this new Topic, any pic, info and vid about this Corp is welcome, but please, limit it at ONLY THAT 1860s mexican context!
So...who s gonna start??!!
EDIT by Gabby:
Ok! I see the first question got answered.
I will add some History now, then.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Légion Etrangère was formed on March 9th, 1831, by a royal decree signed by King Louis-Philippe.
At that time, many European nations had been disrupted by revolts and unrest, and there were many foreign mercenaries and discharged soldiers hanging around the streets of Paris.
Louis-Philippe's position as King was far from secure and his efforts at empire building in North Africa were not going very well.
According to tradition, the idea of employing these potentially troublesome foreigners to consolidate France's hold on Algeria was suggested by Marshal Soult, one of Napoleon Bonaparte's ablest generals. Whether or not this is true, the Legion was formed using officers from Napoleon's Grande Armée and men from Italy (hehehehe, I' M ITALIAN!!), Spain, Switzerland and other European countries.
There were also some French recruits who were trying to escape the attention of their local Police, plus some who were 'volunteered' by magistrates eager to empty their jails!
The rule forbidding Frenchmen from enlisting was introduced quite soon thereafter and remained in place till very recently. The Legion first saw action in Algeria, it's bravery and fighting prowess promoting it from its initial status as something little better than a penal battalion.
However, in the years since its formation, the French Government has seen the advantage of having troops whose families cannot vote, and so the Legion has served with distinction in such diverse campaigns and places as the Crimea, (Russia), Spain, Indo-China, Madagascar, Taiwan, Chad, Zaire, Somalia, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia and Kosovo.
It's most famous battle occurred on April 30th, 1863, at the hamlet of Camerone, some 64 kilometres (40 miles) west of Vera Cruz, Mexico.
A half-strength patrol from the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, Legion Etrangere, led by Capt Danjou, protected a gold bullion convoy by holding down more than 2,000 Mexican regulars and guerrillas.
After several fights against the Mexican lancers just beyond the deserted La Trinidad Hacienda at Camerone, the Legion took cover within the old walls of the farm house. There, for over 10 hours, they withstood repeated assaults from the growing Mexican force, with Capt Danjou obliging his men to swear on his wooden hand (he'd lost his hand in the Crimea) to fight to the last man. Finally, the surviving officer and 4 legionnaires fixed bayonets and charged into the midst of the massed juaristas. The officer was mortally wounded, 2 of his men were killed and the other 2 were about to be slaughtered when a Mexican officer saved them. He shouted: "Surrender"! "We will only if you promise to allow us to carry and care for our injured men and if you leave us our guns". The Mexican officer's famous reply was "Nothing can be refused to men like you"! The Legion has never regarded Camerone as a defeat but rather as the prime example of "fidelity to the mission." For the Legion, Capt Danjou's men had kept their promise; for 11 hours, they had resisted 2,000 enemy troops. They had killed 300 of them and had injured as many. Their sacrifice had saved the convoy and so they had fulfilled their mission.
Now, wherever they may be serving, Legion units commemorate the gallantry of the 3rd of the 1st every April 30, 'Camerone Day'. Anyone considering joining the Legion should think about the moral of this story -- that a legionnaire is expected to die rather than abandon the mission!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gab
PS please, DO NOT POST unless you add a documented info or, even better, an historical pic or painting!!