French Foreign Legion Paratroops

Osprey Elite #6

by Martin Windrow, Wayne Braby, Kevin Lyles (Illustrator)

The decision, in Spring 1948, to form two battalions of Foreign Legion paratroopers was prompted by the requirement for enlarged airborne forces in the First Indochina War (1946), and the healthy recruitment then employed by the Legion. There were some initial doubts. The Legion were known to be magnificent heavy infantry, but were felt by some to lack the flexibility and agility demanded by independent airborne operations. In the Legion itself there were some misgivings over the possible clash between the self-consciously exclusive 'para mentality', and the Legion's own very marked ésprit de corps. Over time, however, all these doubts evaporated with experience.

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 1985

About the author

Martin C. Windrow is a British historian, editor and author of several hundred books, articles and monographs, particularly those on organizational or physical details of military history, and the history of the post-war French Foreign Legion. He has been published since the mid-Sixties.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1986 this Osprey entry covers formation and organizational history of the French Foreign Legion Paratroops from the end of WWII to Beirut in early Eighties. The briefness of Osprey books does not allow for in-depth analysis of the paratroops or detailed accounts of their campaigns. But it still makes for good reading and the artwork and photographs are excellent - which is what Osprey is renowned for.

[Filipe Amaral · Rating 5 out of 5]

One oldschool Osprey Elite title of the 80's that is, nevertheless, accurate for its timespan. It shows the evolution of the FFL airborne from Indochina, through Algeria and the reformulation as a laboratory for the French Army after the debacle of 1962. The size of the book does not allow for detailing of their operations in those two wars, so they are presented in note form. After the French leave Algeria, the only remaining airborne regiment of the FFL (the 2nd REP) will be used to save the Legion from extinction in the para-commando role, joining the intervention force of the French military. As long as patrolling in the Francafrique, the 2e REP will jump in Kolwezi and, against all odds, save the day. The last part of the book will explain the modern configuration of the regiment and its employment in peacekeeping operations. The color plates are excellent and the pictures very rare, as digging pictures from personal collections is the trademark of Martin Windrow and Mike Chappell; making this book a must have for every FFL afficcionado.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standard fare from Osprey. Very brief overview of unit's history, accompanied by a selection of black and white photos as well as a superb set of color plates showing different uniforms and associated descriptions. Since Foreign Legion Paras is such a small entity, the rudimentary history of its units is somewhat useful in a pinch. Strength of this booklet lies however (as is usually the case with Osprey's) in its graphic material.
Be aware that the book covers the time period only up to Legion's deployment in Beirut in 1980:s.