March Or Die: France And The Foreign Legion

by Tony Geraghty

A thoroughly updated history of the legendary French Foreign Legion by the bestselling author of Who Dares Wins Tony Geraghty analyses the legend and re-examines the battle honours of the Foreign Legion, and his revelations illuminate the darker side of its historic relationship to the motherland. Called into being in 1831 as a device to absorb the footloose veterans of Napoleon’s old armies, the French Foreign Legion subsequently won astonishing victories in the farflung battlefields of Spain, the Crimea, Algeria and Morrocco, Italy, Mexico, Syria, Indo-China, Madagascar, and West and Central Africa. March or Die also traces the Legion's diminished fortunes in recent years. It has fought in the Gulf War, Rwanda and Kosovo among other conflicts, but has found itself in 'a world of political correctness which left the Legion marooned on an island of admirable but anachronistic values'. Forced to accept women in its ranks and no longer unique now that conscription has been abolished, it is searching for its place in the modern world.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Military History, Nonfiction, Africa

416 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1986

About the author

Tony Geraghty is a British-Irish writer and journalist. He served in the Parachute Regiment, and was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his work as a military liaison officer with U.S. forces during the Gulf War (1991). He has been a journalist for The Boston Globe and was the Sunday Times Defence Correspondent in the 1970s.

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good historical account of the French Foreign Legion. The history starts from their creation in 1831 as an rapid expeditionary force to secure French assets in Algiers. What started out as a reinforcement unit became a permanent entity comprised of both French nationals and foreign soldiers abroad inside the French realm. This book focused on their military and combat history as opposed to an insider glimpse of daily life, training, politics, and intricacies within the Legion. Tony Geraghty gave extensive history about conflict and battles to include all of North French-speaking North Africa, Crimea, Italy, Spain, French Indochina and China, WW1 (Serbia, Gallipoli, France) and WW2 (Norway, Germany, Italy), the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria), and the war in Algeria. This was a very straightforward and linear combat history on the French Foreign Legion. I would recommend this but the only limitation is the history stopped at 1986 when the book was published. Thanks!

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the military history of the Foreign Legion. Although the author includes vignettes about various legionnaires throughout the book, he does not focus on how the Legion drew on its recruits through the ages. He makes some overarching statements about what it represents, but does not inquire deeply about what the unit's membership think (or thought) of it as an organization.

That's okay, ultimately, because that's not what this book is trying to do. It's a combination of the many engagements in which the Legion has found itself over the years. In that respect, it's a brisk and memorable read.

Any single philosophy on the part of the author is more implied than it is explicitly stated. He seems to clearly believe that the core characteristic of the legionnaire is honor, while the core characteristic of French politics is dishonor. The legionnaire's role is, in some part, to act honorably in dishonorable circumstances. He provides more than enough evidence of the Legion being on the wrong side of history, but goes perhaps a little too hard on painting legionnaires as amoral actors. It may work in broad brush strokes, but it does not jive with the individual characters he describes.

Anyway, my qualms really are on the margins of the work. I wanted to understand more about how the Legion came to be, what it's done, and why it still exists. I feel like the book does a good job of making that much clear. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to find out the same.

[David Ingrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a provocative and intriguing history of the French Foreign Legion from it's founding in 1835 to the mid-1980's. According to the author, the one constant faced by the Legion was the hate/love (primarily the former) view of the Legion held by the myriad of French governments since the creation of the unit. If one were to view the relationship between the Legion and France through a romantic lens, the Legion might be seen as an ardent, although oft rejected and maltreated lover, who nevertheless always returns to the one who has treated her in such an undeserved and abysmal manner

[Commander Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a run through the legion's history, major campaigns and surrounding political environment. Some elements were covered in more detail than others, Vinchy France, Vietnam and the Algerian war and aftermath fore instance.

[Radiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The French Foreign Legion has often been portrayed with romance and a dash of fantasy. Tony Geraghty tells the story of the legion, tracing their formation and outlining the principles of a legionnaire. From the outset, the legion is shown to have been made up of mostly foreigners, including bands of native warriors from the French colonies. The Legion, as Mr. Geraghty shows, has often had a relationship with the French government that is similar to an evil stepmother with an unwanted stepchild.

The book describes in good detail the events of the major battles which the Legionnaires have been involved in. Starting with Waterloo through to World War I and II, the French involvement in Indo-China and onto the struggle and mutiny of Algeria and the Legion in modern times, each battle saw the loss of scores of legionnaires, either through desertion or death. I was particularly astonished by the Legion’s feats in Camerone and most especially in Indo-China. As with Camerone, Dien Bien Phu was a ferocious battle, with so many lives lost and men made and broken. Mr Geraghty introduces us to the remarkable men (and one woman) of the Legion; men such as Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre, Captain Jean Danjou and many others whose names have gone down in Legion accounts as larger than life figures.

All in all, this is a well-researched introduction to the Foreign Legion and how French politics have shaped and influenced their existence.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided more information on the FFL. Information on events such as the Mexican Intervention which lead to the fight to the death incident of Camerone (which is commemorated each year by legionnaires), age of empire fighting in Africa and Asia, the First and Second World Wars was more detailed than the Blassingame book. Also well done were the chapters on Vietnam and Algeria. The chapter of post-Algeria interventions in Chad and the Congo seemed whipped off by the author. This book again scratched the intellectual itch but not enough. This book however did identify the book to read: Douglas Porch’s The French Foreign Legion: Complete History of The Legendary Fighting Force.