Voices of the Foreign Legion: The History of the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps

by Adrian D. Gilbert

The French Foreign Legion has established a reputation as the most formidable of military forces. Created as a means of protecting French interests abroad, the legion spearheaded French colonialism in North Africa during the nineteenth century. Accepting volunteers from all parts of the world, the legion acquired an aura of mystery—and a less than enviable reputation for brutality within its ranks. Attracting recruits from all over the world, these new soldiers explain in their own words why they submitted themselves to such brutal training.

Voices of the Foreign Legion looks at how the legion selects its recruits, where they come from, and why they seek a life of incredible hardship and danger. It also analyzes the legion’s strict attitude toward discipline, questions why desertion is a perennial problem, and assesses the legion’s military achievements since its formation in 1831. Its scope ranges from the conquest of the colonies in Africa and the Far East, through the horrors of the two World Wars, to the bitter but ultimately hopeless battles to maintain France’s imperial possessions.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Military History, European History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2009

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Adrian Gilbert opened up an unknown world for me in “Voices of the Foreign Legion: The French Foreign Legion in Its Own Words.” My thoughts about the Legion before reading this incredibly well-written history were of mystery and intrigue. Now, that secretive world has been been cracked open through testimonials from actual Legion members themselves. A fascinating read!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

#VoicesOfTheForeignLegion

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always thought the Foreign Legion attracted a rough bunch, and this intriguing book confirms that plus so much more. Totally engrossing!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy. Opinions are mine.

#VoicesOfTheForeignLegion

[M T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

Both my husband and myself read this book. we thought it was a brutal and realistic portrayal of the Foreign Legion.

[John Edward O'keefe III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful book. There is an intertwine of each soldiers experience, and a story arc connecting these soldiers to the events they are a part of as members of the French Foreign Legion.

This book follows a structure from what training is like, to general service experience, and to the conflicts the foreign legion took part during it's history, moulding it to the the force of mythos and sealing it's reputation as an elite force. This framework is then given a personal touch from those who experienced the events, bring alive and brings humanity to these conflicts.

What was helpful was the repeated parenthese definition of acronyms, as these were French terms.

There is a sense of respect, while being honest about the negative historical details of the legion. This can be a challenge and Gilbert (I felt) approached and met this challenge appropriately.

[Brett C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Memoirs from members and their experiences who served in the French Foreign Legion. It was decent.

[Kate Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleased to read this having no previous knowedge of The Foreign Legion. I found it very interesting. It is well researched and provides indepth information. As it recounts warfare it is not for the faint hearted

[Elite Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Army of Tradition and Integrity.

The reputation of The French Foreign Legion is one of being a formidable military force. Originally created to protect French lands abroad, this army is now used anywhere they are needed. Be it as peacekeepers or fighting wars the French Foreign Legion is always professional, brave and daring.

This factual book is told through the men who fought with the Legion. Sometimes funny sometimes brutal this is a compelling book about a very traditional and eclectic mix of men from all over the world bought together from various countries and origins to become a mighty fighting force.

The chapters are each a different faze in the life of the Legion starting from enrolment, through training, tours of duty, through to the present mostly peacekeeping tours.

I really liked this book as I have already learned quite a bit about the history of the Legion, and this book added to my knowledge. Well written and captivating the author has used the source of the men to its best advantage.

I laughed with them and cried for them, but most of all I was in awe of them.

A truly splendid book and a must-read for anyone interested in military forces.

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction book and details with first-hand experiences by those who have joined the legion. It is a reprint of an earlier edition.

The French Foreign Legion has always had a reputation based in movies of a slightly romantic quality. “I’m running away to join the Legion,” can be heard in many scripts. The reality is far from this, however. The Legion is in fact known for its acceptance of any volunteer, regardless of background, as long as they are able to survive the training – both physical and emotional akin to torture.

The author takes the excerpts and divides them into a logical sequence as well as adding his own information and opinion on events. The book begins with how the Legionnaire is made: from the decision to join, the volunteering and the hell that is basic training. The book is no holds barred, and some experiences described, should have turned half of the recruits crazy. The recruit’s experiences tell of life in the Legion and the camaraderie experienced by some and the hatred by others. This intense reliance on others, often in life-threatening situations, led to desertion, and some very scary scenarios come out explaining what led to deserters and how they were dealt with. A large section of the book also deals with the conflicts that the Legion was involved in; from Africa to Vietnam. I found their ‘Never give up unless we die’ attitude absolutely amazing and the fact that a recruit would fight against their birth country as they are now in the French Legion and be happy about it was quite a revelation.

The last 14% of the book is dedicated to endnotes and a bibliography which was quite strange as the book seemed to end very suddenly if you had been keeping an eye on the percentage of pages left. A few editing mistakes crept in, but nothing to really put you off the flow of the book.

Since I had never read a book on the Foreign Legion before, all of this information was new to me so I enjoyed learning a great deal of new info. Apparently, the excerpts are from other published books, so if other readers have read these books a lot of the info might not be new.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. The author has taken facts and stories and presented them in such a way that it is like reading a work of fiction and you just have to keep on reading to see what will happen next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for the opportunity to review the book.

[Lady Alexandrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Voices of the Foreign Legion: The History of the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps” by Adrian D. Gilbert was an interesting read. It is a collection of memories and recollections of legionnaires that served in the Foreign Legion. Some of the recollections are from the nineteenth century, some are fairly recent. The book is divided into three parts. Part I deals with the enrolment and training process, Part II describes the average life of a legionnaire and Part III presents some of the wars and armed conflicts in which the legionnaires fought. I found Parts I and II confusing because the memories of legionnaires from different centuries were put all together, not in chorological order. Part III was the most interesting. It enabled the reader to view different armed conflicts from the point of view of soldiers, that took part in the action. Different voices of legionnaires showed how they perceived their command, the other side of the conflict, everyday hardships of the soldier’s life.

I received "Voices of the Foreign Legion: The History of the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps" from the publisher via NetGalley. I would like to thank the author and the publisher for providing me with the advance reader copy of the book.

[Craig Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads for the opportunity to read and review this book. The French Foreign Legion is unique omong the world's militaries. It's use of only non-French in it's ranks makes for difficult situations during many conflicts. Loyalty to the Legion usually overcomes conflicts but during World War II the Legion was divided between Vichy and Free French. This book delves into those conflicts and many more using first hand accounts over the legnthy history of the Legion. Gilbert uses solid narrative to tie the diary entries together. This book is highly valuable to all students of today's military.

[Jill Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cool and surprisingly interesting behind-the-scenes peek this was! I knew nothing about the Foreign Legion beyond their random appearances in books/movies throughout the years. This was a fascinating glimpse into the world of an elite fighting force, told primarily through voices of legionnaires' anecdotes and reminiscences. I am not a typical "war book" reader, but the history was cool to learn and the individual voices reflected in the stories were generally quite engaging. A cool and random find for me!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing my ARC.

[Author - James V The Poet (Personal Page) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A look into the alluring and revered French Foreign Legion.
From all walks of life, people join the French speaking mercenaries to push the agenda of the French Government.
Originally created to hold the crumbling lines of French colonialism on the continent of Africa, this books shares the beginnings and current occupation of the French foreign Legion, through journals and stories from legionnaires during and after their time of service.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read. I really enjoyed the Soldier’s perspectives and that the book gives a lot of the history of the Legion. I would like to have had more translation for us non-French speakers but that wasn’t needed all that often anyway. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in Legion life or history.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of the French Foreign Legion as mainly told through quotes by former members from around the world. Training and tradition are also covered. Discusses the Colonial Wars, World War I and II, as well as Vietnam.

[John Loveless · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gonna crash out and join the French Foreign Legion when the Yankees lose so horribly that I inevitably need to start a new life someplace else.

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of an ARC from NetGalley

Apologies for the delay in finishing the book. I thought I'd have free time, but ended up working and then going to sleep most days.

It's hard for me to judge this book in a way. Much was familiar to me. I'd read several of the books in the bibliography. However, just because I knew the information doesn't mean that another reader who was less familiar with the stories wouldn't learn a lot. The legionnaires the author interviewed himself were native English speakers, as far as I could tell. That puts an English and American sort of spin on the more recent experiences related. Mr. Gilbert also used old accounts, many of those by Englishmen. There were also some accounts by Americans who were volunteers during World War I. There were some accounts through history from the viewpoint of soldiers of other nationalities.

I'd also been reading several books lately that discussed the horrors of World War I, which was covered here. I've kind of had my fill of those horrors for a while.

None of this means that the book wasn't good, and informative as to how individual legionnaires felt through the centuries, and in many experiences of battle. It also shows facets of how the French colonial empire was built, and how it was lost.

I've heard elsewhere that a number of Americans and Englishmen who joined the French Foreign Legion were shocked by how undemocratic it was. It was never meant to have democratic features. There are a number of observations in the book from men who were legionnaires relatively recently that agree that your experience depended on your expectations. If you had a set of expectations that corresponded well enough for what the life would be like, you'd be all right.

Good book. Large parts would be familiar to those who have studied the history of the legion, but getting the stories from the viewpoint of the individual legionnaires was interesting.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voices of the Foreign Legion by Adrian D. Gilbert

Thank you Net Gallery and David Haviland for an ARC of this ebook.

This is most definitely the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps. In this book we follow men that sign up for the French Legion, from boot camp which is so grueling, to the end of the war. I couldn't believe what these men went through just with the boot camp. They were fighting each other even before they went to war. You have to say that these are some very strong men. These soldiers went and fought and most died trying to fight to save the Country. I also can't believe what these men were thinking when they signed up for this duty. This book is very interesting, insightful and there is a lot of horror and death. I found it easy to read, well written, and God Bless everyone of these men for fighting for a better world.

Cherie'

#VoiceOfTheForeignLegion #NetGallery

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay introduction to Legion history. Really just a collection of writing by Legionnaires, which the author cuts short, only letting you read them for a page at the most before he interrupts. An actual collection of Legionnaire writings would have been far more interesting. Legionnaires and their writing are far more interesting, and amusing, than any outsider trying to speak for them: "They all drank heavily, talked their own colonial slang, knew the field-service regulations by heart, were crack marksmen, bore up easily under prolonged marches, and had as much contempt for other regiments as for civilians. On their pre-Legion past they kept silent, but their military records could be read from their medals--China, Indo-China, Madagascar, Morocc..." (Kosta Todorov, Bulgarian Legionnaire)

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was enthralled by this book. One of the most interesting I have ever read. I've heard about the French Foreign Legion for years, have seen them in movies, but none of them compare to the true stories. From the first chapter explaining what it takes to get in and all the adventures until the very last. Yes, there are some really sad stories as they fought wars and people died. I recommend this book to anyone interested in what The French Foreign Legion does. It's truly an amazing book. I received this book from Net Galley and Thistle Publishing for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal and real look at the horror, bravery and loss of the French Foreign Legion over the years. I admit I knew very little about them but coming from a forces background I was interested to learn more and this book does not disappoint. It’s a brutal hard life but the stories are also full of triumph and friendship even in adversity.

[Billie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this look at one of the most fabled military formations of all time. A look at the Legion through the men who fought in the Legion. A fine look at the great battles from Camerone to Dien Bein Phu. Great tales of training and adventures of these soldiers who fought for France.

[Devon Aguirre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a brief look into the life of soldiers of the foreign legion. I found it to be interesting but very brief. It was a very general overview.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book about the French Foreign Legion that synthesises experiences of many other authors.