The French Foreign Legion used to accept criminals - murderers, thieves etc with no questions asked. Today there is a more thorough screening process to check a criminal record for more extreme crimes. At first Legionnaires dont have the right to wear then Képi Blanc, it is earnt through a 50-kilometer / 31 mi 2-day march in full kit during basic training.
I knew a old fellow who was a Hitler youth during the closing days of WW2, but never fought for the Axis, but he did joined the French Foreign legion afterwards and fought in the Indo-China war. He later moved to Canada had a ship in Nanaimo BC, and later open a Bed and Breakfast until his death 10 years ago. I didn't ask him much of his service, as I was a naive kids, but looking back he certainly had an eventful life. I just wanted to share this.
I grew up in Ecuador, and our family doctor was a Pr Mueller, full Teutonic, bald and long beard. I remember seing tattoos on his arm and him saying: “This one is German army, that other one is Légion Étrangère”...
Dylan K I have a friend's uncle was In It too, Plus, As far as I know, It was rare to have the hitler youth fight at all, There was children who fought In active military units with the men.
"If the Legion doesn't get you, the desert will. If the desert doesn't, the Arabs will. And if the Arabs don't, then I will. I don't know which is worse."
Dude 1: wow we actually time travelled Dude 2: but what year did we travel to Dude 1: let me ask that guy over there Dude 1: Who is the king of France Dude 3: King Louis Dude 1: We could be anywhere
Some things not mentioned. Legion officers are exclusively French only. And the legion fought well in afghanistan. We utilized there presence a time or two for artillery fire in some close call situations. They performed admirably. It would have been nice to see the weapons the legion uses mentioned in this video.
2 years later, I'll make a small joke: Due to budget constraints and poor money management, the french army is more and more broke with each year passing. Our current standard issue weapon is a pointy stick, but only if we can find one ourselves on our free time. Otherwise an old slipper or a rolled newspaper will do just fine. Maybe next year they'll buy China made dysfunctional replicas of slingshots, if the politicians don't eat everything in restaurants and catering before the money goes to the defense ministry. "Maybe"
Like a lot of foreigners, you made a mistake about the code of honor. The Légionnaires do plead allegiance to France in their code: "Légionnaire, tu es un volontaire, servant la France avec Honneur et Fidélité" ---> "Légionnaire, you are a volunteer, serving France with Honor and Fidelity
But that is code of honor that was introduced in early 80s and not the pledge of allegiance. At the Képi Blanc ceremony, before donning our white hats for the first time, we pledge allegiance to the active General of the French Foreign Legion by unanimously saying and I quote: “Nous promettons de servir avec honneur et fidélité! - We promise to serve with honor and loyalty!” Take it from the horse’s mouth. P.S. We are plainly told that we fight for the Legion and the brother to our left and right and at official ceremonies we are not allowed to sing La Marseillaise - French anthem, reason being we understand that France is our current employer and we are not French. Also we do not salute the French flag unless smaller triangular red & green flag of the French Foreign Legion beneath the French flag is not raised. Just to clarify minor points...
@@kevinbeattie7297 Does that have anything to do with the FFL? Beside that, the Maginot Line did serve it's purpice well, if the Belgians did not go neutral just before the war and had not decided to get all French troops out, the Maginot line would have been complete. And this grudge also applies to soviets, the so called "winner" of WW2, had they not help Germany in the first place, they wouldn't have lost 27 millions people in the war...
I'm french, i'm proud of the legion. They are a symbol of redemption and do the worst job. I got a lot of respect for them. Thx for talking about them. For the freedom, equality and fraternity.
There were 53 major conflicts in Europe. France will have been a belligerent in 49 of them, and the United Kingdom in 43. Of the 185 battles that France has fought over the past 800 years, its armies will have won 132 of them, and lost 43, leaving only 10 indecisive battles Thus giving the French military the record of victories in Europe and therefore in the world. France is the nation that has participated in the greatest number of war and battle throughout the history of Humanity. - Over the last 800 years France has beaten more than 200 years against England, more than 150 years against the Germanic nations, over 190 against the Spanish / Portuguese, and against many other nations. Very often these wars were waged against France, which was outnumbered by coalitions of several nations aimed at destroying it. France, warlike nation par excellence, the strategies deployed by these generals are still studying today, including the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte.
For hundreds of years France had the most powerful army on the planet The surrendering meme is because of poor French leadership during ww2 and the fact that France never really recovered from the loss of millions of French men during ww1
@@Anomaly-uz9pr It is especially an idea of the Americans who wanted the French credited because they refused to follow them in Iraq when they showed false proves...
shadow2000 I’m American but that’s also a big part of the surrender meme and Iraq was a war that should have never happened it was dishonorable and fought on lies France was good to not join it
Yes, the one unit that doesn't surrender is made up of foreigners. French guy: "can I join them?" French gov: "no." French guy: "why not?" French gov: "they'll die before they surrender." French guy: "oh."
@@shadow2000 Not really, the meme had been around for quite a while before that. It is true most US citizens don't realize that if it weren't for the French, the country would have lost the war for independence in the 1700's. "Americans" really cover the people of two continents.
You missed the small part where the Legion attempted a Coup in France, which reduced them from being a separate entity to a Division of the French Army...
I remember growing up being taught that France was always surrendering, giving up their country to Germany without much fight. I'm thankful I've had an interest in *actual* history throughout my life.
That's mainly because in WW2 they knew they couldn't beat Germany head on because most of WW1 was fought in France so they suffered the most but France did put up an effective gorilla war against German occupation so really they didn't even give up they just fought in a different way.
For those of you who assumed that the legion mean nothing more to France than a cannon fodder, you're completely mistaken. First of all, it cost money and time to train and equip the army. The government fund the army through taxes. So actually, it's cheaper for France to "sacrifice" their native troops since they paid for their own training and accommodations as citizens after all. These guys are not French citizens. They never paid taxes to France. France has to spend some extra cash to train and accommodate the Legion. Secondly, now we know the how the Legion is funded and how costly it is for France, there's no reason then these guys will be deployed as nothing more than human shields of sort. Yes these guys might be assigned with harder and riskier missions than regular French troops. But keep in mind they're all trained to do exactly just that. Being that the training and everything else cost money and time, France not only support but also expect these guys to succeed and come back to French soil alive. This is my personal guess, but I believe the reason France assigned those difficult missions to these guys simply because it's likely the Legion is just more motivated to do anything for France than the regular troops considering that these guys are literally paying for French citizenship with their own life. In conclusion, the Legion is a legitimate and honorable division.
It has to do with the way things used to be. France used to have conscription where every man had to serve. It was unpopular with the public to deploy conscripts so the Legion was tasked with most overseas assignments outside of metropolitan france.
Yes, such an honorable division. Preserving France's imperial interests throughout the world and carrying out attrocities against natives who "dared" question France's rule over their lives and countries. Look up the attrocities they commited against the Algerians and the Vietnames at their respective wars.
@From Maui Not necessarily, it depends on the purpose. Certain units you want to segregate to improve effectiveness, but it's difficult to do for the army as a whole because then your volunteer units would have a difficult time getting reinforcements based on your casualty rate.
@@jacobygulsten1103 Personally i see nothing honourable about this militia. They simply kill people in the name of France's imperial interests. The overseas territories, in which the legionaries are regularly deployed, are mainly comprised of people who despise French rule( look up the 2017 protests in French Guinea, as well as the living standards there)
These don't give you millions of likes with no effort anymore, come back later when it's used to make fun of people who still think it's funny. Unless you're early and are being ironic, in that case, good job (or nice save).
I was in the US army with a guy who was In the French foreign legion before he joined the Army. He had a French last name so at first they beat him down for not knowing how to speak French. They are badasses. For jungle training they dropped them in the jungle by helicopter and said "see you in 2 weeks" in French obviously.
Most of them want to become French and that's one way of doing it. Nobody is forcing them to enlist. Also, they die as french which means their kids can get french nationality.
My dad's uncle served in this for years but they are not allowed to tell anything about their service. He told it once to my dad when he was very drunk. I love the "ranskan muukalaislegioona" as its known in finnish. He is one of the last surviving finnish members.
Pretty sure a Navy SEAL could break a Foreign Legionnaire in half. SEAL training has a 9.5% completion rate. Delta Force is honestly probably much better. But we have no idea because they are almost entirely classified.
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 high fall out rates dont make you elite. Also dont compare your typical American in selection vs a legionnaire candidate. Makes no sense
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 You are almost right. But the SEALS use lots of training techniques from others, mainly the SAS, which is thought to be the most recognised Special Force. The SEALS also use some French techniques too, and the French use some SEAL ones too. The SAS, SEALS and Foreign Legion are all very good, but I would say the SAS have just a slightly better force, but not by much.
As an American Soldier and a former Philippine Army Soldier, my great advices for any military applicants around the world are especially for the SPECIAL FORCES training: 1.) Avoid creating unwanted attention. 2.) Observe everything around. 3.) Be a team player. 4.) Don't quit / Never give up. May the Lord God bless you and your family always.
AAAAAAH IM SO PROUD YOU FINALLY DID THAT ! IM French and I’m in the foreign legion as fight instruction ( Krav Maga ) and the foreign legion is such a beautiful regiment in France !
@Jonathan Williams Belgian legionaries don't need pudding, they've got the best chocolate. Plus the best weapons forged by FN with holy care as to please the qualities standards of John Moses Browning.
I remember when I was in high school I wanted to Join the French Foreign Legion, I use to pour over several of their notable actions in conflicts all around the world. The concept of mercenaries is snubbed due to companies like Blackwater at the time but I always saw The Legion as one of the prime examples of honor and bravery and I respect the fact they've been seen as such by many others.
I served in the french foreign legion 1st infantry unit and can honestly say it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. The training is harder then most but only mentally, the kepi blanc March was actually 80km and we would all share a radio (25kg) take it in turns carrying it, everyone has to change their name no matter if you have no criminal history so one doesn’t feel singled out. To get in initially all you need to do is 8 pull ups, best and worst times of my life
"Legion of the Damned" is a sci-fi story of the future Legion. I picked it up used because it was the name of old paintball team. I've read the book six times.
Dont. They were there to perform a takeover the the mexican government and put a french puppet government king in power. They had no right being there.
@@robertharris6092 They were soldiers doing their job. Its anacronical to use the current set of morals on soldiers from 1860's. These soldiers were honorable and fought to the end. History should judge rulers, not the common folk.
I had a friend in the FFL. He sadly died of fentanyl overdose when he was back in Canada. He always had a bit of a drinking problem and apparently he got really drunk one night and while his inhibitions were down, he tried fentanyl for the first time and the combo of those two suppressants killed him. He couldn't joint the Canadian military because he had a record here in Canada. Super fit guy, always going for runs when I saw him before he left. Sad. I think he was 28.
Well the FFL is not the only elite soldiers of the french army,we have the commandos know as fusiller marin,and the chasseur alpin (alpin hunters) are tough m8
" Theses are not mens, they are devils " You will never realise how true this is. The logic behind the legion is that to earn French citizenship, you have to deserve it, and as the french military was already pretty rude to french, the Legion had to be even ruder. And as a french, born and raised in France, i will always say this : Thoses guys are more french than me. They're training and mentality are ruthless, and a friend of mine who was in the military explained what happened while the Legion was coming to they're camp : There are two rules with legionary that you have to respect at any cost : For men's, No eyes contact, for women's : Don't ever get out of your barrackement as long as they're around. Absolute mad men's
One of my grand uncles served the foreign legion as a marksman for four years before going back to a civilian life. According to him, he killed multiple dozens of enemies, but always hated it. He said the difficulty in sniping for him was to actually see the enemies face through his scope and take his life. That was also his reason for leaving. He passed away a couple of years and I never talked to him personally, though I kinda wish I did.
Respeto a vosotros tambien, aunque los franceces ganaron muchas batallas, al final, son los mexicanos que ganaron, luchando para su pais, y esto es mas honorable que ninguna otra causa, respeto a el Mexico
My grandfather fought in the mexican war, he earned a medal and therefore was given a painted portrait that still hangs in my grandparents house. I inherrited his name, Alexandre.
I’m mexican, some infantry French stayed in México after the war in the Cerro de la Peña (Peña Hill) on the Michoacán state. They established in small towns leaving the legacy of bakery and architecture. Many of them carry the last name of Betancourt, Bordeu or Mateiu, till this days, some other change for spaniard names as López, Vega or Palafox, and some others as my great great grandfather Louis Chapel translated to spanish as Capilla. Respect to the great France
A video on the Night Witches would be a nice change. All female Soviet bomber regiment during the second world war. Over 23,000 sorties flown with over 3,000 tons of explosives dropped. Two were arrested for dismantling a signal flare and using the silk parachute to sew underwear and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Twenty three members were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest award in the Soviet Union.
Evrybody talks about the Night Bomber Regiement... But what about 586th Fighter Regiment and its fermale aces like Lydia "White Lily of Stalingrad" Litvyak or Yekaterina "Katya" Budanova ?
Very informative video. This video does bring to mind two classic film favorites of mine; Laurel & Hardy's "Flying Deuces," as well as Abbott & Costello's "In The Foreign Legion." Despite both films being comedies, the productions do not insult the Legion as a whole. There is comedic poking at some of the Legions well known attributes, (like men joining to forget their pasts, etc.) but the films do always depict the Legion as formidable and disciplined.
Regular Soldiers: "let's surrender since we're outnumbered and out of ammo". French foreign legion: "outnumbered by 10 to 1 and out of ammo? I like those odds".
Thirty years ago I knew a USAF Msgt who had a story. During the Vietnam war he was stationed in Guam. There he meet a Legionnaire who was there with the French Air Force. He noticed the man had an SS blood type tattoo. He asked about it and the Legionnaire confirmed he had been in the Waffen SS. I had no way to verify his story. At the time I believed the story, and still do
You can believe it. Many germans did enlist in the FFL after the war. From what I’ve read that between 20000 and 30000 german POW’s were enlisted as légionnaires in the beginning of the Indochina war. Among those 8 to 10% were former SS.
huh, never knew all this, though from what I can tell, the Foreign Legion is still basically the French Suicide Squad. "General, we need a metric buttload of soldiers who no one will miss or mourn when they die." "I know juuuuust the people."
At least serb when they recruita sshoels they do'nt make an elite formation of mercenaries out of it. They use them as cheap canon fodder..... French legionaire laoth the people.
Correction: At the start of the battle of Camarón the French legion fought mexican militia not rebels. The french never manage to control all of México and the mexican government was still in charge. Also I think the reinforcements were regulars which was rare because at that point the mexican government couldn't afford to pay an army so militias did most of the fight.
I spent 1 year in the commandos of the French airforce, once we set up a camp in the Landes woods, a brigade of the Legion came to set up their camp next to ours. Our sargeant told us never to go in their camp, they would "eat us alive". We had to dig a deep ditch between the 2 camps, we set up 4 machine gun nests pointed at them, we were all scared shitless, starting with our officers. These legionnaire are beyond soldiering.
Buta s Thomas Sankara said, "Un solat sans éducation politique est un criminel en puissance !" If there is a revolution in France they ill not side toward the revolutionnaries, they are just a buch of mercenaries brainwashed to laoth the people...... Most serious revolutionnary in France think of disbanding the legion.
Dustman00 lol agreed. It took 3 generation of Monarch to make Prussia strong. It only took one incompetent nephew to destroy it. During the Napoleonic War, Prussia was still using outdated tactics from 30 years ago.
I remember learning about the French Fountain Legend when I was in middle school from my uncle and dad. My uncle was a history teacher and both are U.S. Army veterans. It came up one day .
Yeah but, reking Vietnam, Algeria, I mean, not to excuse the communism and islam but, they roughed up some places awful simply so French colonials could come in and subjugate the people there
The spanish legion only allows people from countries that were previously colonised by Spain .. And the Rusian F Legion allows people from countries who were part of the USSR
The French Foreign Legion used to accept criminals - murderers, thieves etc with no questions asked. Today there is a more thorough screening process to check a criminal record for more extreme crimes. At first Legionnaires dont have the right to wear then Képi Blanc, it is earnt through a 50-kilometer / 31 mi 2-day march in full kit during basic training.
I love your videos!
Me to I love your videos
Does it accept lvl 100 mafia boss too?
5th to reply first here
Simple History, Belgium army WW1 please?
I knew a old fellow who was a Hitler youth during the closing days of WW2, but never fought for the Axis, but he did joined the French Foreign legion afterwards and fought in the Indo-China war. He later moved to Canada had a ship in Nanaimo BC, and later open a Bed and Breakfast until his death 10 years ago.
I didn't ask him much of his service, as I was a naive kids, but looking back he certainly had an eventful life. I just wanted to share this.
Imagine how many more stories like this are out there still unknown
I grew up in Ecuador, and our family doctor was a Pr Mueller, full Teutonic, bald and long beard.
I remember seing tattoos on his arm and him saying:
“This one is German army, that other one is Légion Étrangère”...
After WW II germany was occupied and it's military heavily restricted so a lot of germans (including WW II veterans) joined the french foreign legion.
Dylan K
I have a friend's uncle was In It too, Plus, As far as I know, It was rare to have the hitler youth fight at all, There was children who fought In active military units with the men.
Dylan K in the end the 13-75 year old people were conscripted into the Volkssturm
And yet the french are memed to surrender when anything happens
Hey
Nice seeing you early
Justin Y. Remember me
Oh yeah yeah
Hey, I literally just replied to you on another vid
A precision : You can enroll the légion as a French, but you'll be given a fake new nationality and name.
My uncle was a legionnaire and French.
@Tunguston Its still mostly white. People that enroll in the legion are not like the mass immigration, this is not the same profile of ppl.
Good
Mon père était légionnaire et lui aussi était français , 60 à 70 % des légionnaires sont français de sang
True. And the French in the Légion are called "Gauls".
@williejames huff Americans are barely white, look at their NBA teams lol.
"If the Legion doesn't get you, the desert will. If the desert doesn't, the Arabs will. And if the Arabs don't, then I will. I don't know which is worse."
The arabs gona get ya :)
Great movie
I must know where this quote is from
@@50shekels march or die 1977
Gene Hackman is one of my favorite actors.
What is your favorite battle in the French Foreign Legion's history?
Can you do a history video on Rorkes Drift?
Simple History dien bien phu. They were out gunned. Out numbered. Surrounded. And fighting a no win battle. But still fought on to the bitter end
Can you do the history on the 7 rivers ride operation, completely random
Oh yeah yeah
Yes. Please do Rorkes drift.
If you want a broken wrist, touch a legionaires kepi blanc.
touch the white of the keppi. tsk tsk
B Pr You mean piss when they see one.
@B Pr "The lion doesn't need to roar to afraid his preys"
What a smart soldier you must be to talk about sadistically kill your allies.
If you wanna die, touch their keppi
@B Pr We?
Angleterre! Je suis Anglais! I am 72 years old, and one of my biggest regrets was not to have worn a Kepi Blanc. Vivre la France! Best wishes from 🇬🇧
Big respect for you, mister.
Greetings from France ! 🇫🇷🇬🇧
Dear sire Johnny 666
Salute to your for 72 orbits around the sun. That alone deserves recognition.
I imagine the French is hard to learn
I'd like to join when im of age, any advice I should know?
lol
Dude 1: wow we actually time travelled
Dude 2: but what year did we travel to
Dude 1: let me ask that guy over there
Dude 1: Who is the king of France
Dude 3: King Louis
Dude 1: We could be anywhere
Thats why we gave em numbers jeez
@@heatea5255 That's... that's the joke...
@Lolrence 571 run
Ye forgot le numbers
Louis the XXXXXXIX
Some things not mentioned. Legion officers are exclusively French only. And the legion fought well in afghanistan. We utilized there presence a time or two for artillery fire in some close call situations. They performed admirably. It would have been nice to see the weapons the legion uses mentioned in this video.
As a unit of the French Army, they've always used standard issue.
Famas
faux 10% des officiers ne sont pas français
It's BS, any soldier in the Legion can try out to be an officer, you just need to be able and willing.
2 years later, I'll make a small joke:
Due to budget constraints and poor money management, the french army is more and more broke with each year passing.
Our current standard issue weapon is a pointy stick, but only if we can find one ourselves on our free time.
Otherwise an old slipper or a rolled newspaper will do just fine.
Maybe next year they'll buy China made dysfunctional replicas of slingshots, if the politicians don't eat everything in restaurants and catering before the money goes to the defense ministry. "Maybe"
Like a lot of foreigners, you made a mistake about the code of honor. The Légionnaires do plead allegiance to France in their code:
"Légionnaire, tu es un volontaire, servant la France avec Honneur et Fidélité"
---> "Légionnaire, you are a volunteer, serving France with Honor and Fidelity
Aymerick Jean how bout that Maginot line 😂
But that is code of honor that was introduced in early 80s and not the pledge of allegiance. At the Képi Blanc ceremony, before donning our white hats for the first time, we pledge allegiance to the active General of the French Foreign Legion by unanimously saying and I quote: “Nous promettons de servir avec honneur et fidélité! - We promise to serve with honor and loyalty!” Take it from the horse’s mouth. P.S. We are plainly told that we fight for the Legion and the brother to our left and right and at official ceremonies we are not allowed to sing La Marseillaise - French anthem, reason being we understand that France is our current employer and we are not French. Also we do not salute the French flag unless smaller triangular red & green flag of the French Foreign Legion beneath the French flag is not raised. Just to clarify minor points...
@@kevinbeattie7297 Does that have anything to do with the FFL?
Beside that, the Maginot Line did serve it's purpice well, if the Belgians did not go neutral just before the war and had not decided to get all French troops out, the Maginot line would have been complete. And this grudge also applies to soviets, the so called "winner" of WW2, had they not help Germany in the first place, they wouldn't have lost 27 millions people in the war...
@@kevinbeattie7297
Served it's original purpose
@@arwidsson3676 bien dit l'ami
Great video as always!!
Yes.
Yyeeeessssss
I ruined the perfect 69 likes your welcome
Big oof
I watch your videos Matsimus, and I think their great so keep up the good work
I'm french, i'm proud of the legion. They are a symbol of redemption and do the worst job. I got a lot of respect for them. Thx for talking about them. For the freedom, equality and fraternity.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Foreign_Legion
There were 53 major conflicts in Europe. France will have been a belligerent in 49 of them, and the United Kingdom in 43.
Of the 185 battles that France has fought over the past 800 years, its armies will have won 132 of them, and lost 43, leaving only 10 indecisive battles
Thus giving the French military the record of victories in Europe and therefore in the world. France is the nation that has participated in the greatest number of war and battle throughout the history of Humanity.
- Over the last 800 years France has beaten more than 200 years against England, more than 150 years against the Germanic nations, over 190 against the Spanish / Portuguese, and against many other nations.
Very often these wars were waged against France, which was outnumbered by coalitions of several nations aimed at destroying it.
France, warlike nation par excellence, the strategies deployed by these generals are still studying today, including the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Most of these are dishonorable acts of imperialism and colonialism though.
@@pa7957 also not really a fair comparison when france is so much older than nearly any other nation in europe
@@robertharris6092 84 years old :))))
I serve in the spanish legion and sometimes we had trained with the French legion, our spirit brother. Grate video.
I dot want to be rude but you need to have a new uniform.
@@jbarral6509and a new march 😂
The real Night's Watch
@@Timo11042 they we're the wall.
@@Timo11042 narco cartel = wildings 😂
@@Timo11042 What are you talking about they don't need a wall there sheer presence makes people question whether its actually worth the attempt.
@@Timo11042 I know I'm saying the French foreign legion is so badass they would be the wall.
League of assassins
When someone tells you France surrenders when it get's into conflict.
France : *Laughs in Foreign Legion*
For hundreds of years France had the most powerful army on the planet The surrendering meme is because of poor French leadership during ww2 and the fact that France never really recovered from the loss of millions of French men during ww1
@@Anomaly-uz9pr It is especially an idea of the Americans who wanted the French credited because they refused to follow them in Iraq when they showed false proves...
shadow2000 I’m American but that’s also a big part of the surrender meme and Iraq was a war that should have never happened it was dishonorable and fought on lies France was good to not join it
Yes, the one unit that doesn't surrender is made up of foreigners.
French guy: "can I join them?"
French gov: "no."
French guy: "why not?"
French gov: "they'll die before they surrender."
French guy: "oh."
@@shadow2000 Not really, the meme had been around for quite a while before that. It is true most US citizens don't realize that if it weren't for the French, the country would have lost the war for independence in the 1700's. "Americans" really cover the people of two continents.
You missed the small part where the Legion attempted a Coup in France, which reduced them from being a separate entity to a Division of the French Army...
O.A.S. Failure led to dibandment of the 1st Parachute Regiment, and nearly the entire Legion.
@@gulfrelay2249 That's why the only foreign paratrooper regiment is the 2ème REP.... a de Gaulle revenge.....
Foreign legion is not separate and is not a division of French army regiment French marines regiment and French foreign legion regiment are all mix
@@Capitainws not exactly.... Marine troops has nothing to see with legion but belonging both to french army
Yes
I remember growing up being taught that France was always surrendering, giving up their country to Germany without much fight. I'm thankful I've had an interest in *actual* history throughout my life.
ParticularBored ,
How can people believe this ?
France has the most victories of the world
That's mainly because in WW2 they knew they couldn't beat Germany head on because most of WW1 was fought in France so they suffered the most but France did put up an effective gorilla war against German occupation so really they didn't even give up they just fought in a different way.
Really ? Your history skill is based on memes ? Hopefully you drive your life out of the Internet.
I have a WW2 french army rifle for sale. It's never been fired and only dropped once😂
Hmmm…I believe there was a short, stout fellow whose French soldiers conquered most of Europe!
*_Emmanuel Macron is typing..._*
The UN has left the chat...
Macron left the chat
*Emmanuel Macron has been muted*
@@VictorSanchez-pk1iv Macron Banned By Administrator (Yellow Vest #018)
@@eqeqeqe9547 Gilette ad has joined the chat
For those of you who assumed that the legion mean nothing more to France than a cannon fodder, you're completely mistaken.
First of all, it cost money and time to train and equip the army. The government fund the army through taxes. So actually, it's cheaper for France to "sacrifice" their native troops since they paid for their own training and accommodations as citizens after all. These guys are not French citizens. They never paid taxes to France. France has to spend some extra cash to train and accommodate the Legion.
Secondly, now we know the how the Legion is funded and how costly it is for France, there's no reason then these guys will be deployed as nothing more than human shields of sort.
Yes these guys might be assigned with harder and riskier missions than regular French troops. But keep in mind they're all trained to do exactly just that. Being that the training and everything else cost money and time, France not only support but also expect these guys to succeed and come back to French soil alive. This is my personal guess, but I believe the reason France assigned those difficult missions to these guys simply because it's likely the Legion is just more motivated to do anything for France than the regular troops considering that these guys are literally paying for French citizenship with their own life.
In conclusion, the Legion is a legitimate and honorable division.
It has to do with the way things used to be. France used to have conscription where every man had to serve. It was unpopular with the public to deploy conscripts so the Legion was tasked with most overseas assignments outside of metropolitan france.
Yes, such an honorable division. Preserving France's imperial interests throughout the world and carrying out attrocities against natives who "dared" question France's rule over their lives and countries. Look up the attrocities they commited against the Algerians and the Vietnames at their respective wars.
@@lefteris.k.680 Could you please say that to a legionaire's face please?
@From Maui Not necessarily, it depends on the purpose. Certain units you want to segregate to improve effectiveness, but it's difficult to do for the army as a whole because then your volunteer units would have a difficult time getting reinforcements based on your casualty rate.
@@jacobygulsten1103 Personally i see nothing honourable about this militia. They simply kill people in the name of France's imperial interests. The overseas territories, in which the legionaries are regularly deployed, are mainly comprised of people who despise French rule( look up the 2017 protests in French Guinea, as well as the living standards there)
*That's how French Foreign Legion works*
Literally
These don't give you millions of likes with no effort anymore, come back later when it's used to make fun of people who still think it's funny. Unless you're early and are being ironic, in that case, good job (or nice save).
@@austinfowler3313 but this vid is literally about how the French Foreign Legion works
@@Bigfoot_With_Internet_Access ah I didn't see the literally, sorry, carry on
@@austinfowler3313 it wasn't there originally. I meant to put it there, but forgot. You reminded me when you commented so I edited it.
Oui!
Worked with the legion in Haiti, not much phases these dudes. Their discipline is no joke either!
Help I’ve been shot!
It’s ok you’re gunna be ok I’ll get a medic
No! Get me a french citizenship!
Edit: wow thanks for all the likes guys! 😊
😂👌
LOL 😂
Lmao bruh 👋😂
LMAO was thinkin' of the same 😂😂😂😂👌
Eventually there will be french military doctors ready to help them in less than an hour nowadays
I was in the US army with a guy who was In the French foreign legion before he joined the Army. He had a French last name so at first they beat him down for not knowing how to speak French. They are badasses. For jungle training they dropped them in the jungle by helicopter and said "see you in 2 weeks" in French obviously.
Damn lmfao
:0
(So if he has no French last name no one will beat him?
@@TaigiTWeseDiplomat--Formosan they change your name
LOL, yeah sounds like the Canadian Army of the 1970s
@@TaigiTWeseDiplomat--Formosanamericans hate the french and are very arrogant with them
Because why bother sending your own people when you can send someone else
It's cheaper that way.
Well they become french after serving.
@@peterfarell7696 if they survive lol
Most of them want to become French and that's one way of doing it. Nobody is forcing them to enlist.
Also, they die as french which means their kids can get french nationality.
They're volonteers....
9:13 (subtitles) "a unit of 600 Mexican cameramen..." Oh boy, those odds are very frightening indeed!
You ever had you're brains bashed in with a camera ? It ain't pretty.
Now imagine it happens and you don't even know what that shoulder canon is.
Well at least it's easy to beat them as they're cameramen.
Tacos
@@tioutman8526 but the cameraman never dies
@@05r41 maybe that's the reason why the Mexican Cameramen won the battle
My dad's uncle served in this for years but they are not allowed to tell anything about their service. He told it once to my dad when he was very drunk. I love the "ranskan muukalaislegioona" as its known in finnish. He is one of the last surviving finnish members.
navy seals: You guys SUCK we are better
French Foreign legion: hold my baguette
French Foreign Legion: hold my pate au foie gras et huile de truffe.
Pretty sure a Navy SEAL could break a Foreign Legionnaire in half. SEAL training has a 9.5% completion rate. Delta Force is honestly probably much better. But we have no idea because they are almost entirely classified.
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 : Actually, in all likelihood, Seals and Legionnaires will fight on the same side in any forseeable future conflict.
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 high fall out rates dont make you elite. Also dont compare your typical American in selection vs a legionnaire candidate. Makes no sense
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 You are almost right. But the SEALS use lots of training techniques from others, mainly the SAS, which is thought to be the most recognised Special Force. The SEALS also use some French techniques too, and the French use some SEAL ones too. The SAS, SEALS and Foreign Legion are all very good, but I would say the SAS have just a slightly better force, but not by much.
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran!
I want a Video on the topic!
Idi nahui
Someone 234 What does that have anything to do with the French Foreign Legion?
The Soviets didn't want to leave Iran after WWII, yet another event that signaled the start of the Cold War.
Hi brother
Do you know politeness ? It’s something that everybody’s doing except you
As an American Soldier and a former Philippine Army Soldier, my great advices for any military applicants around the world are especially for the SPECIAL FORCES training:
1.) Avoid creating unwanted attention. 2.) Observe everything around. 3.) Be a team player. 4.) Don't quit / Never give up.
May the Lord God bless you and your family always.
What do you mean with the first point?
@@godwhispersinmyearsinsleep5351 don't be the popular kid at the school
Kind of vibes
@@unknownrealms8452 that's not my case for sure
@@godwhispersinmyearsinsleep5351 it's just like behave as you are supposed to behave thing
I hope that you understand it better now
@@unknownrealms8452 yes it's way clearer now, thanks you
*_The Foreign Legion wants to know your location_*
They don’t need to know, I’m headed their way soon enough.
@The Bloodbender I three
I'll see you guys there I'm heading for the legion aswell.
SA
Yes!
My Japanese language teacher was in Legion and he were singer before.... What kind of adventurous life is this?
AAAAAAH IM
SO PROUD YOU FINALLY DID THAT ! IM French and I’m in the foreign legion as fight instruction ( Krav Maga ) and the foreign legion is such a beautiful regiment in France !
Beutifull. dont stand behind me
I want to get into 2e REP or 2e REI so baldy, i am taking the next year for training!
@@RotBaron Good luck
And a well respected one as well
@@RotBaron To paratrooper ? Dude..they don't have any action,they have so few missions,and you just jump from the plain,better 1 Rec
Had the Northern Africa Campaign or the "El Alamein" battles ever been on this channel? I mostly just see old documentaries on it on RUclips.
Gone to TIK’s channel for great documentaries on the north African campaign
No but they do have the SAS
They made a video about Erwin Rommel. Go check it out!
But did they eat tons of baguettes serving France?
Hi again!
@@themightyranger6321 patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.
@@bigbillofficial *LEGION LI🅱tards owned despacito style* 😎
They served the legion, not france.
@Jonathan Williams Belgian legionaries don't need pudding, they've got the best chocolate. Plus the best weapons forged by FN with holy care as to please the qualities standards of John Moses Browning.
I remember when I was in high school I wanted to Join the French Foreign Legion, I use to pour over several of their notable actions in conflicts all around the world. The concept of mercenaries is snubbed due to companies like Blackwater at the time but I always saw The Legion as one of the prime examples of honor and bravery and I respect the fact they've been seen as such by many others.
Foreign legion is such interesting case, they're like mercenaries but at the same time they're part of official army. Very unique
Why didn't you join after all?
Please do Tuskegee airmen and Navajo wind talkers
It's code talkers.
I typically say that but in my region people say wind talker more
Also the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The unit made up with Japanese Americans. They fought ferociously in the European Theater.
Good idea
A video on the 442nd RCT would be great as well. So surprised he hasn't done one on them as they are the most decorated US military unit in history.
I served in the french foreign legion 1st infantry unit and can honestly say it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. The training is harder then most but only mentally, the kepi blanc March was actually 80km and we would all share a radio (25kg) take it in turns carrying it, everyone has to change their name no matter if you have no criminal history so one doesn’t feel singled out. To get in initially all you need to do is 8 pull ups, best and worst times of my life
what country are you originally from?
@@jame9277 uk
@@skankhunt4265 fier de vous soldat ! for serving my country
why best times and why worst times of your life???
8 pull ups? i could do this with very little preparation
"Legion of the Damned" is a sci-fi story of the future Legion. I picked it up used because it was the name of old paintball team. I've read the book six times.
Honestly, the Lizard camo pattern of the Foreign Legion is my personal favorite.
No sausages for the Belgians!
@Napoleon I Bonaparte
Sorry to offend thee, your Highness, but all the Belgians ever eat is waffles, chocolates, fries and other sweet stuff.
Because they are lazy shirkers
tien voilà de boudin
This is the best history channel of all time!
Can you do the Spanish-American War?
Or the Philippine-American War?? Its was after the Spanish-American War
Jed sana sana...
¿Cuál de ellas? XD
The story of the last 5 legionnaires made me cry a little
Dont. They were there to perform a takeover the the mexican government and put a french puppet government king in power. They had no right being there.
@@robertharris6092 They were soldiers doing their job. Its anacronical to use the current set of morals on soldiers from 1860's. These soldiers were honorable and fought to the end. History should judge rulers, not the common folk.
@@robertharris6092 How's the Mexican gov looking now though wololo
@@uncompressed_wav_file except these arnt just soldiers. Its french foreign legion. They have to go out of their way to join them.
@@adebisischibetta2940 now isnt then.
You should do the winged hussars
They've already done it
AND THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED!!!
@Rogerio Lopes uh no sorry in fact they didn't do it but Epic Teaching of the History did it
Take a shot everytime he says Legion or Legionnaire.
And... Dead
Im a kid I cant
I kinda want to though but I don’t want to do alcohol so I will just do orange juice
Annnd black out.
But it has to be wine..
Respect from Germany 👏🇩🇪
There are a lot of German in French Foreign Legion. Thats a good thing.
@@fatihinankeles590 That's TRULY a good thing, because it's the least Germany could PAY for their WW2 crimes.
@@kevinli1438 yeah I guess. But also its nice to see French and Germans can figth under one flag.
@Senpai Ikki yeah true lol
@@kevinli1438 WW2 Crimes that people of our time didn't make ? wtf are you saying
"why are you running at the enemy head on without a rifle?! you're going to get injured!"
"I NEED THAT CITIZENSHIP"
I had a friend in the FFL. He sadly died of fentanyl overdose when he was back in Canada. He always had a bit of a drinking problem and apparently he got really drunk one night and while his inhibitions were down, he tried fentanyl for the first time and the combo of those two suppressants killed him. He couldn't joint the Canadian military because he had a record here in Canada. Super fit guy, always going for runs when I saw him before he left. Sad. I think he was 28.
Was he the guy who had the channel littlest viking?
@@brandont1465 No, I don't believe so.
Well the FFL is not the only elite soldiers of the french army,we have the commandos know as fusiller marin,and the chasseur alpin (alpin hunters) are tough m8
CPA 10. 8e RPIMA aussi. C'est des FS
Et le commando Hubert
MAD Fiction04 insecure
Ne confondez pas Force Special et troupe d'élite ;)
GIGN?
It's like the night watch on game of thrones.
Forget your past and swear allegiance to the brotherhood.
" Theses are not mens, they are devils "
You will never realise how true this is. The logic behind the legion is that to earn French citizenship, you have to deserve it, and as the french military was already pretty rude to french, the Legion had to be even ruder. And as a french, born and raised in France, i will always say this : Thoses guys are more french than me.
They're training and mentality are ruthless, and a friend of mine who was in the military explained what happened while the Legion was coming to they're camp : There are two rules with legionary that you have to respect at any cost : For men's, No eyes contact, for women's : Don't ever get out of your barrackement as long as they're around.
Absolute mad men's
C'est ça. Être légionnaire c'est avoir un certains prestige. Faire parti d'une famille qui a des valeurs.
Ah, j'avais pas vu que t'étais français
Wait, what? They allow women in the Legion now?
@@Gangst3r4ever non, there is no women
So what, rapists then?
LEGIO PATRIA NOSTRA ! , HONNEUR ET FIDELITE!
Allez les legionaires!!
A la legion pas au peuple de France.
Read Beau Geste. It’s one of the best stories ever written, has 3 “sequels” and gives you a very good idea of what the Life of a Legionnaire was like.
Do a video on the fall of Constantinople please
Provocateur you mean crimean war, I agree, stupid fucing britan and france fighting for Turks
These guys are so badass. They read like a military force someone made up as a kid for their OC to be a part of.
I feel called out lmao
One of my grand uncles served the foreign legion as a marksman for four years before going back to a civilian life. According to him, he killed multiple dozens of enemies, but always hated it. He said the difficulty in sniping for him was to actually see the enemies face through his scope and take his life. That was also his reason for leaving. He passed away a couple of years and I never talked to him personally, though I kinda wish I did.
you said the most common speech of a sniper and made a corny story.
Northern Crusades video?
DEUS VULT
Deus Vult Deus Vult Deus Vult, Deus Deus Deus Deus Vult!
"hey do you have the time"
"yeah it's uhh . . .
time to conquer -jerusalem- *Livonia*
Could you make video about the French Old Guard (Napoleons elite unit) PLS 🙂
VIVA MÉXICO 🇲🇽 con respeto a los franceses 🇫🇷
Respeto a vosotros tambien, aunque los franceces ganaron muchas batallas, al final, son los mexicanos que ganaron, luchando para su pais, y esto es mas honorable que ninguna otra causa, respeto a el Mexico
I thought Erwin Rommel was german.
@@solidsnek4202 He is.
LEGIO PATRIA NOSTRA! Thanks for bringing honor and shining a light on the French units!
2:43
**In battle..**
Someone: So if I get injured, I get a citizenship automatically..
Someone: **Shoots their leg.**
I don't get it. What's the difference between ''In battle'' and ''In combat''?
Or you can serve for 3 years and get the citizen ship and 2 more years to go
@@j-oer2169 one takes place in combat, the other takes place in battle.
If you shoot yourself, or if your wound's origin cannot be ascertained, they'll get suspicious.
Yes they call it the John Kerry law🤣🤣🤣
Can you do a video about the Volkssturm please
My grandfather fought in the mexican war, he earned a medal and therefore was given a painted portrait that still hangs in my grandparents house. I inherrited his name, Alexandre.
I’m mexican, some infantry French stayed in México after the war in the Cerro de la Peña (Peña Hill) on the Michoacán state. They established in small towns leaving the legacy of bakery and architecture. Many of them carry the last name of Betancourt, Bordeu or Mateiu, till this days, some other change for spaniard names as López, Vega or Palafox, and some others as my great great grandfather Louis Chapel translated to spanish as Capilla. Respect to the great France
@@juanrios2766 That's awsome, history is valuable.
A video on the Night Witches would be a nice change. All female Soviet bomber regiment during the second world war.
Over 23,000 sorties flown with over 3,000 tons of explosives dropped.
Two were arrested for dismantling a signal flare and using the silk parachute to sew underwear and sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
Twenty three members were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest award in the Soviet Union.
And they used the Po-2 for their sorties. The worst bomber aircraft in the world.
@@bordias5922 Plus the song Sabaton did on them is pretty sweet.
Night bomber regiment!
There is already a Russian show on them. I remember watching a few episodes in my Russian I and Russian II class in high school.
Evrybody talks about the Night Bomber Regiement... But what about 586th Fighter Regiment and its fermale aces like Lydia "White Lily of Stalingrad" Litvyak or Yekaterina "Katya" Budanova ?
Very informative video. This video does bring to mind two classic film favorites of mine; Laurel & Hardy's "Flying Deuces," as well as Abbott & Costello's "In The Foreign Legion." Despite both films being comedies, the productions do not insult the Legion as a whole. There is comedic poking at some of the Legions well known attributes, (like men joining to forget their pasts, etc.) but the films do always depict the Legion as formidable and disciplined.
They should make a Six Siege characters based off this
The FFL is a military branch, not CTU
It'd be better to just add some cosmetics for the GIGN, maybe the white kepi.
@@hawtdawg8049 >Mick Jagger voice< Yeah!
Do not disgrace the legion with that trash game.
@@Collateral0 Trash game?!? What sort of Heresy is this?
Regular Soldiers: "let's surrender since we're outnumbered and out of ammo".
French foreign legion: "outnumbered by 10 to 1 and out of ammo? I like those odds".
Respect to the Légion étrangère from Spain. Those guys are tough as nails.
What about a video about the Spanish (not now Foreign) Legion?
I nearly joined the Legion after my service in the Royal Engineers but ended up roofing instead and been doing so for 20 years!
The french king when someone asks what to do with the ex soldiers: *"YEET THEM INTO BATTLE"*
My old MCpl at BMQ here in Canada trained with the French Foreign Legion, he was an absolute UNIT
My boys never surrender.
LE BOUDIN!⚜️
Qu'est ce qu'un belge ? Rien de plus qu'un français avec un drôle d'accent. (En parlant des Wallons)
Thirty years ago I knew a USAF Msgt who had a story. During the Vietnam war he was stationed in Guam. There he meet a Legionnaire who was there with the French Air Force. He noticed the man had an SS blood type tattoo. He asked about it and the Legionnaire confirmed he had been in the Waffen SS. I had no way to verify his story. At the time I believed the story, and still do
You can believe it. Many germans did enlist in the FFL after the war. From what I’ve read that between 20000 and 30000 german POW’s were enlisted as légionnaires in the beginning of the Indochina war. Among those 8 to 10% were former SS.
The FFL Sapper uniform is one of the most badass military uniforms still in use.
huh, never knew all this, though from what I can tell, the Foreign Legion is still basically the French Suicide Squad.
"General, we need a metric buttload of soldiers who no one will miss or mourn when they die."
"I know juuuuust the people."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Squad
At least serb when they recruita sshoels they do'nt make an elite formation of mercenaries out of it. They use them as cheap canon fodder..... French legionaire laoth the people.
Still a sol-die'r
Correction: At the start of the battle of Camarón the French legion fought mexican militia not rebels. The french never manage to control all of México and the mexican government was still in charge. Also I think the reinforcements were regulars which was rare because at that point the mexican government couldn't afford to pay an army so militias did most of the fight.
Great video, as always simple history! Been subscribed since before the release of your World War Two book!
I spent 1 year in the commandos of the French airforce, once we set up a camp in the Landes woods, a brigade of the Legion came to set up their camp next to ours. Our sargeant told us never to go in their camp, they would "eat us alive". We had to dig a deep ditch between the 2 camps, we set up 4 machine gun nests pointed at them, we were all scared shitless, starting with our officers. These legionnaire are beyond soldiering.
Sorry for being late, but weren't you on the same side? They wouldn't kill you right? So why so many defences. 😅😂
@@faisalnehal372 they are on no side when it comes to basic needs, they made them animals to have them fight better
Its a good day when simple history uploads a video
Да
Vladimir Mashkov Gonna kill a 100 million people commie?
@@bowen1704 as much as I can. Including your bloodline
Vladimir Mashkov You Evil bastards
I knew I guy who was in the Legion. The guy was in the wehmacht, escaped to the French zone after WW2 and was deployed to Algeria and Southeast Asia.
Some of them were in Indochina war too (In total, 11000 legions were killed 3000 of them were from Germany).
you should do the rhodesian bush war 1965-1979, it's the second UDI from the brits in history, the first being the USA
UDI?
CAUSE WE'RE ALL RHODESIANS AND WE'LL FIGHT YOU THICK AND THIN
Tritonewt UDI: Unilateral Declaration of Independence
I love how he "forgot" the battle of Dien Bien Phu
French Foreign Legion. Ultimate badasses.
Buta s Thomas Sankara said, "Un solat sans éducation politique est un criminel en puissance !" If there is a revolution in France they ill not side toward the revolutionnaries, they are just a buch of mercenaries brainwashed to laoth the people...... Most serious revolutionnary in France think of disbanding the legion.
Danish-Prussian War (1864)
Austro-Prussian War (1866) Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
TheGamingBrothers Challenge EVERYTHING PRUSSIAN
Ok but Napoleon invade Prussia in 19 Day....
Dustman00 lol agreed. It took 3 generation of Monarch to make Prussia strong. It only took one incompetent nephew to destroy it. During the Napoleonic War, Prussia was still using outdated tactics from 30 years ago.
hey, do you have a source on the danish Prussian war? can't find anything about the legion in that war :)
@@sims09b Everebody think Prussia is strong because they won 3-4 wars...
when I watch the movie "Legion", I was curiosity about this military force since that day
Basically, the pecking order goes like this:
Wolf < bear < tyrannosaurus Rex
I know this reference xd
*Do Napoleon Bonaparte next!*
I remember learning about the French Fountain Legend when I was in middle school from my uncle and dad. My uncle was a history teacher and both are U.S. Army veterans. It came up one day .
I’ve been thinking about serving in the legion. Honestly, since about 2011... I might someday.
A massive hello, from 2eREP.
Very good video 🖐
7:52 Before author said anything, I thought like "Oh that`s clearly a canadian cluster of the legion".
In RUSE game,the legionnaries is a great infantry in the game
From my experience I had more success with the Forgien legion that I did the Soviet heavy infantry in R.U.S.E.
@American Crusader true, their pretty good to, and the airborne and the rangers are better for Anti Tank then the Russian heavies.
Vive la France !!! Honnor and Country.
Yeah but, reking Vietnam, Algeria, I mean, not to excuse the communism and islam but, they roughed up some places awful simply so French colonials could come in and subjugate the people there
Les légionnaires nous haïssent ça fait parti de leur lavage de cerveau.
Hello , i am french , i love your presentation of the history of the légion étrangère
Some Historian: How many wars were you apart of?
French Foreign Legion: uhh since 1830 so all of them since then.
Some Historian: oh...
Thank you I've requested this video for a while.
Fun fact: the FFL is not the only one who allows forgien volunteers their is also more like the Spanish legion
The spanish legion only allows people from countries that were previously colonised by Spain .. And the Rusian F Legion allows people from countries who were part of the USSR
@@brandonzuniga1740 oh... Okay
@@brandonzuniga1740 does that mean technically Americans can join the Spanish Legion?
@@Felix-dg9rt Probably only folks in Florida, but maybe in what used to be the Louisiana territory.
@Anon basically Latin America can serve in the Foreign Spanish legion.
My professor was in the foreign legion when he was younger.😃💪