books on the foreign legion

Lab_Mouse

Hi,
can anyone recommend a book on the foreign legion.Not one on the experiences of soldiers that have enlisted(read one about a british lad that joined in the fifties and also a good one abought an irish soldier)but more on the history of the legion from when it was formed up to the present day.

Thanks in advance

concussion

'Voices of the Foreign Legion' by Adrian D. Gilbert is a compilation of Legionnaires letters/books tracing the Legion from it's creation in Africa in the 1830's right up to it's PK missions in the Balkans and Congo. It is separated into three main areas -
1 - The making of a Legionnaire
2 - Life in the Legion
3 - The Legion at War.

It's quite a good book, a lot of info and is easy to read. Throught the bibliography you will certainly find more books on the subject.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Voices-Foreign-Legion-French-Words/dp/1845965760/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282128392&sr=1-1

Lab_Mouse

Thanks will look and see if they have it in town

R.Dub.Fusilier

"The Devils Guard" by George Robert Elford is a good read. it details the experiences of German members in the FFL from WW2 till Indochina. good book and hard to find but if you see it snap it up.

muppet01

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Soldier-Irish-Legionnaires-Bosnia/dp/1847170323

Not the worst read in the world,shades of Andy McNab though..

Pure_Cork

"The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French defeat in Vietnam"
and
"Our Friends Beneath the Sands: The Foreign Legion in France's Colonial Conquests 1870-1935"

Both are by Martin Windrow and are supposed to be pretty good. I have The Last Valley, might start it soon, it's a BIG book. I think he has some smaller books about the Legion too.


I've read "French Foreign Legion Operations, 1990-2000" by Yves Debay too. I thought it was really good, and there's lots of great pictures in it. It gives you a bit of info on the various regiments and operations.

Lab_Mouse

Pure_Cork wrote: »

"The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French defeat in Vietnam"

Think I seen that in Waterstones.The 2nd book looks good.Will see if they have it in town.

Fuinseog

R.Dub.Fusilier wrote: »

"The Devils Guard" by George Robert Elford is a good read. it details the experiences of German members in the FFL from WW2 till Indochina. good book and hard to find but if you see it snap it up.

fact or fiction, that is the question.

Fuinseog

Lab_Mouse wrote: »

Hi,
can anyone recommend a book on the foreign legion.Not one on the experiences of soldiers that have enlisted(read one about a british lad that joined in the fifties and also a good one abought an irish soldier)but more on the history of the legion from when it was formed up to the present day.

Thanks in advance

Beau Geste is a must. it is the iamage of the legion.
Monsieur legionnaire (in french).
most contain bit and pieces on the history.
try Osprey

R.Dub.Fusilier

Fuinseog wrote: »

fact or fiction, that is the question.

its probably both faction i think its called , i would say its more fact. the part about their women/girlfriends fighting never seemed real to me.

Fuinseog

R.Dub.Fusilier wrote: »

its probably both faction i think its called , i would say its more fact. the part about their women/girlfriends fighting never seemed real to me.

I bought the book at a flea market and read and reread it several times. there were also sequels to it.
check out the wikipedia (a reliable source?) on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Guard

or just type in The Devils Guard and a lot will come up. its similar to Sven Hassel as many belive he was more creative than facual, but that is probably a topic for another thread.

R.Dub.Fusilier

Fuinseog wrote: »

I bought the book at a flea market and read and reread it several times.

got my copy over 15 years ago for £3.00. have read it a few times and will read it again in the future. never read the other ones but i never came across them either.

concussion

Pure_Cork wrote: »

"The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French defeat in Vietnam"

Absolutely fantastic book, one of the best military books I've read. Keep a month or so of your life free to read it though!!