This volume covers the classic ‘Beau Geste’ period, of the French Foreign Legion when the corps was expanded during the most dynamic years of French imperial expansion. Legion battalions fought in the deserts and mountains of southern Algeria and Morocco, as well as in the jungles of North Vietnam, West Africa and Madagascar. Their varied uniforms and equipments for each period and theatre are illustrated and examined. Written by a leading expert on the French Foreign Legion, this is a colorful introduction to the period when the Legion forged their legendary fighting reputation.

Contents

The Legion following the Franco-Prussian War

Algeria 1871–83

Tonkin (N.Vietnam): conquest 1882–85 – pacification 1886–1900

Madagascar: conquest 1896 – pacification 1896–1900

Algerian Desert 1890–1902

Moroccan Intervention: Casablanca 1907–08 – Fes 1911–12 – Eastern High Plains 1908–12

French Moroccan Protectorate 1912–14