Foreign legion
Foreign Legion is a title which has been used by a small number of military units composed of foreign volunteers. It usually refers to the French Foreign Legion, a wing of the French Army established in 1831, but also the Spanish Legion, part of the Spanish Army, established in 1920, both of which were operating mainly in North Africa. Referring to individual soldiers, "legionnaire" has been used by many states to refer to soldiers who are neither citizens nor imperial subjects of the states whose military they join. More than 90 states have implemented such recruitment policies between 1815 and 2020.[1]
Foreign Legion may also refer to:
Military
- Brigade of Gurkhas, light infantry unit of the British Army
- Foreign volunteers, a term for troops joining a foreign army
- International Brigades, of the Spanish Civil War
- International Legion, created in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi
- King's German Legion (KGL), a British Army unit of expatriate Germans during the Napoleonic Wars
- Mahal (Israel), foreigners serving in the Israeli army
- Polish Legions (Napoleonic period), Polish military units that served with the French Army, 1790s–1810s
- Portuguese Legion (Napoleonic Wars), a Portuguese military force in Napoleon's Imperial Armies
- Rhodesian Light Infantry, informally known as Rhodesian Foreign Legion (1961–1980)
- Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL), informally known as Dutch Foreign Legion (1830–1950)
- Royal Sicilian Regiment (1806-1816)
- Russian–German Legion, a Russian Army unit of expatriate German personnel during the Napoleonic Wars
- Spanish Legion, a quasi-independent unit of the Spanish Army
- Värvat främlingsregemente, Recruited Foreigners Regiment, Swedish regiment of Polish deserters
Entertainment
- The Foreign Legion, a 1928 silent film
- Foreign Legion (band), a punk band from Wales
- Foreign Legion (album), a 2002 album by Murfreesboro
- Foreign Legion (Tin Hat album), a 2010 album by Tin Hat
- Foreign Legion (wrestling) (La Legión Extranjera), a loosely affiliated group in Mexican wrestling
- Foreign Legions, a 2001 anthology edited by David Drake
See also
- List of military legions
- Tarzan and the Foreign Legion (1947 novel) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950 film)
- Swiss Guards
- French Foreign Legion (disambiguation)
- Legion (disambiguation)
References
- Grasmeder, Elizabeth M.F. "Leaning on Legionnaires: Why Modern States Recruit Foreign Soldiers". International Security. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
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