The French Foreign Legion is an elite corps of the French Army that consists of several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army. It formed part of the Armée d’Afrique, the French Army's units associated with France's colonial project in Northern Africa, until the end of the Algerian War in 1962.
MoulayAbd al-Aziz bin Hassan, born on 24 February 1881 in Marrakesh and died on 10 June 1943 in Tangier, was a sultan of Morocco from 9 June 1894 to 21 August 1908, as a ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was proclaimed sultan at the age of sixteen after the death of his father Hassan I. Moulay Abdelaziz tried to strengthen the central government by implementing a new tax on agriculture and livestock, a measure which was strongly opposed by sections of the society. This in turn led Abdelaziz to mortgage the customs revenues and to borrow heavily from the French, which was met with widespread revolt and a revolution that deposed him in 1908 in favor of his brother Abd al-Hafid.
The 1st Foreign Regiment is a depot regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is located at Aubagne.
The 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion, was created in 1940 and was the main unit of the 1st Free French Division, Free French Forces (FFL). From the coast of Norway to Bir Hakeim, to Africa then the Alsace, while passing by Syria and Italy, the 13th Demi-Brigade would be part of most of the major campaigns of the French Army during the Second World War.
The 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is one of two mechanized infantry regiments of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade.
The ZaianWar was fought between France and the Zaian Confederation of Berber tribes in Morocco between 1914 and 1921 during the French conquest of Morocco. Morocco had become a French protectorate in 1912, and Resident-General Louis-Hubert Lyautey sought to extend French influence eastwards through the Middle Atlas mountains towards French Algeria. This was opposed by the Zaians, led by Mouha ou Hammou Zayani. The war began well for the French, who quickly took the key towns of Taza and Khénifra. Despite the loss of their base at Khénifra, the Zaians inflicted heavy losses on the French, who responded by establishing groupes mobiles, combined arms formations that mixed regular and irregular infantry, cavalry and artillery into a single force.
The 4th Foreign Regiment is a training regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. Prior to assuming the main responsibility of training Legion recruits, it was an infantry unit which participated in campaigns in Morocco, Levant, French Indochina, and Algeria.
The French conquest of Morocco began with the French Republic occupying the city of Oujda in 29 March 1907. The French launched campaigns against the Sultanate of Morocco which culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Fes and establishment of the French Protectorate in Morocco on 30 March 1912. France later concluded, on the 27th November, the Treaty of Madrid with the Kingdom of Spain which established the Spanish protectorate in Morocco. The French still conducted a series of military operations to pacify rebellions in Morocco until 1934.
The Battle of El Herri was fought between France and the Berber Zaian Confederation on 13 November 1914. It took place at the small settlement of El Herri, near Khénifra in the French protectorate in Morocco. The battle was part of the Zaian War, in which the confederation of tribes sought to oppose continued French expansion into the interior of Morocco. Having captured the strategic town of Khénifra earlier in the year, the French, under General Hubert Lyautey, entered negotiations with Mouha ou Hammou Zayani, who led the Zaian. Lyautey thought that peace could be achieved and ordered Lieutenant-Colonel René Laverdure, who commanded the garrison in Khénifra, not to launch any offensives.
The pacification of Algeria was a series of military operations after the French conquest of the Regency of Algiers that aimed to put an end to various tribal rebellions, razzias and massacres of French settlers that were sporadically held in the Algerian countryside. The conflict was an early example of unconventional warfare.
Paul-Jean-Louis Azan was a French general and author. He is remembered for his missions to the United States during World War I and his French historical and military writings which examined and celebrated French Colonial rule in North Africa.
The Battle of Sidi Bou Othman was an important battle fought at Sidi Bou Othman, some 40 kilometers north of Marrakesh, during the French conquest of Morocco. It saw the victory of a French column under Colonel Charles Mangin over the forces of the south Moroccan leader Ahmed al-Hiba in September 1912. As a result of the victory, the French captured the city of Marrakesh and annexed southern Morocco into the French protectorate of Morocco. The conquest was facilitated by the defection of the great qaids of the south, notably the El Glaoui brothers.
General Antoine Jules Joseph Huré was a French army officer and engineer noted for his service in Morocco. Huré joined the army as a volunteer in 1893 and after training at the École Polytechnique and École d'Application de l'Artillerie et du Génie he was commissioned into the 3rd Regiment of Engineers. He spent a number of years with his regiment and on staff appointments in France before transferring to Algeria first with the 19th Army Corps, and then the 15th Army Corps. In 1912 Huré transferred to the general staff in eastern Morocco and earned the Colonial Medal.
Sidi Mhand n'Ifrutant was a Moroccan military leader active during the Zaian War.
Forthassa Gharbia is a small settlement in western Algeria near the Moroccan border, to the west of Aïn Séfra. During the French colonial era it was important as a military post.
Paul-Frédéric Rollet (1875–1941) was a French Army Général who led in the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion RMLE, and was the 1st Inspector of the Foreign Legion, a post which he created under his intentions. Rollet accumulated 41 years of military service out of which 33 were in the Legion and also planned the 100th anniversary of the legion on Cameron day of 30 April 1931. Consequently, he was responsible for creating many of the Legion's current traditions.
The Battle of Taghit was the siege of a fort held by a contingent of the French Army of Africa against Moroccan tribesmen during the South-Oranese Campaign.
The Marching Regimentof the Foreign Legion (RMLE) was a French military unit that fought in World War I and World War II. Initially composed of marching regiments from the 1st Foreign Regiment of Sidi Bel Abbes and the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment of Saida, Algeria, it re-formed as the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment.
The Moroccan Division or the 1st Moroccan Division of 1914, initially the Marching Division of Morocco was an infantry division of France's Army of Africa which participated in World War I.
The Legion Mounted Companies were infantry companies from the French Foreign Legion mounted on mules. While the infantry was very efficient in the Aurès, Kabylie and other mountainous regions, they were slowed when the terrain became flat in the desert. At the end of the 19th century, the 2nd Foreign Regiment set the mounted companies on foot in order to allow these infantry to move over long distances while avoiding fatigue.
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