Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United ...Bean soup Fish with caper sauce Peas mashed and strained Potatoes saute December 14. with macaroni with Roast Baked jJUI"'LlJt:"

A FEW DA VS WITH THE FOREIGN LEGION.

Non n THB EDITOB.-The following i. a translation made for the JOUBII'AL by Major F. A. Mahan, U. S. Arm'!, retired, of an article by Mr. Jean·Jole Frappa, Editor in Chief of L~ Mo .. d6 1I1tUlr (France), appearing in conaecutive number. of that periodical during the month. of April and May, 1914. In a perIoD&! letter Major Mahan aaYI:

"For two or three year. before the exiltinlJ war broke out, the German prel. went mad over the ForeilP' Legion of France. Noth,nf was too bad to say about It. It was maliJned, abused, mlsrepreaented in ' every way; al IOrtl of chargel .. ere made againft it in Germany, but, curiously enough, the l{Teater the abuae the greater the number of young men .. ho ran away from Germany to Joill it. Thi. state of affairs led Mr. Jean·Jole Frappa, editor·in·chief of L, M o .. d, IlltUlrl, to go to Africa, there to Itudy the Foreip Legion alld to report truthfully .. hat he aaw. • • •

'"I'he Foreign Legion hu always had a great fucination for me and it leeml to me that we could have IOmething of the IOrt in the Philippines with advantage to our aervice.

'"The Legion i. an integral part of the French Armr. and the ftag of the Fint Foreign has bC!en decorated with the crosa of the Legion of Honor. Some of the belt officera hav~ aerved with it and luch lervic~, by reason of ita activity, i. rarely if ever declined.

"If my memory aervel me aright, only nine regiments of the French Arm)' carry tbe cro .. of the Legion of Honor On their ft .. , 10 the rank of the Fint Foreign can be easily placed."

W ITH admirable perseverance, the German Press has been carry­ing on a hot, violent campaign against our Foreign Legion for the last two years. It has spared this body no accusation.

It has painted in somber hues the life of the simple young Germans who have been so imprudent as to enlist in the regIments of Sidi-Bel­Abbes or Saida.

There, ill lodged, ill clad, ill fed, held down tight by an iron rod, they are the powerless victims of their officers, real torturers, gold-laced brutes who do not hesitate to inflict the most cruel punishments for the slightest faults, or even to blowout their brains at the least sign of revolt. If wounded on duty they are condemned as unfit for service, cast out without any indemnity, and left to beg or to exhibit their wounds in the music-halls of Berlin.

Still the enlistments in the Legion are more and more numerous, so numerous indeed that there is talk of soon organizing other regiments to lighten somewhat those now existing, of which each one contains more than six thousand men.

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? It was to be able to answer this

for what truth there £el'm~ml!;tic press and in the

and a few

31

which tormented be the assertions of

defenders of the

to prevent their

to be driven

FORT SAINT-JEAN AT MARSEILLES.

a small

report at The for­the this

Have

The weekly detachment of recruits at the railway station.

Sidi-Bel-Abbes.

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33

it were its of the

of the great

FORT SAINTE-CATHERINE AT ORAN.

The new arrivals first come into contact with the as the "Small

find here a an and a nn;T-"",-,,, ... ,m The last named takes down the _ ... '.~ ...... w. "_~'!)""'_ those intended the

the Second at Saida. which is situated on a steep cliff soon to be torn recalls a

on a small scale. It is the same sort of which one is at a level than

buildin~:s which contain the and side of the little which leads to

the successive have created a hollow of the rocks. At the time of my

34

a vast Morocco with 1I .. ' ...... J ... j;; in the earth.

Men at the little

In this which I

a curious scene at

A do in the

arms. neither of now met at the ...... ""'AI,,,. others more sad or more

of men of all The start from

o'clock. The detachment a one of its and went up to the station situated

hour's run there was a of cars and a with trees and

where the station-masters and toward nine o'clock or

between two Little stations were with the sun

enter the men receive a

to be them alike; no

are. The

up, we reached Sidi-Bel-Abbes.

SIDI-BEL-ABBES.

"Bo"'IlC'O": A .ort of short linen jacket.

were

to sell his civilian clothes

and many

THE FIRST FOREIGN-ITS CHIEFS.

One of the kitchens.

A group of u aIlC;ells" (veterans) .

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31

and how to

like to visit the "'".,."'-.,." the doors are open

directed to show me We have

come and " It was said with a

same with a little emotion and anger.

AT DRILL.

THE BAlilRA~K.

in which the movements are ; some act wi th

Let us return now to the quarters which we will visit with the ". .... "t .. ~i' care.

The

a a a company store-room. store-rooms as we have them

Here are the well

the nr,rv1,,,,.,,n, .as a ments for a

call like

Those tell are

ex:ceE~din2' cleanliness of these the walls are

beaten and No

39

and even a little capote is not

Never will or, if it be

meet in town a man whose summer, whose blouse is not

with whiteness. How different from most of

the same clothes. the blue

the latter told from

the African

as to his the is not less so as to his per-son; on the he makes for oued he comes to and scrubs himself down soap from head to foot. the shower baths are As our are

with its own outfit.

HOW THE LEGIONARY IS FED.

Here are kitchens where the

December 13, 1913. Bean soup

Fish with caper sauce Peas mashed and strained

Potatoes saute

December 14. with macaroni

with Roast

Baked jJUI"'LlJt:"

and

Bean Roast

Sauerkraut bacon Potatoes saute

Fritters

Like all the

of the biils of to October 20,

will see that are not than those with mustard roast mutton, fried cod

_~ .• ~ ..... ~, hadlis Parmcllticr. is the in which we the German press accuses us of

of so

40

THE INFIRMARY.

so a with a smile.

found in the officers' The

soldiers contains of all sorts.

we reach the in the offices of

floor. the first floor are wards white sheets. Air and

I have received this same soldiers of all arms. At the time

officer of the German enlisted was under treatment for least,

were way for his on this pretext.) His had been She was at

Bel-Abbes His government had said to officer: "Go no " The

'" '"

the division of this had asked him to come to uv .... ,"l5. to conceal." He had come, he had seen

'" '"

even' if somewhat asked torturers?" he had answered with

men, I listen to them. I saw this German

I did not ask name, the Rhine who

it was or, to be accurate,

'" '"

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42

in the barrack is somewhat

, ..... 'u, .. ,,,, fifes in which

a few men in field­the a rolled relieve comrades and will remain

non-commissioned officer A few friends

of

the units leave the with the colors

attention is

THE SALLE D'HONNEUR."

Let us take a look now at the sa lie of which an old of the first class has

one wills it or the voice in at the end of the and in a

emblem to which is attached the of the first which was

these two : "Honneur the word "Patrie" on other

"Th" S"Ue d'Ho .... e"y is the regimental reception room.

43

with him allowed themselves to be killed so as not to abandon the of their chief.

for these words of the several hours in the sand reached to be carried

die in the memory "

same will be the

THE LEGIONARIES.

Astoin

how­of a

as a lieu-

have here! What will not can call forth. For of great acts or the

almost refuse to lie

to

fired behind the lines come outside and get the

It is the remark of a man a bit off his head I grant, but it shows the of this of real soldiers. In town, in talk of

but heroic and like

ci u u­o L­o ~ E o

..':

., E o

If)

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the one which my in the which we are

would have been called theatrical in this same

who was ... v., .. I' .......

but do not

THE STRING ORCHESTRA.

the them make a snug

who is the third francs.

LEGIONARIES IN THE FIELD.

this

on a hillside where he No water! Still the

Color Guard, First Foreign.

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THE LIFE AT THE SMALL POSTS.

The post once established and the .u,m-,UUJ:C"

be the of our men? It must be and monotonous. months between four walls without other resources than the little Moorish cafe or the French built as soon as and olltside the camp, is

an attractive Moroccans that there is and the unex-

circumstances to time

have no time and fro across the desert

this great enemy: the

THE COMBAT.

violent "",-"" .. ,. with

shot their

The dOWlr is

is a contingent fur­scouts.

"'Spahi: A loldier of a cavalry co.". organized by the Frencb in Algeria. "'H ariuJ; A rather important expedition .ent out by the ",aghu .. , or government of

Morocco. A to

form of madne •• wbich atrangest and wildest acts

soldiers, when it

49

THE LEGIONARY ANn HIS CHIEFS.

come from very different of their classes at our

have obtained their hot-headed fellows

double he has the same

the ranks as the result

the officers of the soon catch from that of

the same way as men like our and so many defects.

There are here both more and more The ishment does not exist. What are three of or house for a man who is there sometimes his whole life? other an offense which a soldier ment in would the '~",'V"G'

I,JU!l">ULU""""" are rows in towll, etc. wish to reduce the

ndllil;r,enc:e would be caUed weak­; he never protests

Pe re Laurent saying mass during a march.

The Hall of Honor, Second Foreign.

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51

himself to him heart and soul and then there is no limit to his And the officer who knows how to use this attachment has in his hand a terrible a man who has misbehaved; he addresses him as you for a

The is of

themselves before their chief if he be ther around his and die to the last man

at

FATHER LAURENT.

brother to his a wounded or

said to me at Merada when the column came that you did not see Father

was not warned that the otherwise he would have come with us. He is our great

!" and his absence of the

matter of he not been warned. Father Laurent is a Franciscan

years of age, who has taken upon

"Le'Mali .. : A prominent Parisian morning paper. I mv old Good I beg thy pardon for

in person note "A very light, narrow·gauge railway, so light, indeed, that it. position can be shifted

easily.

TRANSLA TIONS AND REPRINTS.

fatiguing task of carrying the aid of religion to the wounded and dying. Thin, nervous, active, with brilliant black eyes behind his glasses, he is always on the move, visiting the hospitals of all the posts, bringing newspapers and books, and undertaking commissions for Oudjda or Bel-Abbes. He is, indeed, without distinction of creed, the great com­rade of the soldiers, who hail him joyously and to whom he speaks in the second person singular. A type of the warrior monk of the crusades, rough of speech but kind of heart, he follows the expeditions with a colonial helmet on his head and sandals on his bare feet. Sometimes he

COLOXEL PASSARD, Second Foreign.

rides astride of a mule. Most of the time he walks bv the side of the men, singing the cha,~sons de route" and carrying the -muskets of those who are tired. 'He takes his meals with the officers and with the men. When Colonel Boyer invited him to luncheon in my presence at Guercif, he answered: "Thank you, Colonel, but the calltillier'" has already invited me."

"Songs which &oldie .. sing while on the march. lIThe c"",illi~,. keeps the contin, where food and drink are supplied to the men .

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THE SECOND FOREIGN.

53

is seen time and his

Before cOlnnlet:inl1' this series of "nlll'IIP" I desire to show our readers a few views of the Second at which I did not have time will see that has to envy Be1-Abbes.

The Second whose

his men as say more about

in

commanded Colonel caused him to known

. There is no need to

CONCLUSION.

THE ARMY.· CHAPTER V,-MOBILIZATION.

I. FORMATIONS IN TIME OF WAR.

the army consists of: army III\)UIULCU.

up of the units as

, would doubtless be distributed among

each. of animals

defense of the of communications would not be attached. The rail­

to handle the Decauville systems in the "Cont;luded from May number.