Belgian Legion (1792)

The Belgian Legion (French: Légion belge or Légion belgique[a]) was a military unit within the French Revolutionary army composed of volunteers from the Austrian Netherlands in modern-day Belgium.

Its volunteers, predominantly Vonckists, were émigrés from the failed Brabant Revolution (1789–90) and among the 12,000 Belgians who served in the French Revolutionary armies.

Formed in 1792, the Belgian Legion was initially commanded by Colonel Jacques Leunckens who had previously served during the Brabant Revolution as an aide to General Jean-André van der Mersch.

The first was commanded by Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau and served in Champagne.

The future general, Louis Lahure, is believed to have served with the Belgian Legion after being forced into exile in the aftermath of the Brabant Revolution.

Depiction of the Siege of Lille in 1792 in which a unit of the Belgian Legion participated