Lieutenant General Raoul Magrin-Vernerey, better known under his nom de guerre, Monclar, Inspector of the French Foreign Legion and a hero of World War II, supported Chief of Staff of the French Army General Clément Blanc's decision to form a volunteer force and agreed to command the new unit, accepting a demotion back to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Despite initial fears about French forces being "on the rout",[1] the battalion carried out several successful early actions and earned the respect of General Matthew Ridgway, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army.

[2]: 285–95  These battles, during which the battalion resisted the attacks of four Chinese divisions for three days, allowed the 8th Army to score a victorious counter-offensive.

Forty-four of the French casualties were eventually buried at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, South Korea.

[4] In an address to a joint session of the United States Congress on 22 May 1952, General Ridgway said the following:[5] ...I shall speak briefly of the Twenty-Third United States Infantry Regiment, Col. Paul L. Freeman commanding, with the French battalion... Twice isolated far in advance of the general battle line, twice completely surrounded in near zero weather, they repelled repeated assaults by day and night by vastly superior numbers of Chinese infantry...I want to record here my conviction that these American fighting men with their French comrades in arms measured up in every way to the battle conduct of the finest troops America or France has produced throughout their national existence.One member of the French Battalion, Louis Misseri, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States for his actions.

His citation reads: The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Louis Misseri, Sergeant, Army of France, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with the Third Company, French Battalion, attached to the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces at Pia-ri, Korea on September 26, 1951.

The last man to leave the hill, except for one other who helped him because of his wounded condition, he would not allow himself to be evacuated until he had made a complete report of his mission.

One of the very few men to reach the top of "Heartbreak Ridge" during this costly attack, Sergeant Misseri's gallantry and extraordinary devotion to duty reflect the highest credit on him and uphold the finest traditions of the Army and the Republic of France.