[11][16] Since its establishment in 1831, the Legion has consisted of hundreds of thousands in active service at its peak, and suffered the aggregated loss of nearly 40,000 men[17] in France, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Madagascar, West Africa, Mexico, Italy, Crimea, Spain, Indo-China, Norway, Syria, Chad, Zaïre, Lebanon, Central Africa, Gabon, Kuwait, Rwanda, Djibouti, former Yugoslavia, Somalia, the Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Mali, as well as others.

Created to fight "outside mainland France", the Foreign Legion was stationed in Algeria, where it took part in the Algerian genocide and destruction of the natural habitat of the colony, notably by drying the marshes in the region of Algiers.

Although initial reservations had been expressed about whether the Legion should be used outside Africa,[21] the Crimean experience established its suitability for service in European warfare, as well as making a cohesive single entity of what had previously been two separate foreign regiments.

The remaining three wounded men were brought before the Mexican commander Colonel Milán, who allowed them to return to the French lines as an honor guard for the body of Danjou.

[29] According to French law, the Foreign Legion was not to be used within Metropolitan France except in the case of a national invasion,[30] and was consequently not a part of Napoleon III's Imperial Army that capitulated at Sedan.

The Foreign Legion's First Battalion (Lieutenant-Colonel Donnier) sailed to Tonkin in late 1883, during the period of undeclared hostilities that preceded the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885), and formed part of the attack column that stormed the western gate of Sơn Tây on 16 December.

The battalion played an important role in Colonel Jacques Duchesne's offensive in March 1885 that captured the key Chinese positions of La Table and Fort Bamboo and disengaged Keelung.

In 1892, King Béhanzin ordered his soldiers to attack villages near Grand Popo and Porto-Novo (in modern-day Benin) in an effort to reassert the older boundaries of Dahomey.

The annexation of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany in 1871 led to numerous volunteers from the two regions enlisting in the Foreign Legion, which gave them the option of French citizenship at the end of their service.

In World War I, the Foreign Legion fought in many critical battles on the Western Front, including Artois, Champagne, Somme, Aisne, and Verdun (in 1917), and also suffered heavy casualties during 1918.

[37] While suffering heavy casualties on the Western Front the Legion had emerged from World War I with an enhanced reputation and as one of the most highly decorated units in the French Army.

While serving as colonel of the 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment (1925–1931), Rollet was responsible for planning the centennial celebrations of the Legion's foundation; scheduling this event for Camarón Day 30 April 1931.

The 13th Demi-Brigade, formed for service in Norway, found itself in the UK at the time of the French Armistice (June 1940), was deployed to the British 8th Army in North Africa and distinguished itself in the Battle of Bir Hakeim (1942).

Contrary to popular belief however, French policy was to exclude former members of the Waffen-SS, and candidates for induction were refused if they exhibited the tell-tale blood type tattoo, or even a scar that might be masking it.

[43][44][45] Constantly being deployed in operations, units of the Legion suffered particularly heavy losses in the climactic Battle of Dien Bien Phu, before the fortified valley finally fell on 7 May 1954.

While the garrison of Dien Bien Phu included French regular, North African, and locally recruited (Indochinese) units, the battle has become associated particularly with the paratroops of the Foreign Legion.

In 1961, at the issue of the putsch, the 1st Mounted Saharan Squadron of the Foreign Legion[53] (French: 1er Escadron Saharien Porté de la Légion Etrangère, 1er ESPLE) received the missions to assure surveillance and policing.

[65] The Foreign Legion does not accept women in its ranks, however, there has been one official female legionnaire, Susan Travers, an Englishwoman who joined the Free French Forces during World War II.

Since, in view of the rugged Indochinese climate, older men without previous tropical experience constituted more a liability than an asset, the average age of the Foreign Legion enlistees was about 23.

Worn by ordinary legionnaires and non-commissioned officers beneath the rank insignia and regimental emblem only on the left sleeve of the dress uniform,[91] each chevron denotes five years of service in the Legion.

In addition to undertaking road building and entrenchment work, such units were tasked with using their axes and shovels to clear obstacles under enemy fire opening the way for the rest of the infantry.

[105] In the Crimea itself (1854–59) a hooded coat and red or blue waist sashes were adopted for winter dress,[106] while during the Mexican Intervention (1863–65) straw hats or sombreros were sometimes substituted for the kepi.

However subsequent colonial campaigns saw an increasing use of special garments for hot weather wear such as collarless keo blouses in Tonkin 1884–85, khaki drill jackets in Dahomey (1892)[109] and drab covered topees worn with all-white fatigue dress in Madagascar[110] (1895).

The variances of climate in North Africa led the French Army to the sensible expedient of letting local commanders decide on the appropriate "tenue de jour" (uniform of the day) according to circumstances.

[122] This dress included a white sun helmet of a model that was also issued to Foreign Legion units serving in the outposts of Southern Algeria, though never popular with its wearers.

During the early 1920s plain khaki drill uniforms of a standard pattern became universal issue for the Foreign Legion with only the red and blue kepi (with or without a cover) and green collar braiding to distinguish the Legionnaire from other French soldiers serving in North African and Indo-China.

In 1939 the white covered kepi won recognition as the official headdress of the Foreign Legion to be worn on most occasions, rather than simply as a means of reflecting heat and protecting the blue and red material underneath.

From 1940 until 1963 the Foreign Legion maintained four Saharan Companies (Compagnies Sahariennes) as part of the French forces used to patrol and police the desert regions to the south of Morocco and Algeria.

These include: Beyond its reputation as an elite unit often engaged in serious fighting, the recruitment practices of the Foreign Legion have also led to a somewhat romanticised view of it being a place for disgraced or "wronged" men looking to leave behind their old lives and start new ones.

Experts say the change opens the way for Commonwealth of Independent States citizens to get fast-track Russian citizenship, and counter the effects of Russia's demographic crisis on its army recruitment.