On this date in 1863, 62 Legionnaires of and three Legion officers en route to Palo Verde, Mexico defended La Trinidad Hacienda in the small village of Camarón, Mexico. The Légion Étrangère, along with French regulars, were in Mexico supporting Emperor Napoleon III of France’s rather stupid bid to place Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, on the throne of Mexico.

After half a day of fighting a mixed force that eventually reached more than 3,000 Mexican cavalry, infantry, and irregulars, Capitaine Danjou, the Legion unit’s OIC, slowly dying of a mortal gunshot wound, shared his last bottle of wine with his men, and asked them to swear upon his wooden hand to fight to the death (Capitaine Danjou lost his left-hand years before, when his musket suffered a catastrophic kaboom).

Refusing an offer of an honorable surrender, they fought on knowing that support was not coming and their supplies were rapidly being exhausted.

In the early afternoon, offered a second chance to surrender, Sergeant Morzycki responded "Merde," the NCO’s version of Brigadier General McAuliffe's famous “NUTS.”

By 1800 hours, with ammunition exhausted save one cartridge each, the last five fixed bayonets and charged the vastly superior force.

Yes, five men launched a bayonet charge against 500 times their number. That is the 19th century equivalent of a Banzai charge.

In the Mexican volley that met the five defiant Legionnaires, three fell: Lieutenant Maudet, mortally wounded; Legionnaire Victor Catteau, who stepped in front of Maudet to protect him, killed outright; and Drummer Lai, gravely wounded (left for dead, somehow he proved hard to kill and survived).

At this juncture, Major Campos of the Mexican forces, ordered the remaining Legionnaires to surrender, to which Corporal Phillipe Maine answered, "We will surrender if you leave us our weapons and our equipment. You also have to promise to take care of our wounded lieutenant."

Campos agreed. A damned good man, is my measure of Major Campos.

When Campos brought the trio of surviving Legionnaires to Colonel Milán (the Mexican OIC), Milán asked, "Is this all of them? Is this all of the men who are left?" Then, in amazement, he exclaimed, "These are not men! They are demons!"

Each year, the Légion Étrangère commemorates the Battle of Camarón at its headquarters in Aubagne, France, and everywhere else Legionnaires are serving. Even during the hell of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, Legionnaires launched a counterattack for the sole purpose of recovering an air-dropped box of Vinogel, a disgusting concentrated red wine. The purpose: toasting and celebration of Camarón in a valley that ate men at an awful pace.

Capitaine Danjou's wooden hand, recovered by the French after the battle, is carried on the annual parade at the Legion’s headquarters in Aubagne. In 2017, a Vietnamese volunteer who fought with the Legion parachute units, including the 1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutistes, during the war in Indochina, was selected to carry Danjou's wooden hand in the parade. This is the Legion’s highest honor short of being made a Legionnaire, and in my opinion, a long overdue public acknowledgement of the important role the Vietnamese colonial forces, in particular the Vietnamese paratroop units, played in the war against the Vietnamese communist forces under Ho Chi Minh.

For example, the 3rd Colonial Parachute Commando Battalion (3e BCCP), commanded by a legendary French officer, Major Marcel "Bruno" Bigeard, was due for a period of rest and reconstitution, when the Viet Minh under General Giap took the strategic hamlet of Dong Khe on Route Coloniale Four. The next morning, every man of the 3e BCCP, hung over as all hell, was on the tarmac ready to jump into a meat grinder, where over 90% of the force was killed, wounded, captured, or missing.

Even the Mexican military recognizes the courage and commitment of Danjou's small force on 30 April, with annual ceremonies at the memorial site, with political speakers and a parade of various Mexican military units. The village holds a fiesta on the same day.
Men like the Legionnaires of Camarón are rare, and deserve the acknowledgement of everyone with an interest in military history.

So my fellow SIGofrumites, if you’ve a mind to, raise a toast to the brave men of the Legion, and the brave men and women of the American, British, Israeli, French and allied nations' military stationed around the world.

We owe them a great debt.

A fine read and a toast it shall be. Thanks for posting.

Legio Patria Nostra

Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
Legio Patria Nostra

Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère

I don't know much French, but...wouldn't that be "Kepi Blanc?"

Great story. Thanks and A votre santé!

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
Legio Patria Nostra

Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère

I don't know much French, but...wouldn't that be "Kepi Blanc?"

Great story. Thanks and A votre santé!

The embedded video is Kepi Blanc (adapted from the Wehrmacht song the Panzerlied, which had been adapted from a German sailor song) the two quotes above it are Legio Patria Nostra is The Legion is our Fatherland, and Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère is a toast: long live death, long live war, long live the Foreign Legion.

I read of this battle several years ago and it started me on a binge of reading and researching the Foreign Legion.

Very interesting and they are some tough SOB's.

They put hazing into a new perspective.

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340: a long overdue public acknowledgement of the important role the Vietnamese colonial forces, in particular the Vietnamese paratroop units, played in the war against the Vietnamese communist forces under Ho Chi Minh.

The truly ironic part of this is that Ho Chi Minh was not originally a Communist. He just wanted the French out of Indo China as colonial rulers.
He first asked the US to help convince them to grant Vietnam it's independence rather as the British had done for India. We refused since we didn't want to antagonize the French and he turned to anyone willing to help. The Communists were more than willing.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
Legio Patria Nostra

Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère

I don't know much French, but...wouldn't that be "Kepi Blanc?"

Great story. Thanks and A votre santé!

The embedded video is Kepi Blanc (adapted from the Wehrmacht song the Panzerlied, which had been adapted from a German sailor song) the two quotes above it are Legio Patria Nostra is The Legion is our Fatherland, and Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère is a toast: long live death, long live war, long live the Foreign Legion.

Look at the word in the lower right corner of the video.

Kepi Blank.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
Legio Patria Nostra

Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère

I don't know much French, but...wouldn't that be "Kepi Blanc?"

Great story. Thanks and A votre santé!

The embedded video is Kepi Blanc (adapted from the Wehrmacht song the Panzerlied, which had been adapted from a German sailor song) the two quotes above it are Legio Patria Nostra is The Legion is our Fatherland, and Vive la mort, vive la guerre, vive la Légion Etrangère is a toast: long live death, long live war, long live the Foreign Legion.

Look at the word in the lower right corner of the video.

Kepi Blank.

not to mention in white lettering across the top of the video.

BTW, the rest was quite easy to translate.

Joyeux Camerone!