History of The French Foreign Legion - Crimean War

Crimean War

The Foreign Legion received orders to prepare five battalions —three from the 1st Regiment and two from the 2nd Regiment — for service in the Crimean campaign. Two battalions would be drawn from each regiment to form an infantry brigade, while the third remaining battalion would be used as to establish and garrison depot for receiving supplies and reinforcements. The depot was established on the Gallipoli peninsula. Shortly after arriving at Gallipoli, a cholera epidemic broke out and killed over 200 legionnaires. For a while the Legion's brigade was held on station at the Gallipoli depot until eight companies were organized into a battalion de marche and assigned to General François Certain Canrobert's division which had also been afflicted by cholera. On September 14, 1854, the battalion de marche arrived at Calamita Bay. On September 20, the Legion's battalion de marche participated in the Battle of Alma. The battalion de marche acting as skirmishers engaged Russian forces for three hours before the Russians retired from the field. The battalion de marche was later disbanded and the reincorporated into their respective parent units in October as the rest of the Legion's forces arrived from Gallipoli. The reunited brigade was under the command of Brigadier Achille Bazaine. The brigade encamped in the heights near Strelitska Bay, which the French forces were using to land provision for the French forces in the region. The Legionnaires there used to expand the allied entrenchments towards the Russian defensive lines. The Legion spent much of the ensuing months repelling harassing Russian raids against their positions. On May 1, 1855, Legion forces conducted a daring nighttime assault on a crucial heavy mortar battery in Russian lines. Following this and a few subsequent actions, the Foreign Legion largely spent its time engaged in engineering duties such as the construction of entrenchments and other defensive works. Once the Russians evacuated their forces from Sevastopol, the Legion was given the task of occupying the city's port. On March 3, 1856, a the sound of a single cannon's solitary fire signaled an end to the war. By July the elements of the Legion which had deployed to the conflict in Crimea had returned to the headquarters of the Foreign Legion in Sidi-bel-Abbés.