Franco-Prussian War
According to French law the Legion was not to be used within Metropolitan France, and thus, it was not a part of Napoleon III's Imperial Army that capitulated at Sedan. With the defeat of the Imperial Army, the Second French Empire fell and the Third Republic was created.
The problem was that the new Third Republic was desperately short of trained soldiers, so the Legion was ordered to provide a contingent. On October 11, two provisional battalions disembarked at Toulon, the first time the Legion had been deployed in France itself. They attempted to lift the Siege of Paris by breaking through the German lines. They succeeded in re-taking Orléans, but failed to break the siege.
Read more about this topic: History Of The French Foreign Legion
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