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French Foreign Legion Paratroops

By: Osprey

Type: Softcover

Product Line: Elite - 20th Century - Post World War II


Product Info

Title
French Foreign Legion Paratroops
Publisher
Category
Author
Martin Windrow, Wayne Braby
Publish Year
1996
Pages
64
Dimensions
8x10x.25"
NKG Part #
2147866704
MFG. Part #
OSPELI006
Type
Softcover
Series
ELI6

Description

The decision, in Spring 1948, to form two battalions of Foreign Legion paratroopers was prompted by the requirement for enlarged airborne forces in Indochina, and the healthy recruitment then employed by the Legion. There were some initial doubts. The Legion were known to be magnificent heavy infantry, but were felt by some to lack the flexibility and agility demanded by independent airborne operations. In the Legion itself there were some misgivings over the possible clash between the self-consciously exclusive 'para mentality', and the Legion's own very marked ésprit de corps. Over time, however, all these doubts evaporated with experience.