French Foreign Legion 1914-45

The volunteers' integration was hampered by die French Army's shortage of suitably experienced cadres. The men posted to lead these volatile multinational units were often unequal to the challenge they posed, being ageing Territorials or reservists of rigid outlook. Under the special circumstances of 1911 (including the obvious problem of language) large groups of single nationalities were allowed to serve together - a mistake which the Legion had avoided since the 1830s, This soon caused tensions between companies, and encouraged national groups to make concerted demands for special treatment. As damaging was the gull between the new volunteers and the North African veterans. These rock-hard old drunkards regarded the duration-only volunteers as whining civilians unworthy of the proud status of legionnaires which they themselves had earned through hard years in Morocco; the volunteers resented and feared the African veterans as uncomradely brutes. Exposure to the new realities of warfare would weld rhe survivors together soon enough.
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