Flag of Foreign Legion (LOC) (28468269973)

''Honneur et Fidélité'' ("Honour and Fidelity") is the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

of the Foreign Legion in the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

. It has been inscribed on Legion flags instead of the ''Honneur et Patrie'' (Honour and Fatherland) inscribed on flags of the regular

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

of the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Nevertheless, both mottos share a similar past.

History

This motto of ''Honneur et Fidélité'' was the one written on the banners of Swiss Military units, notably the Swiss

Line Infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Monte ...

Regiments of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

during the

Ancien Regime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word fo ...

. Originally formed as the Régiment de Salis (french: Régiment de Salis) (Swiss regiment at the service of France; 12 companies of 170 men) in 1690, Régiment de Diesbach (french: Régiment de Diesbach), becoming then the 85th Line Infantry Regiment (french: 85e régiment d'infanterie) of the

in 1791. The 3rd Foreign Regiment ( before the creation of the Foreign Legion), throughout all the campaign battles of the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, would remain loyal to the motto of Swiss troops ''Honneur et Fidélité'' which would become that adopted by the Foreign Legion. Rég de Salis-Samade 1782

Foreign Legion (1831–present)

Honneur et Fidélité & Legio Patria Nostra

Generally, mottos and creeds are chosen by a social organisation, a country, a dynasty to dictate a line of action or ideal.Legio Patria Nostra
Official Website of General Command of Foreign Legion, (C.O.M.L.E), Editorial of C.O.M.L.E in ''Képi Blanc''. Retrieved October 6, 2015. The French military mottos are old: the

Musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

s had their own "''one for all, all for one''" (french: un pour tous, tous pour un), most of the foreign regiments in service of France during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

had chosen ''

Nec pluribus impar ''Nec pluribus impar'' (literally: "Not unequal to many") is a Latin motto adopted by Louis XIV of France from 1658. It was often inscribed together with the symbol of the "Sun King": a head within rays of sunlight. Meaning While the motto re ...

'', today the motto of the

1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment The 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment () is the only cavalry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is one of two armoured cavalry regiments of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade. The regiment recently moved camp after being stationed ...

. These mottos were suppressed during the Revolution, when foreign regiments were dissolved and transformed to ''demi-brigades''.

First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...

Bonaparte chose for the

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

the motto ''Valeur et Discipline'' ("Valour and Discipline"), which remained almost until August 1914, when General

Joseph Gallieni Joseph Simon Gallieni (24 April 1849 – 27 May 1916) was a French soldier, active for most of his career as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies. Gallieni is infamous in Madagascar as the French military leader who e ...

had the inscription ''Honneur et Patrie'' ("Honour and Fatherland") written on all emblems; the motto was already featured on the verso of the regimental colours of the first flag of the Foreign Legion from 1831 to 1835, and from 1840 to 1844 following the cession of the Foreign Legion in Spain. In 1920, ''Honneur et Fidélité'' was inscribed on Legion regiments: this motto of the Swiss Regiment of Diesbach under the Ancien Régime was chosen to emphasise on one hand on the perennity of foreign soldiers at the service of France, and on the other the integrity of their service to their institution while serving a country that is not theirs. As a result, and mainly for those two reasons, Lieutenant-Colonel

Paul-Frédéric Rollet Paul-Frédéric Rollet (1875–1941) was a Général

, following World War I, vested his power to inscribe ''Honneur et Fidélité'' on the 3 Foreign Legion regimental flags. His vocation was received and approved by the minister, and the decree of 1920 precised that "Regimental Colours of the Foreign Legion, in existence or created in the future, will carry the motto Honneur et Fidélité".

Alsace-Lorraine

The mottos ''Honneur et Fidélité'' ("Honour and Fidelity") and ''Legio Patria Nostra'' (The Legion is our Fatherland) are the crucible identity of the Foreign Legion. It is not known exactly when and how was born and adopted the motto ''Legio Patria Nostra''. It is possible that it could be approached to the concept of the Legion as a "''go to place''" which surfaced following 1871, when the Legion welcomed a great deal of those from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

, whom became stateless due to the annexation of their regions by Germany. On this subject,

René Doumic René Doumic (7 March 1860, in Paris – 2 December 1937), French critic and man of letters, was born in Paris, and after a distinguished career at the École Normale began to teach rhetoric at the Collège Stanislas de Paris. Life Doumic attend ...

, perpetual secretary of the French academy, cited in 1926 by General Rollet in the preface of the book of Jean Martin ''Légionnaire'', stated: It is thus strongly probable that the question of the Alsace-Lorraine was the origin of this motto, as well as the mass income of foreign volunteers during the World War I.In fact, on 29 July 1914, intellectual foreign nationals launched a support calling to their adopting fatherland :

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European mod ...

was one of these intellectuals who went to serve in the Legion. This calling grabbed success: "it is reported that 5 days following this calling, in one day only on August 3, 8000 foreign nationals volunteered at the recruiting doors!".

Adjudant-Chef Mader

Sometimes, it is also tendered that the motto of ''Legio Patria Nostra'' (The Legion is our Fatherland) was originally warranted to Sous-Lieutenant Max-Emmanuel Mader, known as

Adjudant-chef Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

Mader. Originally German, disappointed by his army, he volunteered in the Foreign Legion in 1908 and fought in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

; he was awarded the rank of commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, the

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

, and was

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

9 times during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, including 3 times at the level of the entire military forces, before he lost his left arm in July 1918 and was discharged. Returning to Strasbourg as guardian of the Rhin Palace, he witnessed the period of the reoccupation of Alsace-Lorraine while pretending to be a

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...

. Mader was the symbol of legionnaires whose fidelity would carry his attachment to his fatherland. The belonging to the fatherland "Legio", does not oblige in any case the repudiation of the original country which the legion respects: the legionnaire is perfectly free of will to keep his nationality, and the legion requests the consent of every legionnaire before sending them to fight in their country of origin. Today, the legionnaire remains a "volunteer serving France with ''Honneur et Fidélité''" and the Legion is their fatherland. General

Aimable Pélissier Aimable-Jean-Jacques Pélissier, 1st Duc de Malakoff (6 November 179422 May 1864), was a Marshal of France. He served in Algeria and elsewhere, and as a general commanded the French forces in the Crimean War. Biography Pélissier was born at Ma ...

, superior commandant of the Province of Oran reminds in June 1854 at the

1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment (french: 1er Régiment étranger, 1er RE) and the 2nd Foreign infantry Regiment are the original and most senior founding regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is also responsible for running sp ...

which was making way to the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

after having constructed

Sidi Bel Abbès Sidi Bel Abbès ( ar, سيدي بلعباس), also called Bel Abbès, is the capital (2005 pop. 200,000)''Sidi Bel Abbes'', lexicorient.com (Encyclopaedia of the Orient), internet article. of the Sidi Bel Abbès wilaya (2005 pop. 590,000), Algeria ...

: "Remember, while following the road of honour, that there is no more beautiful title in the world than that of French soldier, and that these noble

fanion A fanion is a small flag used by the French military; the equivalent of an American guidon or British company colour. The name derives from the Italian word gonfanone, or gonfanon. They were often attached to a small staff which was placed in the ...

s floating at the tip of your

bayonette A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustra ...

s are unfortunately your fatherland."

References