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. 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 Force ...

of the French Republic. 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 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 Musketeers 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 ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

had chosen '' Nec pluribus impar'', today the motto of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment. These mottos were suppressed during the Revolution, when foreign regiments were dissolved and transformed to ''demi-brigades''. First Consul Bonaparte chose for the Grande Armée 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, 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 Gra ...

, 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 att ...

, 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 mo ...

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 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 t ...

; 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 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 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 ...

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), Alger ...

: "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 fanions floating at the tip of your bayonettes are unfortunately your fatherland."

References