The ''Légion impériale'' was a military unit created by the
Vichy French
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
government in November 1942, with the support of Nazi Ambassador
Otto Abetz
Heinrich Otto Abetz (26 March 1903 – 5 May 1958) was the German ambassador to Vichy France during the Second World War and a convicted war criminal. In July 1949 he was sentenced to twenty years' hard labour by a Paris military tribunal, he was ...
, to oppose the Allies, who had invaded North Africa in order to drive the Axis out. In April 1943 it was renamed ''Légion des Volontaires Française de Tunisie'' (Legion of French Volunteers of Tunisia), and it went into captivity upon the Axis surrender in Africa in May.
Organization
They were only able to raise a single weak
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...
for the ''Legion'', called the ''Phalange Africaine'' (African phalanx). It consisted of 400-450 men, about 2/3 French and 1/3 Algerians.
Commanding officers
The battalion was commanded by Colonel
Simon Petru Cristofini.
Operational history
In the spring of 1943 it fought along with the remnants of the
German 334th Infantry Division.
See also
*
Operation Torch,
North African Campaign
*
Vichy France
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...
External links
* Pipes, Jason.
334.Infanterie-Division. Retrieved April 4, 2005.
* Wendel, Marcus (2005).
Phalange Africaine. Retrieved April 4, 2005.
Military units and formations of France in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military of Vichy France
Collaboration with the Axis Powers
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