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

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

of the Foreign Legion in the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

. 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 (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

of the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

Regiments of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

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'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Socié ...

. Originally formed as the Régiment de Salis () (Swiss regiment at the service of France; 12 companies of 170 men) in 1690, Régiment de Diesbach (), becoming then the 85th Line Infantry Regiment () 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, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

, would remain loyal to the motto of Swiss troops ''Honneur et Fidélité'' which would become that adopted by the Foreign Legion.

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 ( ) 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 precursor to the rifl ...

s had their own "''one for all, all for one''" (), 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'', 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 has been stationed at Camp Carpiagne near ...

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

First Consul The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French Empire on 18 May 1804. During this period, Napoleon Bonap ...

Bonaparte chose for the

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First 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 military officer, active for most of his career as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies where he wrote several books on colonial affairs. He was rec ...

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 French Army 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 (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

, 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 ...

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 a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

; he was awarded the rank of commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, the

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "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) 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 of t ...

9 times during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 hearing impairment, deaf and muteness, could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak ...

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

1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment () is a depot regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is located at Aubagne. The regiment is also responsible for running special institutions of the Legion. These include the magazine ''Képi Blanc'', the ...

which was making way to the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

after having constructed Sidi Bel Abbès: "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

bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

s are unfortunately your fatherland."

References