The French Foreign Legion Pionniers (Pioneers) distinguish themselves by their specific and unique dress uniform :
Axe (French: Hache): serves to destroy obstacles of wood dressed by the enemy. At origin there were 6 kinds of axes to destroy and 7 kinds of axes to hammer.
Leather Apron (French: Tablier de Cuir): Originally colored yellow with heritage to the 18th century and worn by the infantry sapeurs, the apron initially served the function to protect the sapeurs from wooden munitions blasts, breaching blasts and also limiting risks of penetration on obstacles in case of fall. The leather apron is of a tawny color and was officially adopted by the Legion in 1835.
Gauntlet Gloves (French: Gants à Crispin): White Gauntlet Gloves served to protect the hands while destroying obstacles.
Beard (French: Barbe): Since the pionniers were the first to mount combat assaults, their life expectancy was very minimal. Accordingly, from that principle, they reserved the right, when deploying to combat, to not shave and would come back bearded when they survived. The wearing of the beard became mandatory in the French Foreign Legion in 1844.
Pionniers Insignia (French: l’insigne de manche): Worn below the rank insignia on the right arm. The insignia represents two crossed axes, emblem of function of tradition. The lozenges (diamonds) vary in color and depend on ranks:
- Golden Axe on black background for Sous-officiers.
- Golden Axe on black background bordered with gold for the Caporaux-Chefs.
- Green Axe on black background bordered with green for the Caporaux and Legionnaires.
(from Wikipedia)
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https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/08/the-week-in-pictures-who-is-tim-walz.php
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sapeurs
Thank you for looking that up. You made me remember the word I was searching my brain for: sapper. In reading some books in which battle tactics were described for the French and Indian War and for the American Revolution, I encountered the word “sappers,” which referred to the men whose task it was to clear vegetation to aid in the advance of the army.
As soon as I saw that photo, I knew that must be what those men were, but the term would not come into my old head.