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The Battle of Camerone (also Battle of Camarón) was an important action during the Second French intervention in Mexico. It occurred in late April 1863. In the eight-hour battle, a company of 65 men of the French Foreign Legion faced almost 2,000 Mexican infantrymen and cavalrymen. This action is portrayed as a pure example of bravery and determination of fighting to the finish.

Thanks to Thomas Kanyak of @ModernConflict for the guest post. -ed. On this date in 1962, Organisation Armee Secrete (OAS) Delta commando leader Roger Degueldre was executed by firing squad at Fort d’Ivry, near Paris, France. Degueldre, 37 years old at his death, was one of only three OAS men executed by France for the terrorist excesses in the end game of the Algerian War in 1961 and 1962. Fittingly, that conflict wrenched to a conclusion five days before Degueldre’s death by musketry, with a referendum confirming Algeria’s independence from France. After the January 1960 “Barricades Week” revolt failed, Degueldre...

So you’ve decided to run away and join the French Foreign Legion? Here’s how. It's Earth's version of taking the Black and heading for the Wall, the way Jon Snow does in Game of Thrones. Joining the French Foreign Legion granted men a safe haven for many for decades. But what does it actually take to join the French Foreign Legion? • Joining the Legion The Foreign Legion, unfortunately, is portrayed in pop culture as packed mercenaries and vagrants — even Jean-Claude Van Damme takes up the cause in one film. A safe haven for men looking for a new...

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Rebel fighters in Ivory Coast drew back on Sunday from the scene of a bruising clash with French troops that halted their advance and took the former colonial power a big step deeper into the messy war. All three rebel factions in the West African country condemned the French for blasting rebel vehicles on Saturday to stop insurgents capturing a key junction in the cocoa-growing region of the world's top producer. The French effectively held the line for President Laurent Gbagbo's mercenary-backed forces as they retreated from earlier defeats to Duekoue, still 300 miles from the main...