I always wondered if German soldiers joined allied armies, I ended up in the French archives again for a friend and thought well do some research at the same time for a future blog.
The quickest way to find by nationality is checking the ones that died ‘pour la France’ that is a general search and yes 543 came up. I’m sure some served in the foreign legion.
At the start of the war the foreign legion had several regiments, but in November 15 they were put together in ‘régiment du marche de la legion etrangère .
Lt. colonel Cot being chief until February 1917.
They lost 2 colonels during the war, fought in Artois, Souchez and the Champagne area in 1915
Somme with Belloy en Santerre in 1916, Verdun in 1917 Somme again in April 1918 and not to forget Soissons.
Le livre d’or II gave me all the different nationalities and on the 1 of July 1916 there were 50 in total, Badois ( Bavaria ) : 3 , Alsaciens : 12
Belgians: 136 , Americans : 20, British: 16, Canadiens : 5
But on the 13thof September 1917 only 2 from Badois and 10 Alsaciens. 12 Amercians and 97 Belgians left
On the 25 May 1918 Only 1 American left but 3 from Badois again. I was sure there had to be more
So more pages to flip through to find some German names.
At last the pages with the German soldiers who died were found in the ‘livre d’or I of the Legion étrangère.
officers : Neant ( none)
Troupe : 33
I few of the men :
Alsfasser Alexandre corporal died 18 julliet 1918 at Dommiers he was from Ludwigshaven born in 1879
Bans Georges soldat 2e classe 01.10. 1915 in his personnel file it says he dies 25.09.1915 Souain Marne a day after his 40 birthday he was from St Ingbert in Bavaria
Bauer Joseph adj. Chef died 9.03.1918 in hospital 68 in Cannes of an illness contracted while serving he was from Kronach in Bavaria born in 1877
Chrza François 2e classe died at Givenchy 16.06.1915 born in Hausham bavaria
Deutch Marcel Jules corporal 13.02.1917 he died in the hospital du Val de Grace in Paris of wounds. Originally he came from Mannheim born in 1892
Enard Alfred Gustave 2e classe died in Souain 28.09.1915 he was born in Munich 14.08.1892
Schoepe Frédéric Charles Sergeant died au secteur de Doupierre 05.07.1916 was born in Dusseldorf 16.01.1879
Majority of them signed up in Paris
One Amercian Name should be well known : Alan Seger, strange the livre d’or has him killed on the 5th of July 1916 at Belloy en Senterre. Al other sources say the 4th of July 1916.
Kenneth weeks died on the 17th of June 1915 north of Arras
Now time to focus on my own country for once.
4 Belgians died as officers in the French foreign legion
Clermont Oscar Nicolas Odelin Second Lieutenant signed up in Paris in 1898, was born in Verviers on 03.06.1878 met his death at Givenchy in June 1915 date is not clear, between the 16th and 18th
Fontaine Paul also a second lieutenant joined in 1911 in Oran ( Algeria) died in hospital 26 at Boanne Loire of an illness , he originally came from Vorst near Brussel
De Montgomery Love well it is Jacques Roger Richard Raoul Rodolphe Eglington lieutenant from Nederbrakel, dated of birth and when he joined both say 1879, that cannot be correct. He died 07.09.1918 at Neuville sur Marqival Aisne
With a name like this he must be nobility, Montgomery love d’Egligton was born 21 October 1879 in Nederbrakel and was rejected to be naturalised in France in 1915
While I jumped from one archive to another I realized I just ended up in the files Décrets de naturalisation de l’année 1915 and al the names I found were in the French foreign legion and all were rejected to become Frenchmen, one German name came up Vogts Albert.
But why were they all rejected? the French decrees I found don’t make sense
Teirlynck Maurice died as a captain on 31.05.1918
156 other Belgian rangs died while serving in the French foreign legion.
sources :
memoires des hommes
Images : wikipedia Alan Seeger, American soldiers in the legion