British soldier Robert Petersen joined the French Foreign Legion in the eighties, and has nothing but good memories.

On his website, he shares many aspects of this strange army. One of them is a rather comprehensive collection of movie posters, offering an 80 year retrospective of the Foreign Legion in the movies, from the 1920′s to the present day. The posters originate from the U.S., France, England, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain.

More often than not, films about the Legion are based on the myths that surround it rather than on actual fact. Yet, as they say, “Behind ever great legend there lives a certain amount of truth..“

The Foreign Legion today

The French Foreign Legion was created in 1831, as an elite unit for foreign volunteers, because foreigners were forbidden to enlist in the French Army after the July Revolution in 1830.

It was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century, but has also taken part in all of its wars against other European powers such as the Franco-Prussian War and both World Wars.

Today, the Foreign Legion is still around, with over 7,000 legionnaires and officers from 136 different countries. They have operated in the Middle East, the Balkans and many African countries, and are still engaged in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Chad, and the Ivory Coast.

Movie posters | Foreign Legion website | Foreign Legion on Wikipedia