Foreign volunteers

The armed forces of many nations have, at one time or another, used foreign volunteers who are motivated by political, ideological or other considerations to join a foreign army. These may be formed into units of a given nationality or may be formed into mixed nationality foreign units. Sometimes foreign volunteers were or are incorporated into ordinary units. The practice has a long history, dating back at least as far as the Roman Empire, which recruited non-citizens into Auxiliary units on the promise of them receiving Roman citizenship for themselves and their descendents at the end of their service^[1]

Contents 1 Reasons for volunteering 2 Mixed nationality units of foreign volunteers 3 Units of foreign volunteers of specific nationality 3.1 American 3.2 British 3.3 Chinese 3.4 Croatian 3.5 French 3.6 German 3.7 Irish 3.8 Italian 3.9 Nepalese 3.10 Moroccan 3.11 Polish 3.12 Portuguese 3.13 Russia 3.14 Scottish 3.15 South Africa 3.16 Spanish 3.17 Swedish 3.18 Swiss 4 See also 5 References

Reasons for volunteering

Three main reasons for volunteering can be identified:

• Ideology - the volunteer believes in a cause and volunteers to fight for it.
• Adventure - the volunteer joins a foreign army to see action.
• Long-term personal or family benefit - the volunteer serves in order to qualify for non-financial benefits, such as forgiveness of sins, citizenship or to acquire an education.

This is a simplistic analysis and, in many cases, a volunteer will be influenced by two or more of these reasons. It follows, therefore, that a unit of foreign volunteers may contain soldiers with different, or different combinations of, motivations.

Mixed nationality units of foreign volunteers

• 62nd (Royal American) Regiment of Foot. Composed of 'foreign Protestants'.
• French Foreign Legion
• Hohenlohe Regiment of France during the Bourbon Restoration.
• International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War
• Islamic Legion
• King's African Rifles
• Mahal - non-Israeli volunteers who fought for Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. There is to this day a Mahal program in the Israeli army.
• The SS (particularly the Waffen-SS) made extensive use of foreigners during World War II. For more information, see: Europäische Freiwillige, Foreign volunteers and conscripts in the Waffen-SS.

• Tercio de Extranjeros, or Tercio, or Spanish Legion - prior to 1987 and in the 2000s, after the abandonment of conscription, the Spanish Army is again accepting foreigners from select nationalities. The Legion today accepts male and female native Spanish speakers, mostly from Central American and South American states. Recruits are required to have a valid Spanish residence permit.
• Rhodesian Light Infantry (initially all-Rhodesian, this unit became the "Foreign Legion" of the Rhodesian Army)
• Many members of the US Marine Corps are of Latin American and not US nationality. The US Army made extensive use of foreign soldiers, particularly Irish and German, during the nineteenth century; German Jewish troops were common during World War II. However, many if not most non-American troops in the United States armed forces are usually seeking the expedited United States citizenship that comes with completion of a term of service, and can be seen as aspiring Americans rather than outright foreigners.

Units of foreign volunteers of specific nationality

American

During both world wars, American volunteers served on the allied side before the USA joined the war.

• The Lafayette Escadrille in the French Air Force, World War I
• The 7th Air Escadrille in the Polish Air Force, Polish-Soviet War
• The Eagle Squadrons in the Royal Air Force, World War II
• The Flying Tigers in the Chinese Air Force, World War II
• The Lincoln Brigade in the side of the Spanish Republican, Spanish Civil War
• Before the US entered the war, many Americans joined the Canadian Forces, especially the RCAF, and served in ordinary Canadian units.

British

• The Auxiliary Legion of the First Carlist War
• The British Legions in the South American Wars of Independence during the 19th century.
• The British Free Corps of the Waffen SS in World War II
• 4,000 british fought in the spanish civil war on the side of the repuplicans.

Chinese

• The Chinese People's Volunteer Army that fought in the Korean War was nominally composed of volunteers sent by the People's Republic of China even though it was in fact composed of regular troops of the People's Liberation Army.

Croatian

• The 1st Croatian Provosional Infantry Regiment, fought on Napoleon's side in Napoleonic Wars
• The 2nd Croatian Provosional Infantry Regiment, fought on Napoleon's side in Napoleonic Wars
• The 3rd Croatian Provosional Infantry Regiment, fought on Napoleon's side in Napoleonic Wars
• The 4th Croatian Provosional Infantry Regiment, fought on Napoleon's side in Napoleonic Wars
• The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar, fought in World War II on German side
• The 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama, fought in World War II on German side
• The 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment as part of German Wehrmacht, fought in World War II
• The 373rd (Croat) Infantry Division, as part of German Wehrmacht, fought in World War II
• The 392nd (Croat) Infantry Division, as part of German Wehrmacht, fought in World War II
• The Croatian Air Force Legion, as part of German Luftwaffe fought in World War II on German side
• The Croatian Naval Legion, as part of German Kriegsmarine fought in World War II on Black Sea

French

• French Foreign Legion accepts foreigners
• Some French emigres who fled to Britain fought in the British Army of the Napoleonic Wars
• Charlemagne Regiment of the SS fought for Germany in the Second World War
• Chasseurs Britanniques of the Napoleonic Wars

German

• King's German Legion in the Napoleonic Wars
• Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War

Irish

• The Irish Brigade in the French Army from 1690 and through the eighteenth century.
• An Irish Legion was part of the British Legions fighting in the South American Wars of Independence
• St. Patrick's Battalion in the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War.
• The Irish Brigade which served on the Union side in the American Civil War in the 1860s
• Irish commandos in the Boer Army during the Boer War
• Connolly Column, fought for the Spanish republic in the Spanish civil war
• The Irish Brigade which fought for the Nationalist rebels in the Spanish Civil War

Italian

• The Redshirts of Giuseppe Garibaldi fought in Southern Italy and Uruguay.
• Corpo Truppe Volontarie in the Spanish Civil War.
• Division Garibaldi fought under Josip Broz Tito's command as a part of NOVJ in Dalmatia and Bosnia, during the Second World War ^[2]

Nepalese

• Gurkhas in the British Army.
• Gorkhas in the Indian Army.
• Gurkha Contingent in the Singapore Police Force
• Gurkha Reserve Unit - a similar type force in Brunei

Moroccan

• Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas in the Spanish Civil War

Polish

• Brigades in the Spanish Civil War.
• Polish Lancers and other Polish forces in the Army of Napoleon.
• Polish Volunteers in many wars and revolutions of the 19th century, including Spring of Nations, Crimean War (on Turkish side) and The Paris Commune.

Portuguese

• Legião Viriato in the Spanish Civil War.

Russia

• Russian Foreign Legion

Scottish

• Scots have a long history of service in the armies of Kings of France since at least the ninth century. The Scottish Guard was formally created by the French King Charles VII in 1422, and existed until the end of the Bourbon Restoration period in 1830.

South Africa

• South African 32 Battalion

Spanish

• The Blue Division of World War II fighting with Germany against the USSR.
• The Blue Legion was formed late in the Second World War out of Blue Division soldiers who refused to leave after Franco required all Spaniards to leave Axis forces.
• The 9th Armoured Company of the Free French Forces.
• The Spanish Legion accepts foreign recruits.

Swedish

• Swedish Voluntary Air Force fighting for the Finnish side in the Winter War
• Swedish Volunteer Corps fighting for the Finnish side in the Winter War

Swiss

• Swiss Guard

See also

• Foreign legion
• Spanish Civil War and Foreign Involvement
• Mercenary
• Europäische Freiwillige of the Second World War
• Military volunteer
• White Tights, alleged Baltic female snipers in Chechnya
• Foreign support in the Winter War

References