Several military units have been known as the Belgian Legion. The term "Belgian Legion" can refer to Belgian volunteers who served in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

and, more commonly, the Mexico Expedition of 1867.

French Revolutionary era

The

French Revolutionary armies The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipmen ...

incorporated a number of "legions" of foreign volunteers during the

after 1792. These included a number of units recruited among exiles from the failed

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

(1789–90) and Liège revolutions (1789–91). A number of separate units were organised, including: * Belgian Legion (''Légion belge'' or ''Légion belgique''), with two battalions; * Liégeois Legion (''Légion liégeoise''), with two battalions; * Legion of Belgians and Liégeois (''Légion des Belges et Liégeois''), with six battalions. These units incorporated a number of influential revolutionary figures, including Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau and Louis Lahure who both served in the Belgian Legion.

Restoration

Temporarily regaining control of the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

, on 2 March 1814, Austria formed several military units from regional recruitment. This volunteer force was known as the ''Légion belge'' (Belgian Legion) and initially was intended to strengthen the Austrian position in their former provinces in the event of a counterattack from France. With the full occupation of the Southern Netherlands by Austria, Prussia and the United Provinces (Holland), a provisional government was established under the Duke of Beaufort and local levies continued to be recruited separately by each of the three allies. The largest of these was the Belgian Legion which, under the command of the Belgian born Austrian General Count von Murray, was now intended to keep local order. Administrated by the Baron Poederlé, secretary general for armaments, this Legion was made up of 4

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Mon ...

regiments (from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, Hainaut and

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Na ...

), a

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

regiment, two cavalry regiments and an artillery regiment. This unit merged into the army of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

on 1 September 1814, when that nation annexed the territory that would later form Belgium.

French Revolution of 1848

In March 1848, during the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundatio ...

, Belgian workers living in Paris formed an "Association des démocrates belges" (94, rue de Ménilmontant), led by Blervacq a wine merchant and an old officer called Fosses. This gave rise to a new Belgian Legion. Informally supported by

Ledru-Rollin Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin (; 2 February 1807 – 31 December 1874) was a French lawyer, politician and one of the leaders of the French Revolution of 1848. Youth The grandson of Nicolas Philippe Ledru, the celebrated quack doctor known ...

, Caussidière and other members of the French government dreaming of a Republican uprising in the Southern Netherlands and a subsequent French annexation of that area, this Legion's aim was to overthrow the monarchy and establish a Belgian republic. Commanded by Blervacq, Fosses and Charles Graux and escorted by students of the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, a troop of 1100 to 1200 unarmed men in three corps departed Paris on 25 March. Passing via

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

then Seclin (27 March), they were resupplied by the commissioner of the Nord department, Charles Delescluze, and by general Négrier. However, France's Minister for War Cavaignac, alerted by a recent incident provoked by Belgian workers who had returned to the frontier at Quiévrain by train, demanded that Négrier give no assistance to any violation of the Belgian frontier. Négrier obeyed by ordering the Polytechniciens to turn back and closing the gates of Lille. On the evening of 28 March, however, the Legion broke camp and seized the arms and ammunition gathered by Delescluze before crossing the frontier between Neuville-en-Ferrain and

Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch and vls, Moeskroen, ; Picard and Walloon language, Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgium, Belgian Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, along the border ...

. They then confronted Belgian troops under General Joseph Fleury-Duray in Risquons-Tout (then a hamlet in the commune of Rekkem, but now part of Mouscron) and were defeated, with 7 killed, 26 wounded and 60 captured, a skirmish known as the Risquons-Tout incident. Some of the captured democrats were imprisoned in the Citadel of Huy and 17 of them condemned to death and executed at

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Mexico Expedition

During the Mexico Expedition 1,500 Belgian volunteers were formed into a Belgian Legion to fight in the army of Emperor Maximilian, whose wife, Princess

Charlotte of Belgium Charlotte of Belgium (''Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine''; 7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), known by the Spanish version of her name, Carlota, was by birth a Princess of Belgium and member of the House of ...

, was Leopold I of Belgium's daughter.

Composition

Officially "The Belgian Expeditionary Corps" this Legion comprised an infantry regiment of two battalions - the "Empress Battalion" of

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

s and the "King of the Belgians' Battalion" of voltigeurs. The officers and non-commissioned officers were mainly drawn from the regular Belgian Army as were some of the other ranks. The Belgians formed part of a much larger "Imperial Mexican Corps of Austrian and Belgian Volunteers", though they served separately from the Austrian contingent which was brigaded with Mexican Imperial troops.

In action

The first detachment of the Belgian Legion, numbering 604 men, embarked for Mexico on 16 October 1864. Three further contingents were sent over the next three months, bringing the total force up to about 1,500. The Legion's first encounter with the Mexican Republican forces was at the Battle of Tacámbaro on 11 April 1866, where a Belgian detachment of 300 men was forced to surrender after losing up to a third of its strength. The remainder of the Belgian Legion performed well in subsequent clashes but by the late summer of 1866, with the French army preparing for evacuation, morale amongst the foreign contingents attached to the Mexican Imperial army was low. Thirty Belgian officers petitioned to return to Europe on the grounds that their contracted terms of service were about to expire. Others transferred to mixed Mexican/foreign units. On 12 December 1866 the Legion was disbanded and 754 of the contingent returned to Belgium where they dispersed.

Aftermath

A small group of elderly survivors of the Belgian Legion escorted the coffin of Charlotte after her death at the Castle of Bouchout in 1927.Gene Smith, page 292 "Maximillan and Carlota", File:PMa B 475 Brussel.jpg, "The Belgian Legion in Mexico", painting by Charles Dominique Oscar Lahalle, 1869. File:Mexique. — Costumes des officierset soldats du régiment belge - les gardes du corps de l'impératrice Charlotte.jpg, Uniforms of officers and soldiers of the Belgian regiment: bodyguards of Empress Charlotte. File:Mexique. — Défense héroïque du bataillon belgue commandé par le major Tydgadt dans Tacamburo, le 11 avril 1865. (D'après le croquis de M. A. Martin).jpg, "Heroic defense of the Belgian battalion commanded by Major Tydgadt in Tacamburo, April 11, 1865." Draft by M. A. Martin representing the Battle of Tacámbaro. File:BelgianForeignLegion.jpg, Photograph of Belgian Legion soldiers, 1866.

References

External links

{{Wikiquote
Austrian and Belgian Volunteers Serving in Mexico
at United States Combined Arms Research Library 1792 establishments in Europe Expatriate military units and formations Military units and formations established in 1792 Military units and formations of Belgium Volunteer units and formations of the French Revolutionary Wars