Popularized and romanticized in media such as Simon Murray's book Legionnaire or Bear Grylls’ documentary series Escape to the Legion, the enlistment process remains a historic endurance test. Volunteers knock on recruitment doors at Fort de Nogent or Aubagne, relinquish their former identities, undergo rigorous physical evaluations, and endure isolated training on remote farms.
What appears to be an exceptional enclave has a connection to Estonia. As documented by NATO’s Multinational Corps Northeast newsroom, Legionnaires have recently served in Estonia as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Tapa. Historically, Estonians were on the other side of that exchange, though. As detailed through research by Kristjan Konsap from the University of Tartu, Estonians joined the Legion in the 1920s and 1930s for reasons of economic instability, a desire for adventure, or a need to escape personal and legal trouble back in Estonia. And another wave followed the Second World War. In the January 1st, 1994 edition of Võitleja newspaper, Arved Kungas shared his memories of joining the legion after moving from the German army into Allied POW camps and then into French control, where guards included former communist partisans. Kungas and other Baltic prisoners faced an inevitable NKVD screening aimed at forcing Soviet extradition. To escape this fate, Kungas volunteered for the French Foreign Legion in Lyon. Soon, he was deployed for the First Indochina War.
Become a subscriber to continue reading!
Every week we bring you news from the community and exclusive columns. We're relying on your support to keep going and invite you to subscribe.
Starting from $2.30 per week.
