Camerone 2015

“They were here less than sixty, opposed by an army.  Its mass crushed them.  Life, not honor, abandoned these French soldiers, April 30, 1863.”

Well, Camerone Day again…bonne fête!

Here are some related items presented in a hodgepodge manner.

1.  Le Boudin. One of the best YouTube videos on the Foreign Legion…

2.  The Wooden Hand of Captain Danjou.  Here is a timely release from Pulp Action Library…a set of war game rules for the Battle of Camerone.  You can get a copy from the Wargame Vault.

“”””On April 30, 1863, 3rd Company, 1st Battalion of the Legion Etrangere fought hordes of Mexican Regulars at the Battle of Camerone. They Lost. But in losing they created the legend of Camerone, of single-minded dedication to the cause, even in the face of insurmountable odds. Camerone Day is celebrated by the Legion every April 30.   In celebration of the 152nd anniversary, Pulp Action Library is bringing out The Wooden Hand of Captain Danjou, a game about grit, determination, and terrible accents. The players take on the personae of the French characters, and have all the odds stacked in their favor except one – there are too many Mexicans.  The idea is not to survive, but to die in the best way possible! Only $4.99.””””””

3. French Foreign Legion – An Adventure In The Desert!  Over at Jay’s Wargaming Madness they held a really awesome looking game involving a archeology expedition in peril and a Foreign Legion rescue.  This is really a nice set up and original scenario using some house rules.  (Note: when you see back corner of Jay’s garage you just just might weep a bit and kick the dog for no good reason.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Camerone Day Blog.  Don’t forget to check out their pictures from the 150th Anniversary game held in 2013.  I never get tired of looking at these in full screen mode.

 

5.  The Day of the Legion.  From the pages of Blue Book Magazine of April 1935 comes a 2-page article about Camerone Day and it’s significance to the Foreign Legion.  It was written by Captain Richard Ernest Dupuy (1887-1975) a journalist and writer with a historical bent who wrote a couple dozen pulp stories in the late 1920’s and 1930’s.  What is interesting about this article is that it was only four years previous that the Foreign Legion celebrated it’s 100th Anniversary.  Credit is due to Général Paul-Frédéric Rollet, the Legion’s first General-Inspector and Père de la Légion étrangère.  He organized the 100th Centennial celebration then and also did much to institutionalize the formal celebration of Camerone Day throughout the Legion.  There were scattered Legion traditions before Rollet and many exist today as unit celebrations, but he was the one who really breathed new life into the entire corps and what we see today on the parade grounds at Aubagne was established in the 1930’s. 

The Day of the Legion