French Foreign Legion: Arms Contexts

Jim McDougall · 11th September 2025, 09:57 PM

First: a takouba form with slightly curved SE blade, probably European so
falling into the takouba spectrum as 'aljuinar' (=curved)

Moroccan sboula. Interestingly these often have been found using
French bayonet blades, not of epee type but earlier sword types.
Moroccan sa'if (nimcha)

Jim McDougall · 14th September 2025, 04:29 PM

For those of you reading this soliloquy, I wanted to thank you for your interest.
It is a wildly esoteric topic, and as known here, I often write on such topics which have piqued my interest through the years. Often I am simply revisiting questions and interests generated by old adventure novels and the films they inspired.

In a concurrent thread, the subject of the historical context associated with weapons as one area of collecting enjoyed by many, while others collect for many reasons which are of course important as well. Often these variable elements can enhance each other, such as highly embellished and historic examples which have been preserved as associated with important figures.

For me, this entire adventure in the Saharan deserts of North Africa came from boyhood fascination with the movie "Beau Geste", the adventurous intrigue with the French Foreign Legion, and when it comes down to it.......a simple, inherently mundane bayonet, which took center stage in the dramatic scene central to the story.

I am still fascinated by the Foreign Legion as my interests expanded through the years to the kinds of weapons which these forces would have encountered in their contacts and conflicts with the widely varied tribal groups in over a century of French interests there.

How many types of ethnographic edged weapons used blades from French sabers and bayonets? with the varied factions of their colonial forces, which included in large proportion, the Foreign Legion?

I think of the research over the years on the curious sword of the Kabyle tribes of the Berber Confederation in northwest Algeria, Kabylia. These distinctly unique and indiginous character has brought more questions than answers as far as just how old the form really was, how did it develop, how was it used?
It seems the form in the familiar character typically recognized had largely waned by the later years of the 19th century, and one example I found still in that distinct form was in the French Foreign Legion museum in Paris.....apparently collected about 1857. There was no mention of being taken in combat.

The Foreign Legion was simply another element in the context of the arms of North Africa I wanted to study.

So the idea is to add more on these various arms, aligned with the presence of the Foreign Legion through the many occupations and conflicts through the years.
I will certainly be adding more, and I would be grateful if others out there would contribute in kind. There is far more dimension to these tribal arms than simply examples of varied forms.

Thank you everyone
Jim

gp · 14th September 2025, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

For those of you reading this soliloquy, I wanted to thank you for your interest.

How many types of ethnographic edged weapons used blades from French sabers and bayonets? with the varied factions of their colonial forces, which included in large proportion, the Foreign Legion?

Jim

Thank you very much for addressing this issue!
Best answers you will get directly from the source:
https://www.legion-etrangere.com/mdl...sier.php?id=72

for inquiries you can contact them:
musee.legionetrangere@gmail.com

Good luck hunting !

for their Spanish brethren:
https://ejercito.defensa.gob.es/unid...ion-ceuta.html

Jim McDougall · 14th September 2025, 04:53 PM

Brilliant gp!!! and excellent links!!!
Thank you so very much,
Hopefully this perspective might bring some new horizons to this adventure

Jim McDougall · 14th September 2025, 05:10 PM

In keeping with what has just been noted, the questions I have concerning the Foreign Legion are, it seems the concept began with the Chasseurs d'Afrique in 1831, which was essentially a colonial contingent of the French Army.

Since foreigners were not allowed to join the French Army, they arranged a special type unit which was comprised of foreign nationals. This evolved into units into a larger contingent which it seems to have coincided. Here things get conflicting for me, as in the book (realizing of course it is faction) "Under Two Flags" (by Ouida) has an English noble escaping scandal enter the Chausseurs d'Afrique, under assumed name of course.

There were apparently other cavalry as auxiliary forces known as 'Spahi' (from the Ottoman light cavalry) made up of numerous tribal groups. This is where much of the connection between native and French arms come in.

I have also not found examples of weapons with regimental or 'rack' markings directly aligned with Foreign Legion units, and it would be pretty exciting to see an example of a native weapon with such marks!

Edster · 14th September 2025, 06:23 PM

Jim,

Not what you are looking for BUT...The Douk-Douk pocket knife is French-made and was used by the Foreign Legion and it's enemies.

"It was carried by the French Foreign Legion and other Colonial troops and reached, with troops reassignment, the middle-east through Lebanon, and South-East Asia through Indochina. In 1939 it became “the national pocket knife” of Algeria." quote from link.

Here's a link to the knife's checkered history and global expansion. Still available. I have one.

https://knives-of-france-blog.com/douk-douk-history/

Best,
Ed

Jim McDougall · 14th September 2025, 08:00 PM

Thank you Ed, and actually this topic area covers wide scope colonially, and historically over a long period extending past our chronological parameters, so this is indeed a fascinating example of how wide these traditions and edged weapons spread.

I had never heard of this knife until now, and seems to have been created c. 1929 by a family in France drawing on traditions from Melanesia. This is a great example of how colonialism, in this case of France, diffused cultural elements so widely. The colonial activity of France in Algeria carried into the 60s, and apparently these knives were popularly used by Algerian rebels notoriously.
While much later than the periods we are focused on, the traditions of the knives as used in native tribal manner simply conveyed to more modern examples of older types of knives.

The folding knife element of course brings to mind the navaja, which though typically regarded as Spanish, had prevalent examples that were French as well.

11th September 2025, 09:57 PM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,654	Addendum: Saharan weapons First: a takouba form with slightly curved SE blade, probably European so falling into the takouba spectrum as 'aljuinar' (=curved) Moroccan sboula. Interestingly these often have been found using French bayonet blades, not of epee type but earlier sword types. Moroccan sa'if (nimcha) Attached Images

14th September 2025, 04:29 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,654	Thank you For those of you reading this soliloquy, I wanted to thank you for your interest. It is a wildly esoteric topic, and as known here, I often write on such topics which have piqued my interest through the years. Often I am simply revisiting questions and interests generated by old adventure novels and the films they inspired. In a concurrent thread, the subject of the historical context associated with weapons as one area of collecting enjoyed by many, while others collect for many reasons which are of course important as well. Often these variable elements can enhance each other, such as highly embellished and historic examples which have been preserved as associated with important figures. For me, this entire adventure in the Saharan deserts of North Africa came from boyhood fascination with the movie "Beau Geste", the adventurous intrigue with the French Foreign Legion, and when it comes down to it.......a simple, inherently mundane bayonet, which took center stage in the dramatic scene central to the story. I am still fascinated by the Foreign Legion as my interests expanded through the years to the kinds of weapons which these forces would have encountered in their contacts and conflicts with the widely varied tribal groups in over a century of French interests there. How many types of ethnographic edged weapons used blades from French sabers and bayonets? with the varied factions of their colonial forces, which included in large proportion, the Foreign Legion? I think of the research over the years on the curious sword of the Kabyle tribes of the Berber Confederation in northwest Algeria, Kabylia. These distinctly unique and indiginous character has brought more questions than answers as far as just how old the form really was, how did it develop, how was it used? It seems the form in the familiar character typically recognized had largely waned by the later years of the 19th century, and one example I found still in that distinct form was in the French Foreign Legion museum in Paris.....apparently collected about 1857. There was no mention of being taken in combat. The Foreign Legion was simply another element in the context of the arms of North Africa I wanted to study. So the idea is to add more on these various arms, aligned with the presence of the Foreign Legion through the many occupations and conflicts through the years. I will certainly be adding more, and I would be grateful if others out there would contribute in kind. There is far more dimension to these tribal arms than simply examples of varied forms. Thank you everyone Jim

14th September 2025, 04:53 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,654	Brilliant gp!!! and excellent links!!! Thank you so very much, Hopefully this perspective might bring some new horizons to this adventure

14th September 2025, 05:10 PM	#5
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,654	In keeping with what has just been noted, the questions I have concerning the Foreign Legion are, it seems the concept began with the Chasseurs d'Afrique in 1831, which was essentially a colonial contingent of the French Army. Since foreigners were not allowed to join the French Army, they arranged a special type unit which was comprised of foreign nationals. This evolved into units into a larger contingent which it seems to have coincided. Here things get conflicting for me, as in the book (realizing of course it is faction) "Under Two Flags" (by Ouida) has an English noble escaping scandal enter the Chausseurs d'Afrique, under assumed name of course. There were apparently other cavalry as auxiliary forces known as 'Spahi' (from the Ottoman light cavalry) made up of numerous tribal groups. This is where much of the connection between native and French arms come in. I have also not found examples of weapons with regimental or 'rack' markings directly aligned with Foreign Legion units, and it would be pretty exciting to see an example of a native weapon with such marks!

14th September 2025, 06:23 PM	#6
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 440	Jim, Not what you are looking for BUT...The Douk-Douk pocket knife is French-made and was used by the Foreign Legion and it's enemies. "It was carried by the French Foreign Legion and other Colonial troops and reached, with troops reassignment, the middle-east through Lebanon, and South-East Asia through Indochina. In 1939 it became “the national pocket knife” of Algeria." quote from link. Here's a link to the knife's checkered history and global expansion. Still available. I have one. https://knives-of-france-blog.com/douk-douk-history/ Best, Ed

14th September 2025, 08:00 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,654	Thank you Ed, and actually this topic area covers wide scope colonially, and historically over a long period extending past our chronological parameters, so this is indeed a fascinating example of how wide these traditions and edged weapons spread. I had never heard of this knife until now, and seems to have been created c. 1929 by a family in France drawing on traditions from Melanesia. This is a great example of how colonialism, in this case of France, diffused cultural elements so widely. The colonial activity of France in Algeria carried into the 60s, and apparently these knives were popularly used by Algerian rebels notoriously. While much later than the periods we are focused on, the traditions of the knives as used in native tribal manner simply conveyed to more modern examples of older types of knives. The folding knife element of course brings to mind the navaja, which though typically regarded as Spanish, had prevalent examples that were French as well.