Our Friends Beneath the Sands: The French Foreign Legion in France's Colonial Conquests 1870-1935

The book is about the Foreign Legion involvement in the colonization. Although not a comprehensive historie, it certainly covers quite a lot. I find it very interesting, but especially part 2 (which covers Morocco) can be heavy going. The number of tribes, clans, place names and units can be overwhelming at times.In my opinion it is positive that the author does not try to be politically correct, but explain colonial policies and attitudes as they were 100+ years ago. One might suspect that he has sympathy with the paternistic policy of his hero(?), Lyautey.

Very, very in depth history, but perhaps surprisingly, not really focused on the French Foreign Legion. It's more about the history of French colonial military operations, with an emphasis on those in which the Legion were involved. Unfortunately, it's a bit dull at times, especially when dealing with the political aspects. Also it maintains a "50,000 foot" view of many of the operations which makes it dry as well. Not as well written and balanced as his "The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam". Still, overall it's a pretty good book, but really aimed at the more serious reader.

This book tells the story of the famous French Foreign Legion during the era of French colonialism. It captures all the sand swirling "Beau Geste" type drama without sacrificing any historical accuracy, the scholarship is outstanding and the author really grabs your attention with every page. I also liked how the book gave details of the day to day life of colonial era Legionares and presented an accurate portrait of the men who enlisted to die in the sands of Algeria, the mountains of Morroco, the jungles of Indo-China and the swamps of Madagascar.An excellent book, i would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good war story, compelling history and an accurate window into a world that is gone forever.

Martin Windrow serves up an almost exhausting account of the French Foreign Legion due to his impressive dedication to research and detail. He is an amazing writer with a vocabulary that sent me to the dictionary time and again. This was not my first Martin Windrow tomb and it won’t be my last.

Excellent Book. Very enjoyable read that smoothly carries the reader from colonial battlefield in Tonkin to the high arid valleys of Morocco. This book adds to the mystique of the Foreign Legion. The way in which this corps of men made their reputation as well as embraced the active service in these remote corners of the French empire is fascinating. The author goes to great lengths to explore the role of the mounted companies in these campaigns.

Excellent work by I think the foremost FFL writer, Martin Windrow. If you enjoy reading about the history of the Legion this book is a must. I don't know what more I can say except buy it and enjoy.

voluminous compilation of FFL activities in north africa up to just before ww2....a long read but you'll know everything you ever needed to know after reading it.

The book cuts away the glamour often associated with the Legion but still makes the reader appreciate what a remarkable unitit is.

After reading Windrow's The Last Valley, still the best book about Dien Bien Phu, I was looking forward to more tales of derring-do by the Foreign Legion. This book is entirely devoted to the Legion, but covers its activities worldwide. It is a great way to learn more about the individuals who coloured it, the different roles, and the many engagements it fought in.Necessarily, as it ignores the rest of the French army and armed forces, some of the historical development of these wars is missed out, and there is little background political explanation of the disastrous French politics from 1814 to 1967 - did any country ever suffer so much rubbish in charge ?What is really good is to learn about the very very many battles fought by the French to create their empire, battles which mostly British or Americans ignore as France was careful (unlike the Germans) not to tread on Anglo-Saxon toes. As a result, France was able to build a bigger empire than either, in which the Foreign Legion played a heroic part. This book is as good a bible of that as I have found in English.

Se lee como un libro de aventuras y se aprende geopolitica histórica de Francia. Me gustaría que lo tradujesen al español

Every few years a book comes along that can truly be called a 'classic'. Martin Windrow's  The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French defeat in Vietnam (Cassell Military Paperbacks)  was such a book on the Dien Bien Phu and again in this book he shows his exceptional skills as an editor, knowledge of all things French Foreign Legion and France to produce and exceptional book on the FFL. For those new to this subject area it may be worth noting that Martin Windrow has been editing the Osprey Men at Arms series through its best years. His skills as an editor and his ability to engage the reader in the subject are clear from the opening pages of this book. I agree with other reviews that his description of the 'big picture' politics in 1870 in Paris - 1880 in Indo-China etc put the role of the Legion into a clearer picture. His opening chapter and the context he puts 'European colonial military corps and European colonialism' is I think one of the most succinct, balanced and intelligent descriptions I have read. With this context set, the reader is taken on a real journey through this often mis-understood period of Legion history, rich in discriptions of 'Legion forts and front line life'. For those of us not fluent in French and unable to fully appreciate material published in France, this book fills a considerable gap. A thoroughly enjoyable read and one I now I will read again. The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French defeat in Vietnam (Cassell Military Paperbacks)

I used it for interest and to back up (amateur) research into the activity of the Legion with whom my grandfather served.

I was disappointed with "Our Friends...", I was looking for a book that told the stories of the battles of the Foreign Legion in detail, "OFBTS" is not that book. I was mildly surprised when the author reached the story of The Battle of Camarón and announced that he would not be going into detail on this extraordinary battle and landmark in the history of the Legion (on the grounds that he felt it had been thoroughly told elsewhere). But he then went on to skim over the battles of subsequent campaigns giving no more than lip service and a few dismissive lines to each. Though the broad strokes of the campaigns are told well enough to give a background of why the Legion was there and what was expected of them, the cursory attitude towards the battles leaves the overall read unsatisfactory. The writing is good enough to make the book worth a read as an introduction to the subject matter, but I for one will continue to search for something that does this army and it's extraordinary history better service.