Modern force with illustrious past

Men of the 2nd infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion arriving in Skopje

By CNN's Mike Harrison

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- The inclusion of French Foreign Legionnaires in NATO's Macedonia force throws the spotlight on one of the world's most enigmatic military organisations.

The Foreign Legion conjures up images of white caps, blue tunics, sands, desert storms and the motto 'March or Die.'

In both fact and fiction, the Foreign Legion is a place for men to go when they want to leave everything behind -- be it a failed romance, an act of shame, a personal or family crisis or just to escape a dull life.

People also join en masse because of an upheaval in their social or political life. Striking examples of this can be found in the mass enlistment of Alsatians after 1871, of Spaniards in 1939 and of Eastern Europeans after 1945.

Formed in 1831 by King Louis-Philippe I, the Foreign Legion is a military unit of approximately 8,500 men serving as a branch of the regular Armed Forces of France.

It differs from other military units in that it accepts foreigners, aged between 18 and 40 and without means of identification, from any country in the world into its ranks.

David Lawrence, an American who ran off and joined the Legion, said: "If you want to completely tear yourself away from your home, your family and all you've ever known; if you want to endure months and years of a Spartan lifestyle and a harsh disciplinary regime; and if you don't mind carrying out the most menial tasks with only the bare minimum of material, then by all means join the French Foreign Legion. "

The Legion has been deployed in many hostile locations, most recently in Chad and Bosnia, but was first used to effect during the French conquest of Algeria in the 1830s.

Since then it has fought campaigns in, amongst others, Sudan, Morocco, Indochina, Norway, Tunisia, Italy, Provence, Germany and France.

One of its greatest moments came on April 30, 1863, at the Camerone Hacienda near Puebla, Mexico, when three officers and 62 legionnaires resisted 2,000 Mexicans.

After a day of heroic fighting the last five survivors fixed bayonets and charged. The battle adorns every Legion flag and remains the symbol of a mission carried out to the bitter end.

Initially, legionnaires sign a five-year contract after which they can continue to renew their service for a total of 15 years beyond which they become eligible for a pension.

But the life is hard and desertions are common, especially during the induction period when volunteers realise what they have signed up for.

Evan McGorman, whose book, Life In The French Foreign Legion, described his experience as a legionnaire, said: "You will spend approximately three weeks in Aubagne (assessment centre on the Mediterranean coast) undergoing screening that involves medical exams, security checks, aptitude tests, and interviews.

"You are not permitted contact with the outside world while in Aubagne and cannot phone or write anyone."

He adds: "The Gestapo is slang for the branch concerned with the Legion's internal security.

"They will interview you in your own language on all aspects of your life. The days of joining 'no questions asked' are a thing of the past. Honesty is your best policy when talking with the Gestapo.

"Based on what you tell them, they may decide to change your name."

Since its formation, almost 34,000 officers and legionnaires have died for France.

The Legion's official Web site states: "Foreigners by birth, the legionnaires have become Frenchmen by the blood they have spilled."