List of foreign volunteers

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This article is about foreign volunteers who are serving in forces of a country other than their own, but who are not primarily motivated by personal financial gain. For soldiers recruited in colonies, see Colonial troops. For soldiers in foreign armies who are motivated by personal financial gain, see Mercenaries. For foreign soldiers temporarily serving in another country's military, see Exchange officer.
Emir Abdelkader, wearing the sash of the Legion d'Honneur presented to him by the French Government.
The exiled Muslim Algerian, along with his 1000 volunteers, protected most of the diplomats and thousands of Christians during the 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war. He was awarded the highest decorations by European governments.

The armed forces of many nations have, at one time or another, used foreign volunteers who are motivated by political, ideological or other considerations to join a foreign army.[1] These may be formed into units of a given nationality or may be formed into mixed nationality foreign units. Sometimes foreign volunteers were or are incorporated into ordinary units. The practice has a long history, dating back at least as far as the Roman Empire, which recruited non-citizens into Auxiliary units on the promise of them receiving Roman citizenship for themselves and their descendants at the end of their service.[2]

Mixed nationality units

Historic

Current

Also including nationals

  • Tercio de Extranjeros, or Tercio, or Spanish Legion - prior to 1987 and in the 2000s, after the abandonment of conscription, the Spanish Army is again accepting foreigners from select nationalities. The Legion today accepts male and female native Spanish speakers, mostly from Central American and South American states. Recruits are required to have a valid Spanish residence permit.

Only including foreigners

Units by nationality

American

During both world wars, American volunteers served on the allied side before the US joined the war. During World War I, there were even a few Americans who volunteered to fly for the Imperial German Flying Corps.[4]

Bangladeshi

  • 8,000 young men from Bangladesh volunteered to enlist in the PLO in 1987

Belgian

British

Bulgarian

Chinese

Croatian

Flag of the 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment that was involved in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Czech

Estonian

Filipino

  • In the 1770s, the Spanish colonial army in the Philippines had an Infantry Company of Cavite Malabars
  • Filipinos served in the French military during the Cochinchina Campaign.
  • Filipinos served in the Ever Victorious Army.
  • The Philippine Revolutionary Army included commissioned officers who were American, Chinese, Cuban, English, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.
  • The Philippine Constabulary in its early years had commissioned officers from Belgium, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.
  • Twenty-four Filipinos served in the French Army during World War I.
  • Filipinos fought on both sides of the Spanish Civil War.
  • During the Pacific War, Filipinos served in various pro-Japanese militias:
    • The Bisigbakal ñg Tagala (Tagalog "Iron Arm of Tagala") was formed in January 1945 to assist the Japanese in maintaining peace and order in Manila. The Bisig Bakal received weapons, uniforms, and training from the Japanese.
    • About five thousand Filipinos served in a militia called the Makapili, which was under Japanese command. The unit was formed on 10 November 1944 and was issued around two thousand rifles by the Japanese. Its headquarters was located at the Christ the King compound in Quezon City. The organization was active in the Manila area, and in the nearby provinces of Rizal, Laguna, Bulacan, and Nueva Ecija. This militia made its last stand at Marikina in 1945. Other militias similar to the Makapili were: the Borong-Borong Gang, Kaigun Hatai, and Nishimura Butai.
    • The Pambansang Pag-asa ng mga Anak ni Rizal (Tagalog "National Hope of the Children of Rizal") consisted of Ganáps in Pililla, Rizal, who were organized into a semi-military unit with the assistance of the Japanese. Also known as Pampar, they wore blue denim uniforms with short pants and were drilled along Japanese military lines. They performed sentry duties for the Japanese, and functioned as auxiliary troops of the Japanese army. They independently conducted raids against guerrilla camps.
    • The Yoin, incorrectly known as U.N. or United Nippon, were members of the Japanese Auxiliary Army drawn from the ranks of the Ganáp Party. They were trained for military purposes and wore Japanese regular uniforms. They were used as replacements in the ranks of Japanese infantry. Their counterparts in the Japanese Empire were the Koreans, Formosans, and Manchuokuans pressed into the Japanese army.
  • Filipinos, recruited by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, fought in the Soviet–Afghan War.
  • Filipinos fought in the Syrian Civil War.
  • Forty foreign fighters, from Indonesia, Malaysia, Yemen, and Chechnya, fought in the Siege of Marawi.

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Indian

Irish

See also Irish military diaspora.

Israeli

  • Mahal – Program for non-Israelis between the age of 18–24 to serve in the IDF.

Italian

Moroccan

Nepalese

Polish

Portuguese

Rhodesian

Russian

Serbian

Flag of the Serb Volunteer Guar

Scottish

  • Scots have a long history of service in the armies of Kings of France since at least the ninth century. The Scottish Guard was formally created by the French King Charles VII in 1422, and existed until the end of the Bourbon Restoration period in 1830.

South African

Spanish

  • The Blue Division of World War II fighting with Germany against the USSR.
  • The Blue Legion was formed late in the Second World War out of Blue Division soldiers who refused to leave after Franco required all Spaniards to leave Axis forces.
  • The 9th Armoured Company of the Free French Forces.
  • The Spanish Legion accepts foreign recruits.

Swedish

Swiss

Taiwanese

Ukrainian

Yugoslav

See also

References

  1. ^ Grasmeder, Elizabeth M.F. "Leaning on Legionnaires: Why Modern States Recruit Foreign Soldiers". International Security. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ Webster, Graham (1979). The Roman Imperial Army (Second ed.). London: A & C Black. p. 144. ISBN 0-7136-1909-0.
  3. ^ "Ukraine appeals for foreign volunteers to join fight against Russia". The Guardian. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  4. ^ Herris, Jack (2010). Aircraft of World War I, 1914-1918 (2017 reprint ed.). London: Amber Books Ltd. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-906626-65-5.
  5. ^ Webcast Author Interview Rachel Cox Into the Fire 2012 ISBN 9780451234759
  6. ^ Graciela Iglesias Rogers, British Liberators in the Age of Napoleon: Volunteering under the Spanish Flag in the Peninsular War (Bloomsbury Academic, London and New York, 2013) ISBN 978-1-4411-3565-0
  7. ^ Richard Baxell, Unlikely Warriors: The British in the Spanish Civil War and the Struggle Against Fascism (Aurum Press, London, 2012)
  8. ^ a b Arielli, Nir. "In Search of Meaning: ForeignVolunteers in the Croatian Armed Forces, 1991–95". Academia.edu.
  9. ^ a b Krott, Rob (2008). Save the Last Bullet for Yourself: A Soldier of Fortune in the Balkans and Somalia. Casemate. pp. 168–69. ISBN 978-1935149712.
  10. ^ Krott (2008, p. 148)
  11. ^ "Venezuela's Irish Legacy Copyright 1991 by Brian McGinn". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  12. ^ "Garibaldi Division". Vojska.net. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
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