GT25's Historical Series: Spanish Legion vs. French Foreign Legion
Hello, and welcome to the Historical Series. In this series we will take two warriors from across the world and throughout history and mythology and analyze their weapons, armor, and x-factors to see who would win in a hypothetical battle. For this installment, we will compare two groups of men who fought for other countries with the Spanish Legion and the French Foreign Legion. For this installment, we will take the Spanish Legion during the Spanish Civil War and the French Foreign Legion during the Second World War. As one of these warriors is more known by many than the other, I will provide a summary of their histories to keep everyone on the same basis.
History of the Warriors
Despite an attempt to make a foreign legion with help from the French, a unit of the Spanish Army and members of the Spanish Morocco Army Corps was formed by royal degree of King Alfonso XIII in late January of 1920. Mostly made up of Spaniards despite recruiting from Spanish speaking nations, the unit which would later be called the Spanish Legion would see their first campaign in 1920 in the Rif War. Battling with the Spanish Army against the Republic of the Rif, the Legion would battle in the war with one of their leaders being Francisco Franco. After gaining assistance from the French in the war, the Spanish Legion would end up nine years later taking part in the Spanish Civil War. Working for the Spanish Nationalists and their leader, Francisco Franco, the Legion would give the rebel army a huge advantage against the less well trained Spanish Republican forces. Being an elite spearhead at first, the Legion would battle across many fronts after the expansion of the rebel army and would help in gaining victory for the Spanish Nationalists in 1939 before returning to their bases in Spanish Morocco.
When the French expeditionary force that had occupied Algiers in 1830 was in need of reinforcements, the King of France, Louis Philippe, would create a group from the foreign regiments of the Kingdom of France to fight in the French Conquest of Algeria. Allowing any foreigner into this group, the French Foreign Legion would see combat in Algeria where it would have its home base until 1962. Primarily used during the rest of the 19th century to protect and expand the French colonial empire, the legion would earn their legendary status among other forces during the Battle of Camarón where they refused to surrender and made a last stand. After helping in the colonization of Africa, the Foreign Legion would play a large role in many critical battles during the First World War. Despite taking many casualties during the war, the Legion would continue to serve France during the Rif War and would assist both Vichy France and as part of the French Resistance during the Second World War.
Close Range
Commando Knife (Spanish Legion): The Commando Knife is a type of combat knife that was used by the soldiers of the Spanish Nationalists for melee combat. This knife has a 5.5 inch steel blade with a total length of 9.5 inches and possibly weighs 8.4 ounces.
Camillus (French Foreign Legion): The Camillus is a type of combat knife that is similar in appearance to a Ka-Bar Knife and was used as both a fighting and utility knife. This knife has a 7 inch steel blade with a total length of 11 inches and weighs 11.2 ounces.
Verdict: The Camillus gets the edge. Despite the Commando Knife being slightly lighter by 2.8 ounces, the Camillus has a longer blade by 1.5 inches and most likely has the larger blade in terms of width.
Pistols
Astra 400 (Spanish Legion): The Astra 400 is a Spanish service pistol that was used by both sides of the Spanish Civil War and operates on a blowback system. This pistol fires the 9x23mm Largo round with the weapon using an eight round detachable box magazine. The Astra 400 has a length of 8.9 inches and weighs 2.5 pounds with a possible range of 50 meters.
MAB Model D (French Foreign Legion): The MAB Model D is a French pistol that was inspired by the FN 1910 pistol and operates on a blowback system. This pistol fires the .32 ACP round with the weapon using a nine round detachable box magazine. The MAB Model D has a length of 7.01 inches and weighs 1.68 pounds with a possible range of 50 meters.
Verdict: The MAB Model D gets the edge. Despite the Astra 400 having the larger round, the MAB Model D has one more round thanks to the ammunition it uses along with being shorter by 1.69 inches and lighter by 13.12 ounces.
Medium Range
Erma EMP (Spanish Legion): The Erma EMP is a German submachine gun that was used by both sides of the Spanish Civil War and operates on a blowback system. This submachine gun fires the 9x23 Largo round with the weapon using a thirty-two round detachable box magazine. The Erma EMP has a length of 39 inches and weighs 8.81 pounds with an effective range of 150 meters.
MAS-38 (French Foreign Legion): The MAS-38 is a submachine gun used by the French forces even after the country had surrendered and operates on an off-axis bolt-travel, delayed blowback system. This submachine gun fires the 7.65x20mm Longue round with the weapon using a thirty-two round detachable box magazine. The MAS-38 has a length of 33.5 inches and weighs 9.57 pounds when unloaded with an effective range of 100 meters.
Verdict: The Erma EMP gets the edge. While the MAS-38 is shorter by 5.5 inches, the Erma EMP is lighter by 12.16 ounces and has the greater range by 50 meters along with having the larger round.
Long Range
Mauser Model 1916 (Spanish Legion): The Mauser Model 1916 is a variant of the Spanish Mauser rifle that saw extensive use in service to the country and operates on a bolt-action system. This rifle fires the 7x57mm Mauser round with the weapon having a five round fixed box magazine that was loaded by five round stripper clips. The Mauser Model 1916 most likely has a length of 40.69 inches and possibly weighs 8.3 pounds with an effective range of 500 meters.
MAS-36 (French Foreign Legion): The MAS-36 is a military rifle that was used by the French that saw service during and well after the Second World War and operates on a bolt-action system. This rifle fires the 7.5x54mm French round with the weapon having a five round internal magazine that was loaded by five round stripper clips. The MAS-36 has a length of 40.16 inches and weighs 8.2 pounds when unloaded with an effective range of 400 meters.
Verdict: The MAS-36 gets the edge, but not by much. Both have the same number of round which are reloaded with stripper clips and operates on bolt-action systems. The Mauser does have the greater range by 100 meters, but the MAS is slightly shorter and lighter along with having the larger round being used.
Explosives
Molotov Cocktail (Spanish Legion): The Molotov Cocktail is an improvised incendiary weapon that was a glass bottle filled with a flammable liquid, usually gasoline. This liquid was kept in place by a stopper at the top that held a rag in place which acted as a wick. This improvised weapon uses a glass bottle of at least 12 inches and weighs about 2 pounds.
F1 Grenade (French Foreign Legion): The French F1 Grenade is a hand grenade used by many European countries during both World Wars due to being mass produced. While it used a percussion cap at first, after the First World War the F1 used a Billant fuse much like the Russian F1 Grenade. The grenade has a length of 3.54 inches not counting the fuse and possibly weighs 1.21 pounds with an effective blast radius of possibly 30 meters.
Verdict: The F1 Grenade gets the edge. Even though the Molotov Cocktail can set fire to a large area depending on where it strikes, the F1 Grenade is quicker to use and isn't as obvious thanks to its small size. Plus, an actual grenade is much more deadly than an improvised incendiary one.
X-Factors
Training: The French Foreign Legion gets the edge. Basing themselves off the French Foreign Legion, the Spanish Legion would receive training in basic military skills along with forced marches and a strict assault course that lasts for four months. As they were initially stationed only in Algeria, the French Foreign Legion would receive some of the harshest training under extreme conditions in the deserts of North Africa to harden them into soldiers.
Experience: After its formation in early 1920, the Spanish Legion would take part in the Rif War with the rest of the Spanish Army and then battling with the Spanish Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. After the role they played in the First World War, the French Foreign Legion would play a major part in the Rif War and would take part in many battles of the Second World War as part of the French Resistance.
Ferocity: The Spanish Legion get the edge, but not by much. Giving an advantage to the Spanish Nationalists, the Spanish Legion would become the elite spearhead of the rebel army and would fight the Spanish Republican forces on several fronts during the war. Despite some of them siding with the Vichy France, many in the French Foreign Legion would continue to battle as part of the French Resistance and held their own during the North African campaign.
Tenacity: As the elite spearhead of the Spanish Nationalists, the Spanish Legion would be at the center of the rebel army and would help give an advantage to the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War even across several fronts. Even when the French Armistice was signed and the Third French Republic fell, many in the French Foreign Legion would continue to battle against the Axis powers and distinguished themselves during the North African campaign.
Match Information: This is a five on five match with nothing else being taken into account.
The Set Up: In a nearly destroyed city, a squad of the French Foreign Legion have been sent into the area with a squad of the Spanish Legion arriving in the same area.
BATTLE
In an area of a nearly destroyed city in the south of France, five men in khaki uniforms and having white kepi caps on their heads are walking down a roadway in a single file line. The man leading them has a MAS-38 in his hands with a MAB Model D holstered and a Camillus sheathed on his belt. The next man is a black man who is holding a MAS-36 in his hands and a MAB Model D holstered on his belt. Behind him is an American whose holding a MAS-38 with a Camillus sheathed on his belt and a sack on the back of his belt with three F1 Grenades in it.
The fourth man has a MAS-36 in his hands with a MAB Model D holstered and a Camillus sheathed on his belt. The last man, who is keeping an eye on their flanks, is holding a MAS-36 in his hands and a MAB Model D holstered on his belt. These men, in order of appearance, are Gabriel, Eugene, Alan, Blaise, and Léon. These men are members of the French Foreign Legion who have joined the French Resistance and have been sent to investigate a report of a possible enemy going through this destroyed city.
French Foreign Legion: 5
About forty feet away in the same nearly destroyed city, a group of five men in olive green uniforms and having side caps of the same color on their heads are walking down another roadway. The man leading them has an Erma EMP in his hands with an Astra 400 holstered and a Commando Knife sheathed on his belt. Behind him is another man whose holding a Mauser Model 1916 in his hands with an Astra 400 holstered on his belt. The third man has a Mauser Model 1916 in his hands with an Astra 400 holstered and a Commando Knife sheathed on his belt.
The man following them is holding an Erma EMP in his hands with a Commando Knife sheathed on his belt along with having a large bag with two Molotov Cocktails in it. Behind him is the last man who has a Mauser Model 1916 in his hands with an Astra 400 holstered on his belt. These men, in order of appearance, are Emigdio, Galbino, Santos, Marcos, and Agustín. These men are members of the Spanish Legion who have arrived ahead of the Spanish Army to help the Germans in taking down the French Resistance.
Spanish Legion: 5
French Foreign Legion: 5
As the French Legionnaries continue walking down the street, Gabriel hears footsteps ahead of them and holds up his hand to motion to get to one side of the street. His men quickly move out of the roadway with him following them and get to a spot to stay out of sight for the moment. As they look ahead, the Spanish Legionnaries walk into an intersection about forty feet away from them without them noticing the other group.
Seeing them, Gabriel looks towards his men and nods to get out of hiding before he gets up and shouts, "Ouvrez le feu! (Open fire!)"
As Emigdio and his men turn to the noise, they see the French Legionnaries getting into the open and starts aiming their guns at them.
"Ponerse a cubierto! (Get into cover!)" Emigdio tells his men as the French fire their guns at them with him firing his Erma EMP to help his men get into cover.
The French Legionnaries open fire with Gabriel and Alan firing their MAS-38s while the other three operate the bolt-action of their rifles. Once their foes start to return fire, they start to head for cover while the two keep firing their MAS-38s. Getting behind a corner of a destroyed building as his fellow Legionnaries get into cover around the road, Marcos sees Blaise getting behind a large piece of rubble and puts his Erma EMP on the ground.
As the others keep firing their weapons, Marcos takes out a match and pulls out one of the Molotov Cocktails before lighting the match and putting it on the rag. Upon the rag catching fire, he tosses the match and looks from behind the corner to see Blaise firing a shot off before getting back into cover. Acting fast, Marcos gets from behind his cover and throws the bottle at the rubble with it breaking against it.
The other French Legionnaries are surprised upon seeing Blaise and his cover being engulfed in fire and the man screams in agony as he runs from out of cover in flames. However, the Spanish Legionnaries ignore him and keep shooting their other foes as they let the man burn to death.
Spanish Legion: 5
French Foreign Legion: 4
As Marcos starts to get back into cover, Léon aims his MAS-36 and fires a round into his right leg with the man nearly falling over from the wound. Galbino finishes reloading his Mauser Model 1916 and works the bolt-action before standing up and aiming at Léon as he starts to move into cover. Before he can shot, Eugene gets up and fires his rifle with the bullet speeding into Galbino's head and gets back into cover to operate the bolt-action of his MAS-36.
Spanish Legion: 4
French Foreign Legion: 4
Both groups keep firing upon each other with the French Legionnaries reloading their rifles and both Gabriel and Alan get fresh magazines into their MAS-38s. Seeing the Spanish Legionnaries firing at them as Emigdio puts a fresh magazine into his Erma EMP, Gabriel look at his other Legionnaries and shouts, "Se retirer! Se retirer! (Fall back! Fall back!)"
The French Legionnaries get out of cover with Alan firing his MAS-38 to keep their foes down and the others move back. Seeing this, Marcos quickly lights his other Molotov Cocktail and grabs his Erma EMP to use in combat. Limping out of cover, he gets a few feet away from his former cover and is about to throw the Molotov at them.
However, Gabriel gets to Léon and turns to see Marcos before raising his MAS-38 up to fire a few rounds down range. Before it leaves his hand, the Molotov is shot by the rounds and the gasoline splashed onto Marcos before the lit rag lands on him. The Spanish Legionnary screams in pain as the gass ignites and he's covered in flames before Gabriel fires a burst of rounds into his chest and Léon fires a round from his MAS-36 into his head.
Spanish Legion: 3
French Foreign Legion: 4
As Alan gets behind a new piece of cover, he quickly puts his MAS-38 on the ground and reaches back to grab an F1 Grenade. Taking one from the sack, he looks around the corner of the large rubble he's using as cover and sees the other three French Legionnaries moving back. While Eugene gets a piece of rubble close to him, Gabriel is forced to run back upon Emigdio firing a burst from his Erma EMP into Léon and causes him to collapse.
Spanish Legion: 3
French Foreign Legion: 3
"Grenade!" Alan shouts, causing Eugene stay in cover and Gabriel runs towards them to get into cover as the Spanish Legionnaries fire at them. Santos fires a shot off and operates the bolt-action before charging forward ahead of his fellow Spaniards to keep moving forward. Emigdio and Agustín move to charge forward as well to keep on the offensive.
Getting to his feet, Alan pulls the pin from the F1 Grenade and throws it at their foes before ducking back into cover as Emigdio fires at him. The grenade lands next to the side of a building short of their foes with Santos not noticing it as he charges past it.
BOOM!
As Emigdio and Agustín stop short as they get shocked by the sudden explosion, Santos falls forward dead with shrapnel in his body and the blast helping in killing him.
Spanish Legion: 2
French Foreign Legion: 3
Looking around their surroundings, Gabriel looks to his right and sees an abandon building that seemed like it was only three stories tall before he gets an idea.
"Alan, jette une autre grenade, (Alan, throw another grenade,)" Gabriel tells his men, "Eugene, va à ce bâtiment! (Eugene, get to that building!)"
Nodding, Alan takes another grenade and pulls the pin out as Gabriel gets out of cover and fires his MAS-38 at the Spanish Legionnaries with Eugene firing a shot off from his rifle. Both Emigdio and Agustín run into cover as Alan throws the F1 Grenade at them with Gabriel and Eugene rush to the entrance of the building. As the two Spaniards stay in cover, the grenade lands not far in front of the two in the middle of the street.
BOOM!
The Spaniards wait for a few moments and stay in cover as Gabriel and Eugene get into the building before Alan runs across the street to get to the building. However, when he's a foot away from the doorway, Emigdio gets out of cover and fires his Erma EMP with the bullets hitting him in the back. Alan falls the ground before Eugene, now without his MAS-36, grabs him and pulls him into the building despite his fellow Legionnary dying within a few seconds.
Spanish Legion: 2
French Foreign Legion: 2
Both of the remaining Spanish Legionnaries run towards the building and pass the dead men in the street before reaching the building. Looking at their weapons, both put down their weapons before pulling out their Astra 400s and Emigdio enters the building with Agustín following him. Upon entering, they find themselves in a large room with some furniture and the now dead Alan laying against the far wall.
Looking around, they slowly move forward before Agustín looks to see a doorway to their left and sees a figure in it. The man fires his Astra 400 at the doorway with Emigdio turning with his pistol at the ready in the same direction. Looking at Agustín, Emigdio nods his head towards the doorway with his fellow Legionnary nods in agreement and walks forward while his leader keeps his pistol at the ready. Moving forward, Agustín goes to the doorway and enters the other room with his eyes darting around to look at everything.
As he moves forward, Emigdio stays in place and watches his fellow Spanish Legionnary moving into the room. When Agustín turns his head to the left with him being three feet into the room, Eugene steps up to him from the right and places his MAB Model D against his head. Emigdio isn't able to react in time as the French Legionnary shots his pistol and drops his fellow Spaniard.
Spanish Legion: 1
French Foreign Legion: 2
Emigdio fires his pistol at the French Legionnary only for Eugene to move out of view from the doorway and the Spaniard rushes into the room. Upon getting into the room, he sees the French Legionnary going into another doorway with a broken chair next to it and aims his pistol at him. However, Gabriel comes from behind and grabs him, making the Spaniard shot his pistol into the ground.
Kneeing his foe in the gut, Gabriel manages to take the Astra 400 from Emigdio and kicks him away before tossing the pistol behind him. Looking at his foe, the Spaniard pulls out his Commando Knife with the French man drawing his Camillus. Stepping forward, Emigdio slashes with his knife only for Gabriel to sidestep it in time to only get a cut across his right cheek. Avoiding another slash by stepping back, Gabriel sees Eugene come back into the room and does his own slash that cuts across his foe's stomach. However, it only cuts his jacket and the shirt under it with Emigdio about to attack again.
Before he can, Eugene grabs the broken chair and raises it as he quickly gets behind the Spaniard and swings it down. The chair easily breaks over the man's head and stuns Emigdio as the French Legionnary is simply holding the top of the chair. As his fellow Legionnary tosses it away and pulls out his pistol, Gabriel grabs Emigdio and stabs him in the chest and twists the knife.
As the Spaniard cries out in pain, Gabriel takes his Camillus out of his foe and slashes the man's throat which stops his cry short. Starting to go limp, Gabriel tosses the Spaniard to the ground and both French Legionnaries look at him as the body lays still.
Spanish Legion: 0
French Foreign Legion: 2
Both of the French Legionnaries look at each other and they let out a small chuckle at the fact that they survived the fight.
"Nous sommes victorieux! (We are victorious!)" Gabriel shouts in joy, raising his Camillus in the air with Eugene giving a cheer as he raises his MAB Model D into the air as well.
Final Verdict: In this battle between these two groups with men from other nations, both were able to give it their all but in the end the French Foreign Legion who claimed victory with a possible outcome of 5.7 out of 10 battles. This was a match that was stacked heavily against one of the warriors with them gaining only a few edges while the victor got most of the rest. Starting with x-factors, the Spanish Legion got a slight edge in ferocity with the French Foreign Legion getting both training and tenacity with a draw in experience. Moving onto weapons, the only category the Spanish Legion gained was medium range with the French Foreign Legion getting the other categories including a slight edge in long range. However, when looking at weapons, the most valuable categories that helped determine the victory was explosives, pistols, and close range. While the Spanish Legion did get the edge in medium range, their Molotov Cocktail simply pales to the F1 Grenade with the pistol and knife of the French Foreign Legion being better suited once things got into close quarters combat. Simply put, the better trained and more tenacious French Foreign Legion with their better explosive and better close range weaponry allowed them to defeat the more ferocious Spanish Legion and their better submachine gun.
Got a battle you want to see? Tell me and I'll see if I can get it into the series! Next time, two gunpowder dynasties from China and Korea will go head to head.
Ray Tanaka: Hey, everyone! I did try my best to translate the dialogue from English to either French or the one line from Spanish. If I got anything wrong, I didn't mean to get it wrong and was trying to be as accurate as I can. Now, onto the actual match, this ended up being rather lopsided based off what I came up with. I did originally have the Spanish Legion as the 'Spanish Foreign Legion', but from my research not many foreigners actually made up this group. As such, I changed it to the 'Spanish Legion' since most were Spanish or from Spanish speaking nations, so it's not a foreign legion like the French Foreign Legion.
As for their 'Commando Knife', I used a Falange Youth Knife from 1936 to 1938 as a reference since that's the best I could find for their combat knife. As to the actual match, I decided to use the Molotov Cocktail to kill two warriors mostly to show how bad it could backfire on the user. For the last bit of the match, I figured a match fight would work for this plus I just wanted to have a person get a chair broken over their head. As for next time, I know it's rather vague in a way but you could consider it a battle between two groups who were allies in real life. Hope you all enjoyed!