Legio Patria Nostra – The Legion is our fatherland.
The French Foreign Legion is a legendary branch of the French army known for its severe
discipline and its recruitment of ex-convicts, misfits and ruffians from every corner of the globe. Harry was only eighteen years old when he signed a five-year contract that would set him on a path from which there was no turning back. There, he would travel thousands of miles from home over mountains, through deserts and into danger. He would meet many good men and fight alongside some of the best soldiers the French army has to offer and be tested to his physical and mental limits. It was the adventure of a lifetime.
French Foreign Legion Commando is a memoir written by Harry A. Dobson after his 5-year term of service to the French army. During his time he completed a total of 3 tours of duty in Mali, North Africa. Harry was accepted into one of only two elite commando units within the French army. With the GCM – ‘Groupement Commando Montagne’ (mountain commandos) Harry served his last 2 tours and fought in a number of high-profile missions, many of which made it to Front-page French newspapers.
The book outlines the many trials life in the French Foreign Legion presents, the highs as well as the lows. Harry describes all the fascinating characters he met along the way and the bonds of friendship he formed with men brought together by a unique institution.
Apart from the conflict of Mali, the book also covers the rigorous training French commando’s undergo and the complications Harry had to face as a non-French speaker and Legionnaire within that elite group.
Finally, the book aims to provide an insight into what life as a Legionnaire is like and the effect that the organisation has on the men serving within it.
You are seldom likely to stumble across such a story twice.