The Legion of the Damned: The Adventures of Bennett J. Doty in the French Foreign Legion as Told by Himself - Softcover

Doty, Bennett J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594163391 ISBN 13: 9781594163395

Publisher: Westholme Publishing, 2020

Synopsis

The Riveting Memoir of an American Volunteer in the French Foreign Legion during the 1925 Revolt in Syria
“You see there was down South a girl I liked. And she is now married . . . not to me.” So Bennett J. Doty confessed when he sailed for France and enlisted in the French Foreign Legion in 1924. A World War I veteran and University of Virginia student, Doty first trained in Morocco and Algeria before being shipped off to the French-controlled State of Syria. There, he and his fellow “bleus,” who hailed from Belgium, Poland, Italy, Senegal, Spain, Germany, Russia, and other countries, found themselves at the spearhead of the attempt to quell the revolt against French rule in the area. The fighting, mostly against the Druze, was fierce, merciless, and unrelenting. Fought in villages and at isolated outposts, there was no quarter. Entire villages were razed, fields destroyed, and prisoners were not taken by either side. In the engagement where Doty and several other of his “copains”—“buddies”—earned the Croix de Guerre, his unit became isolated and withstood days of attacks which claimed more than half of the Legionnaires until they were finally relieved by a French colonial column. With the immediate fighting over, the Legion was put to heavy manual labor under the hot desert sun. Doty became disillusioned, and with four other soldiers, fled in an attempt to reach British-controlled Jordan. They were caught, tried, and Doty was sentenced to eight years in a French prison. When word reached the United States, diplomatic efforts ultimately gained Doty a pardon and honorable discharge from service.
Originally published in 1928, Legion of the Damned, Doty’s acclaimed account of his time in the Legion, is a remarkable memoir that requires no additional drama to allow the reader to experience the desperation, exhilaration, fear, and disgust of a colonial war. Here, Doty shows how drunken, unruly, vicious veterans would transform into capable, cool, and orderly soldiers as soon as a battle began—the élan that earned the French Foreign Legion its reputation as a legendary fighting unit.

About this title

About the Author

Bennett Jeffries Doty (1900–1938), born in Alabama, served with the 115th Field Artillery during World War I, and fought in the Battle of St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Following his service in the French Foreign Legion and return to the United States, he was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1936. In 1938, he joined the International Brigade in Spain, where he was mortally wounded in battle during the Spanish Civil War.

Edition details

• Publisher: Westholme Publishing
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1594163391
• ISBN 13: 9781594163395
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 324