A French volunteer armed force consisting chiefly of foreigners. In 1831 Louis Philippe reorganized a light infantry legion in Algeria as the régiment étranger, the foreign legion. It fought in numerous 19th-century wars and in both World Wars. Following Algeria’s independence in 1962 the legion was transferred to France. No questions are asked about the origin or past of the recruits, whose oath binds them absolutely to the regiment whose unofficial motto is legio patria nostra (‘the legion is our fatherland’).