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.
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]
Emir Abdelkader, wearing the sash of the Legion d'Honneur presented to him by the French government. The exiled Muslim Algerian, along with his 1,000 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.
Rhodesian Light Infantry (initially all-Rhodesian, this unit became the "Foreign Legion" of the Rhodesian Army)
Mahal – non-Israeli volunteers who fought for Israel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. There is to this day a voluntary program called Mahal in the Israeli army.
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.
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]
Before the US entered the war, many Americans joined the Canadian Forces, especially the RCAF, and served in ordinary Canadian units.
Rachel Cox in Into the Dust and Fire records the history of five Ivy Leaguers (Chuck Bolte, Jack Brister, Bill Durkee, Heyward Cutting, and Robert Cox) who enlisted in the British Army and became the first Americans to fight the Nazis[5]
The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg was a division of the German Waffen-SS that was developed around a nucleus of Albanian volunteers, named after Albanian medieval lord George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. It was better known for murdering, raping, and looting in predominantly Serb areas than for participating in combat operations on behalf of the German war effort.[6]
Bangladeshi
8,000 young men from Bangladesh volunteered to enlist in the PLO in 1987
The 6 Février Battalion, part of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War was made up of French and Belgians. Their citizenship rights were revoked as a result of their decision to serve in a foreign army.
Two Belgian units fought in the Waffen SS during the Second World War
British
During the Peninsular War, many Britons joined Spanish regular and irregular forces.[7]
Dozens of British volunteers joined Croatian units and fought in the Yugoslav Wars between 1991 and 1995, most of them on the King Tomislav Brigade.[9]
The Bosnian War attracted large numbers of foreign fighters and mercenaries from various countries. Volunteers came to fight for a variety of reasons including religious or ethnic loyalties, but mostly for money.
The Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion (Mac-Paps) consisted of 1,500 Canadian volunteers who fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War as part of the International Brigades. Often composed of working class Canadians and immigrants, the Mac-Paps were noted for being different from their comrades in the US Lincoln Brigade (often students and intellectuals).
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.
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.
From 1991 to 1994, during the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War, a number of French volunteers fought alongside the Croats in the King Tomislav Brigade.[9]
From 1991 to 1994, during the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War, a number of former Bundeswehr and East-German army members fought alongside the Croats in the King Tomislav Brigade.[17] The brigade's executive officer at the time of the outbreak of the Bosnian Croat War was former Bundeswehr officer Jürgen Schmidt, who died while leading his troops against Bosnian Muslim forces near Gornji Vakuf, in January 1993.[18] In another action, a German-volunteer patrol, led by former Bundeswehr member Michael Homeister, ambushed and killed two Serbs manning an observation post.[17]
The Free Indian Legion was a volunteer legion made up of Indian POWs. The legion was first part of the Wehrmacht but transferred to the Waffen-SS late in the war.
Irish Papal Battalion fought for the Papal States prior to Italian Unification.
Irish Regiment of Canada fought in WW1 and WW2 for Canada along with the Irish Fusillers (Canadian).
South African Irish Regiment fought for the Union of South Africa both in WW1 and WW2 and was later transformed to a reserve unit which still forms part of the modern Republic of South African Army.
Israeli
Mahal – Program for non-Israelis between the age of 18–24 to serve in the IDF.
Some Russians fought for the Allies on the Western Front of WW1 as part of the Russian Legion. They were former members of the Russian Expeditionary Force.
A small group of White Russian emigres fought for Nationalist Spain as part of the Spanish Legion.
Asano Brigade, a unit of White Russian Emigres in Manchukuo.
Various Russian collaborators, nicknamed Hiwis fought in both the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS.
Russian Emigres served in the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, a multinational volunteer force of the Shanghai International Settlement.
On the Russian side in the conflict with Ukraine, volunteers from Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Greece, Serbia and Turkey have been fighting since 2022. The Khmelnytsky Battalion and Maxim Krivonos Battalion was created from Ukrainian residents
Serbian
Serbian Militia was a Serbian military unit of the Habsburg-Austrian army consisting of Serbs that existed between 1686–1704.
Over 1,000 ethnic Serbs volunteered for the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen at General Phelps' office, most of whom were either ideologically or otherwise motivated to fight against the Partisans.[23]
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.
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, which consisted of Spanish Republican exiles
Swiss mercenaries served under the flags of many European nations including the British, Dutch, French and Spanish; as well as continue to serve as the military of the Holy See.
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) ISBN978-1-4411-3565-0
