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Foreign Troops

The use of foreign troops in armies is nothing new and during the Twilight War all

sides made regular use of foreign nationals as part of their armed forces. Initially this

was usually in the form of immigrants (and their descendants), usually in intelligenceor infiltration roles (perhaps the best documented being 27 SS which is co!ered in a

separate article). "radually as the war drew on, this e#tended to the use of locals in a

!ariety of roles, usually first filling logistics roles to free up troops, then unofficially

in combat roles then usually in an official capacity as combat troops either in their

own units or to supplement regular units.

The $ranco%&elgian 'nion in olland were surprisingly uic* to hire locals after their

sei+ure of what became the ead -one. These were hea!ily used in a paramilitary role

and in rear area security wor* as part of the etherlands u#iliary /orps (e

ulp0orpsen !an ederland). These were issued a &elgian or $rench 1" uniform

with a large utch flag sown usually on each arm but occasionally on the right only(these were about twice the si+e of the normal T1 national badge). These were

also usually painted on the helmet sides but these were then obscured by helmet

co!ers (usually home made). !en as supplies faltered the $rench senior /1s and

officers were strict in ensuring these were worn and locally manufactured !ariants

(often differing slightly in si+e or colour) were common. 1ccasionally seen were 1"

 brassards with a larger utch flag, ran* badge and the wording u#iliary /orps in

$rench or more usually utch.

Troops were stationed in their home areas

and the immediate families were mo!ed into

the $rench military camps nearby. s aresult few considered desertion as they were

well *now and would be an instant target for

anti%$rench resisters and their families

would be left at the mercy of the $rench (at

least one commander made it *nown that he

would ma*e sure that the local population

would *now when he would e#pel the

family of any member who went missing).

These measures were not really reuired as

most who collaborated did so willingly for

the prospect of food and shelter. Some of the

resistance did howe!er infiltrate the

organisation. The biggest danger these

suffered was with the number of different

resistance groups, an infiltrating resistance

member might well become a target for

another group. If his identity was gi!en to

other groups (difficult anyway due to their

cellular nature), it would not be long before

the $rench found out. e best *nown e#ample of infiltration is in indho!en where on

3

th

 4arch 2556 a number of resisters shot their $rench officers (along with a numberof the u#iliary /orps who they felt would not change sides) and the pro%$rench

 Illustration 1: Rare photo of a Dutch

volunteer. Unfortunately the insignia on

the right arm is not visible and the lack

of a helmet means no distinguishing

marks are visible (Le onde!

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mayor. These then melted away into the countryside to oin the resistance. number

were recaptured and after a uic* trial were shot as deserters (the $rench insisting that

u#iliary /orps troops did this) but $rench confidence in the units was olted by these

and other smaller incidents.

Interestingly the armament of these troops was usually the obsolete 4S89 rifle andoccasionally the 32 machine gun as their 7.3mm calibre was not readily a!ailable

to utch resisters if the weapons were captured. lso seen occasionally was the $:%

$:6 sniper rifle (also in 7.3mm). common resistance practice with captured

!ersions of all of these was to con!ert the weapon to 7.;2mm but these were often

unsatisfactory in performance. lso seen were a range of pump action shotguns

mainly used in urban wor*. <istols (if issued)

were mainly <63s.

The $rench military is also famous for the

$oreign =egion. This has continued to recruit

foreign troops without uestions being as*ed.It has howe!er become harder to apply as it

reuires the applicant get into $rance. The

$rench go!ernment ha!ing loo*ed at this,

regard it as a good method of recruiting

foreigners who ha!e made it into $rance so

ha!e stopped short of recruiting outside the

 boundaries of $rance. /ynics ha!e pointed to

the facts that training casualties are high and

that the =egio seems to be at the fore%

front of any action, claiming that it is

only being used as a method to get rid of

foreign trouble ma*ers (indeed this was

the original reason for its formation in the

nineteenth century). fter fi!e years

ser!ice a legionnaire is free to lea!e as a

$rench citi+en with legal rights to li!e in

$rance. s $rance is one of the most

ordered countries remaining many see

this as an e#cellent opportunity to

sur!i!e. $ew loo* at the sur!i!al rates

first before oining. Inaddition the harsh penalty for deserting (usually death) has

reduced this cause of manpower loss to near nil. :ecruits come

from all o!er urope (and beyond) but currently there are maor

concentrations of "ermans, Spanish and utch plus significant

numbers of &ritish, merican and Italian !olunteers. $rench

citi+ens are not accepted (with the e#ception of attached officers)

and after the $ranco%&elgian 'nion no new &elgians ha!e been

accepted (e#cept as officers).

"ur*has ha!e been recruited by the &ritish rmy since the mid

nineteenth century. :ecruited in epal after fierce competition,they are formed into their own units (usually but not e#clusi!ely

 Illustration ": #

 Div adopted the

$orld $ar %&o

era #th (armoured! Div badge

 Illustration ': oreign Legion recce patrol

&ith ))*+ in ,ennegal +--1

 Illustration +: oreign Legionnaire on

 patrol in &ar torn )l/haf0i in the

,audi $ar (Le igaro!

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with &ritish officers). The

main selling point was the

relati!ely high wages paid and

the respect that ser!ing ga!e

(it was a maor tradition in

some families to ha!egenerations of sons ser!ing).

With the re!ersion of ong

0ong to /hina due it was

e#pected that their numbers

would be reduced. Instead

their numbers were increased

in 699> when it was decided

to use them as an area reaction

force based in &runei. In

addition a number of complete companies were used to boost numbers in other units

(including > <ara). uring the war they were again e#panded and formed the ; th

(Infantry) i!ision that was sent to assist /hina (along with the 6 st &attalion ong

0ong :egiment) and formed a component of the 4iddle ast $ield $orce (4$$).

The /ommonwealth Soldier <rogramme was another

&ritish attempt to increase army numbers. This

allowed citi+ens of the /ommonwealth to oin the

&ritish rmy and after four years be granted &ritish

citi+enship and the right to reside in the '0. This

was hugely successful and by 6993 65? of the

&ritish rmy consisted of such soldiers (from such

di!erse places as the $al*land Islands, South frica,

the /aribbean, the <acific Islands @ in particular $ii,

ustralia and

/anada). The

outset of war

greatly reduced

this flow of

!olunteers (mainly due to practicalities of getting to

the '0) but units deployed to /anada often

recruited !olunteers in small numbers as did the

composite T &attalion in the $al*land Islands.

1ne of the almost un*nown stories of the Twilight

War is the small number of !olunteers who

tra!elled to /hina to help them when the :ussians

in!aded. 'nli*e the Spanish /i!il war the

!olunteers were generally not idealists as both sides

were communists, instead they were predominantly

of ethnic /hinese origin. It is estimated that

appro#imately >,555 tra!elled there to assist, a

number resigning commissions in militaries to do

so. The most famous e#ample of this is /aptain/hai en%=owe of the 'S ir $orce. /aptain /hai an

 Illustration *: urhkas of an unkno&n unit of #

 Division celebrate after beating off a Russian attack at

the 2attle of 3ill *+'

 Illustration #: Rifleman orung

 3itman of the +nd /ing 4d&ard

5II6s 7&n oorkhas (the

,imoor Rifles!8 the first urkha

59 &inner of the &ar 

 Illustration : i0ian members of

the 2ritish )rmy. any of the

 i0ians &ere the second

 generation to serve in the 2ritish

 )rmy after the influ; of the

1<-s. ) high proportion of them

volunteered for special forces

 selection although all units

included them among their

members. %here &ere even fourin the $elsh uards &here they

&ere popular for their rugby and

 singing skills=

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$63/ pilot resigned, paid his own way there and barged into the

efence 4inistry demanding a ob. Initially gi!en a training role on

the 'S euipment being pro!ided, his suadron was reassigned to the

front in the panic of the spring So!iet offensi!e of 699;. /aptain /hai

was credited with the destruction of nine So!iet aircraft within the first

month before he was brought down in a dogfight. Si# months later hereturned to his unit ha!ing been fighting as part of a guerrilla unit. e

was belie!ed *illed in a nuclear stri*e on the outs*irts of &eiing in

late 6997.

 orway has created an unusual foreign unit as the :oyal "uard. This

consists primarily of S=s, SS and S&S, although a number of

utch troops are included. The *ing ha!ing been rescued by these,

offered citi+enship and membership of the "uard for the rescuers.

bout half of the unit accepted, the remainder returned to their original

units. This is no place guard unit howe!er, the *ing regularly !isits the

front line and the unit acts much more in the role of house carls thandecoration.

In Italy, the <opeAs Swiss "uard made of up Swiss

/atholics has e#panded as the <ope has offered places to

increasing numbers of young Swiss dissatisfied with life in

the cantons of Swit+erland. These young men ha!e become

 party of a rapidly swelling force which is now roughly an

under%strength di!ision in si+e (in terms of the year 2555).

1rganised as light infantry these troops ha!e been seen

wearing an assortment of uniforms, sometimes Swiss,

sometimes an 1" co!erall and sometimes surplus Italian

uniform. 4ost of these will ha!e a small white cross on an

1" bac*ground worn on the collars. The famous uniform designed by =eonardo da

Binci is now only worn in formal audiences. :ecently a

di!isional si+ed force has been created similar to the Swiss "uard

 but made up of other nationalities. These swear allegiance to the

<ope abo!e earthly nations. 4ade up predominantly of Italians

there are also a number of Swiss and a few of most uropean

nationalities. This unit has a more paramilitary role than the

Swiss "uard, acting as a police force in

smaller company, platoon and sectionle!el bases. Some battalions are part

time, with troops rotating through the

duties on a rota. $ield dress (which is

the only official uniform) is as per the

Swiss "uard although 1"

 predominates and the cross is in blac*

on 1". It is rumoured that there is a

special company of <apal "uard who are made up of special

forces !eterans of all nationalities and used on clandestine

missions. o proof of this has yet come to light.

 Illustration >:

9aptain 9hai

at a press

conference

 arch 1<<# 

 Illustration <: %he

traditional vie& of the ?apal uard 

 Illustration 1-: )

most unusual nun8,ister aria

 @ormana is the only

 female member of

the ?apal uard as

head of the medical

 services in it. Illustration 11: 7riginaly

 stated to be members of

the special company it is

no& believed to be

members of the regular

 guard 

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In Iran, the merican troops ha!e made widespread use of local troops. Initially these

were hired as guides and interpreters and unarmed. These were usually issued body

armour and (usually) a helmet (usually steel but occasionally 0e!lar) with Cchocolate

chipD co!ers and tags which ga!e the title CinterpreterD (replacing the 'S

rmyE4arine /orps tag) and (optionally) a name tag (both in nglish and $arsi) worn

o!er ci!ilian clothes. Sometimes howe!erthe older 469;9 or e!en 46932 !est in

green was issued. Weapons were not

issued. "radually the practice at unit le!el

 became to try and issue a full uniform,

webbing and a weapon (the webbing and

weapon were freuently from captured

euipment). This was officially adopted

from 6st Fan 699G by the 'S4/ and 6st

$eb 699G by the other ser!ices.

Simultaneously in an effort to increase

front line troops, con!oy guards anddri!ers were hired to replace 'S troops

tied up on these duties. These were issued

an arm band worded C/on!oy "uard

$orceD in yellow on red in nglish and $arsi (as these were locally manufactured

there are many !ariations in letter si+es. armband si+e, colours and occasionally

spellingH). This was intended to identify them as lawful combatants (and cynics said

to stop 'S troops shooting them by mista*eH). These troops were reuired to pro!ide

their own weapons and ammunition and were moderately successful (although it was

common for small items to go missing). Behicles used were usually locally purchased

and were freuently pic* up truc*s in a !ariety of colours. The 656 st irborne

 pioneered a new use for these con!oy guards, they used them on aggressi!e patrols to

clear routes, using a small con!oy as bait and a large reaction force ust behind (often

in helicopters where these were a!ailable). These troops made use of a number of 3 th

Special $orces "roup cadres to train and 656st /1s to stiffen them in action.

"radually these troops found their way into other roles until they were uite

freuently used to round out 'S units who had ta*en casualties (the G2nd and 656st in

 particular did this after the casualties during

1peration <egasus II). <olicies dictating their

use differ, the 'S4/ tends to employ them

as complete platoons under 'S4/ /1s, the

G2nd

 tends to integrate them into mericansuads and the 656st uses them as complete

 platoons with their own /1s and officers

(with 'S Cad!isorsD attached). fter

1peration <egasus II, the G2nd irborne (in a

 brea* from their usual practice) consolidated

the 0urdish au#iliaries they pic*ed up into

one unit and officially (with "eneral

/ummingsA appro!al) enlisted them as the

3E>23th (0urdish) Infantry (<ro!isional).

 Illustration 1+: Interpreter for the >+nd )irborne translates a reAuest for

information to a village headman (ranya

$ilson!

 Illustration 1': embers of the *B'+*th

 stripping their )/s ay +---

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lso in the 4iddle ast is the Israeli approach.

ere instead of integrating troops into their own

command structure the troops are used as

 pro#ies being fully euipped and trained before

following the CreuestsD of the Israeli rmy

(sometimes it must be stated reluctantly or e!enoccasionally ignoring them completely). This

has had the benefit of allowing actions that

would be politically unacceptable to be carried

out, admittedly at the stated loss of direct

control. These actions are usually underta*en by

4ossad with help from Saryet 4a*tal. ru+e

Israelis ha!e often been unofficially used to

train troops outside of Israel @ these deniable

troops carried no I in the e!ent of capture.

espite being deniable, the Israeli go!ernment

has freuently arranged co!ert e#changes for any captured ad!isors. Some of the/hristian factions in =ebanon (e#cluding the Syrian bac*ed puppet go!ernment) ha!e

 been a maor benefactor (e!en to the e#tent of recei!ing armoured !ehicles of 'S

 pattern that were surplus to Israeli reuirements and captured rab armour @ in

 particular 466>s and T33E;2s). lso benefiting ha!e been at least two factions in the

fractured Ira and (it is rumoured) the Iranian go!ernment (allegedly ma*ing the most

of lin*s created in the 69G5s when supporting Iran against Ira).

The So!iets too made use of foreign troops, the best *nown of which are thr "erman

$ree =egion and the 6st /hinese =iberation rmy, both of which ha!e been co!ered in

depth elsewhere.

 Illustration 1": DruCe troops in

 Lebanon firing a recoilless rifle from

an 1*1 (both supplied by Israel!

against government armour as

 Israeli troops pour into Lebanon in

7peration Do&n&ards