Camerone: The French Foreign Legion's Greatest Battle
(Hardback)
Publishing Details
Camerone: The French Foreign Legion's Greatest Battle
By (Author) Rosemary Rohmer
By (author) James Ryan
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Praeger Publishers Inc
25th March 1996
United States
Classifications
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
War and defence operations
European history
History of the Americas
972.07
Physical Properties
Hardback
144
Width 140mm, Height 210mm
284g
Description
The first detailed account in English of the battle that defined the elite unit's fidelity to the mission. The battle was fought at Camerone, some 40 miles west of Vera Cruz, Mexico, on April 30, 1863; the opponents were the half-strength 3d Company, 1st Battalion, of the Legion opposed by more than 2,000 Mexican regulars and guerrillas. After several fights against the Mexican lancers just beyond the deserted La Trinidad Hacienda at Camerone, the 3d took cover behind the old walls of the hacienda. There, for ten hours the Legion withstands repeated assaults from a Mexican force that grew to more than 2,000 men. Finally, the surviving officer and four men of the 3d charge into the midst of the massed juaristas. The officer is mortally wounded, two men are killed, the other two captured. The Legion has never regarded Camerone as a defeat but rather as the prime example of fidelity to the mission. Annually, on April 30, Legion units, whether in peace or war, commemorate the gallantry of the 3d of the 1st.
Reviews
"What the Alamo is to Texans, Camerone is to the French Foreign Legion. [This is] an epic of bravery masterfully recreated by James W. Ryan."-Bernard E. Trainor, Lt. Gen. USMC (Ret.) Director, National Security Program JFK School of Government, Harvard University
Ryan, who toured the site twice, has provided the first detailed account in English of the battle of Camerone. It is a gripping narrative aimed at the general reader.-Quincy Patriot Ledger
"Ryan, who toured the site twice, has provided the first detailed account in English of the battle of Camerone. It is a gripping narrative aimed at the general reader."-Quincy Patriot Ledger
Author Bio
JAMES W. RYAN is the author of ten books, most of which are military histories. A Korean War paratroop veteran with sixty-seven jumps, he served as a newsman and editor for United Press International for a decade. He is now a freelance writer and historian.
