List of foreign volunteers

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.
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.
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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]

  1. ^ Grasmeder, Elizabeth M.F. "Leaning on Legionnaires: Why Modern States Recruit Foreign Soldiers". International Security. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ Webster, Graham (1979). The Roman Imperial Army (Second ed.). London: A & C Black. p. 144. ISBN 0-7136-1909-0.