Dixmude: French Marines in the Great War, 1914-1918

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The epic battle of the Marine Fusiliers in the Great War The men of the French Fusiliers Marins were always bound to draw public attention because irrespective of their proud military tradition, which often had them fighting alongside the celebrated French Foreign Legion, their distinctive uniform set them apart from the ordinary ‘poilus’ of the French infantry. The ‘naval style’ uniform of the men with their characteristic jaunty red pompomed hats and their officers in naval finery made them a unit guaranteed to draw attention and inspire admiration and romance. The role of this unit should not be confused with that of British Royal Marines. They were not intended to be sea going soldiers but to serve as land based infantry primarily in defence of naval stations and in campaigns where amphibious landings and naval support was essential. In the opening stages of the First World War between the middle of October and the middle of November 1914, these remarkable troops fought at Dixmude in Flanders, against the overwhelming tide of the German Army, in a fierce action that upheld their finest traditions, but all but annihilated them. This book is the account of that battle.
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