The main title of this set refers to a novel by P.C.Wren published in 1924. It follows the adventures of the titular character as he joins the French Foreign Legion, and has been made into films and TV on several occasions. As a result, the name has become popularly associated with the Legion, even though no one during the actual period of this battleset could have known of it. A case of marketing trumping historical accuracy, but an understandable step to take by Italeri.
The Tuareg have always been a fiercely independent people, and when the French started to take over Algeria, eventually reaching the Tuareg in the south-east part of the country, they fiercely resisted the colonials, resulting in many battles big and small. Eventually the advanced Western power prevailed, and treaties signed in 1905 and 1917 effectively meant the Tuareg recognised French dominance. We could not work out the significance of the dates used for this set, except that they roughly correspond with the valid dates for the Legionnaire's uniform.
The figures included in this set are:
The legionnaires are a fair representation of the Legion during this long period, although as we said in our review, the mix of uniforms is a pity as you would expect every men in action together to have the same uniform. The Muslim Warriors however bear very little resemblance to any Tuareg. The set was a compromise even when it was made, covering fighters from Morocco to Afghanistan, with particular emphasis on the Sudan. Only the man with the face veil looks anything like the Tuareg, but short of creating an entirely new set Italeri had little choice, and like Esci before them they clearly wanted to make the most of this mixed set. As so often, perhaps the intended market will care little about such niceties, and so make the set a commercial success. The main component of this set is of course the fort. The many forts and outposts built by the French in North Africa came in many shapes and sizes depending on the circumstances, so there is no single design that might be called 'classic'. The form taken here is quite simple and relatively modest in size compared to some, but looks perfectly reasonable and offers lots of opportunities for placing the figures along the walls and in a fight within the fort itself.
Also included are some very nice tents and some accessories (wells and fire places). This is the Italeri Desert Well and Tents set reviewed here.
As usual, Italeri offer a nice set of images of the fort and figures all assembled and well-painted, plus some views of a really well-done diorama. Clearly it would take some time and talent for the customer to reproduce such work, but it works well at showing what could be achieved, and while the native figures may be very far from suitable, overall this is an attractive product.