ABSTRACT
While the majority of Belgian escapers and evaders found their way back to their homeland or moved on to neutral states with the intention of continuing the fight on the Allied side, a relatively small number chose or were forced into different choices. Belgians stranded in France after the armistice had few options. They could return home, but if they remained in France they were liable for imprisonment in one of the already notorious internment camps. The only alternative offered by the French authorities was to join the Foreign Legion and serve Vichy interests in North Africa. As the war progressed, units of the Legion could be found fighting against each other, for example in Syria – conflicts that also included some exiled Belgians. Ultimately, the transfer of French North Africa to the Free French cleared the way for the Legion to be part of the Allied cause. In the meantime, some legionnaires deployed against the Germans had been captured and found themselves handed over to the Italians. Other Belgians who had found their way to Spain sometimes found their route to Britain blocked and therefore opted to go instead to the Belgian Congo and enlist with the Force Publique there.
