At 1am on 30 April 1863 the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the French Foreign Legion was assigned to patrol a road in South-eastern Mexico, as part of Napoleon Ixia's efforts to establish a Bourbon monarchy in the country. By 9am the already depleted company was under siege in the walled courtyard of an inn in the tiny village of Camerone. The battle that followed saw the 46 remaining men of the company ranged against 2000 Mexicans, and though the battle was inevitably lost, it is regarded as the greet classic battle of the Foreign Legion, such were the odds, and the bravery of those involved. Colin Rickards has written the most complete account of the combat at Camerone ever compiled. Using all the available sources, including several previously unknown to scholarship, he has been able to reconstruct what happened in thrilling detail. But it does not end there, as the book takes the reader beyond that fateful day in 1863 to the creation of the Camerone legend and the celebration of Camerone Day right up to the present.

Author Biography

Colin Rickards is a well-known journalist and writer of current affairs.