The organization of the Legion during WWI is very tough to follow. At the beginning of the war the Legion was divided up into two "Foreign Regiments": the 1er Etrangère and 2eme Etrangère. These two Foreign Regiments each had three "Marching Regiments" which were broken down into battalions, companies, sections, and finally, squads.

Most of the Americans who signed up in Paris in August 1914 were assigned to the Second Marching Regiment of the 2eme Etrangère. Many of the Americans who arrived later were assigned to the Third Marching Regiment (or others) of the 1er Etrangère.

For example, in September 1914, Alan Seeger (who enlisted in Paris in August) was assigned to Battalion C (Second Marching Regiment) or the 2eme Etrangère. Whereas Edmond Genet, who enlisted in September 1915, was assigned to the Second Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er Etrangère).

In the beginning the Legion did its best to try to create so-called "American Squads." But as the war continued and the Legion evolved, Americans (even those returning from the hospital) were basically sent to where they were needed most.

Of the two, the 1er Etrangère saw the most action, and performed so amazingly in some of the bloodiest engagements of the war (Champagne, Navarin Farm) they were sent into action whenever the French Army needed the best to lead the attack. This meant they incurred the greatest losses and eventually the Marching Regiments within the 1er Etrangère were merged.

On November 11th, 1915 the Marching Regiments of the 1er and 2eme Etrangères were merged into one Regiment, made up of three Battalions. And the 1er and 2eme Etrangères existed no longer as separate entities. For the rest of the war the Legion fought as a unified "Régiment de Marche de la Légion Etrangère" (aka RMLE). At this time all American members of the Legion were (finally) given the possibility to join the 170th line regiment of the French Infantry. Many left the Legion for the famous 170th, also known as the "Swallows of Death". Many other Americans (like Genet) began to leave the Legion to join what would become the Lafayette Escadrille. Alan Seeger, faithful to his Legion, remained.

~~ Rich McErlean