An International Force of Tomorrow
By ARTHUR L. MARTIN
[In an article in last's week's " Spectator " by the same writer, himself a former legionary, the French Foreign Legion was discussed as model for a possible international force.] FOR the last hundred years France has demonstrated to the world, as I showed in my article in The Spectator last week, that an army composed of every nationality under the sun not only is possible but can be most efficient and extremely formidable. To realize just how efficient and formidable, it is only necessary to refer to the records of the Foreign Legion in the defence of Verdun. Even that inferno could not shatter it. Further, France has shoWn that it is not even necessary for such a force to be officered by any one nation. Although Frenchmen form the backbone of the officers of the Legion, many other nationalities are represented—Russians, Poles, Roumanians, Belgians, Swiss, Italians and even Austrians and an American being included in the active list today.
I am often asked how it is that the esprit de corps and the cohesion of the Legion are so powerful. It is a fact that the esprit de corps and the fidelity of the heterogeneous community which makes up its ranks are remarkable. For that there are several contributory causes. One of them is that, in the Legion, there is a considerable number of middle-aged men who have served for years in one or other of the continental armies and who have found civilian life intolerable. Loyalty to a superior, esprit de corps and " playing for one's side " are the hall-marks which distinguish the old soldier of whatever nationality, and these men set the tone to the younger men. It may not be out of place to say here that the Legion is not, and never was, a haven for criminals and deserters from other armies. No man known to have been a convict or to be a deserter has the slightest prospect of getting a place in its ranks. I firmly believe another contributory cause of the success of the Legion is that a normal man's first instinct is that of honesty. I know of cases where men, who were both bad soldiers and unhappy in the Legion, have done physical violence to those who came to them with plans for desertion.
It is sometimes said that the Legionary's fidelity and loyalty are unique and could never be created or instilled into any other force. Why not ? A parallel instance has come into being with the inception of the League of Nations, whose Secretariat at Geneva, composed of many nationalities, work together in perfect harmony and with complete loyalty to their cause and ideal.
Could and would such allegiance and esprit de corps he found in an International Police Force ? I see no reason why not. Men have fought and died through loyalty to a political or a religious ideal as often as they have through loyalty to a king or country. The ideal and goal of a Force of International Police is to render as outbreak of war, anywhere on the face of the globe, as impossible as human ingenuity and foresight permit. The International Police of the future will be a guarantee of security against aggression. Although powerfully armed with the latest and most effective weapons, its duties will be more those of the policeman than those of the soldier.
To what extent could an International Force of Police be modelled on the Foreign Legion ? The answer is " To a very large extent." It has been explained, in the previous article dealing with the Legion, how the French have dealt with the difficulty of a common language. It would, of course, be necessary for an International Police Force to have one or even two " official " languages. I observed when I joined.that the majority of recruits to the Legion could not speak any French at all, whereas most of them could speak (some) German and a fair number knew a little English. I would therefore venture the opinion that these two languages would be the most suitable for official purposes.
It is a debatable point whether recruits for an Inter- national Police Force should be mixed together indis- criminately, as in the Legion, or whether companies should be composed of definite nationalities and kept separate and distinct. My own preference would be for the " indiscriminate " method, which has had very happy results in the Legion. It is likely that a con- siderable percentage of the men joining the Police would have an interest in political questions, and it would be a great asset and advantage if they were enabled to rub shoulders together and be at liberty to exchange views. The segregation of various factions might well have the tendency to keep alive, and even to revive,:,old national and political quarrels and disputes, and therefore lead to internal antagonism.
In the event of the Police Force being sent by the League against,say, Ruritania, the same procedure could be followed as was adopted by the French at the out- break of the Great War, when the Germans in the Legion were given free individual choice of going to fight against their own country or of remaining on garrison duty in North Africa.
The geographical distribution of the Police Force is a matter which only the League can decide, but it must never be forgotten that such garrisons must always be well outside the immediate bombing range of likely storm-centres (from the point of view of defence). This axiom brings to the fore the problem of the Air. Aviation will play an immensely important part in the functions of an International Police Force. It is absolutely • essential that the Police should always have an adequate supply of both fighting and bombing machines, .ready to go into immediate action, in addition to a sufficiency of troop-carriers. The writer has remarked elsewhere that the opening shots of another war will not be fired, as in the past, by opposing cavalry patrols but by the anti-aircraft batteries. It is vital that the International • Police should be in a position to deal with enemy bombers and to be able to send long-distance bombing squadrons to render the enemy's mobilization centres untenable and useless. The necessity of a highly efficient; perfectly equipped and poVverfully armed Air Force cannot be too highly emphasized. The whole utility and efficacy of an International Police Force depends upon the air.
Nor should it be forgotten that the Police will need naval forces at its disposal. The most recalcitrant nation comes to its senses when its harbours are blockaded, its imports cut off and its trade brought to a standstill. An International Force of Police, comprising all Services, would be a sure guarantee against aggression and a widespread outbreak of war. Is such a Force practicable, and is it acceptable alike to Jingoist and Pacifist, Conservative and Labourite ? Definitely but slowly, opinion is answering, " Yes, it is." Such a Force would be an ally and no menace to any country in the world. It must be remembered that if the League of Nations ever decided to use the International Police for a military expedition or to assist in enforcing an economic boycott of some aggressor, the necessary Act would have to be signed by the delegates of sonic ten or a dozen countries at least. This is no impossible dream of Utopia-seekers. It is a quite feasible achieve- ment. In the Foreign Legion, France has not only shown the world that the military side of such a Force is possible, but she has exhibited to the world a model that works.
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