it soon was clear there would not be enough volunteers to fill the ranks of this Swiss legion as conceived. This lack of manpower stemmed from the fact that both France and Britain, in need of recruits, were competing for the Swiss volunteers. However, the French enlistment bonus offered to Swiss volunteers was twenty francs, which paled in comparison to the British 150 franc bonus. Ultimately France was able to recruit 1,600 men for the 2nd Foreign Legion, near a fifth of the number of men necessary for Napoleon III's plan. This led the French government to decide to disband the 1st Regiment of the Foreign Legion after the conclusion of the Crimean War, folding its battalions into the 2nd Foreign Regiment (2eme Régiment etrangère); the Swiss volunteers were then organized into a new 1st Foreign Regiment. As originally organized the 1st Foreign Regiment consisted of two infantry battalions and two companies of tirailleurs. Return to Algeria Following the conclusion of the Crimean War, the Foreign Legion withdrew its forces and returned to Algeria. Second Italian War of Independence The two Foreign Legion regiments took part in the war in Italy against the Austrians as a part of MacMahon's II Corps. When the Austrians declared war on Piedmont in April 1859, the 1st Foreign Regiment had been transferred to Corsica in hopes of bolstering its ranks with Corsican volunteers; by May the 1st Foreign Regiment arrived in Genoa. The 2nd Foreign Regiment arrived at Genoa in May as well having departed from Oran. A brigade was formed from the two regiments as the 1st Foreign Regiment was under-strength with only slight more than 600 men in its ranks. The Legion took part in the Battle of Magenta where the II Corps played an important part in the French victory and the Foreign Legion performed well. On June 7, 1859, the Legion forces in Italy entered the city of Milan to the delight of the Milanese. After the battle the under-strength 1st Foreign Regiment remained in Milan to recruit. Meanwhile, the 2nd Foreign Regiment took part in the French Army's two-week pursuit of the Austrians which culminated in a bloody French victory at Solferino. Mexico The creation of the Second Mexican Empire was the impetus for an expansion of the French Foreign Legion. One of Maximilian I's conditions for the acceptance of the Mexican throne was the provision of a corps