deploy to Finland, the Allies elected to deploy the expeditionary force they were forming for Finland to Norway. The 13th Demi-Brigade trained in Larzac until it shipped out to Scotland where it would deploy with a force assembled by the rest of the Allies. The expeditionary force deployed to northern Norway where it planned to engage the German forces holding Narvik. On May 13, 1940, the 13th Demi-Brigade participated in an amphibious assault on the shores of the Herjangs Fjord near Narvik. The amphibious assault was conducted on torpedo boats under strafing by German fighters. Once on the shore, Foreign Legion forces moved to secure the high ground around the landing zone. The North African Campaign The 13th Demi-Brigade was deployed in the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Part of the Legion was loyal to the Free French movement, yet another part was loyal to the Vichy government. A battle in Syria saw two opposing sides fight against each other in a short engagement, and later on the Vichy Legion joined its Free French brethren. First Indochina War Units of the Legion were involved in the defense of Dien Bien Phu during the First Indochina War and lost a large number of men in the battle. Towards the desperate end of the battle, Legionnaires formed the bulk of the volunteer relief force which were delivered by parachute to the base. Post-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa When the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (Front de Libération Nationale Congolaise) took hostage approximately 3,000 European civilians at the village of Kolwezi, Zaire in May 1978, the French government deployed six hundreds legionnaires of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment to the region in conjunction with a force of Belgian paratroopers. Gulf War In September 1990 the 2e REI, 6e REG and 1e REC were sent to the Persian Gulf as a part of Opération Daguet. The Legion force, comprising 27 different nationalities, was attached to the French 6th Light Armoured Division, whose mission was to protect the Coalition's left flank. After the four-week air campaign, coalition forces launched the ground war. They quickly penetrated deep into Iraq, with the Legion taking the Al Salman Airport, meeting little resistance. The war ended after a hundred hours of fighting on the ground, which resulted in very light casualties for the Legion. Afghanistan War Elements of the Foreign Legion have been deployed to Afghanistan in support of