A Brief History
On December 26, 1776, George Washington led his Continental Army across the Delaware River to surprise and attack the German Hessians employed by the British, killing about 22 of the German mercenaries and capturing another 800 to 900 for the loss of only two Americans killed. In fact, the dead Americans died from the winter weather and not Hessian bullets!
Digging Deeper
Mercenaries, soldiers for hire usually from other lands, have been used throughout history, sometimes to great advantage but also many times leading to failure and defeat. While the French Foreign Legion is famous for its fierce nature and fighting ability, this august corps has suffered notable defeats, particularly at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, basically losing Vietnam for the French, and at Camarón, in Mexico in 1863 when 65 Legionnaires were killed or captured by 3,300 Mexicans. In fact, after failing to win the war in Algeria, in 1961, much of the Legion rebelled against France itself and President de Gaulle who had threatened to disband the Legion. Sources vary as to whether or not members of the French Foreign Legion should be called mercenaries.
Mercenaries in Africa have had mixed results since the mid-20th Century, while the Russian allied Wagner Group fought well in Ukraine during Russia’s 2022 invasion but turned against Russia in 2023, marching on Moscow, then stopping even though the road to the Kremlin seemed clear. In 2024, Russia employed North Koreans against Ukraine with disastrous results.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Should Ukraine recruit mercenaries to fight against Russia?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Baer, Friederike. Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War. Oxford University Press, 2022.
Rogers, Anthony. Soldiers of Fortune: Mercenaries and Military Adventurers, 1960–2020. Osprey Publishing, 2022.
The featured image in this article, Battle of Trenton, a 1975 portrait of the battle by H. Charles McBarron Jr., is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the United States Army Center of Military History.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
