To reply to the disaster in Beirut, the legionnaires from the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) and 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG) were alerted and sent to the capital of Lebanon. They arrived there on August 13.

On August 4, 2020, Beirut was affected by devastating, massive explosions that occurred in the Port of Beirut. They resulted in the death of at least 220 people and the wounding of more than 6,000. The center of the capital was heavily damaged. To help to the local citizens in the former French-ruled state (1920-46), the legionnaires-engineers would strengthen the French presence in the region (French troops, including 1er REG legionnaires, are currently deployed to southern Lebanon as part of Operation Daman, a UN-NATO peacekeeping mission).

The very first French troops arrived in Beirut in October 1918. The legionnaires had operated in the region since 1921. In Lebanon in November 1925, they were involved in the Battle of Rachaya, a heavy fighting with local Druze rebels. The Foreign Legion had to leave Lebanon (and Syria) in 1941. The legionnaires returned to Beirut in 1982, as part of the same UN peacekeeping mission (42 years already, since 1978), and have deployed there several times since then.

1er REG + 2e REG deployment to Beirut. The 2e REG legionnaires (green berets) are boarding while their commanding officer (Colonel Antoine de la Bardonnie) explains that the unexpected operational deployment of a French combined task force to Lebanon was ready in three days and is composed of ten units from different branches of the Army. He also added that the legionnaires are always ready to deploy and that they are prepared for all types of missions: in the peace time, in the crisis and in the war times.

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Related posts:
2e REG: Training for young legionnaires
2e REG: An exercise for commandos
1er REG + 1er REC: Deployments in 2020
1er REG: A legionnaire “powerman” in Iraq