See a new video with Major Gérald. This time, he covers the Boxing Show (Gala de Boxe) competition organized by the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) at the regiment’s Camp Larzac, on June 8, 2024. The event was part of the commemoration of the 1942 Battle of Bir Hakeim and was open to the public.
The amateur boxing show featured the 13e DBLE members as well as civilian boxing amateurs, including Denis “Old Crazy” Stutzinger (a former police officer, born in 1965; seen at 04:47). The event was organized by Captain Gomel, an officer who arrived in the regiment from French Guiana where he had commanded the famous Jungle Training Center (CEFE) of the 3e REI. He also participated in the competition (his fight can be seen from 04:30). Another officer of the 13e DBLE, a platoon leader with the 2nd Company, is seen fighting from 06:25.
At the same time as the competition, there was a female contest for Miss Kepi Blanc.
The 1942 Battle of Bir Hakeim was the first major military contribution of the Free French Forces in the Second World War. It was fought during the Western Desert Campaign and took place west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, North Africa, from May 26 to June 11, 1942. The 13e DBLE, then a part of the British Army’s Free French Forces, participated in the battle. The unit successfully resisted 32,000 German and Italian soldiers under General Rommel.
Nowadays, it is commemorated as the regiment’s holiday. Usually, the commemoration of the battle took the whole weekend, with various activities for legionnaires and their families.
This time the celebrations included the unveiling of a new memorial inspired by the famous photograph of the 13e DBLE legionnaires taken during the 1942 campaign in North Africa. Its author is Guilhem de Vitot.
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Related posts:
13e DBLE: 2023 Commemoration of the Battle of Bir Hakeim
13e DBLE: 2022 Military ceremony to commemorate the Battle of Bir Hakeim
Foreign Legion: Two legionnaires are 2022 French military boxing champions
13e DBLE, 1er REG: Ivory Coast 2023-2024