2e REI: 2025 El Moungar Day | French Foreign Legion Information

On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) officially commemorated the 122nd anniversary of the 1903 Battle of El Moungar and paid tribute to the 36 men of the regiment who had fallen during it.

As in previous years, the events took place at Caserne Colonel de Chabrières, the regiment’s barracks in Nîmes, Southern France. The program extended over three days and combined remembrance, military tradition, and regimental life. Among the guests were several former commanders of the 2e REI and General Youchtchenko, commander of the French Foreign Legion.

The commemorations began on Monday with a 16-mile march (26 km), followed by an evening and morning regimental gathering, during which several legionnaires received French citizenship or promotion to senior corporal. The march concluded with the unit’s formal return to the barracks on Tuesday morning.

Later that afternoon, the regiment inaugurated its newly completed chapel, dedicated to Saint Charles de Foucauld – an officer, explorer, and priest canonized by Pope Francis in 2022. Then-Father Foucauld had cared tirelessly for legionnaires wounded during the 1903 battle. Donors who contributed to the chapel’s construction were honored, receiving commemorative coins bearing the saint’s likeness. A small exhibition and a series of speeches preceded the address by the regimental commander.

At 7 p.m. (19:00), the main military ceremony took place with a parade in honor of the regimental colors, presided over by General Valéry Putz, former commander of the 2e REI. The narration of the battle recalled the courage of the fallen and underlined the importance of memory. The ceremony included the handing over of the company fanion (guidon) to the newly formed 9th Reserve Company and the awarding of decorations recognizing merit and service. The day concluded with a cocktail reception in the Saïda gardens, an inner courtyard of the barracks, where families, guests, and military personnel gathered informally.

On Wednesday, the festivities continued with sports competitions organized on the regimental grounds.

The Battle of El Moungar took place on September 2, 1903, during the French conquest of the Sahara. A two-platoon detachment of the 22nd Mounted Company, 2nd Foreign Regiment – 113 men under Captain Vauchez – was escorting a camel convoy near the waterhole of El Moungar, north of Taghit in western Algeria, when it was ambushed by 200–300 Moroccan Berbers. Captain Vauchez, his deputy Lieutenant Selchauhansen (a Danish officer), and 34 legionnaires were killed, while 47 others were seriously wounded.

The heavy losses brought increased French military action against Moroccan raiders, culminating in the invasion and occupation of Morocco in 1907. Since then, September 2 has remained the regiment’s main holiday, commemorating both sacrifice and legacy.

PHOTOS: 2025 El Moungar Day in Nîmes
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