A new book that will interest anyone who follows the history of the French Foreign Legion or the First Indochina War came out in fall 2026. Its author, our friend Andrew J. Mitchell, previously published A History of the 2e REP in Algeria. His new book is its prequel: The Praetorians: The History of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion, Indochina, 1948–1955.

The book first explains the origins of the Legion’s parachute units, a concept that was controversial at the time, and then turns to the 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion (2e BEP) itself. Andrew follows the battalion from its formation in 1948 and its arrival in Saigon in February 1949 to its first operations in Cambodia. After that came years of almost constant fighting in the swamps of southern Annam (central Vietnam), on the plains of Laos, and in the limestone hills of Tonkin (northern Vietnam). The battalion was destroyed at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, and many of the men who survived the battle later died in Viet Minh captivity. The 2e BEP was rebuilt and, after the Geneva Accords that ended the war, remained in Indochina. On November 1, 1955, it sailed for Algeria as the most highly decorated French battalion of the Indochina War, its fanion bearing six citations in Army orders and the red fourragère of the Legion of Honor. In Algeria it soon became the 2e REP.

Selected pages from The Praetorians, courtesy of the author. Click to enlarge:

Andrew J. Mitchell is an Irish independent historian and a dedicated collector of Foreign Legion insignia, best known for his series of books on the subject, each devoted to a single regiment (see the links bellow). He has also written several unit histories, most recently those of the 2e REP and now the 2e BEP, bringing to it a collector’s eye for detail. Just as importantly, the book is a pleasure to read. Andrew writes in vivid, engaging prose, and his accounts of the battalion’s operations bring both the terrain and the men who fought there to life. We recommend it warmly to anyone interested in the Foreign Legion or the war in Indochina.

Utilising firsthand accounts that have never been published before, this is the first English-language book devoted entirely to the 2e BEP. The 154-page hardcover includes biographies of the battalion’s officers, maps, and 41 rare photographs published here for the first time. If you are interested, the book is available worldwide from Amazon: Praetorians – The History of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion in Indochina 1948-1955.

 
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Realated posts:
Andrew J. Mitchell: French Foreign Legion Insignia – 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment
Andrew J. Mitchell: Collecting French Foreign Legion Insignia – Parachute Units 1948-61
Andrew J. Mitchell: Collecting French Foreign Legion Insignia – 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment
Andrew J. Mitchell: Mafteiu and the Compagnie Montée d’Algérie