Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc was a French Foreign Legion officer who served mainly with airborne units. Best known for his active participation in the 1961 Generals’ Putsch, he died on August 26, 2013. The following article was written in his memory.
Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre
On May 29, 1958, during military operations in the Guelma region of Northeastern Algeria, a helicopter hit by rebel fire crashed to the ground. On board, along with the pilot and a mechanic, Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre, a legendary officer of the French Foreign Legion and the head of what was then one of the best units of the French Army. All the three were dead. To this day, Lt. Col. Jeanpierre remains the last high-ranking officer of the Foreign Legion to be killed in action. The following article was written in his memory.
DOCUMENTS: 1959 1er REP Honorable discharge certificate of SCH Rutecki
Besides the PHOTOS series, I would like to create more similar categories and share within them other interesting items related to the French Foreign Legion, often hidden in personal archives. Thus, the next category to appear will focus on historical documents of all kinds. Here is the first such document, the Honorable discharge certificate (Certificat de bonne conduite) of a member of the famous 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (1er REP), very rare to see.
Read moreDOCUMENTS: 1959 1er REP Honorable discharge certificate of SCH Rutecki
Andrew J. Mitchell: Collecting French Foreign Legion Insignia – Parachute Units 1948-61
Right in time for Christmas 2022, a new English-written book dedicated to the French Foreign Legion was released: Collecting French Foreign Legion Insignia, Volume III – Part I, Parachute Units 1948-61. This is a new original work of Andrew J. Mitchell, an Irish amateur historian and a Foreign Legion insignia collector.
Read moreAndrew J. Mitchell: Collecting French Foreign Legion Insignia – Parachute Units 1948-61
70 years ago: A successful battle in an entrenched valley in French Indochina
In late 1952, an important confrontation between the French and the communist Viet Minh took place in then French Indochina, in a valley transformed into a well-fortified camp. A direct predecessor to the sad 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu, the confrontation ended with a clear French victory, thanks to a significant role of the French Foreign Legion men.
Read more70 years ago: A successful battle in an entrenched valley in French Indochina
1961: A failed military revolt in Algeria
In late April 1961, a failed military revolt took place in Algeria, the then integral part of France located in North Africa. The revolt became one of the most controversial event in France’s modern history, with a strong participation of the Foreign Legion.
57 years ago: A prestigious regiment was dissolved
57 years ago, a prestigious regiment of the French Foreign Legion was dissolved. Called as the most elite regiment of the French Army, two times annihilated in combat, the unit eventually didn’t survive a clearly political decision. Its sad end was a result of previous events in Algeria in late April 1961…
1er REP: Get a t-shirt with its badge design
55 years ago, in 1961, the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (1er REP) of the French Foreign Legion was disbanded at lightning speed by then French president De Gaulle, because of its participation in the Generals’ Putsch of Algiers in late April 1961. To commemorate this famous and strictly disciplined unit, two times annihilated in combat and finally killed by a political decision, I re-designed the badge of 1er REP and published it in our store…
Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc, one of the most famous Foreign Legion figures in the modern history, has died
Aged 91, Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc, the main Foreign Legion figure participating in the Generals’ Putsch against French president Charles de Gaulle in Algeria in 1961, has died on August 26, 2013.
1st Foreign Parachute Regiment – a rebel of the Foreign Legion
There has not been such a controversial regiment neither within the French Foreign Legion nor within the whole of French Army for decades. The 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (1er REP). Two times completely destroyed during the heavy fights of the First Indochina War, the 1er REP became the well-respected and feared legendary elite unit. But, it also participated in the Generals’ putsch in Algiers in 1961 and played a lead role of it….
Read more1st Foreign Parachute Regiment – a rebel of the Foreign Legion