French Foreign Legion information. An online project dedicated to the famous Foreign Legion.
In 1854, fearing the growth of influence of the Russian Empire, the British and French decided to attack Russia’s main naval base in Crimea. To reinforce their expeditionary forces, both European powers agreed to recruit Swiss volunteers. Therefore, in mid-January 1855, a second Foreign Legion was created in France.
Read more170 years ago: Another Foreign Legion was created in France
A new part of the PHOTOS series. See a rare set of pictures taken in Syria in late April 1938. They show legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment (1er REI; now 1er RE) during the most important holiday of the Foreign Legion (April 30), commemorating the famous 1863 Battle of Camerone.
85 years ago, in late 1939, the only Foreign Legion regiment to guard the French interests in the Middle East was organized, with its units stationed in Syria and Lebanon. Following the 1941 Syria-Lebanon Campaign against a British invasion, the regiment was inactivated. In 1949, it was reconstituted in Tunisia, North Africa, though it was ultimately disbanded in mid-1955.
Read more85 years ago: Foreign Legion’s only regiment in the Middle East was activated
Another part of the PHOTOS series. Today we share rare photographs presenting the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e REI) in 1965. At that time, the regiment was stationed in Madagascar, a large island in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Southern Africa. The island was a French colony until 1960.
In Mayotte, Indian Ocean, the 5th Foreign Regiment (5e RE) was reactivated by reorganization and transformation of the former Foreign Legion Mayotte Detachment (DLEM), retaining the tasks and missions of the latter. The original 5e RE was inactivated in French Polynesia 24 years ago. To better introduce this newly reactivated regiment, the article mapping its history has been revised and fully rewritten.
The Operational Company, 1st Foreign Regiment was the last French Foreign Legion unit to remain stationed in Algeria, North Africa. Its task was to guard the French air base at Bou Sfer near the city of Oran. The company was disbanded on August 17, 1968.
Read moreOperational Company, 1st Foreign Regiment in Algeria in 1968
40 years ago, in late June 1984, one of the largest companies of the then-French Army, CRTRLE, was disbanded. A road building unit comprising legionnaires, it was transformed the following day, July 1, into an engineer regiment, first Foreign Legion regiment to bear this designation. The new regiment quickly distinguished itself during deployments in Chad, Iraq, Cambodia, and the former Yugoslavia.
Read more40 years ago: Foreign Legion’s first engineering regiment was activated
With the conflict in Ukraine, a long-neglected component of Western armies, artillery, has once again stepped to the fore. It might come as a surprise to many Foreign Legion enthusiasts that a 1920 law allowed the Foreign Legion to establish, along with a cavalry regiment, also a separate artillery regiment. Equally surprising might be the fact that, in 1941, the legionnaires probably served in as many as 11 artillery batteries at the same time. The last of these units were disbanded 80 years ago, in 1944.
Read more80 years ago: Foreign Legion’s last artillery batteries were disbanded
75 years ago, in late May 1949, the first airborne unit of the French Foreign Legion was disbanded in Northern Vietnam, during the First Indochina War (1946-54). The Legion paratroopers had conducted operations around Hanoi, as well as in remote, forested areas along the Vietnam-China border. They were the first legionnaires to wear the green beret that was adopted by the entire Legion a decade later.
Read more75 years ago: Foreign Legion’s first airborne unit was disbanded
In early May 1954, the decisive battle of the First Indochina War between French troops and the communist-led Viet Minh ended. Thousands of legionnaires participated, and many Foreign Legion units were lost during the fighting. The battle culminated in French withdrawal from Southeast Asia after almost 100 years.
Read more70 years ago: A decisive battle ended in French Indochina
60 years ago, deep in the Algerian Sahara in late April 1964, an entire Foreign Legion regiment was disbanded, victim of the reorganization of the French army after the end of the Algerian War (1956-62). Activated in French North Africa in late 1920 and given the nickname the “Regiment of Morocco,” its units fought in Morocco, Tunisia, Madagascar, Indochina, Mauritania, Spanish Sahara, and Algeria. In 1980, its number, history, and traditions were taken over by the training regiment of the Legion in Castelnaudary.
Read more60 years ago: Foreign Legion’s Regiment of Morocco was disbanded