French Foreign Legion information. An online project dedicated to the famous Foreign Legion.
On March 3, 2025, the 5th Foreign Regiment (5e RE), known as the “Regiment of Tonkin,” held its inaugural commemoration of the Siege of Tuyen Quang, marking 140 years since the Foreign Legion’s historic victory. This event, celebrated as the 5e RE’s new regimental day, highlights the enduring legacy of the 1885 battle during the Sino-French War.
Read more5e RE: Commemorating the 140th Anniversary of the Siege of Tuyen Quang
Another part of the PHOTOS series. See a small set of nice pictures taken in French Indochina’s Vietnam from 1950 to early 1951, during the First Indochina War (1946-1954). These few photographs belonged to a German legionnaire serving with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) there at the time.
Read morePHOTOS: 1st Battalion 2e REI in Vietnam’s Faifo around 1950
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
Major Raymond Cabaribère was an officer of the French Foreign Legion. He was killed in action on April 21, 1954, during the Indochina War, while commanding the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. He was 41 years old.
75 years ago, in late 1948, another airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was officially activated in France’s North Africa. Like its older sister unit, even the new one was to take part in the First Indochina War (1946-1954) in Southeast Asia. It would distinguish itself and become the most decorated French Army battalion to have fought there. Subsequently, back in North Africa, the unit transformed into a regiment, which would later be known as one of the best trained and action-ready operational formations in the world.
Read more75 years ago: Second airborne unit of the Foreign Legion in North Africa was born
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.
75 years ago, in France’s North Africa in early July 1948, an airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was officially constituted to take part in the First Indochina War (1946-1954) in Southeast Asia. There, the resolute unit would become a legend, as the very first French airborne battalion lost in combat.
Read more75 years ago: An elite airborne unit of the Foreign Legion was activated
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
Again the PHOTOS series. This time, a set of rare pictures of the 2nd Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company (2e CMRLE), one of the six maintenance & repair companies of the Legion that participated in the First Indochina War (1946-1954).
February 9, 2022 marks the first anniversary of the death of Zygmunt Jatczak, most likely the last-known Polish survivor of the First Indochina War (1946-54); he passed away at 97. To honor his memory, an English version of the book with his Legion story has been published.
Read moreZygmunt Jatczak & Krzysztof Schramm: I Regret Nothing (English version)
75 years ago, on 1 June 1946, a new Foreign Legion disciplinary unit was born in French Indochina. Stationed on an island at Cam Ranh Bay in what is now called Vietnam, the unit’s mission was to reform badly behaving legionnaires who were being deployed to the Far East to participate in the First Indochina War (1946-1954), and who couldn’t undergo the usual punishment within their mother units. Although there is only little information, the new article dedicated to this disciplinary unit provides all currently available info, as well as very rare images that were never published before.