The Foreign Regiments Far East Disciplinary Company (CDRE/EO) was a Foreign Legion unit created in French Indochina on June 1, 1946. The company was attached to the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) and was stationed on the island of Tagne at Cam Ranh Bay, South Annam (which is now called South-Central Vietnam).
La version française de cet article:
Compagnie de Discipline des Régiments Etrangers en Extrême-Orient
For logical reasons, almost nothing is known about this disciplinary company, its numbers and statistics. We have only little information. We know that the CDRE/EO fulfilled the role of a penal unit for the men of all Foreign Legion regiments staying in Indochina during the First Indochina War (1946-1954). The company was intended as a place to send legionnaires who had seriously violated military law (e.g. by desertion, theft, or physical aggression towards their superiors) and could therefore not undergo the usual punishment. That meant spending several days in prison in their respective units, as was usually the case for minor offenses.
Like its sister unit based in Algeria, North Africa, even the CDRE/EO was probably divided into three parts: an ordinary platoon for all convicts, a repression platoon for repeat offenders and headstrong individuals, and a transition platoon. The latter would have been for legionnaires who had finished serving their sentences; they would then spend several months preparing to return to their home units. These men would have already been treated as soldiers, allowed to carry weapons and participate in military operations as support troops, in a so-called intervention platoon.
As for the daily life of the convicts, it is known that the men who joined the company – the enlisted men and, rarely, some degraded sergeants – temporarily lost their rank and name. They were addressed only as “punished” (les punis), and called by their number. The punished were not allowed to sit, speak without invitation, or walk – they had to move around only by running (in military cadence).
The number of convicts probably did not exceed 30 to 50 men. They worked from the early morning until late evening. The convicts usually maintained all the facilities and environment within and around the camp. We don’t know if they also served in other parts of the island, or even inland, as working groups to build posts, trenches or roads. Troublemakers from the repression platoon were, beyond working hours, closed in their uncomfortable cells and the time spent with the repression platoon wasn’t removed from their sentences. Just for illustration – in Algeria, such a stay in the repression platoon lasted at least three months.
As already mentioned, the men of the company had also participated in military operations, mostly alongside the 2e REI in South Annam. Thus, on May 17, 1947, the CDRE/EO platoon under Lieutenant Bramoulé distinguished itself in the Khanh Hoa region, by supporting the Colonial Mountain Artillery Levant Group (GACML).
The disciplinary company was commanded by a captain and cadres seconded from the 2e REI. The unit was assigned to the 1st Battalion of this regiment until February 1950, when this task was entrusted to the 4th Battalion.
In March 1947, Captain Michel Dutter, commander of the CDRE/EO, had the unit badge made.
In 1954, the CDRE/EO was commanded by Captain Otokar Kremar. Of Czech origin, born in 1913, this cavalry lieutenant in the Czechoslovak army became a lieutenant in the 13e DBLE in 1941. He took part in the WWII operations in the Middle East and North Africa, especially in the Egypt–Libya Campaign, including the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.
After the cease-fire of August 1954, which ended the war, the CDRE/EO was disbanded and left Tagne Island. It was replaced there by the Commando Jaubert of the French Navy.
Testimony from a Commando Jaubert member
Bernard Pestre: Foreign Legion camp on Tagne Island
Geographically, Tagne Island is located opposite the bay of Cam Ranh, below Nha Trang. Originally, it served as a disciplinary camp for the Foreign Legion and like all the camps of this army, the place was rather austere and exuded order and discipline. The Legion passed through there leaving its characteristic imprint. There were two-story stone buildings for the troops, with the officers’ quarters a little apart. In the center of the installations was erected the Legion’s seven-flame grenade, made of stone, visible from the whole camp and a constant reminder of the purpose of the place…
In the immediate vicinity were the inevitable Vietnamese “bistros” with their “congaïes”, the pleasure of the soldier [1]. It was necessary to spend the money… Also, close to the tiny port, there was an artisanal factory of “nuoc-mam” [2], delicious in Chinese soups, but which, while fermenting, stank up the atmosphere. What struck me the most were the disciplinary jails, so small that one could only be locked up squatting or lying down, real ergastules [3]. In fact, one of us, a hothead no doubt, had spent a short time in them, only to come out aching all over.
1. In fact, paid "girlfriends"
2. A tasty fish sauce
3. A Roman building used to hold dangerous slaves in chains
Originally, the testimony appeared in 2007, on the Commando Jaubert’s blog. It is published with the kind permission of Jean-Claude Balisson, the blog’s creator and owner.
© Photo credit: Olivier Pestre, son of Bernard Pestre from Commando Jaubert.
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Special thanks:
I highly appreciate Andrew J. Mitchell for sharing his beautiful photos.
Also, many thanks to Jean-Claude Balisson, the creator and owner of the Blog du Commando Jaubert, for his kind permission to share the testimony and the rare pictures.
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Main information sources:
More majorum – C.D.R.E./E.O.
Pierre Soulié: Paul-Frédéric Rollet : Père de la Légion étrangère (Editions Italiques, 2007)
Blog of Commando Jaubert
Google Maps
Google.com
Wikipedia.org
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More from history of the Foreign Legion in Indochina:
2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion
2nd Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company
40th Dump Truck Company
3rd Foreign Legion Transportation Company
15th Engineer Maintenance Company
2nd Foreign Legion Armored Vehicles Repair Company
1st Transportation & Headquarters Company
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The page was updated on: May 27, 2021