The year 1978 marked the end of the 61e BMGL’s mission at Camp Canjuers, then the largest military camp in Europe, covering an area of 34,594 hectares. A combined Engineer-Legion unit, the battalion was ready to leave after seven years of hard work. However, the camp required maintenance and an improved road network. Therefore, the decision was made to create a new engineering unit, this time exclusively legionnaire, to replace the 61e BMGL at Canjuers.
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L'article en français : Compagnie Renforcée de Travaux Routiers de la Légion
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Creation and composition
The new unit was named the Foreign Legion Reinforced Road Building Company (Compagnie renforcée de travaux routiers de la Légion étrangère, CRTRLE), and it was officially activated on August 2, 1978. The company was commanded by Captain Aubard, with Captain Phannavong as his deputy.
In addition to a large number of skilled specialists, the CRTRLE accepted fresh legionnaires coming from basic training. Their military engineer courses were organized by regular engineering units in Avignon, Metz, Toul, and elsewhere.
The company was stationed at Camp Canjuers, in the prefabricated Fillod metal houses belonging to its predecessors from the 61e BMGL. Standing in the middle of these barracks was a Roman milestone—a reminder that other legionnaires had built roads on the same site 2,000 years earlier.
The unique unit was considered the heir to the Sapper-Pioneer Company of the 1st Foreign Regiment (CSP/1), a unit stationed in Algeria and disbanded in 1940. The CRTRLE adopted its insignia and fanion (banner). For the record, the Legion Company of the 61e BMGL had also designated the CSP/1 as its predecessor and adopted its insignia (eight years earlier, in 1970), albeit with minor modifications. Therefore, between 1978 and 1982, when the 61e BMGL was disbanded, two different Legion companies wore almost identical insignia.
The CRTRLE, which would become the Legion’s largest company, consisted of seven platoons:
Command Platoon
This platoon was responsible for all management, administration, logistics, and maintenance tasks and included a second-echelon B workshop.
Equipment Platoon
Its main tasks were to improve the camp roads and crush the rock detached from the quarries by drilling and explosives. The platoon also included an installation group.
1st and 2nd Construction Platoons
Each of these platoons was composed of a heavy machine group, a compressor group, and two construction groups.
Masonry Platoon
It was in charge of engineering structures, with two groups of masons for miscellaneous work.
Transport Platoon
It included a worksite group and a road group and provided all the transport links necessary due to the camp’s isolated location.
Intervention Platoon (fire service)
The platoon was divided into six groups responsible for the camp’s fire safety.
CRTRLE at Canjuers from 1978 to 1984
As a Legion unit, the CRTRLE was administratively assigned to the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE) in Aubagne. However, for operational tasks, it was directly subordinate to the command of the 5th Military Region’s Engineer Corps, with the exception of the Intervention Platoon, which was under the authority of Camp Canjuers’ colonel.
The company was responsible for many tasks at Canjuers, including maintaining six firing ranges, 270 miles (430 km) of trails and over 60 miles (100 km) of roads, constructing new trails and roads, and expanding four bivouac sites. In summer, it had to be on standby to help fight the frequent fires in the region. In winter, it helped clear snow. Finally, the company had to be able to intervene in the event of earthquakes or other natural disasters.
By the end of 1978, the CRTRLE’s theoretical strength of 200 men had almost been reached. The initial fleet of 183 vehicles and machines was supplemented by additional equipment, bringing the total to over 200. These included bulldozers, graders and rubber-tired graders of all sizes, concrete mixers, rock drilling rigs, crushers, dump trucks, recovery vehicles, VLRA super-equipped fire engines, liaison cars, and (as a combat-ready unit) jeeps with M40 recoilless rifles.
In late July 1981, Captain Babonneau succeeded Captain Aubard.
By 1982, the CRTRLE had grown to 240 officers, non-commissioned officers, and legionnaires. For the record, at the time, an ordinary infantry company had between 130 and 150 men.
At the end of June 1983, Captain Kampmeyer took over the company. The previous year, he had served as the last commander of the Legion Company (CTL) of the 61e BMGL.
The year 1984 was marked by a major reorganization of the Legion. This also affected its engineering component. The company left Camp Canjuers, where it had spent more than five years. In June, after a short period of reconditioning at the 1er RE’s headquarters in Aubagne, the unit was transferred to Laudun in Southern France to renovate the somewhat shabby barracks of the former Camp Ardoise of the 7th Engineer Regiment.
Here, on June 30, 1984, the CRTRLE was disbanded. The day after, July 1, its men became the nucleus of the 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment (6e REG), created on the same day.
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Main information sources:
Képi blanc magazines (1978 – 1984)
Pierre Dufour: Génie-Légion (Lavauzelle, 2000)
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Learn more about the history of the Foreign Legion:
Foreign Legion Pioneer Company 1968-1970
History of the 5th Foreign Regiment
Foreign Legion Repair Platoons
1st Engineer HQ & Services Company
15th Engineer Maintenance Company
39th Riverine Craft Engineer Company
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The page was updated on: July 4, 2024