The 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment (6e REG) was a combat engineer unit of the French Foreign Legion and the engineer regiment of the French Army’s 6th Light Armored Division. Created in 1984, the 6e REG was deployed to Chad, Iraq, Cambodia, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia, among other places. The men of the regiment were charged with demining, mine clearance, deployment assistance and mobility support for combat units, and training local deminers. Following the creation of a second Legion engineering regiment in 1999, the 6e REG changed its title and became the 1er REG.
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L'article en français : 6e Régiment Etranger de Génie
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Creation of the 6e REG
In 1984, the French army was reorganized to take account of the missions in Chad and Lebanon. At the end of June 1984, after six years of existence, a Legion engineering unit was disbanded in Laudun, Southern France: the Foreign Legion Reinforced Road Building Company (CRTRLE).
The following day, its men became the core of a new unit: the 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment (6e Régiment Etranger de Génie, 6e REG), created on July 1, 1984 at Camp Ardoise in Laudun. It was the first foreign regiment to bear this designation. Colonel Degré took command.
The 6e REG became a combat engineer unit of the Rapid Action Force (FAR) and the engineer regiment of the 6th Light Armored Division (6e DLB). These were new military formations created on the same day.
In addition to its number, the new regiment took over the insignia and traditions of the former “Levant Regiment,” the 6e REI, disbanded in 1955.
The 6e REG inherited Camp Ardoise from the recently disbanded 7th Engineer Regiment (7e RG). The camp covers a large area of over 320 acres (130 hectares) between Laudun and Avignon. Its built-up area (constructed in 1971) was renamed Quartier General Rollet in honor of the famous “Father of the Legion.”
In October 1984, the 6e REG received its regimental colors. At that time, only half of the regiment’s strength was available. The regiment comprised a Command, Support, and Assistance Company (CCAS, ex-CRTRLE), led by Captain Kampmeyer, and two combat companies: Captain Rychener’s 1st and Captain Carayon’s 2nd, formed by legionnaires newly out of basic training, volunteers from other foreign regiments, and personnel transferred from French engineer regiments, including the former 7e RG, 21e RG, 29e RG, and 34e RG.


Organization and tasks of the 6e REG
The new regiment was to be able to intervene both in Europe and overseas and to open up routes for the units of the 6e DLB, including route clearance and unexploded ordnance clearance. It was also tasked with clearing minefields manually or through the use of specialized vehicles, assisting with water obstacle crossings, penetrating enemy defenses and using explosives to destroy them.
Other missions of the 6e REG included direct combat support of land forces (assault actions using special weapons, e.g., flamethrowers) and countermobility, which involved setting up obstacles and anti-tank traps and mines and destroying bridges, roads, and tunnels.
The men of the regiment also had to master the organization of the ground (construction of fighting positions for troops and armored vehicles, trenches, bunkers, artillery emplacements, etc.).
In addition, the 6e REG and its vehicles regularly took part in local solidarity and safety missions, for example, during floods. It could also be called upon to carry out construction work on behalf of the armed forces or local authorities.
The regiment was equipped with the VAB (Véhicule de l’avant blindé) Génie, new and modern equipment at the time, to ensure it had the necessary mobility to follow or precede the division’s units.
Captain Ferrand’s 3rd Company was formed in 1985. By then, the regiment already numbered some 700 men. They were commanded by Colonel Boileau.
In July 1986, the CCAS split into two units. The first was the HQ and Services Company (CCS), responsible for providing administrative and technical support to combat units. In addition, it had a group of crossing assistance specialists (SAF) and a group of underwater works and offensive interventions (TSIO). The TSIO soon developed into the Nautical Operational Underwater Intervention Detachment (Detachement d’intervention nautique opérationnelle subaquatique, DINOPS). Composed of three teams of combat divers, DINOPS was a commando unit. Its missions were threefold: reconnaissance of crossing points, neutralization of enemy destructive devices, and destruction of enemy infrastructure. It operated by parachute, helicopter, or infiltration. From 1989, DINOPS comprised 16 men divided into two teams.
The second unit created in July 1986 was Captain Quirion’s Support Company (Compagnie d’appui, CA). In particular, it brought together the regiment’s heavy equipment. Comprising a command platoon, an equipment platoon, and an obstacle platoon, the CA utilized earthmoving, mining, obstacle, and bridging equipment. The equipment platoon was tasked primarily with fieldwork organization, while the obstacle platoon was equipped with mine buriers, mine distributors, and rapid drilling and destruction equipment.
The combat companies comprised a command platoon and three combat platoons, each composed of two groups equipped with VAB-Génie. The 1st Company specialized in amphibious operations. The 2nd Company was the “Mountain” Company, responsible for mining and mine-clearing in the snow and using explosives in the mountains. The 3rd Company focused on countermobility techniques and air assault combat with its helicopter-based intervention detachments.



6e REG from 1984 to 1989
In 1986, the stay at Camp La Courtine constituted the first real deployment of the 6e REG. Other stays and maneuvers followed at the Caylus, La Courtine, Canjuers, Mailly, Valdahon, and Sissonne camps.
At the end of 1984, the 3rd Platoon 1st Company was the first element of the 6e REG to be deployed abroad, on short-term missions which usually lasted four months. The unit served as the engineering platoon of the French Operational Assistance Elements (EFAO) in the Central African Republic as part of Operation Barracuda.
The 2nd Company went on a short-term mission to French Guiana in 1985. These missions in the depths of the tropical forest continued regularly until 1993 for all combat companies in the regiment.
In July 1986, the regiment took part in the Bastille Day military parade in Paris for the first time.
The year 1987 saw the first operational deployment for the 6e REG, now commanded by Colonel Martial. Lieutenant Delemarle’s platoon from the 1st Company arrived in Moussoro, Chad, to serve as an engineer element in Operation Epervier, supporting the local government against Libyan forces. In November, the platoon was followed by the 1st and 3rd Companies. During this mission, Staff Sergeant Stevo Panic became the first man in the regiment to die on active duty: his vehicle hit a mine.
During its deployment in Chad, the 1st Company distinguished itself, earning a citation at the Army level (the highest possible).
The same year, another platoon of the 1st Company was sent to Bouar in the Central African Republic.
In 1988, the 1st Company was in Djibouti, Horn of Africa. In 49 days, it cleared over 5,000 mines in the Doudah sector.
In the first half of 1989, the 3rd Company became the first (and last) unit of the regiment to be deployed on a short-term mission in Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean, as part of the DLEM.
A platoon of the regiment was again in the Central African Republic, in 1989, this time in Bangui, to create a public garden. Senior Corporal Noske died accidentally during the work.
In September of the same year, a small detachment of two officers and three non-commissioned officers from the 6e REG arrived in Pakistan to take part in the UN’s Operation Salam. Its task was to instruct Afghan refugees on mine dangers and mine-clearing techniques following the Soviet army’s departure from Afghanistan.
The following month, the 6e REG celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 6e REI, created in October 1939. The festivities were attended by numerous personalities, including former officers of the 6e REI, led by General Barre, their sole commanding officer.









6e REG from 1990 to 1994
In September 1990, following the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army, the 2nd Company under Captain Rittimann was sent to Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf. At the end of December, the entire 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment, led by Colonel Manet, deployed to Saudi Arabia, where it was to participate in the Gulf War as the engineer component of France’s Daguet division. Alongside its comrades from the 1er REC and the 2e REI, the regiment was tasked with opening up the division’s axes of advance toward the secret base of As-Salman in Iraq on the Riyadh-Baghdad road. The Desert Storm offensive began on February 24, 1991, with the 6e REG elements leading the division. The base and village of As-Salman were taken on the 26th without fighting. The Iraqi army’s surrender brought the operation to an end. Two companies from the regiment (1st and 3rd) were then involved in Operation Harpon, which cleared mines on the beaches of Kuwait City. They returned to France at the end of May.
The services rendered by the 6e REG earned it the Foreign Theaters of Operations War Cross (Croix de Guerre des TOE) and a citation at the Army level. During this engagement, the regiment mourned the deaths of Warrant Officer Sudre and 1st Class Legionnaire N’Guyen.
The following year, a MINEX (mines and explosives) operational intervention team was set up. Its aim was to support forces engaged in overseas operations and train local deminers in the framework of UN peacekeeping operations.
In March 1992, a detachment of the 6e REG arrived in Cambodia (a former state of French Indochina in Southeast Asia) as part of the UNTAC peacekeeping operation. The legionnaires’ mission was to train local deminers. They returned to France in October. A few weeks later, in late November, an entire Legion battalion comprising legionnaires from the 1er REC, the 2e REI, and two 6e REG companies (1st and 2nd) deployed to Cambodia. The men of the 6e Etranger carried out mine clearance, road repair, bridge building, and earthworks. For the first time, they replaced the Legion green beret for the UN blue one. During the deployment, Captain Fradin’s 2nd Company in Siem-Reap faced Khmer Rouge attacks. The battalion was disbanded back in France in June 1993. In Cambodia, the regiment had lost Senior Corporal Curum.
In July 1992, a 6e REG platoon under Lieutenant Nachez deployed to Bosnia, in the former Yugoslavia, as part of the UN’s UNPROFOR mission. Wearing blue helmets, the men were tasked with support for combat units.
At the end of December 1992, Captain Julien’s 3rd Company landed in Somalia to take part in Operation Oryx. In support of the United Nations peacekeeping force, the 6e REG men worked alongside their comrades from the 13e DBLE. Involved in the Oddur sector until April 1993, the company cleared some 3,000 mines and over 60 tons of ammunition.
A 6e REG platoon returned to Bosnia in July 1993 to be based at Sarajevo airport, recently the scene of fierce fighting between Serbs and Bosnians. They destroyed a large quantity of mines, ammunition, weapons, and explosives. The regiment’s Support Company was engaged in Bosnia at the same time.
In 1994, a 6e REG platoon led by Lieutenant Da Silva was assigned to Operation Turquoise in Rwanda, Central Africa. It was tasked with burying the victims of the bloody genocide and overseeing food distribution.
In the meantime, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the regiment, a new insignia was created and distributed to men.














6e REG from 1995 to 1999
In July 1995, the HQ and Services Company (CCS) was transformed into the HQ and Logistics Company (CCL).
In the same year, the 6e REG was back in Bosnia, represented by three companies (1st, 3rd, CA). These were later that year replaced by Captain Cornefert’s 2nd Company. Corporal Cléran died during this mission. The entire regiment (less the 2nd Company) continued serving in Bosnia even in 1996, now as part of NATO’s IFOR mission (within France’s Division Salamandre). Based in Rajlovac from January to May, the 6e REG legionnaires were responsible for demining the region and the Mostar sector. They also carried out infrastructure work, including a bridge built at Aleksin.
In July 1996, Captain Lagarde’s 4th Company was created. It specialized in urban warfare; its legionnaires were also skilled in the use of explosives, mine clearance, unexploded ordnance clearance, and the construction of fortifications and fighting positions.
In the following year, 1997, the MINEX and NEDEX (Neutralization, Removal, Destruction of Explosive Devices) teams were merged within the engineering regiments and redesignated EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). EOD elements are experts trained in mine clearance, unexploded ordnance clearance, improvised explosive device disposal clearance, and high-risk and emergency mine and bomb disposal tasks.
Also in 1997, a platoon from the CCL was sent to Bouar in the Central African Republic, where it carried out a wide range of work. Later that year, a platoon under Lieutenant Prenveille from the 1st Company participated in the multinational exercise Bright Star in Egypt.
The following year, from January to May 1998, the 4th Company deployed to Mostar in Bosnia, as part of NATO’s SFOR. In the meantime, a CA platoon deployed to French Polynesia to reinforce the 5e RE. A 6e REG detachment served from May to September in Chad, supporting and training the local combat engineer unit. Finally, in August, the 6e REG men returned to Djibouti after many years. The 3rd Company formed the Engineer Company of the 13e DBLE, after the latter’s one was disbanded. The 2nd Company replaced its comrades in December.
From late May 1999, the regiment’s 1st and 3rd Companies were integrated into NATO’s KFOR and carried out various missions in Macedonia and Kosovo, still in the former Yugoslavia.
During all these operations, from 1984 to 1999, the regiment lost eight non-commissioned officers and legionnaires.
On July 1, 1999, when a second engineering regiment was created within the Legion, Colonel Ganascia’s 6e REG changed its number and became the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG).











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Main information sources:
Képi blanc magazines (1984 – 1999)
Tibor Szecsko, Daniel Riffet: 6e Étranger de Génie (Editions Atlas, 1990)
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
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The page was updated on: July 8, 2024