Four little-known Foreign Legion Repair Platoons were organized in North Africa in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Their task was to perform repair duties for Legion units and French regular troops in that area. However, one of the platoons was stationed as far away as French West Africa (AOF).
These units were composed of legionnaires-mechanics who specialized in repairing military vehicles, civil vehicles, engines, and heavy equipment. They played an active and important role both in their workshops and in mobile teams outside their garrisons. The last repair platoons were disbanded in late 1954. They were replaced by regular mechanics from the French regular Materiel Service units.
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L'article en français : Pelotons de Réparation de Légion Etrangère
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1st Foreign Legion Repair Platoon
The 1st Foreign Legion Repair Platoon (Peloton de Réparation de Légion Etrangère N° 1, PRLE 1) was created in Ouargla, in the Sahara Desert of eastern Algeria, in late 1948. The PRLE 1 was administratively assigned to the 2e CSPL, one of the Legion’s Saharan motorized companies. The latter was stationed around 220 miles (350 km) to the northwest in Laghouat.
The 1st Repair Platoon performed tasks on behalf of Legion and French units serving in eastern Algeria, in the Sahara Desert.
Likely, the PRLE 1 was the successor to the 1re CLERA (Automobile Repair Company), one of those mysterious Foreign Legion units that were erased from history before they achieved full operational status. The 1re CLERA was briefly active in 1948 (until November) and also officially stationed in Ouargla under Captain Bernard. However, this officer was, in fact, commander of the 2e CSPL (from 1946 to 1950), whose Saharan company was installed in Ouargla from 1946 until March 1948.
This seemingly curious situation was not at all unusual in the Legion. A commanding officer could be authorized by his superior to establish the nucleus of another unit within his existing unit with his own men, thus facilitating the initial administrative work and speeding up the new unit’s expansion and independence. A real example: An embryo of the Mounted Squadron, 2e REC (in fact, the last horse-mounted squadron of the Legion) was formed in 1947 within the regiment’s HQ Squadron, and formally led by its then-commander.
However, in a relatively peaceful and deserted part of North Africa at the time (1948), during the ongoing war in French Indochina and military operations in Madagascar, maintaining an entire repair company could have been seen as an unnecessary luxury. Therefore, French officials rejected it. Instead, a single repair platoon was established.
The PRLE 1 was disbanded on December 31, 1954.
2nd Foreign Legion Repair Platoon
The 2nd Foreign Legion Repair Platoon (PRLE 2) was created in Colomb-Bechar, western Algeria, in the late 1940s. The PRLE 2 was administratively assigned to the 1re CSPL. The latter was stationed some 125 miles (200 km) to the northeast in Ain Sefra, an old Legion garrison.
The 2nd Repair Platoon performed tasks on behalf of Legion and French units serving in western Algeria, including the Sahara Desert and areas bordering Morocco.
The PRLE 2 was disbanded on December 31, 1954.
3rd Foreign Legion Repair Platoon
The 3rd Foreign Legion Repair Platoon (PRLE 3) was created in Gabes, eastern Tunisia, in the late 1940s. The PRLE 3 was administratively assigned to the 6e REI. The latter unit was stationed about 190 miles (300 km) to the northwest in Le Kef.
The 3rd Repair Platoon performed tasks on behalf of Legion and French units serving in Tunisia, a French protectorate in North Africa at the time.
Also the PRLE 3 was disbanded on December 31, 1954.
4th Foreign Legion Repair Platoon
The 4th Foreign Legion Repair Platoon (PRLE 4) is the most notable of the four repair platoons. In part, it is better-known thanks to its unit insignia. The PRLE 4 was created in Sidi Bel Abbes, the Legion’s main HQ at the time, in northwestern Algeria, on July 1, 1950. The 4th Repair Platoon comprised legionnaires-specialists returning from Indochina. Commanded by Captain Busière, it was assigned to the Legion Joint Depot (DCLE; successor to the DCRE), also stationed in Sidi Bel Abbes.
Later in July 1950, the PRLE 4 left Algeria for French West Africa (AOF). Their journey took them through Dakar, Senegal, where the men arrived on July 29. A few days later, the platoon was installed in Bobo-Dioulasso, the capital of Upper Volta (today’s Burkina Faso, a country located south of Mali).
Official sources lack a detailed mention of the platoon’s mission in Upper Volta. Moreover, no war or military operation was taking place in West Africa at the time. However, research reveals that France modernized the region’s road network and strengthened the resources of the services responsible for road maintenance. In addition, a regional branch of the French Company for the Development of Textile Fibers (CFDT), a prominent state-owned company whose mission was to organize the cultivation of cotton, was located in Bobo-Dioulasso. Therefore, it is likely that many cars, trucks, machines, and other equipment were repaired in the area on a daily basis.
For the record, the PRLE 4 was most likely the only “European” French unit (i.e., composed of white men) stationed in Upper Volta at the time.
In October 1950, a second detachment of the 4th Repair Platoon arrived in AOF from Sidi Bel Abbes. It was posted in Kati, a small town close to Bamako (in then-Sudan, present-day Mali), around 310 miles (500 km) northwest of Bobo-Dioulasso. An important colonial road between Bamako and Bougouni, another town in present-day Mali, was constructed in the region back then.
An old issue of Kepi Blanc magazine stated the following about the platoon:
“The climate of the A.O.F. is hard, the heat is heavy. Nevertheless, the legionnaires give the maximum, and the work is always well executed.”
From December 1951, legionnaires whose contracts with the Legion were coming to an end returned individually from Upper Volta to Sidi Bel Abbes. Only 22 men remained. Along with their captain, they left Bobo-Dioulasso on July 23, 1952, two years after their arrival (a standard service time for French long-term overseas deployment).
In Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, where the men stopped for a few days, the PRLE 4 was officially disbanded on July 29, 1952.
On August 5, the men arrived in Dakar, where the Kati detachment was awaiting them. After a boat trip and two days of rest in Casablanca, Morocco, Captain Busière’s legionnaires arrived in Sidi Bel Abbes by train on August 13, 1952. [1]
1. To those who have read Tibor Szecsko’s excellent book on Legion badges and see slight differences in the provided information and data: This article follows older, original sources; therefore, the information and data should be a bit more accurate. Thank you for your understanding.
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Main information & images sources:
Képi blanc magazines
1955 Foreign Legion bulletin
Google Maps
Wikipedia.org
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See other Foreign Legion repair units:
1st Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company
2nd Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company
3rd Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company
4th Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company
5th Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company
2nd Foreign Legion Armored Vehicles Repair Company
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The page was updated on: January 11, 2025