The 30th of April 2023 marked the 160th anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Camerone, an epic moment in the history of the French Foreign Legion in which its 65 men faced some 2,000 Mexican adversaries. The famous battle is portrayed as a pure example of bravery and the determination to fight to the finish, and gave the Legion its character and esprit de corps. Therefore, Camerone Day became the most important holiday for all current or former members of this exceptional military unit. See 2023 Camerone Day pictures from several Legion regiments.
13e DBLE, 1er REC, 1er REG: 2023 Mission Lynx in Estonia
See some nice pictures from Estonia, a Baltic state located in Northeastern Europe, where are currently deployed legionnaires from three French Foreign Legion regiments: the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE), the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC), and the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG). There, they serve alongside Great Britain’s The Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH).
Read more13e DBLE, 1er REC, 1er REG: 2023 Mission Lynx in Estonia
1er REG, 13e DBLE: FRINJEX 2023 in India
From March 6 to 9, 2023, legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) and the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) participated in a joint military exercise in Trivandrum, India.
1er REC, 13e DBLE: Exercise Orion 2023
Since late February 2023, legionnaires from the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC) and the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) have been participating in the second phase of joint Exercise Orion 2023, in Southern France. According to the French Armed Forces, it is the largest military exercise conducted in the past three decades.
Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné (1913 – 1948)
On March 1, 1948, on the road from Saigon to Dalat in French Indochina, a French military convoy was ambushed by the Viet Minh. As soon as the first shots were fired, Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné, a popular French Foreign Legion officer, was fatally wounded. In him, the French Army lost one of the youngest commanding officers in its history; he had just turned 35. The following article was written in his memory.
Read moreLieutenant Colonel Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné (1913 – 1948)
13e DBLE: 2023 Exercise Tallinn Dawn
Before their deployment to Estonia, one of the Baltic states in Northeastern Europe, a company of the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) went through an intensive training in Germany, alongside their colleagues from the Queen’s Royal Hussars of the British Army, in January 2023. See the video.
French Foreign Legion: A Soldiers Story
Watch an awesome interview released by POVCAST in late January 2023, with Senior Corporal Johnny Leggett telling his experiences serving in the Foreign Legion, including his training and deployments. Born in Scotland, United Kingdom, Johnny joined the Legion in 1979, when he was 21, and left it after 15 years of service, in 1994.
13e DBLE: 2023 training at Camp Larzac
See a new video published by the official French Foreign Legion YT channel. It shows legionnaires of the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) during a winter training at Camp Larzac, their home base in Southern France.
1er REG: 2022 Exercise Rubicon
Between November 7 and 10, 2022, the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) participated in Exercise Rubicon. The so-called high-intensity exercise took place mainly in Laudun, the regiment’s garrison town, and its surroundings.