» 13dble | French Foreign Legion Information

Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné (1913 – 1948)

March 1, 2023 · Posted in 13dble, history

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.

13e DBLE: 2023 Exercise Tallinn Dawn

February 10, 2023 · Posted in 13dble

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

February 9, 2023 · Posted in 13dble, 1rec, 3rei

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

February 1, 2023 · Posted in 13dble

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

November 23, 2022 · Posted in 13dble, 1reg

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.

Foreign Legion: 2022 Armistice Day

November 12, 2022 · Posted in 13dble, 1rec, 2rei, 2rep, 3rei, dlem

In France, the 11th of November marks Armistice Day. That day – known as Remembrance Day (or Veterans Day) in mostly English-speaking countries – the entire nation in France and abroad commemorates the end of hostilities of World War I. Thus, yesterday, on November 11, even the French Foreign Legion – as well as the rest of the French Armed Forces – commemorated the 104th Armistice Day, and remembered the 36,000 legionnaires and foreign volunteers who were killed or wounded during WWI. See the photos.

Foreign Legion: Two legionnaires are 2022 French military boxing champions

November 10, 2022 · Posted in 13dble, 1rec, sports

During four days, between November 2 and November 4, 2022, the French Military Boxing Championship took place at the National Center for Defense Sports (CNSD) boxing hall in Fontainebleau, in the metropolitan area of Paris. Dozens of boxers from France’s armed forces (Ground, Air, Navy and Gendarmerie) participated, including those from the Foreign Legion. The championship returned after a ten-year pause.

13e DBLE: 2022 Visit to El Alamein Cemetery

October 28, 2022 · Posted in 13dble

As mentioned in the previous article dedicated to Lieutenant Colonel Amilakvari, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the death of this officer who was killed in Egypt on October 24, 1942. He commanded the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE). The current colonel of this regiment decided to visit Amilakvari‘s war grave.

Lieutenant Colonel Dimitri Amilakvari

October 23, 2022 · Posted in 13dble, history

The 24th of October 1942 marks the day when Lieutenant Colonel Dimitri Amilakvari, a French Foreign Legion officer, was killed during a battle with German forces in Africa, in the Second World War. This article was written in his memory.

13e DBLE: 2022 Change of Command

September 1, 2022 · Posted in 13dble

At Camp Larzac, home to the 13th Foreign Legion Half Brigade (13e DBLE), a change of command ceremony took place on August 30, 2022. During the ceremony, Colonel Aubry was replaced by Colonel Thomas Riou who became the new commanding officer of the regiment.

2e REI, 13e DBLE: 2022 Bastille Day in Nimes, Rodez

August 4, 2022 · Posted in 13dble, 2rei, bastille day

While their units are currently deployed to Africa’s Sahel, Ivory Coast or Djibouti, the men of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) and 13th Foreign Legion Half Brigade (13e DBLE), the largest regiments within the French Foreign Legion, participated in military parades in France on the French national holiday.