55 years ago, in early January 1971, a combined battalion was formed to bring together Foreign Legion pioneers and sappers of the French Army Engineer Corps. Its mission was to build the largest live-fire military training range in Western Europe. The battalion later built or modernized several other French military training areas, which are still regularly used today – not only by legionnaires.
70 years ago: Foreign Legion airborne regiment was deactivated
70 years ago, in late November 1955, a Foreign Legion airborne regiment was deactivated in Algeria after training and supplying drafts for hard-fighting Legion parachute battalions in Indochina. Although a largely overlooked formation today, almost every Legion paratrooper who fought in the First Indochina War passed through its ranks.
Read more70 years ago: Foreign Legion airborne regiment was deactivated
100 years ago: A heroic battle in Lebanon
100 years ago, in the Middle East in late November 1925, the French Foreign Legion cavalrymen held a fortress in a Lebanese village, then besieged by thousands of Druze fighters. For the Legion cavalrymen, the battle became their own “Camerone”, a last-stand defense carried through to the very end.
Autonomous Battalion of the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (BFC 5) – 1945-1946
In northern Vietnam in the autumn of 1945, a new unit was established, bringing together the surviving members of the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (5e REI) who remained in the area at the time of Japan’s surrender. Though virtually unknown today (unlike the 5e REI’s much better-documented marching battalion – BM 5 – formed in China), it was the first Foreign Legion formation to reappear within the borders of French Indochina after World War II, reaffirming the Legion’s enduring presence in this territory.
Read moreAutonomous Battalion of the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (BFC 5) – 1945-1946
85 years ago: Foreign Legion reconnaissance regiment was deactivated
85 years ago, in late September 1940, a Foreign Legion reconnaissance regiment was deactivated in Tunisia after taking part in the 1940 Battle of France. Little known today, it was the only Legion unit in that campaign composed entirely of active-duty legionnaires.
Read more85 years ago: Foreign Legion reconnaissance regiment was deactivated
PHOTOS: Foreign Legion Saharan Battery from 1939 to 1942 – II. Part
Another part in our series on interesting photographs. This article continues our series dedicated to the exceptionally rare photographs of the 1st Foreign Legion Saharan Motorized Battery (1re BSPL), taken by Dr. Otto Bruck (alias Legionnaire Marcel Berger).
Read morePHOTOS: Foreign Legion Saharan Battery from 1939 to 1942 – II. Part
100 years ago: An important battle in Syria
100 years ago, on September 17, 1925, the Foreign Legion held a Syrian village against thousands of Druze fighters during the Great Syrian Revolt. Their costly but decisive stand became the first major French victory of the conflict and one of the defining moments in the Legion’s history in the French Levant (Syria, Lebanon).
95 years ago: A bloody clash in southeastern Morocco
95 years ago, on August 31, 1930, a small French Foreign Legion unit found itself surrounded by thousands of tribal fighters in a semi-desert land of southeastern Morocco. Outnumbered and abandoned by most of their auxiliaries, fewer than 200 legionnaires fought for hours against overwhelming odds…
Read more95 years ago: A bloody clash in southeastern Morocco
PHOTOS: Foreign Legion Saharan Battery from 1939 to 1942
The latest part in our series on interesting photographs presents an exceptionally rare collection depicting members of the first officially established Saharan unit of the French Foreign Legion, spanning from mid-1939 to the weeks following the Allied landings in North Africa in late 1942. These images include the only publicly known photographs of a Foreign Legion Saharan unit taken before the Second World War.
Read morePHOTOS: Foreign Legion Saharan Battery from 1939 to 1942
25 years ago: Tragic accident involving Foreign Legion recruits in August 2000
25 years ago, on August 7, 2000, a tragic accident occurred near Castelnaudary, France, when a truck carrying recruits from the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE), the school of the French Foreign Legion, left the road and crashed into a tree.
Read more25 years ago: Tragic accident involving Foreign Legion recruits in August 2000
PHOTOS: Golden Age of Foreign Legion Veterans’ Handcrafted Products (1975–1992)
A new part of the PHOTOS series. Today, we explore the now-discontinued products from the workshops of the Foreign Legion Institution for Disabled Veterans (IILE), which were prominently showcased in vibrant, regular color advertisements in Képi Blanc, the French Foreign Legion’s magazine, from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s.
Read morePHOTOS: Golden Age of Foreign Legion Veterans’ Handcrafted Products (1975–1992)