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.
PHOTOS: 2e CMRLE in Indochina in 1953
Again the PHOTOS series. This time, a set of rare pictures of the 2nd Foreign Legion Medium Repair Company (2e CMRLE), one of the six maintenance & repair companies of the Legion that participated in the First Indochina War (1946-1954).
Foreign Legion: 2022 Armistice Day
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
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.
Read moreForeign Legion: Two legionnaires are 2022 French military boxing champions
40 years ago: A combined battalion which constructed the largest military camp in Western Europe was disbanded
In 1971, a combined battalion was activated to group Foreign Legion pioneers and French Army Engineer Corps sappers to construct the largest military camp in Western Europe. Later, the battalion constructed or modernized other military training areas, before its deactivation in late 1982. Even today, these camps still preserve concrete traces of the remarkable efficiency of the men of the Foreign Legion, who reaffirmed that legionnaires are both elite soldiers and competent builders, just like their ancestors.
1er REG: A platoon returned from Africa
In early November 2022, a combat engineer platoon of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) was back at their home base in Laudun, Southern France. The legionnaires returned from Central Africa where they were participating in France’s anti-terrorist Operation Barkhane.
13e DBLE: 2022 Visit to El Alamein Cemetery
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
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.
DLEM: 2022 DIO Training in Madagascar
In early September 2022, a group of instructors with the Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM) returned from Madagascar, a large island in the Indian Ocean located south-east of Mayotte. In Madagascar, the men provided military training to local soldiers.
2e REP: 5th Company left New Caledonia
After their prescribed deployment that lasted four months, the men of the 5th Company, 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), left New Caledonia. They had served in this special overseas collectivity of France located east of Australia, in the Pacific Ocean, since early June.
PHOTOS: 1re CSPL Platoon Leader badge in the Saharan Desert in 1958
This time I would like to share with you a very rare picture showing a sergeant serving as a platoon leader with the 1st Legion Saharan Motorized Company (1re CSPL) in the Sahara of Eastern Algeria, in the late 1950s. The unit was stationed at Fort Flatters at the time, an old French military post located close to the border with Libya. What’s rare in that picture is the insignia/badge worn by this NCO, above the company one.
Read morePHOTOS: 1re CSPL Platoon Leader badge in the Saharan Desert in 1958