This article lists the principal units of the Foreign Legion in the French Army created since 1831. Legion units are only cited once, based on their respective dates of creation. A dissolved Legion unit which is recreated under the same designation will only appear once. The last section of the list re-summarizes actual Legion units in service.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Camerone_2006.jpg/300px-Camerone_2006.jpg)
19th century
- French Foreign Legion (1st formation) – 9 March 1831
- 2nd Foreign Legion (2LE) (2nd formation) – 3 February 1836
- 1st Foreign Regiment – 1 April 1841
- 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment – 1 April 1841
- Foreign Brigade (unit designation in 1854 for two merged foreign regiments during the Crimean War)
- Mounted Companies (Compagnies montées de la Légion étrangère) – 1881
- Saharan Companies of the French Foreign Legion, Saharan Companies and Squadrons of the French Foreign Legion – (CSPLE, ESPLE) – 1901
- 1st Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment (1erRM 2eRE) – 1907
- 1st Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (1e RM 1er RE) – 1913
World War I
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/RMLE_-_1918.jpg/250px-RMLE_-_1918.jpg)
- 2nd Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment (2e RM 2e RE) – end of August 1914
- 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (2e RM 1er RE) – September 1914
- 3rd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (3e RM 1er RE) – (first called Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion entrenched camp of Paris) – September 1914
- 4th Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (4e RM 1er RE) – 5 November 1914
- Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (RMLE) – 11 November 1915
Interwar period
- 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e RE), ex-RMLE – 15 November 1920
- 4th Foreign Infantry Regiment (4e REI) – 15 November 1920
- 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC) – 1921
- Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion in Indochina (DBLE) – 2 August 1930
- 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (5e REI) – 1 September 1930
- Foreign Legion Command (COMLE)[1] – successive appellations and designations IILE[2] (1931), GALE[3] (1950), COLE[4] (1955), TITLE[5] (1957), GLE[6] (1972) and COMLE[7] (1984) – 1 April 1931.
- Communal Depot of the Foreign Regiments – successive appellations and designations DCRE (1933) and DCLE (1950) – 13 October 1933.
- 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment – 1 July 1939
World War II
- Marching Regiments of Foreign Volunteers (1er, 2e and 3e RMVE) – 29 September 1939, became the 21e, 22e, 23e RMVE
- 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment (6e REI) – 1 October 1939
- 11th Foreign Infantry Regiment (11e REI) – 6 November 1939
- 97th Reconnaissance Group of the Infantry Division – GRD 97 (first called GRDI 180) – 1 December 1939
- 12th Foreign Infantry Regiment (12e REI) – 24 February 1940
- 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion (13e DBLE) (first called 13th Light Mountain Demi-Brigade) – became the 13e DBLE on 12 November 1940
- 21st Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers – (21e RMVE) – first called 1er RMVE – 29 September 1939
- 22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers (22e RMVE) first called 2e RMVE – 24 October 1939
- 23rd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers (23e RMVE) – first called 3e RMVE – May 1940
Decolonization
Indochina War
- Disciplinary Company of the Foreign Regiments in the Far East (CDRE/EO) – 1 June 1946
- Passage Company of the Foreign Legion (CPLE) of the Far East – 1 May 1947
- Armored Train of the Foreign Legion (TBLE) – 1948
- Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment – Para Co. 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e REI) – 1 April 1948 – later designations: 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1er BEP)
- 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment – later names and designations: 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1er BEP) – 1948 and (1er REP) – 1955 – 1 July 1948
- 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment – successive appellations and designations, 2e BEP (1948) and 2e REP (1955) – 9 October 1948.
- 3rd Foreign Parachute Regiment – successive appellations and designations, 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion (3e BEP – 1949 and 3e REP – 1955) – November 1949
- Foreign Air Supply Company (CERA) – 1 January 1951
- 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company (1re CEPML) – 1 September 1953
Algerian War
After 1962
- 61st Mixed Legion Engineer Battalion – 61e BMGL – 1963
- 5th Mixed Regiment of the Pacific 5e RMP (ex-5e REI) – October 1963.
- 5th Heavy Weight Transport Company (CTGP) – 5e CTGP – 1 May 1965.
- Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte successive designations and appellations DLEC (1973) and DLEM (1975) – 2 August 1973.
- 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment – 6e REG – 1 July 1984.
- 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment – 1er REG (ex-6e REG) – 1 July 1999.
- 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment – 2e REG – 1 July 1999.
- Foreign Legion Recruiting Group – GRLE – 1 July 2007.
Current Legion units
- Commandement de la Légion étrangère – COMLE.[8]
- Groupement de recrutement de la Légion étrangère (GRLE)
- 1er Régiment étranger (1er RE)
- 1er Régiment Étranger de Cavalerie (1er REC)
- 1er Régiment étranger de génie (1e REG)
- 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes (2e REP)
- 2e Régiment étranger de infanterie (2e REI)
- 2e Régiment Etranger de Génie (2e REG)
- 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie (3e REI)
- 4e Régiment étranger (4e RE)
- 13e Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère (13e DBLE)
- Détachement de Légion étrangère de Mayotte
- Musique de la Légion étrangère (MLE)
See also
References
Notes
- ^ [1] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
- ^ [2] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
- ^ [3] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
- ^ [4] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
- ^ [5] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
- ^ [6] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
- ^ [7] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
- ^ [8] Division General Commandant of the French Foreign Legion, Les Chefs COMLE
Sources
- Le Livre d’Or de la Légion étrangère (1831–1955) (Golden Book of the Legion 1831–1955), Jean Brunon et Georges Manue, éditions Charles Lavauzelle et Cie, 1958.
- Histoire de la Légion, de Narvik à Kolwesi, (The History of the Legion from Narvik to Kolwesi), Henri Le Mire, éditions Albin Michel, 1978, ISBN 2-226-00694-X
- Division Communication et Information de la Légion étrangère (Communication and Information Division of the French Foreign Legion).
- Division Histoire et Patrimoine de la Légion étrangère (History and Patrimony Division of the French Foreign Legion).
- Monsieur Légionnaire – Général (cr) Hallo Jean – Lavauzelle – 1994
- Centre de documentation de la Légion étrangère (Center of Documentation of the French Foreign Legion).