List of French Foreign Legion units

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.

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 (1^erRM 2^eRE) – 1907
• 1st Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (1^e RM 1^er RE) – 1913

World War I

• 2nd Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment (2^e RM 2^e RE) – end of August 1914
• 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (2^e RM 1^er RE) – September 1914
• 3rd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (3^e RM 1^er RE) – (first called Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion entrenched camp of Paris) – September 1914
• 4th Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (4^e RM 1^er RE) – 5 November 1914
• Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (RMLE) – 11 November 1915

Interwar period

• 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3^e RE), ex-RMLE – 15 November 1920
• 4th Foreign Infantry Regiment (4^e REI) – 15 November 1920
• 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1^er REC) – 1921
• Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion in Indochina (DBLE) – 2 August 1930
• 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (5^e REI) – 1 September 1930
• Foreign Legion Command (COMLE)^[1] – successive appellations and designations IILE^[2] (1931), GALE^[3] (1950), COLE^[4] (1955), ITLE^[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 (1^er, 2^e and 3^e RMVE) – 29 September 1939, became the 21^e, 22^e, 23^e RMVE
• 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment (6^e REI) – 1 October 1939
• 11th Foreign Infantry Regiment (11^e REI) – 6 November 1939
• 97th Reconnaissance Group of the Infantry Division – GRD 97 (first called GRDI 180) – 1 December 1939
• 12th Foreign Infantry Regiment (12^e REI) – 24 February 1940
• 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion (13^e DBLE) (first called 13th Light Mountain Demi-Brigade) – became the 13^e DBLE on 12 November 1940
• 21st Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers – (21^e RMVE) – first called 1^er RMVE – 29 September 1939
• 22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers (22^e RMVE) first called 2^e RMVE – 24 October 1939
• 23rd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers (23^e RMVE) – first called 3^e 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 (3^e REI) – 1 April 1948 – later designations: 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1^er BEP)
• 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment – later names and designations: 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1^er BEP) – 1948 and (1^er REP) – 1955 – 1 July 1948
• 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment – successive appellations and designations, 2^e BEP (1948) and 2^e REP (1955) – 9 October 1948.
• 3rd Foreign Parachute Regiment – successive appellations and designations, 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion (3^e BEP – 1949 and 3^e REP – 1955) – November 1949
• Foreign Air Supply Company (CERA) – 1 January 1951
• 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company (1^re CEPML) – 1 September 1953

Algerian War

After 1962

• 61st Mixed Legion Engineer Battalion – 61^e BMGL – 1963
• 5th Mixed Regiment of the Pacific 5^e RMP (ex-5^e REI) – October 1963.
• 5th Heavy Weight Transport Company (CTGP) – 5^e 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 – 6^e REG – 1 July 1984.
• 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment – 1^er REG (ex-6^e REG) – 1 July 1999.
• 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment – 2^e 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 (1^er RE)
• 1er Régiment Étranger de Cavalerie (1^er REC)
• 1er Régiment étranger de génie (1^e REG)
• 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes (2^e REP)
• 2e Régiment étranger de infanterie (2^e REI)
• 2e Régiment Etranger de Génie (2^e REG)
• 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie (3^e REI)
• 4e Régiment étranger (4^e RE)
• 13e Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère (13^e DBLE)
• Détachement de Légion étrangère de Mayotte
• Musique de la Légion étrangère (MLE)

See also

• Major (France)
• Origins of the French Foreign Legion
• History of the French Foreign Legion

References

Notes

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).