1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment

The 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (French: 1^er Régiment Étranger de Cavalerie, 1^er REC) is the only cavalry regiment in the French Foreign Legion. As of 2009 it was the only armoured cavalry regiment of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade.[2] The regiment recently moved camp after being stationed at Quartier Labouche for 47 years in Orange, Vaucluse, France since it moved from Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria in October 1967.[3]

1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment
1^e Régiment Étranger de Cavalerie
Regimental Insignia of 1^er REC
Active	1921 – present
Country	France
Allegiance	French Foreign Legion
Branch	French Army
Type	Armoured Cavalry
Role	Reconnaissance & fire support
Size	~ 1,000
Part of	6th Light Armored Brigade 3rd Division
Garrison/HQ	Camp de Carpiagne (Bouches-du-Rhône), France
Nickname(s)	Royal Étranger
Motto(s)	Nec pluribus impar A nul autre pareil (To none other equal)
March	La Colonne (The Column)
Anniversaries	Camerone Day (30 April), Saint-Georges Day and Christmas
Engagements	Interwar period Battle of Messeifre Battle of Rachaya World War II Operation Dragoon First Indochina War Algerian War Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990 Multinational Force 1982-1984 Koweït 1990–1991 Global War on Terrorism (2001-present) War in Afghanistan (1978–present) Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan Northern Mali conflict
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Valentin Seiler [1]
Insignia
Insignia of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment
Abbreviation	1^er REC

Each year, the French Foreign Legion commemorates and celebrates Camarón in its headquarters in Aubagne and Bastille Day military parade in Paris; featuring the Pionniers leading and opening the way.

History

Levant and Morocco from 1921

The 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1^er REC) was created on March 8, 1921 at Sousse from elements of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment. The title of the 1^er REC would not become official until January 20, 1922, under Decree n°6330-1/11 of January 20, 1922.[4] The cadres of the new unit were drawn from existing French cavalry regiments. Only one junior officer (Second Lieutenant Antraygue) had had previous Legion experience while one non-commissioned officer had been in service with the 1st Foreign Regiment 1^er RE.

Of the 156 other ranks of the newly formed 1^er REC, 128 were Russians. A significant contingent hailed from the White Army of Wrangle. These included thirty officers (one a former general of the Imperial Russian Army and one a former colonel); 14 non-commissioned officers and 33 Cossacks. Most of the remainder had served as regular cavalrymen with the Wrangle forces.[4] Beginning in 1925, the 1^er REC was engaged as mounted cavalry in Syria (4th Squadron ) and in Morocco (3rd Squadron). In both theatres of operations, the Foreign Cavalry Regiment served with distinction, notably in the Levant at Messifre (September 17, 1925) and at Rachaya (from November 20 to 24, 1925). The fanion of the 1^er REC received the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures with 2 palms, the fourragère of the colors of the Croix de Guerre and the 1st Class Lebanese Order of Merit Medal.[4]

From 1927 to 1934, the 1^er REC saw active service in Morocco (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Squadrons), followed by patrol work along the northern border of the Sahara.[4] In 1934 the 5th squadron was equipped with White-Laffly and Panhard armored cars. The remainder of the regiment retained horses and sabers.

World War II and Indochina War

In 1939 the two existing regiments of Foreign Cavalry were still only partially motorized. However, in 1940, the 1^e REC was dispatched to France as part of the 97th Reconnaissance Group of the Infantry Division (97^e GRDI). As such it was engaged in combat from May 18 (at the Somme) until the Armistice.[4] A citation issued at the orders of the Armed Forces praised the heroism of the Legionnaires during this period.[4] Following the Battle of France the 1^er REC took up garrison duties in Tunisia.[4] In 1943, the regiment was re-equipped with U.S. material, consisted of one light tank squadron and four armored car squadrons. Its new role was that of divisional recce regiment of the newly raised 5th Armored Division (5^e DB).

In 1943, the 1^er REC was engaged against the Germans in Tunisia.[4] In 1944, the 1^er REC landed on the côtes de Provence as one of the French armored units participating in the Liberation of France.[4] At the end of World War II, the regimental colors were decorated with two new palms and the fourragère of the Croix de Guerre.[4] In 1946, the 1^er REC embarked for Indochina.[4] The regimental squadrons plus two autonomes groups (detached units) served for nine years in Cochinchina and Tonkin.[4] Three new citations and the fourragère of the Croix de Guerre of TOE were added to the regimental colors, while the two autonomes groups earned 6 citations.[4]

Algeria and the modernization of the Regiment

After returning to French North Africa in 1954, the regiment was involved in the Algerian War for eight consecutive years of active service.[4] Following the Évian Accords and the independence of Algeria [4] the 1^er REC regrouped at the base of Mers El Kebir. It was then reassigned, on October 17, 1967, to peacetime duty in metropolitan France for the first time.

The 1^er REC was now based at Orange in the Quartier Labouche garrison.[4] Reattached to the 14th Infantry Division (14th DI) on January 1, 1976; the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment returned to Africa the same year, serving in Djibouti and then Mayotte.[4] In 1978 and 1979, the regiment participated in Opération Tacaud in Tchad where an Army citation was awarded.[4] During this period, the regiment received new equipment, including the FAMAS service rifle, MILAN anti-tank guided missiles, VAB armored personnel carriers, and the AMX-10RC armored car.[4] From May to October 1983, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment served in three separate deployment areas: within the ranks of the Multinational Force in Lebanon; with a tactical command headquarters stationed in Beirut; in Tchad within the combat deployment cadre of Operation Manta; and in Djibouti.[4]

Within the ranks of the FAR and Division Daguet

The 6th Light Armoured Division (6^e DLB) operating the left flank of the 34 nations coalition during the Gulf War.

The 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment remained within the Force d'Action Rapide (FAR) and was part of the Division Daguet.[4] On July 1984, the Royal étranger was incorporated into the 6th Light Armoured Division (6^e D.L.B).[4] Engaged in operation Daguet starting September 15, 1990; the regiment as whole was found complete in the desert of Saudi Arabia on November 6, 1990.[4] Following an initial preparatory phase, the regiment saw service as part of Operation Desert Storm.[4] On February 23, 1991; the regiment crossed the Iraqi frontier, reached its objective at the D'As Salman air base within 36 hours.[4] Victorious, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment intact from personnel or material loss, decorated a new palm on the regimental colors.[4] From December 1992 to June 1993, the regiment served in Cambodia as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force (APRONUC).[4]

Operations post 1993

Commemoration of the Battle of Camarón by the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment at the Roman Theatre of Orange.

The 2nd Squadron of the Regiment served in Sarajevo as part of the United Nations Protection Force (FORPRONU) from October 1993 to February 1994, and subsequently with the cadre of BATINF from January to June 1995. From 1995 to 1996, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment was engaged in the former Yugoslavia within the cadre of the force de réaction rapide (FRR) and in Chad as part of Opération Épervier. From May to September 1996, the 5th Squadron, recreated in July 1993, was first deployed in the Central Africa Republic during Operation Almandin II. The 1er REC also participated in Guyane, Mayotte and Djibouti. In 1997, the regiment served in the Republic of Congo assisting in the evacuation of refugees. During 1999 the regiment participated in operations with NATO forces in Kosovo, deploying one armored squadron (5^e ESC) in the Macedonia, then dispatching the scouting squadron in Kosovo. Since then, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment has participated in Operation Licorne in Kosovo and in Operation Pamir in Afghanistan

In January 2013, an AMX 10 RC unit from the regiment was deployed in Mali as part of Operation Serval, to counter an Islamist offensive against the local government and engaged in battle for control of the town of Diabaly.[5]

As of June 2015, with nearly 1,000 men and advanced equipment, the Regiment is on permanent stand-by to undertake any mission being allocated to it.

Organization

The regiment is currently divided into 7 squadrons[6]

• Escadron de Commandement et de Logistique (ECL) – Command and Logistics Squadron.
• 1^er Escadron – 1st Squadron (4 combat troops and a command troop)
• 2^e Escadron – 2nd Squadron (4 combat troops and a command troop)
• 3^e Escadron – 3rd Squadron (4 combat troops and a command troop)
• 5^e Escadron _ 5th Squadron ( 4 combat troops and a command troop)[7]
• Escadron d'éclairage et d'investigation de brigade (EEI) – Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron. (4 troops)
• Escadron d'Aide à l'Engagement (EAE) – anti-tank squadron

Equipment

Three squadrons are equipped with the AMX 10 RC, a light wheeled armoured vehicle armed with a 105mm gun.[2] The EEI is equipped with the Panhard VBL.[2]

Traditions

Insignias

• 
  Regimental Insignia of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, 1^er REC
• 
• 
  Insignia of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, 1^er REC
• 
  The Foreign Legion Groupment, G.L.E in the 31^e Brigade featuring Poseidon

Regimental Colors

Regimental Colors of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment

Decorations

• fourragère with ribbon colors of the croix de guerre 1914-1918 with olives of ribbon color of the croix de guerre 1939-1945.
• fourragère with ribbon color of the Croix de guerre des Théâtres d'opérations extérieurs.[8]
• La Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with 3 palms.
• La Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures with 4 palms.
• La Croix de la Valeur militaire with 1 palm.
• 4th squadron decorated November 19, 2012, with Croix de la valeur militaire with palm ( Afghanistan ).[9]

• 
  Croix de guerre 39-45
• 
  Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures

Battle Honors

• Camerone 1863
• Levant 1925–1926
• Morocco 1925–1927
• Ousseltia 1943
• Colmar 1945
• Stuttgart 1945
• First Indochina War 1947–1954
• AFN 1952–1962
• Koweït 1990-1991[10][11]

Regimental Commanders

Tenure (1921 - 1939) 1921 – 1922 : Colonel Perret 1922 – 1923 : Lieutenant Colonel Sala 1923 – 1925 : Colonel Maurel 1925 – 1931 : Colonel Sala 1931 – 1932 : Colonel Burnol 1932 – 1935 : Colonel Bonnefous

Tenure (1935 - 1946) 1935 – 1940 : Colonel Berger 1940 – 1943 : Colonel Levavasseur 1943 – 1945 : Colonel Miquel 1945 : Major Lennuyeux 1945 – 1946 : Colonel Robert 1945 – 1946 : Lieutenant Colonel Marion

Tenure (1948 - 1956) 1948 – 1949 : Lieutenant Colonel Doré 1949 – 1951 : Lieutenant Colonel de Battisti 1951 – 1952 : Lieutenant Colonel Royer 1952 – 1953 : Lieutenant Colonel Deluc 1953 – 1954 : Lieutenant Colonel Hardoin 1954 – 1956 : Lieutenant Colonel Coussaud de Massignac

Tenure (1955 - 1975) 1956 : Commandant Ogier de Baulny 1956 – 1958 : Lieutenant Colonel Spitzer 1958 – 1960 : Lieutenant Colonel Hervé Le Barbier de Blignères 1960 – 1961 : Lieutenant Colonel de la Chapelle 1961 – 1962 : Lieutenant Colonel Barazer de Lannurien 1962 – 1963 : Lieutenant Colonel de Monplanet 1963 – 1965 : Lieutenant Colonel de Froissard de Broissia 1965 – 1967 : Lieutenant Colonel Ansoborlo 1967 – 1969 : Lieutenant Colonel Bart 1969 – 1971 : Lieutenant Colonel Caillard d'Aillières 1971 – 1973 : Lieutenant Colonel Fesneau 1973 – 1975 : Lieutenant Colonel Lorho

Tenure (1975 - 1995) 1975 – 1977 : Lieutenant Colonel Devouges 1977 – 1979 : Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Le Corre 1979 – 1981 : Lieutenant Colonel Audemard d'Alançon 1981 – 1983 : Lieutenant Colonel de la Presle 1983 – 1985 : Lieutenant Colonel Ansart de Lessan 1985 – 1987 : Colonel Belloir 1987 – 1989 : Colonel Badie 1989 – 1991 : Colonel Ivanoff 1991 – 1993 : Colonel Yves de Kermabon 1993 – 1995 : Colonel Franceschi

Tenure (1995–present) 1995 – 1997 : Colonel H. Clément-Bollée 1997 – 1999 : Colonel Colas des Francs 1999 – 2001 : Colonel Bertrand Clément-Bollée 2001 – 2003 : Colonel Yakovlev 2003 – 2005 : Colonel de Saint-Chamas 2005 – 2007 : Colonel Windeck 2007 – 2009 : Colonel Dupont 2009 – 2011 : Colonel Gilles Jaron 2011 – 2013 : Colonel Jean-Christophe Béchon 2013 – 2015 : Lieutenant Colonel Rémi Bouzereau[12] 2015 - 2017 : Colonel Valentin Seiler 2017 - 20** : Colonel Olivier Baudet

See also

• Major (France)
• French Foreign Legion Music Band (MLE)
• Paul Gardy
• Serge Andolenko
• René Lennuyeux
• Jean Compagnon
• 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment
• Armored Train of the Foreign Legion
• List of French Foreign Legion units

Notes

1. Official Website of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, Section Le Chef de Corps
2. "Le régiment". Retrieved 2011-12-30.
3. Windrow, Martin (1996). French Foreign Legion Since 1945. pp. 47.
4. Official Website of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, Section Historique 1er Régiment étranger de cavalerie
5. Harding, Andrew. "Mali Conflict: 'French Fighting Islamists in Mali'". BBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
6. Insignias Heraldry of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment
7. "De nouvelles unités pour la Légion étrangère". Foreign Legion. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
8. Par analogie avec les dispositions intervenues à l'occasion des hostilités qui se sont déroulées entre 1914 et 1918, il est décidé, en avril 1945, de commémorer par une fourragère les actions d'éclat ayant entrainé l'octroi d'au moins deux citations à l'ordre de l'armée aux régiments ou unités formant corps en opérations depuis le 2 septembre 1939. Il ne s'agit pas à proprement parler d'une fourragère nouvelle. En effet la forme et les couleurs de la fourragère 1914-1918 (Il n'existe pas de fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la croix de guerre 1939-1945 actuellement, mais il y a eu une fourragère aux couleurs de cette dernière, mais qui a été abandonnée au début des années 1950, car elle apportait une certaine confusion, alors pour simplifier, le système des olives a été mis en place) sont maintenues mais il est créé un système d'olives qui placées au-dessus du ferret permettent de différencier l'origine de ces deux fourragères.
9. "article sur le site de la Légion étrangère". Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
10. "Décision n°|12350/SGA/DPMA/SHD/DAT du 14 septembre 2007 relative aux inscriptions de noms de batailles sur les drapeaux et étendards des corps de troupe de l'armée de terre, du service de santé des armées et du service des essences des armées, [[:fr:Bulletin officiel des armées]], n°|27, 9 novembre 2007". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
11. "Édition Chronologique n°|45 du 29 octobre 2010". Le Ministère de la Défense instruction n°|1515/DEF/EMA/OL/2 du 23 septembre 1983, modifiée, sur les filiations et l'héritage des traditions des unités; décision n°|010318 /DEF/CAB/SDBG/CPAG du 15 juillet 2008 portant création d'une commission des emblèmes. Art 1er. L'inscription "Koweït 1990-1991" est attribuée aux drapeaux et étendards des formations des armées énumérées ci-dessous. 2e R.E.I, 1er R.E.C, 6e R.E.G, 3e R.I.Ma, 1er R.P.I.Ma, 11e R.A.Ma, 4e Régiment de dragon, 1er Régiment de Spahis, 6e Régiment de Commandement et de Soutien, 1er R.H.C, 3e R.H.C, puis les formations de l'Armée de l'Air les 5e, 7e, 11e escadre de chasse, la 33e escadre de reconnaissance et les 61e et 64e escadre de transport. Le présent arrêté sera publié au Bulletin officiel des armées, Hervé Morin.
12. Official Website of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment. Section Ancien Chefs de Corps

References

• www.legion-etrangere.com
• Porch, Douglas (1991). The French Foreign Legion. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-092308-2.
• Windrow, Martin (1996). French Foreign Legion 1914–1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-761-9.
• Windrow, Martin (1996). French Foreign Legion Since 1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-621-3.

External links

• Official site – 1er Régiment étranger de cavalerie
• History + images - 1er REC's History (in English)