The 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 6^e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie, 6^e REI) was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment of the Foreign Legion in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1955.

History, creations and different nominations

When first established the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment consisted of 3,287 men. It was part of the 192nd Infantry Division. The regiment's organization featured: *HQ Staff, located at

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

*1st Battalion, formerly 4th Battalion of the 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment, garrisoned at Al-Suwayda. *2nd Battalion, formerly 1st Battalion of the 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment, garrisoned at

Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...

. *3rd Battalion, formerly 2nd Battalion of the

2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 2e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie, 2e REI) is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is one of two mechanized infantry regiments of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade ...

, garrisoned at

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. *4th Battalion, formerly 6th Battalion of the 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment, garrisoned at

and Palmyra. This regiment was designated as the " Legion Regiment of the French

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

" (french: Régiment du Levant de La Légion étrangère). On 1 January 1940 the regiment was formulated in two parts: * A mountain regiment, commanded by

Lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Barre, which became on 19 March the same year the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment, 6^e R.E.I, Integrated at the 192nd Infantry Division, 192^e D.I; the regiment constituted: ** 1 Headquarter Staff ** 1 Command Company ** 1 Regimental Company (created March 1940 and designated (french: compagnie régimentaire d’engins, C.R.E)) ** 1 Exterior Company (designated "CHR",(french: compagnie hors rang, C.H.R)) ** 1st Battalion ** 2nd Battalion * One motorized regiment typed

outre-mer ''Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea'' is a prose collection by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was the first major work by Longfellow and it was inspired by his travels in Europe as a young man. The term "outre-mer" is French fo ...

, which would become on 19 March the Foreign Legion Groupment of the Levant (french: Groupement de Légion étrangère du Levant, G.L.E.L); the regiment constituted: ** 1 Headquarter Staff ** 1 Command Section ** 3rd Battalion ** 4th Battalion ** Legion Special Section On 28 April 1940 the 1st Marching Battalion of Foreign Volunteers (french: Bataillon de Marche des Volontaires étrangers, 1er BMVE), created in March 1940, was assigned to the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment, 6^e R.E.I and became the 11th Battalion of Foreign Volunteers (french: 11e bataillon de volontaires étrangers, 11e B.V.E) until dissolution on 16 October 1940. On 1 January 1941 the Foreign Legion Groupment of the Levant (french: Groupement de Légion étrangère du Levant, G.L.E.L) and under the authority of the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment created a Legion Artillery Group of the Levant (french: Groupe d’Artillerie de Légion du Levant, G.A.L.L) compromising of 3 artillery batteries and the reorganization of the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment: the "C.H.R" and the "C.R.E" were dissolved and the command company became the regimental company. The regiment left

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

on 16 August 1941 and rejoined the Camp Idron (Pau) on 25 August before rejoining Sidi-bel-Abbès on 3 December 1941. During the regiment's dissolve on 31 December 1941, the legionnaires of the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment were assigned to the later reconstituted 1st Foreign Marching Infantry Regiment (french: 1e Régiment Etranger d'Infanterie de Marche, 1er R.E.I.M) and the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (french: Régiment de Marche de la Légion Etrangère, R.M.L.E). The 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment, 6^e R.E.I was recreated on 1 April 1949 in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Accordingly, selection and dispatching was regularly done in order to reinforce Legion units engaged in

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

s in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

. In the meantime and while holding tenure in Tunisia, the regiment was assigned to tasks revolving around missions of maintaining of order. Subsequently, the regiment was dissolved for a second time on 30 June 1955.

History of the garrisons, campaigns and battles

The 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment, 6^e R.E.I was founded on 15 October 1939 in Syria from elements of the disbanded 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment, 1er R.E.I and the

. Porch, Douglas (1992).''The French Foreign Legion: The Complete History of the Legendary Fighting Force'', p. 446. The Regiment was established in part to handle the large number of foreign volunteers for French military service at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, which numbered around 64,000 at the regiment's founding. The 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment remained loyal to

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

at the beginning of

while opposing fraternally allied and foreign forces from 8 June to 24 July 1941, mainly within the cadre of the liberation of Lebanon. Following, the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment was disbanded on 31 December 1941. On another hand, the regiment was founded once more in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

on 1 April 1949. The regiment went on to fight in the First Indochina War. Following service in

, the regiment operated in Tunisia as part of French operations to maintain order. The Regiment was disbanded on 30 June 1955.

Tradition

Insignia

File:Pionniers.png, Insignia of the Pionniers of the

1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment (french: 1er Régiment étranger, 1er RE) and the 2nd Foreign infantry Regiment are the original and most senior founding regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is also responsible for running sp ...

. File:6° régiment étranger d'infanterie.jpg, Regimental Insignia of 6^e REI Type II The insignia of the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment is represented by the form of a hexagon, three

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

columns of the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

to the left of the insign and the symbols of the Foreign Legion: red and green colors with the

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

with 7 flames in the center.

Regimental Colors

6e régiment étranger d'infanterie-drapeau

Regimental Song

Decorations

Honors

Battle Honors

* Camarón 1863 * Musseifer 1925 * Syria 1925-1926

Regimental Commander

;6th Foreign Infantry Regiment, Formation I *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Imhaus (1/10/1939 - 20/12/1939) *Lieutenant-colonel Barre (20/12/1939 - 10/1941 ) *Lieutenant-colonel Delore (10/1941 - 12/1941) ;6th Foreign Engineer Regiment, Formation II ;01 04/1949 au 01 07/1955 *

René Babonneau *Lieutenant-colonel Rossi *Chef de bataillon Georgeon

Notable Officers

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Pierre Segrétain Pierre Côme André Segrétain (7 November 1909 – 8 October 1950) was a French infantry and List of French paratrooper units, airborne officer of the French Army who fought in World War II and the First Indochina War, primarily in French Foreign ...

, later regimental commander in the rank of chef de bataillon ( commandant) of the

1st Foreign Parachute Battalion The 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (french: 1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutistes (1er BEP)) was a parachute battalion of the Foreign Legion formed from the Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. History 1er Bataillon E ...

, killed in action in

in October 1950 during the evacuation of Cao-Bang by the RC4. *

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Pierre Jeanpierre Pierre Paul Jeanpierre (14 March 1912 – 29 May 1958) was a senior officer of the Foreign Legion. He initially served in the French Army and fought during World War II, the First Indochina War, the Suez Crisis and the Algerian War, where he ...

, survivor of the battle of RC4, later regimental commander of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the

1st Foreign Parachute Regiment The 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment (french: 1er Régiment Etranger de Parachutistes, 1er REP) was an airborne regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army which dated its origins to 1948. The regiment fought in the First Indochina War as th ...

, killed in action in Algeria in May 1958. * Sous-lieutenant then

Pepin Lehalleur, 1st battalion of the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment, who would become général. *

Houzel. *

Serge Andolenko, headed the CR of the regiment in 1941, became général, after being regimental commander of the

5th Foreign Infantry Regiment The 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (abbr. 5th REI, french: 5e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie), nicknamed the "Regiment of Tonkin" (french: "Régiment du Tonkin"), was a regiment of the Foreign Legion of the French Army created under the Thir ...

in Algeria (1956-1958).

Notes

References

*Porch, Douglas. ''The French Foreign Legion.'' New York: Harper Collins, 1991. *

External links

6e REI
- History & images of the 6e REI {{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Infantry Regiment, 6th Defunct French Foreign Legion units Infantry regiments of France Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Military units and formations established in 1949 Military units and formations disestablished in 1955