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 (1erRM 2eRE) – 1907 1st Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (1e RM 1er RE) – 1913
World War I
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) – successive appellations and designations IILE (1931), GALE (1950), COLE (1955), ITLE (1957), GLE (1972) and COMLE (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.