Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment

The Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment was an airborne formation of the French Foreign Legion created on 1 April 1948 during the First Indochina War. It was established from volunteers drawn from Foreign Legion units already serving in Indochina and was attached operationally to the 3rd Indochina Air Infantry Battalion of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment. Although it existed for only a little over a year, the company participated in airborne operations and combat in some of the most exposed sectors of the conflict. The company was associated with the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment, a regiment with origins in the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion and a long record of service in Morocco, the two world wars, Indochina, Algeria, Madagascar and French Guiana. Its formation reflected the French Army’s wartime need for mobile units capable of reinforcement, assault and rapid deployment in the difficult terrain of Indochina. The company was initially commanded by Lieutenant Jacques Morin, a young Legion officer and veteran. Its personnel included Legion officers, non-commissioned officers, corporals and legionnaires drawn from existing formations. The company operated from Hanoi and took part in airborne missions as well as combat operations in the high regions and the Delta. Its insignia, created in 1948 and attributed to Jacques Morin, depicted a winged eastern dragon holding a sword and protecting the emblem of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. The design connected the company’s airborne role with the regiment’s Legion identity and its Indochinese operational environment. The company was dissolved on 31 May 1949. At disbandment it consisted of three officers, fourteen non-commissioned officers and ninety-two corporals and legionnaires. The personnel were transferred to the first formation of the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion, which had recently arrived in Indochina. The company therefore functioned as an early airborne precursor within the Legion’s developing parachute organization rather than as a permanent modern commercial or institutional brand. The parent regiment continued fighting in Indochina after the company’s dissolution, including operations around Colonial Routes 3 and 4, the Battle of Phu Tong Hoa, Cao Bang, Dong Khe and Dien Bien Phu. The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment later became based in French Guiana, where its principal missions include protection of the Guiana Space Centre, jungle warfare training and support to operations against illegal mining. Those later activities belong to the regiment rather than to the defunct parachute company itself.

The Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment was formed on 1 April 1948 as part of the French Foreign Legion’s wartime organization in Indochina. The parent regiment, commonly designated 3e REI, traced its institutional lineage to the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion, created during the First World War from elements of the 1st and 2nd Foreign Regiments. After several changes of designation, it returned to the title 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment in 1945. The company was created during the First Indochina War, when French forces sought formations able to move rapidly between isolated posts, threatened communication routes and difficult highland or Delta sectors. Its volunteers came from Foreign Legion regiments already present in Indochina. Operationally, the company served with the 3rd Indochina Air Infantry Battalion of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment. Lieutenant Jacques Morin was entrusted with command during the company’s initial period. Based at Hanoi, the unit participated in airborne operations and combat actions in exposed sectors of the high regions and the Delta. Its role combined the infantry traditions of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment with the mobility and deployment methods of French airborne forces. The company’s 1948 insignia represented a winged eastern dragon armed with a sword and placed around the emblem of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. This imagery expressed both the unit’s parachute identity and its combat service in Indochina. The company was disbanded on 31 May 1949. Its final establishment comprised three Legion officers, fourteen non-commissioned officers and ninety-two corporals and legionnaires. The personnel were transferred to the first formation of the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion, which had arrived in Indochina. The dissolution consequently helped provide experienced manpower for the Legion’s more enduring parachute structure. The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment remained heavily engaged in the Indochina conflict after the company disappeared. Its later wartime history included fighting around Colonial Routes 3 and 4, Phu Tong Hoa, Cao Bang, Dong Khe and Dien Bien Phu. The regiment subsequently served in Algeria and Madagascar before moving to French Guiana in 1973. Its modern missions include territorial security, protection of the Guiana Space Centre, jungle operations and instruction through the Centre d’entraînement en forêt équatoriale. These later missions are part of the parent regiment’s history and should not be attributed directly to the defunct parachute company.

• 1949

  Dissolution and transfer of personnel

  [1]3rd Foreign Infantry Regimenten.wikipedia.org

  The company was dissolved on 31 May, with its personnel transferred to the first formation of the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion.

• 1948

  Formation of the parachute company

  [1]3rd Foreign Infantry Regimenten.wikipedia.org

  The Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment was established on 1 April in French Indochina from volunteers serving in Foreign Legion formations.

• 1948

  Operational attachment to an airborne formation

  [1]3rd Foreign Infantry Regimenten.wikipedia.org

  The company operated under the 3rd Indochina Air Infantry Battalion of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment and began airborne combat missions from Hanoi.

Historical French Foreign Legion airborne military unit

• 1948First Indochina War airborne operations

  French Indochina

  The company conducted airborne operations from Hanoi and fought in exposed highland and Delta sectors during the First Indochina War.

  Outcome. The company was dissolved in 1949, while its personnel continued service in the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion.

  Source

• 1948

  Creation of a Legion airborne companyStrategy

  Background

  French forces in Indochina required mobile units capable of rapid reinforcement and airborne deployment.

  Action taken

  The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment formed a volunteer parachute company and placed it under an existing Indochina airborne command structure.

  Aftermath

  After a short operational life, the company was dissolved and its personnel transferred to the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion.

  Source

1. 13rd Foreign Infantry Regimenten.wikipedia.org