13th Demi - Brigade of the Foreign Legion The 13th Foreign Legion Demi - Brigade ( ) is a mechanized infantry demi - brigade of the French Foreign Legion . It is the only permanent demi - brigade in the French Army . History . The 13e DBLE was raised in February 1939 at Sidi Bel Abbes in Algeria , with its cadre drawn from 1e REI . The 13e DBLE fought during World War II for the Free French Forces including service at the Battle of Narvik and the Battle of Bir Hakeim . The unit fought in the French Indochina War and suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu . Narvik 1940 . In January 1940 , the British and French high commands had decided to dispatch an expedition to Finland , to support Finnish independence against the Soviet Union in the Winter War . The French decided to allocate a demi - brigade of legionnaires to the expedition - and 13e DBLE was born . In March 1940 , the 13e DBLE comprised 55 officers , 210 non - commissioned officer s ( " sous - officiers " ) , and 1 , 984 legionnaires . The average age of the legionnaires was between 26 and 28 years old , and most counted 4 to 5 years service . Many of its veteran NCOs had served in the Legion for 10 or more years . Its commander was Raoul Magrin - Vernerey , a hero of World War I , wounded 17 times in battle , who had served with the Legion since 1924 . Finland reached an armistice agreement with the Soviet Union on 12 March , and the British and French high commands decided to dispatch their expedition instead to Norway - to deny the Germans access to the Norwegian ports . The 13e DBLE was transported to the Norwegian coast in the troopship " Monarch of Britain " , before transferring to Royal Navy motor torpedo boats , whalers , and Landing Craft Assault on the morning of 13 May for the landing beaches at Bjerkvik , 8 miles ( 13 km ) above Narvik . Once ashore , the 13e DBLE ' s companies deployed and moved to seize the high ground to the north and south of the town . The legionnaires overran the German camp at Elvegårdsmoen and forced the German rearguard out of Bjerkvik . On 28 May , the 13e DBLE moved on Narvik . The legionnaires crossed Rombaksfjorden and landed squarely in the middle of the German positions . German air attacks forced the supporting British ships to withdraw , leaving the 13e DBLE ashore without fire support . The legionnaires engaged in the difficult task of clearing - out German machine gun nests located in railway tunnels and concealed terrain . Lieutenant - Colonel Magrin - Vernerey commanded from the front , patrolling his front - lines to point out German positions to his troops with his walking stick . During the next 10 days , the Allied troops pushed the Germans to within 10 miles ( 20 km ) of the Swedish frontier . Then , with it was decided to cancel the Narvik operation and withdraw . The 13e DBLE evacutated Narvik on 7 June and was withdrawn to England . The unit had lost 7 officers , 5 NCOs , and 55 legionnaires during the campaign . Free French Forces . In June 1940 , the 13e DBLE moved to a camp at Trentham Park near Stoke - on - Trent in England where the legionnaires joined troops of the French Light Mountain Division who had been evacuated from Dunkirk . The 13e DBLE comprised 1 , 619 of the 4 , 500 French soldiers present in England . In France , Prime Minister Paul Reynaud resigned on 16 June and Marshal Pétain took control of the French government . Pétain announced his intention to capitulate to the Germans and sign an armistice . On 18 June , General Charles de Gaulle , under - secretary of defence in the Reynaud government , broadcast an appeal to the French people to continue resistance . On 1 July , the French troops at Trentham Park were given the choice of repatriation to Vichy - controlled North Africa , or joining the Free French Forces under De Gaulle . The decision split the 13e DBLE between pro - Vichy and pro - De Gaulle clique s . The split was particularly felt amongst the officer corps , with 31 of the regiment ' s 59 officers choosing repatriation . Amongst the legionnaires , which included many refugees from Nazi and Fascist countries , around 900 volunteered to continue the fight . The 13th included a number of junior officers who would later rise to general rank , such as Captain Marie - Pierre Koenig , Captain Jacques Pâris de Bollardière , and Lieutenant Bernard Saint - Hillier . Other officers , such as Captain Dimitri Amilakvari and Captain Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné would also achieve fame on the battlefield . Second Lieutenant Pierre Messmer would later serve as De Gaulle ' s defence minister . On 30 August the " Free French " 13th Demi - Brigade sailed from Liverpool for operations against Vichy forces that would include the abortive Battle of Dakar and the storming of Libreville . Bir Hakeim 1942 . The 13e DBLE was reorganized in two battalion s following its participation in the successful Allied invasion of Syria ( Operation Exporter ) . A disputed number of Legionnaires from the pro - Vichy 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment volunteered for service with the Free French 13e DBLE – the remainder of the pro - Vichy Legionnaires were repatriated to France in August 1941 . In 1942 , the two battalions of 13e DBLE – designated 2nd battalion ( II / 13e DBLE ) and 3rd battalion ( III / 13e DBLE ) - were assigned to the 1st Free French Brigade commanded by General Koenig and joined the brigade at Bir Hakeim in Libya , approximately 90 miles ( 140 km ) south of Tobruk . The French position sat astride the Afrika Korps ' line of advance and represented a fortified " pocket " of resistance that had to be eliminated by General Erwin Rommel . The Battle of Bir Hakeim commenced on 26 May 1942 . The 2 / 13e DBLE held positions along the east facade of the French line . The 3 / 13e DBLE formed mobile reserve groups to reinforce French positions at any threatened point . In bitter irony , the Legionnaires of 13e DBLE faced Afrika Korps troops that included the German 361st " Afrika " Infantry Regiment which contained former fellow - Legionnaires of German extraction who had been repriated from Vichy Legion units in North Africa . Hoa Binh 1952 . The 13e DBLE participated in the Battle of Hoa Binh from 14 November 1951 to 24 February 1952 . Hoa Binh ( the name means " peace " in Vietnamese ) was the capital of the Muong ethnic minority . By road , Hoa Binh lay a mere 67 kilometers of map distance from Hanoi via Colonial Route 6 ( Fr : " Route Coloniale 6 " ) . The Viet Minh had controlled Hoa Binh since October 1950 and used the district as a logistics staging area for operations in north central Vietnam . The French commander in Indochina , General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny , ordered the retaking of Hoa Binh in late 1951 . The 2nd Battalion of 13e DBLE fought in a key engagement at Xon - Pheó from 8 – 9 January 1952 . The legionnaires held a vital hill at Xon - Pheó astride Colonial Route 6 , and they fortified their positions with trenches , bunkers , barbed wire , and minefields . On the night of 8 January , troops from the Viet Minh 88th Infantry Regiment infiltrated through the minefields and attacked the 2 / 13e DBLE positions . The Viet Minh forces overran the 5th Company position and destroyed bunkers with TNT satchel charges and Bangalore torpedo es . With many of their officers and NCOs killed or wounded , and half of their position overrun , the legionnaires counterattacked with fixed bayonets and hand grenade s . The legionnaires later counted 700 Viet Minh dead around the position at Xon - Pheó . Dien Bien Phu 1953 - 1954 . 1st battalion ( I / 13e DBLE ) and 3rd battalion ( III / 13e DBLE ) fought at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu during the French Indochina War . At the commencement of the campaign , the demi - brigade was commanded by Lieutenant - colonel Jules Gaucher . During the early stages of the battle , I / 13e DBLE occupied positions at stronghold “ Claudine ” and III / 13e DBLE occupied positions at the “ Béatrice ” fortifications . Lieutenant - colonel Gaucher was killed on the first day of the battle ( 13 March 1954 ) , when his command post suffered a direct hit from Viet Minh artillery . Suffering from serious wounds – the loss of both arms , severe injuries to both legs , and an open chest wound – he died at the hospital . Gaucher was replaced as 13e DBLE commander on 23 March by Lieutenant - colonel Lemeunier who was helicoptered into the fortress . Until the end of the battle , Lemeunier would be the most senior Foreign Legion officer present at Dien Bien Phu . The unit suffered heavy casualties during fighting in March and April . On 14 April the Dien Bien Phu garrison reported that I / 13e DBLE was reduced to 354 effectives and III / 13e DBLE was reduced to 80 effectives . On 30 April , the legionnaires at Dien Bien Phu celebrated the anniversary of the Legion ’ s historic Battle of Camerone . The celebration took place at the 13e DBLE command post where Lieutenant - colonel Lemeunier read the traditional Camerone proclamation over a radio hook - up that could be heard throughout Dien Bien Phu . The 13e DBLE was the only French unit present at Dien Bien Phu that saved one of its battle flags from destruction or capture . The guidon of 4th Company , III / 13e DBLE was initially captured by the Viet Minh during the assault on “ Béatrice ” on 13 March . On 19 May , while the Viet Minh were celebrating Ho Chi Minh ’ s birthday , Sergeant Beres , a Hungarian legionnaire serving with 1er BEP , crawled into a Viet Minh command post and rescued the flag . The seriously wounded Beres was evacuated by helicopter from Dien Bien Phu on 24 May with the guidon hidden under his clothes . During its 9 - year service in Indochina ( 1946 – 1955 ) , the 13e DBLE suffered 2 , 721 killed in action ( 2334 légionaries , 307 warrant officers , 80 officers ) . This included two commanding officers - Lieutenant - colonel Brunet de Sairigné and Lieutenant - colonel Gaucher . Algeria 1955 - 1962 . The 13e DBLE was reconstituted in May 1954 using the 2nd battalion ( II / 13e DBLE ) as a cadre . In June 1955 , the unit left Indochina and redeployed to French North Africa . During the Algerian War , the 13e DBLE served in Algiers , Constantine , and the Aurès Mountains . In 1958 , the unit was assigned to duty as " régiment d ' intervention " for operations throughout Algeria . Recent Deployment . From 1962 to June 2011 , the 13e DBLE duty station had been within Djibouti in the Horn of Africa . In June 2011 the unit was withdrawn from Djibouti to be redeployed permanently in the Abu Dhabi base , United Arab Emirates , as a result of a defense cooperation agreement with France . Recent Operations . In addition to its security responsibilities in Djibouti , the 13e DBLE has participated in military operations that include Operation ORYX and Operation UNOSOM II in Somalia ( 1992 – 1993 ) Operation ISKOUTIR ( 1993 – 1995 ) , Operation TURQUOISE in Rwanda ( 1994 ) , and Operation UNICORN in the Ivory Coast ( 2002 ) Organization . The unit is a battlegroup composed of around 800 men ( of whom 320 are permanent party ) currently organized as follows : Traditions . Except from " Le Boudin " ( the song of the French Foreign Legion ) , their regimental marching song is the " Sous le soleil brûlant d ' Afrique " ( Under the blazing sun of Africa ) .