2 e régiment étranger de parachutistes

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Badge 2 e REP
The Raffali Camp in Corsica

The two e régiment étranger de parachutistes (2e REP) (2nd Foreign Regiment of Paratroopers ) is an airborne - Association of the French Foreign Legion . It is subordinate to the 11 e brigade parachutiste (11th paratrooper brigade) of the Army de Terre . The headquarters of the regiment located in Camp Raffali in Calvi on Corsica . Paratrooper-specific training, i.e. primarily jumping training, also takes place in Corsica. The basic infantry training is completed by the members of the 2 e REP, like all other legionaries, in the 4 e régiment étranger in Castelnaudary .

assignment

The regiment of the Foreign Legion is one of the rapid intervention forces in France and can be fully deployed within a very short time, individual companies sometimes within 12 to 18 hours, provided they currently have alarm company status (alarm company "Guepard"). In addition, the regiment, alternating with other regiments, provides the paratrooper alarm company on the French base "Camp de Gaulle" in Libreville in Gabon , from where it can be deployed throughout Africa, mainly West Africa, within a very short time. Incidentally, the regiment takes on classic infantry tasks where air landing capabilities are particularly important. In the recent past (2014), for example, a reinforced company of the regiment made a jump over Timbuktu / Mali as part of Operation Serval , and at the beginning of April 2015 a jump over north Niger as part of Operation Barkhane. During the Afghan war in the French sector, which u. a. the mountainous region around Kapisa included the 2nd Company, which specializes in mountain combat , several times.

Special unit

The 2nd REP as such is not a special unit, even if this is wrongly assumed over and over again. The regiment, with its almost 1350 soldiers, is home to a parachute command unit with increased strength, the Groupement des commandos parachutistes , which is organizationally affiliated with the Compagnie d'appui (CA). One potential role for the GCP is counter-terrorism and hostage rescue . The regiment's GCP is the only unit classified as a special forces. However, it only belongs to the support units of the special forces (the so-called 2nd circle), which are subordinated to the Commandement des opérations spéciales of the army if necessary, as is also the case with all other GCPs of the paratrooper units of the 11th Parachutiste Brigade, all of which are not belong to the units permanently subordinate to the COS.

The only paratrooper units of the French Army that are permanently subordinate to the COS are the 1st régiment de parachutistes d'infanterie de marine , the 13eme RDP, 13e régiment de dragons parachutistes and other army units that are combined in the Commandement des forces spéciales terrestres , as well as units of the other armed forces.

organization

In its structure, the regiment does not differ fundamentally from the other units of the Legion. It has a staff company that is structured in such a way that deployments can be planned and conducted worldwide. The core of the regiment are five combat companies, each with a different specialization, as well as a support company (CA), a maintenance and repair company (CMR), and with the sixth company a reserve company, which is formed from reservists if necessary.

All soldiers in the regiment are parachutists trained as paratroopers. The operational companies consist of a company command platoon (Section de commandement), three operational platoons (Section de combat) with three groups of eleven men each and a support platoon (Section d'appui) with two Milan anti-tank missiles and two 81-mm grenade launchers . Jump and infantry training is the same for all soldiers . However, each company has a focus of operations; this makes the regiment extremely flexible. Training in these areas takes place in the company.

Companies

The 2nd REP is divided into nine companies and a reserve company (6e company). The 5th Company (5th Compagnie de Combat) specializing in desert combat was set up at the end of 2015. The previous 5e Compagnie (maintenance company) was renamed CMR (Compagnie de Maintenance Régimentaire).

Headquarters and logistics company

Compagnie de Commandement et de Logistique (CCL) consists of the staff and a sub-unit for transport tasks.

Administration and support company

Compagnie de Administration et de soutien (CAS), responsible for regimental administration, human resources, barracks maintenance etc. Ä.

1st company

The special tasks of this company include local and house combat , night combat, the fight against snipers and snipers, and anti-tank defense . Since 1996 this company has had a platoon with 17 dogs that are used to track down and secure in house-to-house warfare. The training area for this company is Fraselli in Corsica , but the Hammelburg training area of the Bundeswehr is also regularly visited.

2nd company

The special tasks of this company are alpine missions, as well as general "combat in mountainous terrain" (Combat en Montagne et terrains accidentés). The Corsican mountains serve as their practice area. In winter, they practice building igloos and moving around on snowshoes , on which the soldiers should move just as safely as on skis . In summer there is training in mountaineering. This is supplemented by training periods with the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Varces.

3rd company

The tasks of the 3rd Company are amphibious operations with beach reconnaissance and landings from the sea, but also river crossings. The company's specialists are trained as combat swimmers who have taken part in the navy's diving courses, as well as boatmen who are responsible for moving the company with their rubber dinghies .

4th company

The soldiers of the 4th Company are trained in handling all types of explosive devices, be it the laying or defusing of mines or the use of self-made explosive devices. Most of the regiment's snipers are also concentrated in this company . Only the support company has a special sniper group left. In 2016 the 4th Company received the "Combat en zone boisées" as a further specialization

5th company

The 5th company was founded at the end of 2015 and specializes in desert combat. This list was due to the fact that the 13th half-brigade of the Foreign Legion ( 13e DBLE ), which was initially based in Djibouti and until 2015 in Abu Dhabi , had been the Foreign Legion's desert combat regiment for decades, returned in March and April 2016 relocated to France and was put into service there in May 2016, and initially consisted of only half a staff company (CCL - Compagnie de Commandement et Logistique) and two combat companies infantry (Compagnies de Combat). In 2017, the second half of the CCL and two other combat companies were set up. In 2018 the line-up with the last combat company and the Compagnie de Appui (CA) will be completed. In order to continue to have a powerful desert combat unit ready for immediate use, the 5th company was set up in the 2nd REP. The previous 5th company (maintenance company) was renamed CMR (Compagnie de Maintenance Régimentaire).

Support Company (CA)

The former Reconnaissance and Support Company (Compagnie d'eclairage et d'appui - CEA) was renamed the Support Company (Compagnie d'appui - CA) in 2016, as was the case in the other regiments of the Foreign Legion, which still had a CEA (2e REI), or where the establishment of a CEA was planned (13e DBLE) The largest company of the entire regiment is currently divided into the following 4 deployment platoons (sections). It is an anti-tank platoon (Section MMP - Missile Moyenne Portée ) with MMP anti-tank missiles, a sniper platoon (Section tireurs d'elite) with 12.7 mm sniper rifles, the Section Commando de Parachutistes (Parachute Command Unit GCP - Groupement Commando Parachutistes du 2e REP) , as well as -in trial- around the Section d'appui mitrailleuses (train of supporting weapons), which u. a. is equipped with mortars and heavy machine guns.

The former remote surveillance commandos de Recherche et D'Action dans la Profondeur (CRAP) of the 2 ° REP is administratively incorporated into the company as Section Commando Parachutistes, and in 2001 it was converted into the Groupement des commandos parachutistes (GCP) , which focuses on the fight against terrorism is specialized and remains formally subordinate to the CA, the support company.

Repair company (CMR)

The Compagnie de Maintenance Régimentaire (formerly 5th Company) was founded in 1994 to reduce dependence on the brigade staff on the mainland. Your tasks consist in the maintenance and repair as well as in the logistic supply of the regiment. This company also takes over the supply of materials for the mission. With the establishment of the 5th combat company (specialization in desert combat) in 2015, the company was renamed CMR.

6th company

Reserve company, which is formed from reservists if necessary. The company regularly conducts reserve exercises and, like the other companies, is from time to time as part of the anti-terror mission "Sentinelle" ( "Vigipirate" ) to guard z. B. airports, major train stations, as well as tourist attractions within France.

Recruitment and training

The members of the 2nd REP are recruited, like that of all legionaries, via the recruitment offices of the Foreign Legion, as well as the pre-selection centers in Paris and Aubagne and ultimately via the main selection center of the Legion in Aubagne. Afterwards, all future legionaries receive basic infantry training in the 4th RE in Castelnaudary. For those legionaries who are transferred to the 2e REP after the basic training, the four-week regiment-specific training (training for airborne troops ) begins there . It is filled with marches, shooting training, rope climbing, endurance tests and learning the basics of parachuting. Jump training begins at the end of the second week of training. After six jumps, applicants receive the coveted jumper badge. Then there are jumping exercises twice a month, first at group level, then platoon and finally company level. Further training in the special competence area takes place in the company. Other training phases are also carried out in Djibouti and French Guiana .

equipment

Two snipers from 2 ° REP in Afghanistan (2005). The shooter in the foreground is equipped with a PGM Hécate II , his comrade behind is holding a FR-F2 at the ready
  • Pistols
  • Submachine guns and PDWs
    • HK MP5 , different versions (9 × 19 mm) (SD as well as A3-A4)
    • IMI Uzi , 9 mm Parabellum (Mini / Normal Uzi with silencer)
  • Assault rifles
    • GIAT FAMAS F1 ( 5.56 × 45 mm )
    • GIAT Famas G2 (5.56 × 45 mm)
    • HK AG36k (5.56 × 45 mm) only GCP
    • HK G36c (5.56 × 45 mm) GCP only
  • Night vision devices
    • Thales Lucie "OB70" (IR)
    • Thales Moni
    • Thales UGO "OB64" (IR)
    • Thales Sophie "OB72" (thermal)
    • MIRABEL for ERYX system (thermal)
    • MIRA for system MILAN (thermal)
  • Machine guns
    • FN Minimi (5.56 × 45 mm)
    • Model 1952 lMG (7.5 × 45 mm)
    • AANF1 (7.62 × 51 mm) in MIT and FM versions
  • Shotguns
    • various types from Mossberg and Remington
  • Sniper rifles
  • Anti-tank weapons
  • Support weapons

history

Installation and deployment in Indochina

The first paratroopers of the Foreign Legion were combined in 1948 in an independent company of 3 ° REI made up of volunteers for use in Indochina. Shortly afterwards, a paratrooper battalion, the 1 ° BEP, was set up in Algeria , in which the cpie. parachutiste of 3 ° REI was incorporated into Indochina. The 2 ° BEP followed a little later. Both units were used in the Indochina War. Because of the high losses, a third battalion - the 3 ° BEP - was set up as a reserve unit in 1949 .

Battle of Điện Biên Phủ

All paratroopers of the Foreign Legion were used in the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ in the Indochina War. According to the plan of the Commander- in -Chief in Indochina, General Henri Navarre , the colony should be brought under control with a network of bases. It is not known why Điện Biên Phủ was chosen for one of these bases. According to the commander-in-chief, the valley of Đi Bin Biên Phủ was chosen to interrupt the supply routes of the Việt Minh . In the voniện Biên Phủ area, however, there were hundreds of other possible routes by which the Việt Minh could have provided their supplies. The French paratroopers then jumped over the valley at dawn, including the 'Paras' of the Foreign Legion. Pioneers then immediately began building a runway . With the help of this runway, additional troops and material were acquired and the base expanded. The makeshift bunkers that were built by the legionaries, however, were only made of earth and wood and not protected against fire from heavy artillery .

The French strategists thought that because of the difficult terrain, it would be impossible to carry heavy artillery up the surrounding mountains and use it against the base. But the Việt Minh had succeeded in lengthy work in bringing 75 and 105 mm guns, grenade launchers and ammunition in a dominant position over the base and firing on it. There were also massive infantry attacks. The French occupation was eventually wiped out and the base was lost in mid-1954.

Algeria

After the lost Indochina War, the 3 ° BEP was dissolved and the other two battalions were expanded to form regiments, the 1 ° REP and the 2 ° REP, after which the units were relocated back to Algeria . There they fought in the Algerian War from 1955 to 1962. When the French government under Charles de Gaulle announced in 1961 that it wanted to withdraw from Algeria, the general coup in Algiers took place in April 1961, a coup in which the 1 ° REP was centrally involved was. The action failed and the 1 ° REP was dissolved as a result. The 2nd REP was relocated to Corsica and in 1967 it was subordinated to the 11th Parachutiste Division.

1960s until today

Since the end of the Algerian War, the 2 ° REP has been involved in every intervention by the French armed forces. Today the regiment is subordinate to the 11th Brigade Parachutiste.

List of operations of the 2 ° REP from the 1960s to the present day

Mortar in use by the 2nd REP, Battle of Kolwezi , 1978
Funk jeep, Battle of Kolwezi, 1978
  • 1969: First deployment in Chad
  • 1976: Together with GIGN and parts of the 13e demi-brigade de Légion étrangère hostage liberation in Loyada / Djibouti
  • 1978: Second mission in Chad
  • May 19, 1978: The legionaries free more than 2000 European hostages from rebels in what was then Zaire - Battle of Kolwezi
  • 1982: Deployment in Beirut
  • 1984: Third mission in Chad
  • 1987: Fourth mission in Chad
  • 1990: Deployment in Rwanda
  • 1991: Participation in Operation Daguet in the second Gulf War (only the Commando de recherche et d'action en profondeur, CRAP , of the regiment - today's Groupement des commandos parachutistes (GCP) du 2e REP)
  • 1993: Deployment in Somalia and Bosnia
  • 1995: Second assignment in Bosnia
  • 1996: Fifth mission in Chad
  • 1997: Participation in the Opération Pélican , a hostage rescue in Brazzaville , Republic of the Congo
  • 2000: deployment in Kosovo
  • 2003: Assignment in Côte d'Ivoire - Ivory Coast Opération Licorne
  • 2004: Assignment in Côte d'Ivoire / Abidjan - Ivory Coast Opération Licorne
  • 2006: Assignment in Côte d'Ivoire - Ivory Coast Opération Licorne
  • 2006: Assignment in the Chad Opération Épervier
  • 2006: Another hostage liberation in the Congo , responsible the GCP (listed in the Legion magazine, Kepi Blanc), details are unknown
  • 2008: deployment in Afghanistan
  • 2010: deployment in Afghanistan
  • 2011: Deployment in Côte d'Ivoire - Ivory Coast - as part of Operation Licorne, to calm the unrest following the presidential elections
  • 2013: deployment in Mali
  • 2015: Operation Barkhane in the Sahel zone

References

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Anaïs Andre & Aude Bresson: Plaquette Legion Etrangere 2017, page 26/27 . Ed .: Division Rayonnement et Patrimoine Légion étrangère. Press Corse Communication, Aix-en-Provence.
  2. ↑ [1] COS (website about the COS, accessed on February 8, 2016)
  3. ↑ Les compagnies du 2e REP (website of the 2e REP, accessed on February 8, 2016)
  4. ↑ [2] List of the 5th combat company / Wüstenkampf (website of the 2nd REP, accessed on February 8, 2016)
  5. ↑ a b c d 2nd Régiment étranger de parachutistes. Legion Etrangere, accessed September 9, 2017 (French).
  6. ↑ a b Bernd Ziegeldorf: The Foreign Legion - 2nd Regiment Etranger de Parachutistes. Retrieved March 11, 2019 .
  7. ↑ La 13ème DBLE. Ministère de la Défense , January 17, 2016, accessed April 27, 2016 (French).
  8. ↑ Thomas Gast: "The Legion - With the 2nd REP in the trouble spots of this earth", page 169, chapter 18, last paragraph
  9. ^ Yves Debay: Operation Pelican 2 á Brazzaville . In: Éditions Histoire & Collections (Ed.): RAIDS Magazine . No. 135 . Paris August 1997.
  10. ↑ Jean-Paul Lottier: 200 légionnaires du 2e REP de Calvi au Mali ( French ) corsenetinfos.fr. January 24, 2013. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved on January 12, 2014.
  11. ↑ Mali. La Légion a sauté sur Tombouctou! ( French ) Ouest-France.fr. January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  12. ↑ corsematin: 2nd Rep de Calvi: 450 soldiers en opération dans le Sahel ( French ) corsematin.com. February 4, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.

literature

  • Guido Schmidt, Der Cafard - As a paratrooper with the Foreign Legion , Motorbuch Verlag, ISBN 3-613-01795-4
  • The encyclopedia of special forces , Moewig-Verlag, ISBN 3-8118-1895-3
  • Yers Keller, The Paratroopers of the Foreign Legion , Motorbuch-Verlag, ISBN 3-613-01902-7
  • Thomas Gast, The Legion - With the 2nd rep in the trouble spots of this earth , Motorbuch Verlag, ISBN 978-3-613-03154-8
  • Thomas Gast, The Legion 2e BEP - The Paratroopers in the Indochina War , Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012. ISBN 978-3-613-03415-0

Web links

Coordinates: 42 ° 33 ′ 13 ″  N , 8 ° 48 ′ 2 ″  E