The 6th Light Armoured Brigade () is one of the eight inter-arm brigades which are at the disposition of the . The headquarters of the brigade is situated in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

. The brigade is capable of deploying to any exterior theatre of operation while delivering fire power, agility, and mobility.

History

The brigade is heir to the 6th Cavalry Division () of 1914, the 6th Light Cavalry Division of 1940 (), and the 6th Armoured Division, stationed in Compiègne (1951-1957) and then in Strasbourg (1977-1984) In 1984, the formation was reorganised as the 6th Light Armoured Division (6e DLB) and was part of the

Rapid Action Force The Rapid Action Force (RAF), is a specialized rapid reaction wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of India established in October 1992 to deal with riot and crowd control situations. History RAF was established on 11 December 1 ...

(1984-1999). The division then was formed of 7 regiments, 5 professionals out which 3 are part of the Foreign Legion: *

21st Marine Infantry Regiment The 21st Marine Infantry Regiment () is an infantry regiment of the Troupes de Marine issued by filiation from the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment, 2e RIC. Creation and different nominations * 1831: creation of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment 2e ...

, 21^e RIMa, which had been part of the 31st Brigade (1981-1984) * 68th Artillery Regiment, 68^e RA * 6th Command and Support Regiment, 6^e RCS *

1st Spahi Regiment The 1st Spahi Regiment () is an armored regiment of the modern French Army, previously called the 1st Moroccan Spahi Regiment (). It was established in 1914 as a mounted cavalry unit recruited primarily from indigenous Moroccan horsemen. The regim ...

, 1^er RS *

1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment The 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment () is the only cavalry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is one of two armoured cavalry regiments of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade. The regiment has been stationed at Camp Carpiagne near ...

, 1^er REC, attached to the 31st Brigade *

2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment () 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. Since the regiment's arrival from Bonifacio in ...

, 2^e REI, a regimental component of the 31st Brigade * 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment, 6^e REG

Structure in 2007

Following Army reorganisation in 1999, the division was renamed the 6th Light Armoured Brigade (). It consists of 6000 service personnel with 2100 wheeled vehicles, and includes 6 regiments and one transmission company: *

3rd Marine Artillery Regiment The 3rd Marine Artillery Regiment () is the heir to the 3rd Marine Artillery Regiment created in Rochefort by Napoleon Bonaparte's consular decree of May 13, 1803, the 3rd Colonial Artillery Regiment, then the 3rd Marine Artillery Regiment. The ...

, 2^e REI *

, 1^er REC *

1st Foreign Engineer Regiment The 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment () is one of two combat engineer regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment provides the combat engineering component of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade. It is currently stationed at Quar ...

, 1^er REG *6th Command and Support Regiment It includes significant numbers of the Foreign Legion and Troupes de Marine.

Organization in 2009

Strong with 6000 service personnel,

legionnaires The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

and Troupes de Marine the brigade is composed of: *General H.Q. in

* 6th Command and Support Regiment, 6^e RCS *

, 21^e RIMa *

, 3^e RAMa *

, 2^e REI *

, 1^er REC *

, 1^er REG

Organization in 2016

Mostly manned with troops from the Foreign Legion and Troupes de Marine, the brigade is composed of: * General H.Q. in

* 6^e Compagnie de Commandement et de Transmissions (6^e CCT) - Command and Signals Company in

with VAB * 1 Régiment de Spahis – Cavalry Regiment in Valence with AMX 10 RC * 1 Régiment Etranger de Cavalerie (1 REC) Foreign Legion - Cavalry Regiment in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

with AMX 10 RC * 2^e Régiment Etranger d'Infanterie (2^e REI) - Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment in

with

VBCI The véhicule blindé de combat d'infanterie ( English: ''armoured infantry fighting vehicle'') or VBCI is a French Infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured by ''GIAT Industries'' (now Nexter Systems) and Renault Trucks Defense (now ...

* 13^e Demi Brigade de Légion Etrangère (13^e DBLE) - Foreign Legion regiment in

La Cavalerie La Cavalerie (; ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. During the 1970s it became the focal point of peasant resistance to the proposed extension of the Larzac military training base, just to the north. Population ...

with VAB * 21^e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (21^e RIMa) - Marine Infantry Regiment in

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, Var, Saint-Raphaël ...

with VAB * 3^e Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine (3^e RAMa) - Marine Artillery Regiment in

Canjuers Canjuers is a calcareous plateau and a military camp in Provence located in southeastern France. It is the site of the largest military camp in Continental Europe. Geography Situated in the ''département'' of the Var in the Prealps of Castell ...

with

TRF1 The TRF1, originally known as GIAT 155 mm Tracté (TR) is a 155mm French towed howitzer produced by Nexter (ex Giat Industries) and used by the French Army. The TRF1 was showcased in 1979 at the Eurosatory arms trade show, as a replacement for ...

howitzers,

CAESAR Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

self-propelled howitzers and RTF1 mortars * 1 Régiment Étranger de Génie (1 REG) - Foreign Legion Engineer Regiment in

Laudun Laudun-l'Ardoise (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is located on the departmental border with Vaucluse, which is also the regional border with Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The commune name w ...

Division & Brigade Commanders

(1984 - 1999)

*1984 - 1986 :

général de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

Moreau *1986 - 1988 : général de brigade Favreau *1988 - 1990 : général de brigade Pincemin *1990 - 1991 : général de brigade Mouscardès *1991 - 1993 : général de division

Bernard Janvier Bernard Janvier (born 16 July 1939) is a former general of the French Army who served in the French Foreign Legion, primarily spearheading and putting in place effective resolving forces. Janvier first took part in the Algerian War. He then spearh ...

*1993 - 1994 : général de division Bâton *1994 - 1996 : général de division Rideau *1996 - 1999 : général de brigade Schwrdorffer

(1999 - present)

* 1999 - 2000: général de brigade Barro * 2000 - 2002: général de brigade de Kermabon * 2002 – 2004: général de brigade Bruno Dary * 2006 – 2008: général de brigade Bertrand Clément-Bollée * 2008 – 2010: général de brigade Eric Margail * 2010 – 2012: général de brigade Antoine Windeck * 2012 – 2014: général de brigade Laurent Kolodziej * 2014 – 2016: général de brigade Pierre Gillet * 2016 - 2017: général de brigade Benoît Durieux * 2017 - 2019: général de brigade Franck Nicol * 2019 - 2021: général de brigade Jean-Christophe Bechon * 2021 - : général de brigade Eric Ozanne

References

External links

6e DLB
Official site
Page de la 6° BLB sur le site du ministère français de la Défense

servir-et-defendre.com
L'ordre de bataille de la force terrestre. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1999 establishments in France Brigades of France Military units and formations established in 1999