2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment

The 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment, ( 2e régiment de marche du 1er étranger, 2e R.M. 1er R.E) was a French military unit of the Legion which formed the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (R.M.L.E) and existed ephemerally from end of 1914 to 1915. In September 1914: the 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment, ( 2e régiment de marche du 1er régiment étranger, 2e R.M.1er R.E) was created from effectifs of the 1st Foreign Regiment. On November 11, 1915: the 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment, (2eR.M. 1er R.E) was dissolved and contingents were merged with the 2nd Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment, ( 2e régiment de marche du 2e régiment étranger, 2eR.M.2eR.E) in order to form the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (R.M.L.E). On August 14, 1914, the minister decided that foreigners could contract military service for the duration of the war. Accordingly, the 1st Foreign Regiment at Sidi Bel Abbès received ministerial orders to form two units in order to provide a cadre administering to the recruiting depots of Lyon, Avignon and Bayonne where volunteers were being received. The forecast effectif for each recruiting depots was one Officer, four Sous-Officiers and 22 Legionnaires, and must be exclusively French or naturalized. The two demi-battalions which formed two combat companies left Sidi Bel-Abbès on August 28, 1914, and arrived on September 7 in metropolitan France. The 1st demi-battalion, Chef de battaillon Dourin, the 17ème and 18ème combat companies, was destined for the depot of Lyon. The 2nd demi-battalion, Captain Collet, the 19ème and 20ème combat companies, was destined for Avignon. At their arrival, the two demi-battalions constituted each, one battalion of 250 men with including the forming volunteer effectifs in the recruiting depots. On September 12, Colonel Pein assumed command of the 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment (2eR.M.1erR.E); the regiment counted two battalions, each mounted with 4 combat companies.