On 13 May 1948 a Groupement d'Instruction de Parachutistes was formed at Khamis, near Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria for the purpose of raising two foreign parachute battalions.
[2] The battalion boarded the transport ship Pasteur on 24 October 1948 at Mers El Kébir, and arrived in Indochina on 12 November that same year.
In response, on September 17 and 18, the battalion jumped on That Khe in order to reinforce the combat command under Lieutenant-colonel Lepage, operating out of Lạng Sơn whose mission was to rescue the garrison of Cao Bằng which was evacuating the city along the Route Coloniale 4 (RC4).
The unit was almost entirely destroyed in the subsequent battle in October around Đông Khê, with only 130 men of the battalion remaining of the original 500 who jumped.
Only isolated elements of the battalion were able to rejoin the French lines led by Pierre Jeanpierre, who would later command the regiment in Algeria.
Having reached an apparent stalemate in early 1952 around the Red River Delta, the French command again decided to go on the offensive, giving the plan the code name Operation Lorraine.
On 9 November 1952, the 1st BEP and other airborne formations were dropped into combat near Phu Doan, capturing a quantity of Việt Minh supplies and securing the area.
The battalion was one of the formations selected to hold the rearguard post at Nà Sản, where it sustained a fierce assault from the Việt Minh between 23 November and 2 December 1952.
The post was well-fortified and held in the face of overwhelming numbers, with the bloodied Việt Minh falling back after a week of fighting.
Despite furious resistance, the 1st BEP (II Formation) is destroyed for a second time on 7 May 1954 with the final fall of Dien Bien Phu camp.
The unit (1er BEP, II Formation) lost 316 legionnaires killed in action over the course of the siege, not including those who subsequently died in captivity in Indochina.
Following the Geneva Conference, on 1 February 1955, 1er BEP (III Formation) embarked on the steamship Pasteur in Saigon and arrived at Mers el-Kebir on the 24th of the same month.
[6] On the eve of the generals' putsch of April 1961, the regiment (1er REP) was commanded by Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc, as Lt. Col. Guiraud was on leave.
Upon being notified that their regiment (1er REP) was to be disbanded and that they were to be reassigned, Legionnaires burned the Chinese pavilion acquired following the Siege of Tuyên Quang in 1884 and also blew up their barracks.
O légionnaires, le combat qui commence, Met dans nos âmes, enthousiasme et vaillance, Peuvent pleuvoir grenades et gravats, Notre victoire en aura plus d'éclat.