Under the leadership of the French governor Louis Faidherbe, they took part in various wars against local Kingdoms and Empires.

From 1855 to 1860, they had various encounters with the forces of Oumar Tall's Toucouleur Jihad in the Futa Tooro, the most notable one being the Siege of Fort Médine.

The regiment participated to the conquest of île Elbe, on June 17, 1944 Two months later, it was the disembarking in provence at Saint-Tropez, Saint-Raphaël and then Toulon.

The camps were brought back to their initial missions since 1945, taking the role of training and transit centers.

These lands in 2011 are today occupied by a sporting complex and by the Memorial of Indochinese Wars (French: Mémorial des guerres en Indochine).

The I/4e RIMa was a local force of the Algerian order of battle, 420°UFL-UFO at Canrobert, composed of 10% metropolitan military and 90% of Muslim military, and which during the transition period were at the service of the executive provisional Algerian authority, until the independence of Algeria (Evian accords of March 18, 1962).

(* Initially referred to as camp de la Lègue, baptized following the Second World War after an officer killed fighting for France in Indochina on Mars 1945.

Having served in Soudan and Mauritania, colonel Le Coq was referred as the Grand Méhariste and Compagnon de la Libération.)

The anniversary is celebrated for combats in Bazeilles, the village which was apprehended and abandoned four consecutive times under orders, respectively on August 31 and September 1, 1870.