Chris Boonzaier

Thanks ? My legion field of interest is pretty narrow, so I will have a limited number of things I can cover.

When the Legion first went to Indochina after WW2 it was known as the RMLE ... then renamed 2 REI... the RMLE dadges were pretty small, the 1st Version of the 2REI badges pretty big... the two on the left are theater made.... The 2nd Version of the 2REI are a tad smaller.... the size of the RMLE badges....

First off, some restrikes... pretty dngerous is the DRAGO PARIS without the "Retirage" or restrike number...

The baggy pants and sandals of the Mounted troops of the 50s....

Here is some 1950s flair... I particularly like the 13 DBLE Strongpoint

The 4CMP above only existed from November 1940 until April 43... only Compagnie size makes it a very scarce badge. It was a motorised unit which fought in North Africa. Here is another very scarce one... but mot as scarce as the 4CMP... the Mechanised mounted company of the 4 REI, existing from 1934-1940...

Before Paratroopers became the elite of every army, the Foreign Legion had compagnies montées ... Intitially in Morocco, then Algeria as well the Companies consisted of selected legionnaires and composed of "Binom"... 2 Legionnaires with one Mule. During the marches one would walk, one would ride, and they would change every hour. It really upped the pace of Legion Columns... Later the compagnies montées became Compagnies Portees and were mounted on Dodge trucks and jeeps.... Here is the large Version of the CM of the 2 REI, the very short lived 4CMP of the 2REI and the CM of the 3 REI

Yup, not a place to go to.... Just arrived today....

Me, no, never got one. But I am still looking for older Legion docs with it.

I have wanted a doc to the RMLE for a long, long, long, long time......

History has 3 Field Regiment SAA (T.H.A.).

Regimental history has the same, but without the "V" ...

Ha! for years the history of the unit has taken space on my shelves and I have come close to ebaying it a dozen times... and now finally I get to use it!!!! ... and I can not answer the question... they served in various theaters and seem to have had many designations... do you have an exact year and month? All South Africans serving outside of Africa were volunteers Best Chris

Wow.... wow..... wow......

Here is some drago variation from 1945 till the 60s... the two on the right are restrikes, the one at the top right is not marked as such....

Some 3rd company, just for some variation

I remember selling off my 4 Kriegsmarine Ehrentafelspange about 22-23 years ago... I would probably get less for them today... however... back then noone was paying EUR1000 for a rare 1939 EK2 !!!

What could have been... while some makers are getting their badges made in China.... AIXIA, a "boutique" or artisanal makes enjoyed a short run in the early 90s.... They made the El Moungar" and the X-Mas 1991 version of the badge, made the 3rd Company commemorative for operation Baumier... and a bunch of different badges for the Cavalry regiment for Cambodia... and then faded away. The product was expensive, mostly cast out of silver and hand finished, everyone a little different.... here is a numbered Officers one for presentation Noel 1991, as well as an El Moungar one numbered 001! and a 150 birthday of the regiment table medal, and the 3rd Company ones for Op Baumier... and a couple of test strikes for the Noel 1991 badge... unfortunately the company did not last long... and Balme and other companies with ugly, cheap badges, some made in China! cornered the badge market...

Die hards allways go on about how prices are going up... I see WW2 tunics stagnating, at prices that I got in a shot when I sold off my ww2 stuff 10-15 years ago

Hi, I assume only the recipient would know...

So whats going on with Arthus-Bertrand? One of the most traditional makers... who bought DRAGO, and were then swallowed by Pichard-Balme... you can see from the catch that these are pretty modern... the first one has flat flames and good detail, the one in the middle is a strange bird... produced for Editions Atlas, a dick move to make badges for a company who sells collectibles, so basically a "fake" although somewhere there a few guys wearing them as they are the same as the previous ones from the front... and the last one... the horseshoe and grenade has jumped from a DRAGO rip off to a Balme clone.... Bertrand has made badges for decades and made the regiments badges before WW2 already... I don't remember seeing any of their badges in this 2 REI model until these very new ones came out... The world would not be a poorer place if they had not joined in... although my collection would be 3 badges lighter...

OK, I really like this maker... Andor, from Le Cannet... In the pic you see a really old school DRAGO badge (the one with the Golden Tint) ... veeeeery similar to Andor, although Andor goes an extra step and even the surface of the Mule shoe looks as if it has been hammered... the flames are flat and not so 3 dimensional as the later badges are... compare it to the old Drago which also has flat flames.... Drago and Andor were very close in design... the firm apparently existed from 1964-2007... Andor has regular pinbacks, and also real silver... with split pins... on the one you see the silver stamp in the middle, on the other you can see it below the loop

Veeeerrry nice... does it have a name to it? Hi, nice! do you know how he got that combination?

Hi, any and all at the moment.

Does anyone have any bars with mixed states (Bavaria, Saxony etc) to other ranks or junior company grade officers to show? Some really good ones are needed for a project Thanks Chris