April 27, 1961

April 27, 1961, marks the disbandment of the Legion’s 1st R.E.P. after its role in the failed generals’ rebellion against de Gaulle. Its departure from Zaralda turned military defeat into a public spectacle: twelve hundred Legionnaires destroyed their barracks, fired their ammunition into the air, and drove away singing as the pieds noirs watched and wept.

Background to the Departure

The regiment’s fate followed the failed rebellion against de Gaulle’s planned political settlement of the war. The revolt had grown out of the pieds noirs’ fury: they raised barricades in Algiers, and soldiers ordered to support the gendarmes in clearing them dragged their feet. After Colonel Dufour was relieved, Elie Denoix de St. Marc took temporary command and led the 1st R.E.P. into the rebellion. The generals expected the rest of the Legion to join them, but only St. Marc’s regiment acted against the government; it even arrested Army Commander-in-Chief Gambiez.

The Regiment Leaves Zaralda

Once the rebellion had failed, the twelve hundred Legionnaires of the 1st R.E.P. dynamited their barracks and fired all their ammunition into the air. The action was a final, destructive gesture rather than a renewed battle: the regiment then drove out of Zaralda while the pieds noirs lined the route and wept. The Legionnaires sang “Je ne regrette rien.” Their departure joined a song of defiance to the unmistakable end of the regiment as an organized unit.

Disbandment and Its Cost

The 1st R.E.P. was disgraced and disbanded. It had lost three hundred men in the war for France, but de Gaulle was in a vengeful mood. The rank and file were absorbed into other Legion units, while the officers either fled to join the Organisation armée secrète or surrendered to stand trial for mutiny. The senior NCOs were discharged, including Creasy and Guido. They had followed their officers’ orders, yet obedience did not protect them from the consequences of the regiment’s revolt. The date therefore marks not only the end of the 1st R.E.P., but also the expulsion of two men whose military service had been shaped by a chain of command they were taught to obey.