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Far East Expeditionary Corps | |
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Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient | |
![]() CEFEO insignia bearing the traditional French Navy anchor symbol. | |
Active | 1945 – 26 April 1956 |
Country | ![]() |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Type | Expeditionary Force |
Size | 115,000 (1947)[1] |
Equipment | French, British, American |
Engagements | First Indochina War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (French: Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army that was initially formed in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific War. The CEFEO later fought and lost in the First Indochina War against the Viet Minh rebels.
The CEFEO was largely made up of voluntarily-enlisted indigenous tirailleurs from the French Union colonial or protectorate territories, one exception being the French Foreign Legion, which consisted mainly of volunteers from Europe and the rest of the world. Metropolitan conscripts did not serve in the CEFEO unless they volunteered to do so. Less than half of the total personnel of the Corps were French professional soldiers, mostly serving with paratrooper, artillery and other specialist units.