On October 25, 1950 the unit received some LVT – 4 amphibious Alligators, which greatly increased its operational capacity. In early 1951 the 1st GE fought in Tra Vinh, Cai Lay, Sadec, and the Plain of Junks. On September 1, 1951, it was redesignated the 1st Independent Group, 1st REC, and continued to function as an independent regiment.

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The Headquarters Company and 3rd, 4th, and 5th Squadrons (troops) of the 1st REC performed similar missions in Central Vietnam, as did the 7th (Amphibious) and 8th Squadrons in Tonkin. This fractionated existence of the 1st REC continued throughout the war. At one time there were different 18 squadrons under the 1st REC colors. Since any single squadron was half the size of a U.S. tank battalion (285 men versus 525), the 1st REC would have equaled a light amphibious armored division had it been assembled under a unitary command, and designations continued to change.

The Central Vietnam GE became the 1st Autonomous Group (1st GA) in June 1951, with three subordinate squadrons, each having a headquarters element, three Crab platoons of six vehicles, one infantry company and one Alligator platoon of eight vehicles. Strength for a single squadron was six Legion officers, 20 Legion NCOs, eight Vietnamese NCOs, 124 Legionnaires and 127 Vietnamese cavalrymen. In early 1952, the 1st GA was operating in the Mekong Delta. In July 1952 it was back in Central Vietnam, operating near Phu Vang and around Da Nang.

In September 1952 the 1st and 6th Squadrons were sent back to My Tho in the Mekong Delta, while in November 1952 elements of the 1st GA were ordered to Nam Dinh at the southern edge of the Red River Delta. The continued need for amphibious cavalry effectively split the 1st REC into three independent commands by 1953, with the formation of the 1st and 2nd Amphibious Groups, based out of Da Nang and Haiphong. These regimental commands controlled two or more amphibious squadron groups, each controlling two or more squadrons.

The old 1st Squadron remained at My Tho, picking up the 11th Squadron to form the 1st Amphibious Squadron Group, assigned to the 2nd Amphibious Group at Haiphong, but attached to the 13th DBLE at My Tho. It rejoined the 2nd GA on July 27, 1954, as the peace accords went into effect, and performed security and police operations in North Vietnam, assisting in the evacuation of refugees. On December 15, 1954 the 1st Squadron departed Hanoi for Saigon, and on September 28, 1955 started redeployment by echelon to Morocco and Algeria.

1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1st BEP):
Raised in Algeria, the 1st BEP arrived in Haiphong on November 12, 1948, then moved to Hanoi, where it set up base at Gia Lam. The 2nd Company was detached for service as an airborne reaction force for Colonial Route 4, first based at Lang Son, then That Khe. On March 18, 1949 the battalion made its first operational jump northeast of Haiphong. On April 16, 1949 the 1st Platoon of the 3rd Company jumped into Cha Vai to reinforce a post under attack. On April 29, 1949 half the battalion jumped with an airborne task force near Phu Lo Xoc. A two company combat drop at Phu Doan followed this on May 7, 1949, followed by another single platoon drop at Ngoi Gion on May 21. On October 14, 1949, the entire battalion jumped into Lung Phai, on Colonial Route 4, to clear Viet Minh forces threatening a string of posts.

The battalion was then sent to the delta, where it took Thai Binh on February 8, 1950. A multi – company drop at Quang Nguyen on April 20, 1950 was then followed by a third battalion – sized drop at That Khe on September 17, 1950. This time, the mission was to reinforce Colonial Route 4 against an expected Viet Minh offensive. Dong Khe, the critical center of this route, had been overrun on September 18. The 1st BEP waited at That Khe while a Moroccan force assembled at Lang Son. With the arrival of the Moroccans at That Khe, the 1st BEP conducted an intelligence raid. Prisoners captured at Poma told of a massive Viet Minh offensive in the works.

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