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| Spanish Legion | |
|---|---|
| Legión Española | |
 Emblem of the Spanish Legion | |
| Founded | 20 September 1920; 105 years ago (1920-09-20) |
| Country |  Spain |
| Branch |  Army |
| Type | Light infantry, shock troops |
| Size | 8,000 |
| Garrison/HQ |
|
| Nickname | Novios de la muerte ("Death's Grooms") |
| Mottos | ¡Legionarios a luchar! ¡Legionarios a morir! ("Legionnaires, to fight! Legionnaires, to die!") |
| March |
|
| Anniversaries | 20 September |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | José Millán-Astray Francisco Franco |
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For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its armies, forming the foreign regiments (Infantería de línea extranjera) such as theRegiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of theFlight of the Earls and thepenal laws)[2]. However, the specific unit of theSpanish Army and Spain'sRapid Reaction Force, now known as theSpanish Legion (Legión Española, La Legión), and informally known as theTercio, is a 20th-century creation. It was raised in the 1920s to serve as part of Spain'sArmy of Africa. The unit, which was established in January 1920 as the Spanish equivalent of theFrench Foreign Legion, was initially known as theTercio de Extranjeros ("Tercio of foreigners"), the name under which it began fighting in theRif War of 1921–1926.
Over the years, the force's name has changed fromTercio de Extranjeros toTercio de Marruecos ("Tercio of Morocco", when the field of operations targetedMorocco specifically), and by the end of the Rif War it became the "Spanish Legion", composed of severaltercios as sub-units.
The Legion played a major role in theNationalist forces in theSpanish Civil War. In post-Franco Spain, the modern Legion has undertaken tours of duty in theYugoslav Wars,Afghanistan,Iraq andOperation Libre Hidalgo UNIFIL.
The Spanish Legion was formed by royal decree of KingAlfonso XIII on 28 January 1920, with the Minister of WarJosé Villalba Riquelme [es] stating, "With the designation of Foreigners Regiment there will be created an armed military unit, whose recruits, uniform and regulations by which they should be governed will be set by the Minister of War"[3]. However, traditionally the Legion has held 20 September 1920, the day the first Legionnaire enlisted, as its founding date[4].
Historically there had been a "Spanish Foreign Legion" which preceded the modern Legion's formation in 1920. On 28 June 1835, the French government had decided to hand theFrench Foreign Legion over to the Spanish government in support ofQueen Isabella's claim to the throne during theFirst Carlist War[5]. The French Foreign Legion, with around 4,000 men, landed atTarragona on 17 August 1835. This became the French Auxilliary Division until it was disbanded on 8 December 1838, when it had dropped to only 500 men.
The Spanish Legion was modelled on theFrench Foreign Legion. Its purpose was to provide a corps of professional troops to fight in Spain's colonial campaigns in North Africa, in place of conscript units that were proving ineffective. The first commanding officer, Lieutenant ColonelJosé Millán-Astray Terreros, referred to his unit as ‘La Legión’ from the start but this only became part of the unit's title from 1937.[6]
In the originalTercio de Extranjeros there were Latin Americans, amongst others, one Chinese, three Japanese, one Maltese, one Russian, both German & Austrian, one Italian, two Frenchmen, four Portuguese, one Belgian, unknown Filipino and one Spanish woman fromPuerto Rico.[7] However, soon the majority of its members were Spaniards who joined to fight outside of European Spain.[citation needed]
Tercio (lit. 'a third') is an old Spanish military term that roughly translates as ‘regiment' (originally it had enough manpower to be considered a half-brigade). In the 18th century tercios were replaced by regiments. There is no equivalent word in English. Dating from the 16th century, the name was chosen to evoke the era of Spain's military supremacy as the leading Catholic power in Europe under theHabsburg Emperors. Organised intotercios in 1534, the Spanish infantry gained a reputation for invincibility.
In 1925, the unit title was changed toTercio de Marruecos ("Tercio of Morocco"). This was soon abbreviated to ‘The Tercio’. In 1937 at the height of the Spanish Civil War, theTercio de Marruecos was renamedLa Legión, the name by which it is still known today.
The Spanish Legion's first major campaign was in Spanish North Africa. In 1920 Spain was facing a major rebellion in the Protectorate ofSpanish Morocco, led by the able Rif leaderAbd el-Krim. On 2 September 1920, King Alfonso XIII conferred command of the new regiment on Lieutenant Colonel of InfantryJosé Millán-Astray, chief proponent of its establishment. Millán-Astray was an able soldier but an eccentric and extreme personality. His style and attitude would become part of the mystique of the Legion.
On 20 September 1920 the first recruit joined the new Legion, a date which is now celebrated annually. The initial make-up of the regiment was a headquarters unit and three battalions (known asBanderas, lit. "banners" - another archaic 16th century term). Each battalion was in turn made up of a headquarters company, two rifle companies, and a machine gun company. The regiment's initial location was at the Cuartel del Rey enCeuta on the Plaza de Colón. At its height, during the Spanish Civil War, the Legion consisted of 18banderas, plus a tankbandera, an assault engineerbandera and a Special Operations Group.Banderas 12 to 18 were considered independent units and never served as part of the additionaltercios into which the Legion was organised.
Francisco Franco was the Legion's second-in-command, concurrently commanding the 1stBandera. The Legion fought inSpanish Morocco in theRif War (to 1926). Together with theRegulares (Moorish colonial troops), the Legion made up theSpanish Army of Africa. Units of both the Legion and theRegulares were brought to Spain by the Republican government to help put down theAsturian Revolution of 1934.[8]
Under the leadership of Lieutenant ColonelJuan Yagüe, the Army of Africa played an important part in theSpanish Civil War on theNationalist side. The professionalism of the Legion and theRegulares gave the Nationalist troops a significant initial advantage over the less well trainedSpanish Republican forces. The Army of Africa remained an elite spearhead until the expansion of the rebel armies after April 1937 led to the Legion and Moroccan units being distributed across several fronts.
Following the Francoist victory in 1939, the Legion was reduced in size and returned to its bases in Spanish Morocco. In 1940, it was reorganized into threeTercios (regiments). The 4thTercio of the Legion was established in 1950.
Emblems, coats of arms, and names of theTercios:
1st Tercio, "Great Captain" Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba
2nd Tercio, "Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba"
3rd Tercio, "Don Juan of Austria"
4th Tercio, "Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma"
WhenMorocco gained its independence in 1956, the Legion continued in existence as part of the garrison of the remaining Spanish enclaves and territories in North Africa. The Legion fought Moroccan irregulars in theIfni War in 1957–58.
On 17 June 1970, Legion units opened fire and killed between two and eleven demonstrators at the Zemla neighbourhood inEl Aaiun,Spanish Sahara, modern dayWestern Sahara. The incident, which became known as theZemla Intifada, had a significant influence on pushing theSahrawi anticolonial movement into embarking on an armed struggle which continues, though Spain has long since abandoned the territory and handed it over to Morocco.
Through the course of the Legion's history, Spaniards (including natives of the colony ofSpanish Guinea) have made up the majority of its members, with foreigners accounting for 25 percent or less. During the Rif War of the 1920s most of the foreigners serving with the Legion were Spanish-speaking Latin Americans.
In the 2000s, after the abandonment ofconscription, the Spanish Legion once again accepted foreigners into service. Male and female native Spanish speakers, mostly fromCentral American andSouth American states, were included.
Today, acceptance to the Spanish Legion is based on the following criteria:[9]
In recent years, the Spanish Legion was involved inBosnia as part of theSFOR. It also took part in theIraq War, deploying inNajaf alongsideSalvadoran troops, until the new Spanish government ofJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero fulfilled its electoral promises by withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq. The legion units deployed in Iraq were involved in several operations against the insurgency. In 2005, the legion was deployed inAfghanistan as part of theNATO-ledInternational Stabilisation Force (ISAF). In 2006, the 10th Bandera was sent to Southern Lebanon as part of United Nations' OperationUNIFIL.[11]
The Spanish Legion is now mostly used in NATO peacekeeping missions. It has 5,000 soldiers in a Brigade of two Tercios (regiments) based inRonda,Málaga (4th) andViator,Almería (Andalusia) (3rd). Two other independenttercios are deployed in the Spanish African enclaves ofCeuta (2nd) andMelilla (1st) as part of their respective garrisons. The legion is directly controlled by the SpanishGeneral Staff.
Although the detachment atMálaga was transferred away, each year a company of legionaries from one of the Tercios (regiments) returns to march in theHoly Week procession with theChrist of the Good Death, a life-size effigy of Christ Crucified, adopted by the legion as Patron in the 1920s. It also has its own confraternity with its home chapel located in this historic city, where veterans who served in this unit are counted among its membership. The Legion's detachments also take part in various Holy Week events nationwide, including its military band.
The currently active units of the Spanish Legion are:
In other commands:
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The legion has a special operations unit known as theBandera de operaciones especiales de la legión (19th Legion Special Operations Battalion or BOEL). The members of this unit, who were (and still mostly are) volunteers from other banderas of the legion, received training in:SCUBA/Maritime Warfare, Arctic and Mountain Warfare, Sabotage and Demolitions, Parachute andHALO techniques,Long Range Reconnaissance,Counter-terrorism andCQB, Vehicle insertion,Sniping andSERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion). Much of the training was undertaken atFort Bragg (USA). In 2002 the BOEL was renamed19th Special Operations Group "Maderal Oleaga" (GOE-XIX) and was moved toAlicante, and reported directly to Army HQ as part of the Special Operations Command, with recruitment now being in a national basis, with personnel assigned from various Army units. In 2019-20, the battalion returned to the Legion Command but is not part of the Legion Brigade, assigned as the Legion contribution to Army SpecOps.
Themilitary ranks and promotion conditions of the Spanish Legion are the same as those applicable to the remainder of the Spanish Army. Formerly the Legion had its own rank system for non-commissioned officers. The only modern difference is that soldiers (OR-1) in the Legion are referred to as "Caballeros Legionarios" (Legionary Gentlemen). Legionnaires consider this title as a distinction, earned through rigorous training and initiation tests.
Basic training lasts four months and takes place inCáceres orCádiz. It includes basic military skills, forced marches and a stringent assault course. After the second month, the recruit signs a 2 or 3-year contract. After finishing basic training the recruit joins one of the tercios, in there he receives further training, taking from 1 month to 10 months depending on the specialty assigned. This is the same process as in the rest of units in the Spanish army.
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From its establishment the legion was noted for its plain and simple style of dress, in contrast to the colourfuldress uniforms worn by the Peninsular regiments of the Spanish Army until the overthrow of the Monarchy in 1931. This was part of the cult of austerity favoured by a unit that considered itself on more or less continual active service.
The modern legion has the same camouflage dress for active service and ordinary duties as the rest of the Spanish Army but retains the unique,sage green Tropical Uniform for semi-formal barrack dress and as the basis of Legion parade uniform. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the modern legion uniform is the khaki"gorrillo" cap or "chapiri", with red hanging tassel and piping.
Contrary to usual military practice, Legionaries are allowed to sport beards and are permitted to wear their uniforms, both traditional and service, open at the chest.
The basic weapons used by the Legion are the same as those used by the rest of the Spanish Army. These include theG36-E rifle, its 40 mm grenade launcher modular attachment theAG36, theHK MG4 andMG3 machine guns, and theHK USP 9mm pistol.
Like the rest of the Army, the Legion makes use of crew served weapons such as theM2 Browning machine gun and theSB LAG 40 automatic grenade launcher on their armoured vehicles.
The Legions field artillery group mansL118 105mm Light Guns, Italian wheeled tank destroyersB1 Centauro also are used.
The Legion uses Land Rovers, Spanish-madeBMR andVEC-M1,VAMTAC,URO trucks and other vehicles like foreignLMV orRG31.
Millán-Astray provided the Legion with a distinctive spirit and symbolism intended to evoke Spain'sImperial andChristian traditions. For instance, the Legion adopted the regimental designation oftercio in memory of the 16th-century Spanish infantry formations that had toppled nations and terrorized the battlefields of Europe in the days ofCharles V. Millán-Astray also revived the Spaniards' ancient feud with theMoors and portrayed his men first ascrusaders on an extendedReconquista againstIslamic civilization, and later as the saviours of Spain warding offCommunism anddemocratic liberalism defeating thedangerous spectre of 'Eastern Atheism'.
As a tribute to the old Tercios the Legion coat of arms features, besides the crown, weapons used by the soldiers of these units - the musket, halberd and crossbow.
The Legion's customs and traditions include the following:
El Novio de la Muerte (Bridegroom of Death) is the unofficial hymn and regimental slow march of the Spanish Legion, composed in 1921 with words by Juan Costa set to music by Fidel Prado.
Composed in 1920,La Cancion del Legionario (The Legionnare's Song) is the official quick march and anthem of the Legion. It was composed by Modesto Romero and Infantry Commandant Emilio Guillén Pedemonti. It is played by the military bands and bugle bands of the Legion at the regulation 190 beats that it exclusively uses.[14]
Before it became the legion's official march,Le Madelon andTercios Heroicos (Heroic Tercios) by Francisco Calles and Antonio Soler were its official march past tunes.
The following is a list of Legionaries who have gained fame or notoriety inside or outside of the legion.
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