For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its armies, forming the foreign regiments () such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal laws). However, the specific unit of the Spanish Army and Spain's Rapid Reaction Force, now known as the Spanish Legion (), and informally known as the Tercio, is a 20th-century creation. It was raised in the 1920s to serve as part of Spain's Army of Africa. The unit, which was established in January 1920 as the Spanish equivalent of the French Foreign Legion, was initially known as the ("Tercio of foreigners"), the name under which it began fighting in the Rif War of 1921–1926.
Over the years, the force's name has changed from to ("Tercio of Morocco", when the field of operations targeted Morocco specifically), and by the end of the Rif War it became the "Spanish Legion", composed of several tercios as sub-units.
The Legion played a major role in the Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. In post-Francoist Spain, the modern Legion has undertaken tours of duty in the Yugoslav Wars, Afghanistan, Iraq and UNIFIL.
History The Spanish Legion was formed by royal decree of King Alfonso XIII on 28 January 1920, with the Minister of War 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". However, traditionally the Legion has held 20 September 1920, the day the first Legionnaire enlisted, as its founding date.
Predecessor 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 the French Foreign Legion over to the Spanish government in support of Queen Isabella's claim to the throne during the First Carlist War. The French Foreign Legion, with around 4,000 men, landed at Tarragona on 17 August 1835. This became the French Auxiliary Division until it was disbanded on 8 December 1838, when it had dropped to only 500 men.
The Title of the Spanish Legion The Spanish Legion was originally called the Tercio de Extranjeros (Tercio of Foreigners) when created in 1920. The word tercio is an old Spanish military term that applies to a type of military organisation of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The use of "tercio" in the name was to evoke the era of Spain's military supremacy under the Habsburg monarchy. Its use in the title was purely honorific; the Spanish Legion was always organised regimentally, never as an actual tercio or tercios.
In 1925, the unit's title was changed to ("Tercio of Morocco"). This was often abbreviated to ‘El Tercio’. In 1937, at the height of the Spanish Civil War, it was renamed , the name by which it is still known today.
Organisation The Spanish Legion was modelled on the French 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 Colonel José 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.
In the original 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 from Puerto Rico. However, soon the majority of its members were Spaniards who joined to fight outside of European Spain.
Early campaigns The Spanish Legion's first major campaign was in Spanish North Africa. In 1920 Spain was facing a major rebellion in the Protectorate of Spanish Morocco, led by the able Rif leader Abd el-Krim. On 2 September 1920, King Alfonso XIII conferred command of the new regiment on Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry José 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 as Banderas, 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 en Ceuta on the Plaza de Colón. At its height, during the Spanish Civil War, the Legion consisted of 18 banderas, plus a tank bandera, an assault engineer bandera and a Special Operations Group. Banderas 12 to 18 were considered independent units and never served as part of the additional tercios into which the Legion was organised.
Francisco Franco was the Legion's second-in-command, concurrently commanding the 1st Bandera. The Legion fought in Spanish Morocco in the Rif War (to 1926). Together with the Regulares (Moorish colonial troops), the Legion made up the Spanish Army of Africa. Units of both the Legion and the Regulares were brought to Spain by the Republican government to help put down the Asturian Revolution of 1934.Paul Preston, Franco. pp. 103-105
Civil War Under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Juan Yagüe, the Army of Africa played an important part in the Spanish Civil War on the Nationalist side. The professionalism of the Legion and the Regulares gave the Nationalist troops a significant initial advantage over the less well trained Spanish 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.
After the Civil War
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 three Tercios (regiments). The 4th Tercio of the Legion was established in 1950.
Emblems, coats of arms, and names of the Tercios:
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"
When Morocco 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 the Ifni War in 1957–58.
On 17 June 1970, Legion units opened fire and killed between two and eleven demonstrators at the Zemla neighbourhood in El Aaiun, Spanish Sahara, modern day Western Sahara. The incident, which became known as the Zemla Intifada, had a significant influence on pushing the Sahrawi 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 of Spanish 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.
Modern legion In the 2000s, after the abandonment of conscription, the Spanish Legion once again accepted foreigners into service. Male and female native Spanish speakers, mostly from Central American and South American states, were included.
Today, acceptance to the Spanish Legion is based on the following criteria: Be a Spanish citizen or a citizens from former Spanish territories. Foreign recruits are required to have a valid Spanish residence permit. Be a citizen in good legal standing Not be deprived of civil rights Be at least 18 years of age and not be 29 on the day of joining boot camp. Be able to pass psychological, physical and medical evaluations
In recent years, the Spanish Legion was involved in Bosnia as part of the SFOR. It also took part in the Iraq War, deploying in Najaf alongside Salvadoran troops, until the new Spanish government of José 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 in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Stabilisation Force (ISAF). In 2006, the 10th Bandera was sent to Southern Lebanon as part of United Nations' Operation UNIFIL.La Legión asume el mando en Líbano tras culminar Infantería de Marina su misión, 31 October 2006, 20 Minutos.
Present role and deployment The Spanish Legion is now mostly used in NATO peacekeeping missions. It has 5,000 soldiers in a Brigade of two Tercios (regiments) based in Ronda, Málaga (4th) and Viator, Almería (Andalusia) (3rd). Two other independent tercios are deployed in the Spanish African enclaves of Ceuta (2nd) and Melilla (1st) as part of their respective garrisons. The legion is directly controlled by the Spanish General Staff.
Although the detachment at Málaga was transferred away, each year a company of legionaries from one of the Tercios (regiments) returns to march in the Holy Week procession with the Christ 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.
Units constituting modern Spanish Legion The currently active units of the Spanish Legion are:
II Spanish Legion Brigade "Rey Alfonso XIII" in Viator 2nd Spanish Legion Headquarters Bandera 2nd Spanish Legion Light Armored Cavalry Group "Reyes Católicos" 3rd Spanish Legion Tercio "Don Juan de Austria" VII Spanish Legion Bandera "Valenzuela" VIII Spanish Legion Bandera "Colón" 4th Spanish Legion Tercio "Alejandro Farnesio" X Spanish Legion Bandera "Millán Astray" 2nd Spanish Legion Field Artillery Group 2nd Spanish Legion Engineer Battalion 2nd Spanish Legion Logistic Group
In other commands: 1st Spanish Legion Tercio "Gran Capitán" I Spanish Legion Bandera "España" 2nd Spanish Legion Tercio "Duque de Alba" IV Spanish Legion Bandera "Cristo de Lepanto"
Special Forces of the Spanish Legion The legion has a special operations unit known as the (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 and HALO techniques, Long Range Reconnaissance, Counter-terrorism and CQB, Vehicle insertion, Sniping and SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion). Much of the training was undertaken at Fort Bragg (USA). In 2002 the BOEL was renamed 19th Special Operations Group "Maderal Oleaga" (GOE-XIX) and was moved to Alicante, 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.
19th Special Operations Group "Maderal Oleaga"
Ranks