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The Spanish Legion (La Legión Española) is a military unit of the Spanish Army. Formerly known as the Spanish Foreign Legion (Legión Extranjera Española), it was originally intended as a Spanish equivalent to the French Foreign Legion.
History
The Spanish Foreign Legion was formed by royal decree of King Alfonso XIII on January 28, 1920 with Minister of War José Villalba stating, "With the designation of `Tercio de Extranjeros’ (Regiment of Foreigners) 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." The Spanish Foreign Legion was created following the example of the French Foreign Legion, in order to form a corps of professional troops that could replace conscripts fighting colonial wars, in the Spanish case the conquest of the North of Morocco.
On September 2 of that same year, King Alfonso XIII conferred command of the regiment to Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry José Millán Astray, chief proponent of the regiment and whose style and mythos would be imbued into the unit. On September 20 the first man joins the Legion. This date is celebrated yearly.
The initial make-up of the regiment was that of a headquarters unit and three battalions (known as Banderas or flags). Each battalion was in turn made up of a headquarters company, two rifle companies and a machine gun company. The regiment’s initial installation 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 thru 18 were considered indepent units and never served as part of the tercios.
Francisco Franco was one of the founding members of the Legion and the unit's second-in-command. The Legion fought in Morocco in the War of the Rif, helped put down a workers revolt in Asturias in 1934 and, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Juan Yagüe, played an important part in the Spanish Civil War on the Nationalist side.
Through the course of the Legion's history Spaniards have made up the majority of its members, with foreigners accounting for 25 percent or less. After 1987 it stopped accepting foreigners altogether and changed its name to the Spanish Legion. In the 2000s, after the abandonment of conscription, the Spanish Army is accepting again foreigners from selected nationalities. Those, who are accepted these ages are males and females, who are spaniards (mostly from the Central- and South America but even from the spanish minority in Germany)and are between ages of 18 and 28 in the year they volunteer.
In recent years the now-Spanish Legion was involved in Bosnia as part of the SFOR, and also committed themselves in the fighting in Iraq , particularly in Najaf, alongside El Salvadorean troops until the massacrous terror-bombings in Madrid, in 2004 led to a change of the spanish government, and the Spanish Legion had to withdrew. In 2005 they've been part of the NATO-led International Stabilisation Force ISAF in Afghanistan
Esprit de corps
Millán Astray provided the Legion with a distinctive spirit and symbolism:
- Its members are titled caballero legionario ("gentleman legionnaire"). When women became admitted, they were titled damas legionarias ("lady legionnaire").
- Legionnaires are novios de la muerte ("bridegrooms of death").
- A legionnaire will help a companion in trouble when he shouts A mí la Legión ("Help me, the Legion").
- They can sport beards and wear shirts open on the chest.
- Their march step is faster than the Spanish military standard, 160-190 in contrast to the Army's 90 steps per minute.
- During the Holy Week processions, the paso carried by legionnaires is held not on the shoulder but on their extended arms.
Present
The Spanish Legion nowadays is mostly used in NATO peacekeeping missions. It currently numbers 8 000 in four tercios regiments. It is directly controlled by the Spanish General Staff.
The Spanish Legion today is not for the weak. Training is still brutal with punishment, usually being a severe beating from NCOs who run training.
The BOEL, as they are known as, is the Spanish Legion "Special" unit. The Battalion consists of about 500 men. They are trained in several different areas:
- SCUBA/Maritime Warfare
- Arctic and Mountain Warfare
- Sabotage and Demolitions (BOEL Demo experts are very highly regarded)
- Parachute and HALO techniques
- Long Range Reconnaissance
- Counter-terrorism and CQB
- Vehicle insertion
- Sniping
- SERE
Famous ex-Legionnaires
See also
Ronda
External links
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