The Spanish Foreign Legion (Spanish: Legión Extranjera Española) is a military elite unit of the Spanish Army. Founded as the Foreigners Regiment (Tercio de Extranjeros), it was being originally intended as a Spanish equivalent to the French Foreign Legion.
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 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." 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 through 18 were considered independent 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 (to 1926), 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.
On June 17, 1970, legion units opened fire and killed eleven pro-independence demonstrators at the Zemla quarters of El-Aaiun in the Western Sahara, (then still a colony known as Spanish Sahara). The incident, which came to be called the Zemla Intifada, had a significant influence on pushing the Sahrawi anticolonial movement into embrarking on an armed struggle which still goes on up to the present, though Spain has long since abandoned the territory and handed it over to Morocco.
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 again accepting foreigners from select nationalities. The Legion today accepts native Spanish speakers (mostly from Central and South America, but even from countries like Germany) between ages of 18 and 28, be they male or female.
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 El Salvadorean 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 combats against the insurgency. In 2005 the Legion was deployed in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Stabilisation Force (ISAF).
Esprit de corps
Millán Astray provided the Legion with a distinctive spirit and symbolism intended to evoke Spain's Imperial and Christian traditions. For instance, the Legion adopted a regimental unit called the tercio in memory of the sixteenth century Spanish infantry formations that had toppled nations and terrorized the battlefields of Europe in the days of Charles V. Millán-Astray also revived the Spaniard's ancient feud with the Moors and portrayed his men first as crusaders on an extended Reconquista against the Islamic civilization; and later as the saviours of Spain warding off the twin evils of Communism and democratic liberalism.
The Legion's customs and traditions include:
Its members, regardless of rank, are titled caballero legionario ("knight legionnaire"). When women became admitted, they were titled damas legionarias ("lady legionnaire").
Legionnaires consider themselves novios de la muerte ("death bridegrooms").
When in trouble, a legionnaire shouts ¡A mí la Legión! ("To me the Legion!"). Those within earshot are bound to help him regardless of the circumstances. In practice, Legionnaires can never abandon a comrade on the battlefield; they must try to help him until all have perished, if necessary.
Contrary to usual military practice, Legionnaires are allowed to sport beards and can wear their shirts open on the chest. They are also allowed tattoos, especially the Legion Shield, or typically depict scenes of war.
The Legion's 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 day
The Legion nowadays is mostly used in NATO peacekeeping missions. It currently numbers 5,000 in a Brigade of two tercios (regiments). It is directly controlled by the Spanish General Staff.
The Legion is currently deployed mainly in the Spanish African enclaves, namely Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands, but also in Ronda, in Southern Spain.
The Legion today is not for the weak. Training is still brutal with punishment, usually being a severe beating from NCOs who run training.
The Legion has a special operations unit known as the Bandera de Operaciones Especiales de la Legión (Legion Special Operations Unit, BOEL) which consists of about 500 men trained in various different areas:
