Spanish Legion
For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the foreign regiments (Infantería de línea extranjera) 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 (Legión Española, La Legión), and informally known as the Tercio or the Tercios, 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 de Extranjeros ("Tercio of foreigners"), the name under which it began fighting in the Rif War of 1921–1926.
This article is about the Spanish Foreign Legion. For other uses, see Spanish Legion (disambiguation).Spanish Legion
20 September 1920
Light infantry, shock troops
8,000
- Ronda (Málaga)
- Viator (Almeria)
- Melilla, Ceuta
Novios de la muerte ("Grooms of Death")
¡Legionarios a luchar! ¡Legionarios a morir! ("Legionnaires, to fight! Legionnaires, to die!")
- Canción Del Legionario
- (official quick march),
- Tercios Heroicos,
- Novio de la Muerte
- (official hymn and slow march)
20 September
Over the years, the force's name has changed from Tercio de Extranjeros to Tercio de Marruecos (when the field of operations targeted Morocco), and by the end of the Rif War it became the "Spanish Legion", with several "tercios" as sub-units.
The Legion played a major role in the Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. In post-Franco Spain, the modern Legion has undertaken tours of duty in the Yugoslav Wars, Afghanistan, Iraq and Operation Libre Hidalgo UNIFIL.
Ranks[edit]
The military 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.
Anthems and marches of the legion[edit]
Slow march[edit]
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.
Regimental quick marches and official anthem[edit]
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.[10]
Before it became the legion's official march, Le Madelon and Tercios 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.