Spanish Foreign Legion
| Legión Española | |
|---|---|
Badge of the Spanish Legion
|
|
| Founded | January 28, 1920 |
| Country |
 Spain
|
| Allegiance | God, King, Spain |
| Branch |
 Army
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Shock combat |
| Size | 8,000 |
| Garrison/HQ | Ronda (Malaga) Viator (Almeria) Melilla, Ceuta. |
| Nickname(s) | Novios de la muerte (Grooms of Death) |
| Motto(s) | Legionarios a luchar. Legionarios a morir! (Legionnaires, to fight. Legionnaires, to die!) |
| March |
Canción Del Legionario (Official Quick march), Tercios Heroicos, Novio de la Muerte (Official hymn and slow march) |
| Anniversaries | 20 September |
| Engagements |
Rif War Spanish Civil War Ifni War Western Sahara conflict (1970-75) Yugoslav Wars Afghanistan Iraq Operation Libre Hidalgo UNIFIL Military intervention against ISIL in Iraq |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
José Millán-Astray Francisco Franco |
The Spanish Legion (Spanish: Legión Española, La Legión), informally known as the Tercio or the Tercios, is a unit of the Spanish Army and Spain's Rapid Reaction Force. 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 1920-6. Although it recruited some foreigners mostly from Spanish-speaking nations, it recruited predominantly from Spaniards. As a result, and since it existed to serve in Spanish Morocco, it was soon renamed Tercio de Marruecos ("Tercio of Morocco"). By the end of the Rif War it had expanded and again changed its name, to 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
The Spanish Legion was formed by royal decree of King Alfonso XIII on 28 January 1920, with the Minister of War José Villalba Riquelme 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." In the 1920s the Spanish Legion's five battalions were filled primarily by native Spaniards (since foreigners were not easy to recruit) with most of its foreign members coming from the Republic of Cuba.
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