The commanding officer of the Spanish Legion Brigadier General Juan Jesus Leza during Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Malaga, Spain
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.
Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: Alameda Principal, Malaga, Andalusia, Spain, Southern Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: alfonso, andalucia, andalusia, army, badge, boss, brigada, brigade, brigadier, brotherhood, chief, commanding, de, elite, española, europe, european, evening, general, glasses, gloves, green, hat, holy, infantry, insignia, jesus, juan, khaki, la, leader, legion, legionary, legionnaire, legió, leza, major-general, malaga, medallion, medals, military, night, officer, parade, procession, red, rey, ribbon, santa, semana, spain, spanish, uniform, unit, week, xiii
