In the ground forces, special forces are part of the Spanish Foreign Legion (FIL), which is part of the Spanish Rapid Reaction Force, as well as in three special operations groups and two separate teams.

Spanish Foreign Legion

Spanish Foreign Legion(Tercio De Extraueros) was created in 1920. Unlike the French, which recruits mainly from citizens of other countries, the IIL can only formally be called foreign, since throughout its entire history it consisted mainly of Spanish citizens, and there were only about 20% of foreigners. Currently, almost all Legion volunteers are recruited from Spain.

Getting to serve in the IIL is quite simple - just ask for help from any police officer, who will tell you the address of the recruiting station, where the newcomer will immediately be shown a film about the life of the legion and will be interviewed. After this, the candidate legionnaire decides for himself whether he really needs to serve in the Legion, and if he agrees, he signs a contract. The recruit is then sent to the Legion's training center in Ronda, where he undergoes a brutal selection process.

The Spanish Foreign Legion owes its creation to José Milian Astray, the legendary general who showed miracles of courage on the battlefield and lost an arm and an eye in battle. It was he, the hero of the war in Morocco, who invariably fought in the front ranks and personally raised the fighters to attack, who wrote the phrase “Long live death, and long live reason!” that went down in history! (“Viva la muerte, y muera la inteligencia!”).

Its first part is “Long live death!” - is the battle cry of the Legion.

Today the Legion is an elite part of the armed forces, classified as a rapid reaction force, distinguished by high technical training and the highest fighting spirit of its legionnaires. He is in constant readiness to perform any combat missions. The Legion takes part in peacekeeping missions led by the UN and NATO. But first things first.

Birth of the Legion. Miljan Astray, to whom the Spanish Foreign Legion owes much of its creation, was born in La Coruña on July 5, 1879. The father wanted his son to become a lawyer, but Miljan entered the Infantry Academy in Toledo at the age of 15 and after a year and a half received the rank of junior lieutenant.

Astray, a 16-year-old second lieutenant, fought in the Philippine War, where he gained fame and popularity when, with thirty other soldiers, he held off a large number of rebels in the town of San Rafael. Astray himself lost an eye and a hand in one of the battles. This incident convinced him of the need to use professional soldiers in external wars and predetermined the creation of the Legion.

In 1919, Miljan Astray came up with the idea of ​​​​organizing a corps intended for service in Morocco and consisting of civilian soldiers. His task was to pacify the territories acquired by Spain and restore order there.

Previously, Astray decided to see how the French legionnaires lived. Still, by the time the Spanish Legion was formed, the French Legion was already 88 years old. Having studied methods of organization and training, Astray decided to create a slightly different model of the foreign legion.

In the French Legion, the doors were open to almost all foreigners. The legion was, as it were, a separate state, and the legionnaires swore allegiance, first of all, to their regiment. A Frenchman could not become a legionnaire.

Miljan Astray's future legionnaires were to mainly divide their feelings between Spain and Catholicism. Foreigners were accepted, but in limited numbers. Astray wanted a Spanish majority. In fact, the term "foreign" used to refer to the Spanish Legion is most likely based on a misinterpretation of the Spanish word extranjero, which means "foreign", "foreign". And the expression Legion Extranjera does not mean a legion of foreigners, but a legion performing tasks in foreign territories. After Miljan Astrai returned, he officially presented his project for the creation of the Legion.

It was based on the following principles:

1. The Legion will embody the virtues of our victorious infantry and our invincible army.

2. The Legion will serve as the base of the colonial army.

3. The Legion will save many Spanish lives, since the legionnaires will be ready to die for all Spaniards.

4. The Legion will consist of volunteers of all nationalities who will sign the contract with their real or fictitious name, relieving the state of any responsibility for this decision.

5.The spirit of competition created by the presence of recruits of different nationalities will lead to increased morale of the Legion.

6. Legionnaires will sign a contract for a period of 4 or 5 years, and by remaining in long-term service, they become real soldiers.

8. To those who have no shelter, to those who thirst for military glory, the Legion will give bread, shelter, family, homeland and a banner under which to die.

The most amazing thing is that the project was accepted and the necessary funds were allocated for the implementation of the project. And this despite the fact that at that time there was powerful anti-colonial propaganda in Spain.

Spanish Legion infantry fighting vehicle

In the army, which had compulsory military service, corruption, abuse and theft flourished. The rich exempted their children from military service, sending young men from poor families to serve in the army instead for a fee. Soldiers without sufficient training died in military conflicts by the thousands. The number of victims was so great that civil unrest began in Barcelona and other cities in Spain.

There was a need to create professional army units capable of resisting Moroccan troops and carrying out the most complex and risky operations. And these tasks were assigned to the legionnaires.

It is worth noting that from the very beginning, Miljan Astray made sure that the legionnaires' uniform was attractive and at the same time comfortable. The founder of the Legion focused on the uniform of the ground forces

Spain in the golden ages (XVII-XVIII) to highlight its warriors through uniforms and various additions. Therefore, in photographs and illustrations depicting Spanish legionnaires, we see hats with wide brims that fell onto the collar of a shirt, pants tucked into boots, special covers for boots, and gloves. Naturally, the specifics of the climate where the action was to be taken into account. And the legionnaire’s emblem depicted a pike, a crossbow and an arquebus.

Later, already in the 40s, regulations established that legionnaires must wear the same uniform as ground forces. However, the regulations were not taken into account, and the Legion continued to sparkle with its uniform, slowly accepting all kinds of changes. Legion officers' uniforms were always different from those of other troops.

Franco, Francisco

Miljan Astray and Francisco Franco. It should be noted that Astrai was not alone in the formation of the Legion. Few people know that Francisco Franco, who years later established a dictatorship in Spain and ruled the country until his death in 1975, was directly related to the Legion. He, along with Astray, stood at the origins of the creation of the organization. And when on January 28, 1920, Miljan Astray received the rank of lieutenant colonel and was appointed head of the newly formed Spanish Foreign Legion, he immediately offered his like-minded Major Franco the post of deputy commander. He went to Africa without looking back.

As commander of the first battalion of the Legion, the young Major Franco had to create a combat-ready unit from the common criminals, dregs of society, misfits and outcasts he brought with him from Spain.

When Franco’s unfortunate recruits arrived in Ceuta, they were greeted by Miljan Astray, who immediately began to give instructions quite energetically: “You have escaped from the clutches of death and remember that you were already dead, your life was over. You came here to start a new life, which you must pay with death. You came here to die! Long live death! Then came a stern reminder: “From the moment you crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, you no longer have a mother, a girlfriend, or a family. From today, all of them will be replaced by the Legion.”

In 1941, the writer Arturo Barea, who served in the African Corps in the twenties, described how Legion commanders treated their men: “Miljan’s whole body was hysterical. His voice broke into screams and howls. He threw in the faces of these people all the dirt, filth and obscenity of their lives, their shame and crimes, and then, in a fanatical rage, awakened in them a sense of chivalry and nobility, calling on them to abandon every dream except for a heroic death that would wash away their shameful past".

And yet, it was the cool-headed Franco, and not the hot-tempered Miljan, who insisted on introducing the death penalty to maintain discipline among the staff. As the famous writer Gabriella Hodges writes in her book about Franco, “he once, without hesitation, ordered the execution on the spot of a legionnaire who threw a plate of inedible food in the face of an officer, and then ordered the slain soldier’s startled comrades to march after his body. Neither Miljan nor his deputy tried to somehow limit the atrocities of the legionnaires against the local population, even when they cut off the heads of prisoners and paraded them as trophies.”

Morocco. The eternal problem of Spain. The Spanish Foreign Legion was formed in April 1920, during the war in Morocco. According to international agreements concluded in 1906" in Algeciras, Morocco was divided into two zones, one of which was under the protectorate of Spain, and the other of France.

Liberation movements periodically arose in Morocco, the goal of which was to expel foreigners from the country. The most famous rebel leaders were Muhammad Amezian, who captured the iron mines in the Rif, and Abd el-Karim, who united under his leadership the groups of Mark-Kans who had once fought among themselves. Abd el-Karim acted primarily in the Spanish zone. His goal was to create an independent European-style state in the north of Morocco.

It should be noted here that Spain has always had tense relations with the state bordering on the south, Morocco. Recently, they have been largely associated with the powerful flow of illegal immigration of Moroccans to Spain. In earlier times, as we see, it even came to armed conflicts. The Spanish Foreign Legion has repeatedly fought in Morocco. It is not surprising that after the formation of the Legion, it was immediately baptized by fire here.

Although the Legion was at the formation stage and was poorly equipped, the first and second battalions were thrown into battle, which recaptured a number of small settlements. Most of the recaptured settlements were soon surrounded again, without any hope of salvation. One day, when an avalanche of reefs launched an assault on the Spanish positions, the commander of the surrounded Spaniards, a young lieutenant, sent a final message via heliograph: “I have 12 rounds. When you hear the last one, aim your fire at us so that at least the Spaniards and Moors will die together."

In another, even more remote village, a garrison of Legion soldiers fought until their food, water and ammunition were exhausted. Shocked by this heroism, Abd el-Karim sent a proposal to the defenders in which he promised to spare their lives if they threw out the white banner. As for the commander of the garrison, the very young lieutenant replied that he and his men had sworn to defend their positions to the death and that they would not break the oath.

The war could continue like this for a very long time. Abdel-Karim received significant human reinforcements (mercenaries, Europeans, fighters against colonialism). But success and public attention turned the head of the Rif leader, and in 1925 he made the fatal mistake of attacking the French zone, where he advanced to the old capital of Fez. In 1926, Abdel-Karim had to fight against the combined Spanish army and the French expeditionary force with a total of 100,000 people under the leadership of Marshal Pétain.

Everything ended very quickly. On May 26, after a short but fierce campaign, Abd el-Karim surrendered to Colonel Andre Corapp. At the end of the war, 8 battalions were created. Only 9% of the “grooms of death” were foreigners. The legionnaires fully justified their motto: 2,000 were killed, of which 4 were battalion commanders, and 6,096 people were seriously wounded.

After the conclusion of peace, the rather battered battalions were put in order. There was talk of recruiting new units, but the coup that replaced the monarchy with a republic put an end to this.

Civil War. Russians on both sides of the barricades. The Civil War in Spain in the 30s, of course, also affected the legionnaires. This could not have happened without the participation of our compatriots. Moreover, they fought both on the side of Franco (as part of the Legion) and against him.

The fact that the Spanish Foreign Legion repeatedly won victories over the best communist units of the Republicans - international brigades and Soviet volunteers - speaks of the serious fighting qualities of this unit. In the words of Russian volunteers, “perhaps among all the current troops - all that exist in today’s world, the Spanish Legion is the most glorious and most famous army.”

In the end, Franco's forces managed to cut off a significant part of the Republicans from the French border and sharply limit Soviet aid to them by sea. This was one of the main reasons for the Republican defeat. In March 1939, the Republican government of Spain fell. Franco's victorious troops, including the Spanish Foreign Legion, entered Madrid, which they tried unsuccessfully to take for two and a half years. Russian volunteers paid a heavy price for this victory: out of 72 volunteers, 34 died in battle, that is, almost half.

Our compatriots had to fight not only against the Legion, but also as part of it. General Franco had great sympathy for the Russian legionnaires and insisted on their mandatory participation in the victory parade in Valencia on March 18, 1939.

According to the recollections of the participants in this event, everyone who took part in the parade was given new uniforms, and the officers were given white gloves. Tassels called shofres were attached to the scarlet berets; their color depended on the rank of the legionnaire. The Russian detachment, marching on the right flank of the combined battalion of the Spanish Foreign Legion with the national tricolor, attracted everyone's attention.

How respected the Russians were among the legionnaires is evidenced by the fact that, according to Spanish military tradition, an officer must carry the banner of the legion battalion. However, the legion officers insisted that the battalion banner be carried at the parade by Ali Gursky as the best legionnaire, although he did not have the rank of officer.

After the end of hostilities, Franco did not disband the Russian detachment, but left it entirely within the Spanish armed forces, as a sign of special gratitude, which was nonsense for Spain and its army. The Russians, almost all of whom became officers in the Spanish Legion, reached great heights here and continued to faithfully serve Franco.

Thus, the Russian volunteer Boltin rose to the rank of colonel and died in 1961. The fact that such a high honor was given to a Russian person - the introduction of a foreigner to such a high rank in the Spanish army, which was previously prohibited, testifies to the highest professional qualities of the Russian officers who ended up in Spain. Russian volunteers forever entered the history of the Spanish Foreign Legion and contributed to the creation of the high authority of the Russian name.

Subsequently, legionnaires had to participate in multiple campaigns and wars. Including in the Second World War (as part of the famous “blue division”), as well as in Western Sahara, where they carried out tasks to destroy the rebels, and subsequently partisans. There they remained until the territory lost its colony status in 1976. Numerous operations in which legionnaires took part often ended in their successful completion. The main reason for the victories can confidently be called the high morale of the legionnaires:

How was the fighting spirit of a legionnaire cultivated, without which there would be neither victories nor glory?

Viva la muerte (“Long live death!”) was the battle cry of the legionnaires. Legionnaires are still called “Los novios de la muerte” (Spanish) - “Wedded to Death”.

As we have already said, special importance was attached to strengthening the morale of the legionnaire. When creating the Legion, Miljan Astray wanted the soldiers to have their own hymns and songs that, as he said, would “shorten the kilometers and reduce fatigue. All the time, right up to sunset, these songs must be performed solemnly and always, always, the Legion will honor the dead.”

The three most famous songs of the legionnaires are "El novio de la muerte" ("The Bridegroom of Death"), "Tercios Heroicos" ("The Heroic Regiments") and "Cancion del legionario" ("The Legionnaire's Song"). The first of them was taken as the legionnaires' own song (hymn).

Initially it had a higher rhythm, but it became famous when performed in a march rhythm.

The chorus of the song translates roughly as follows:

I am a man whom luck wounded with the paw of a wild beast; I am the bridegroom of death, And I will tie myself with strong ties With this faithful friend.

Astray himself, brought up in the spirit of “bushido” (the ancient ethical code of the samurai, which demanded absolute loyalty to the boss, self-restraint and self-control), created the so-called legionnaire’s creed. The cult of camaraderie, courage, friendship, unity, endurance, discipline, death and love for the battalion - these are the main points in the legionary creed. Without them, the Legion would simply be a community of people motivated by money. Needless to say, the Legion still does not deviate from traditions; today’s legionnaires adhere to the same values ​​and sing the same hymns. This can be called another distinctive feature of the Spanish Legion.

The first volunteer to enroll in the Legion was a Spaniard from Ceuta. From the end of September 1920, 400 people came from all over Spain to volunteer; they gathered in Algeciras, then boarded a ship, where they awaited departure to Ceuta. In rags and tatters, this herd of volunteers were the scum of the cities. Among them, the majority were Spaniards, but there were also foreigners - three Chinese and one Japanese.

The transformation of this picturesque rabble into an elite corps is due primarily to the efforts of Astray and Franco. Interestingly, from the very beginning, participation in military operations was extremely successful, the legionnaires of Miljan Astray are universally recognized as extraordinary soldiers. In the future, they begin to count on legionnaires seriously. And today the Legion is an elite unit in the Spanish army, serving in which is extremely prestigious.

However, recently many questions have arisen about the importance of the Legion's existence, even to the point of its disbandment. However, new international obligations bring back to life the reasons that served as the prerequisites for the creation of the Legion. Difficulties in finding employment for military personnel at their disposal lead to the creation of professional units made up of volunteers. There is an example of this: the operation in Alpha Bravo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Legion occupies a certain territory.

Over the more than 80-year history of the Legion, its losses amounted to more than 40 thousand people, and the last losses were in missions under the control of the UN while fulfilling the obligations given by Spain. Today, Spain's role in the international community is quite large. Close relations with Latin America, with which it is linked historically and culturally, open up new opportunities for the Legion's activities.

Spain's actions as a mediator in various world conflicts are changing the role of the Legion, which is more used in various peacekeeping missions conducted under the auspices of the UN. According to some estimates, the Legion now numbers about 4 thousand people, including many women, mostly Latinas.

Today, the legionnaire is the pride of the Spanish army: a highly qualified soldier, ready to carry out any mission. Its hallmarks are extreme dedication, devotion, loyalty and teamwork. Moreover, the missions can be completely different: military, humanitarian, and even civil protection. And he will always be ready to give everything for his country, his battalion and will always help others, risking his life. After all, he is the “wife of death.” His name is Spanish legionnaire!

Today's Legion is not for the weak. The training is very rough and the punishment is that the trainees are severely beaten by the instructors. The learning process is surprisingly short and takes only 3-4 months. Recruits sign a 3-year contract, which is as difficult to break as the contract of the French Foreign Legion. Brutal training and arduous marches are believed to make real soldiers. This combat course is one of the most difficult in the world. During its passage, recruits are constantly subjected to rough treatment, beatings and other punishments, and operate in the conditions of the use of military weapons, when they are shot at their feet and over their heads. If a recruit is not killed or injured during this course, he is said to be “very lucky.”

According to other sources, the IIL has approximately 7-8 thousand people, and only men serve in it. The legion consists of four regiments (Tercios), each consisting of four battalions (Banderas). One of these regiments (4Tercio Alejandro Famesio) is dedicated to special operations and is based in Ronda. This regiment includes two battalions: parachute and operational (BOEL), which at one time was abbreviated as OLEU.

BOEL Battalion

BOEL Battalion(Banderas de Operaciones Especiales) has 500 personnel and is divided into three operational commands (COE 1, 2 and 3).

The battalion's personnel are trained for operations at sea (including using light diving equipment), in the mountains and the Arctic, for carrying out sabotage and explosive operations, and are trained in parachute jumping (including from high altitudes with delayed parachute opening), and conducting deep reconnaissance , counter-terrorism operations, sniper business, search and rescue, use of light combat vehicles.

BOEL Battalion armed with basically the same weapons as the rest of the legion: 5.56 mm CETME rifles, 9 mm Star machine guns and pistols, 7.62 mm Ameli machine guns and 40 mm grenade launchers. Vehicles such as Land Rover, Hummer, BMR600, Nissan and other American and English-made vehicles are used as light combat vehicles.

IIL soldiers wear the same camouflage uniform as other forces of the Spanish Army, and only the red tassel on their headdress distinguishes them from other military personnel.

GOE Special Operations Groups

Spanish special forces in Afghanistan. 2005 year.

Special Operations Groups(GOE - Grupos de Operaciones Especiales) are based: GOE II - in Granada (consists of two teams - COE 21 and COE 22), GOE III - in Alicante (composed of COE 31 and COE 32), GOE IV - in Barcelona (in composition of COE 41 and COE 42). Two separate special operations teams are based: COE 81 in Santa Cruz de Tanarif, COE 82 in Las Palmas.

Naval Special Operations Forces

Naval Special Operations Forces are part of the Marine Corps (TEAR - Infanteria de Marina's Tescio de Armade) and are known as a special operations unit ( UOE - Unidad de Operaciones Especiales). The detachment is subordinated directly to the Spanish Admiralty. According to official documents, the UOE's primary mission is to "perform in-depth special reconnaissance and offensive direct combat operations against important strategic and heavily fortified installations."

Spanish Special Forces soldiers in Djibouti during the "Enduring Freedom" mission

Some of the many missions performed by UOE units are: long-range reconnaissance prior to the engagement of the main force, intelligence gathering, surveillance, targeting and forward artillery fire control, disruption of enemy communication lines, direct combat operations (strikes, raids, naval blockade operations and capture ships), rescue operations at sea, as well as search and rescue of aircraft crews shot down behind enemy lines.

The UOE was formed in 1952 as an all-volunteer amphibious assault company designed to launch surprise attacks in the first amphibious assault against any coastal targets.

The detachment specializes in conducting combat operations against heavily fortified objects of the coastal defense system and capturing territorially difficult targets.

After studying the nature of the use of similar units in NATO countries, the Spaniards came to the conclusion that it was necessary to expand the operational capabilities of the UOE and create a unit capable of performing a wide range of conventional and special warfare missions. In 1967, given the guidance of US Navy SEALs and the British SBS, the UOE team was given new missions that included underwater explosions, airborne landings, and direct sabotage strikes.

The detachment received its first operational baptism in 1969, when it led the evacuation of Spanish citizens from the former Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea. In 1985, the unit was renamed the Commando Amphibious Special Force (COMANFES - Comando Anfibio Especial), but was reverted to its former name UOE in the 1990s.

The UOE unit was actively used against the terrorist organization ETA inside Spain, in the former Yugoslavia as part of the Spanish contingent of IFOR and SFOR, in carrying out tasks of both the Spanish and joint commands. The UOE detachment is based in San Fernando and has 169 personnel. The detachment commander has the rank of lieutenant colonel, and his deputy is major. The detachment includes a small headquarters section and four platoons (Stol): command and service, two special operations and combat swimmers. Platoon commanders have the rank of captain.

The command and maintenance platoon is responsible for daily operations, material and medical support, communications, etc., as well as for operational selection and training courses for newly assigned personnel to the detachment. A special operations platoon consists of 34 people and is divided into two divisions of 16 people each and a command element consisting of two people. Special Operations Divisions consist of teams of four dedicated to airborne landings, direct combat and reconnaissance. A platoon of combat swimmers specializes in the use of light diving equipment, small watercraft and performs reconnaissance missions in amphibious operations.

UOE detachment operator candidates are recruited from experienced Marine personnel who have served at least one year in a Marine operational detachment. Strict selection aims to weed out those who do not meet the required standards of the squad. Candidates are subjected to a series of tests to test their physical and mental abilities. During this selection, they are put under pressure to the limits of their physical capabilities.

Training for candidates for the UOE squad aims to evaluate how special forces perform tasks under fire, verbal abuse, intense physical activity, their endurance on long-distance marches with heavy backpacks, reaction to any events and introductions. The training conducted using fire weapons is aimed at identifying whether trainees are susceptible to panic or indecision at critical moments of the battle. During the most intensive phase of selection, candidates undergo three lengthy survival tests, during which the largest number of candidates are eliminated. If the selection is successfully completed, students move on to operational training.

First of all, they are sent to parachute school, where they receive basic knowledge of parachute operations, after which they return to the UOE detachment and make several parachute jumps on water, including in the open ocean.

Next is a study of basic commando skills. tactics of penetrating behind enemy lines by land and from the sea (swimming, on landing craft and from submarines), raids, ambushes, control of small boats and landing, hand-to-hand combat without weapons and using edged weapons, map reading and land navigation, water survival, combat medicine, landing from a helicopter, rapid descent and ascent on cables, etc. Those who successfully complete this phase acquire more specialized skills.

During this phase, parachuting from high altitudes with and without delayed parachute opening, jumping from low altitudes, combat underwater diving, sniper shooting are also carried out, and the use of explosives is practically practiced. Officers and NCOs, in addition to this training, also attend the Army Special Operations Command Course.

In addition to training and conducting exercises with other Marine Corps units, UOE personnel interact with counterterrorism and special forces units such as the National Police GEO, GAR and National Guard UEI, and is also subdivided into the Navy UEBC, Air Force EZAPAC and Army PRP. UOE Squad regularly conducts exercises with foreign units of special operations forces (US Navy SEAL, Portuguese DAE, Italian COMSUBIN, French Commandos Marine and Commando Hubert).

To support the activities of the UOE detachment, Spanish military surface ships, submarines and aircraft are widely involved. For the landing of reconnaissance and sabotage groups of the detachment, ultra-small submarines (Rosa, Tiburon), underwater vehicles (open type SLC series 2, Maialis) are used. and closed type "Humeda" series MEDAS), underwater tugs, inflatable boats of the "Zodiak" type and double kayaks of the "Klepper" type.

VHF and HF radio stations are used for communication, and “Magellan” and “Slugger” GP satellite navigation receivers are used for navigation! For scuba diving there is standard light diving equipment with wet and dry suits. The detachment uses laser target designators to target Spanish Navy aircraft.

The UOE unit's weapons include both domestic and foreign weapons, including:

9 mm Liania 82B pistols with laser aiming and silencer

5.56 mm rifle CETME mod. 1 (which will soon be replaced by the 5.56-mmNK G-36)

9 mm Patchett/Sterling MK.5 submachine guns with suppressor, upgraded for laser guidance

7.62 mm Mauser SP66 sniper rifles

Locally produced light 5.56 mm Ameli machine guns

7.62 mm American M-60 GPMG machine guns.

In addition, the unit carries a variety of locally produced Commando daggers.

Air Force Special Operations Forces - EZAPAC

Air Force Special Operations Forces are represented by a small but highly trained elite group known as the Parachute Engineering/Sapper Squadron (Eskadrilla de Zapadores Paracaidistas. Abbreviated as EZAPAC). The 300-man squadron is trained to perform the following tasks: selecting and designating airborne and airborne landing zones, conducting visual and electronic control from the ground of its aircraft, forward air control and guidance of fighter aircraft from the ground, collecting and transmitting intelligence data from the territory enemy, detection and destruction of enemy air navigation facilities, strengthening the EADA (Escadrilla de Apoya al Despliegue Aero) squadron, providing additional security for Air Force facilities, providing combat search for the rescue of crews shot down behind enemy lines, training Air Force and Navy pilots in survival and evasion skills.

Operating under the direct control of the Air Force Response Force, it is divided into several sections, each of which specializes in performing specific tasks. The unit is fully air transportable, all personnel are parachute trained, and many of its operators are capable of landing from low altitudes and from high altitudes with a delayed deployment of the parachute.

Was formed as 1st Airborne Air Force Battalion(Primera Bandera de Tropas de Aviacion del Ejercito del Aire) according to the type of German parachute battle groups that had great success during the Second World War. The battalion's units were trained at Four Winds and Culvert airfields, and the first parachute jump was made in September 1948 at Alcala de Henares. In 1952, the battalion was relocated to its base of operations at Alcala de Henares.

Beginning in 1957, the battalion participated in a number of conflicts and in 1958 arrived at its new base in Madrileniar. On September 9, 1965, the battalion was reorganized and received its current name Escadrilla de Zapadores Paracaidistas - EZAPAC, inheriting the tasks of the previous unit, its personnel, equipment and weapons. The squadron was subsequently reorganized and came under the operational control of Tactical Aviation Headquarters, and then relocated to Murcia. Between 1971 and 1974 the squadron was relocated to Cobut, but due to logistical problems it returned to Murcia.

In 1975, the squadron was used in the Canary Islands during the evacuation of the Spanish from the Spanish Sahara. In 1989, EZAPA operated in Namibia as part of the UN peacekeeping force in that country, providing security for a Spanish Air Force unit transporting humanitarian aid to refugees. Since August 1993, the squadron has supported NATO IFOR and SFOR operations in Bosnia. Along with other functions, the squadron commands in the Balkans ensured the operation of tactical aviation control posts.

Between September 1994 and April 1995, EZAPAC units were used during the bloody Rwandan civil war. The squadron personnel provided escort for cargo aircraft delivering humanitarian aid and food supplies.< местонахождения лагерей беженцев, разбросанных по окраинам страны.

The training of personnel new to the EZAPAC squadron lasts four years and begins at the parachute school. Students must learn a series of basic tasks such as survival, communications, first aid, stealth and others. In addition, they improve parachute training, learn advanced air guidance, air traffic control and other missions using guidance. After completing basic training, new operators are awarded the Spanish Special Operations Forces Green Beret and assigned to an operational command, where they continue specialized training to enhance their combat prowess.

The EZAPAC squadron regularly participates in exercises with similar NATO units, such as the US Special Tactics Teams, the French Commando de I Air and the Portuguese RESCOM CSAR.

Spanish paratrooper outfit

In Spain, there are several centrally subordinate anti-terror units: in the police and in the gendarmerie. Among them, experts highlight two, whose effectiveness has been repeatedly confirmed in practice. The first is the Special Intervention Unit of the Spanish Gendarmerie. The second is called GEO and is part of the National Police. GEO (Gruppos Especiale de Operaciones - special operations group) is one of the main tools of the Spanish authorities' fight against terrorism.

On March 11, 2004, the whole world learned about the terrible terrorist attack in Madrid, which killed more than 190 people. To the credit of the Spanish intelligence services, they quickly managed to identify the organizers and perpetrators. No one doubted that the seizure operation would be entrusted to the special unit of the national police GEO.

GEO (Gruppos Especiale de Operaciones - special operations group)

History of creation. The terrorist attack committed by Islamists was the first of its kind for Spain. But not the first in history. The idea of ​​​​creating an anti-terrorist unit arose after a series of terrorist attacks in Europe in the mid-70s of the last century. Compared to most European countries, Spain was in a more difficult position, since it had to confront not only international terrorism, but also domestic one. After all, for several decades now the special services of this country have been waging war against the Basque organization ETA.

The idea of ​​​​creating a special squad belongs to Captain Ernesto Romero and several other high-ranking police officers. In 1977, Romero submitted a report on the need to create such a unit. His opinion was listened to, and a special unit was created. Considering that by that time only France and Germany had experience in anti-terrorist operations in Europe, the Spaniards took units such as the German GSG9 and the French GIGN as models. In the same 1977, recruitment for the group began. To achieve this, policy documents were sent to all police departments outlining the requirements for candidates. All interested police officers were invited to take part in the competition to join the new unit.

There were only 400 first candidates. As a result of detailed tests developed by captains Ernesto Garcia-Quijada and Jean Senso Galan, about 70 people were selected from the total number of applicants. After some time, their number was reduced to 50. Testing took place in Guadallar, in barracks belonging to the armed police forces.

Particular attention was paid to the applicants' ability to handle weapons and their level of physical fitness. In addition, candidates had to have hand-to-hand combat skills, parachute training, be able to swim and know the basics of mine demolition.

The first course was completed on January 19, 1979, after which the subsequent stages of the training program immediately began. In the winter of 1979, demonstration exercises were held in the presence of the King of Spain. His Majesty was pleased with what he saw. In 1979, GEO began to be involved in operations to free hostages, storm hijacked aircraft, and suppress drug trafficking. From the very beginning, one of the main tasks of the unit was the fight against the Basque terrorist organization ETA. In addition to activities within the country, GEO units also performed tasks abroad. They provided security for Spanish diplomats and were sent as instructors to Guinea, Ecuador, Algeria, Mexico and Egypt.

Since then, about 400 officers have served in GEO, but still no more than 10% of the total number of candidates remain.

Selection. Selection for the squad occurs once a year. Only lyceum students who have served for several years are allowed to join him; these are mostly officers. This stage lasts several days. Candidates undergo traditional medical and psychological tests, then they are tested for physical readiness.

A former veteran of the unit said that experienced instructors carefully monitor how candidates behave under heavy loads, whether they maintain clarity of mind, and whether they do not succumb to provocations.

Each candidate is asked to lead a group. It is checked whether he has commanding skills and whether he can find a common language with other people. After all, candidates may have different ranks, but HI all have the ability to adapt normally to an extraordinary situation, for example, if a lieutenant begins to command a captain.

Those who pass the selection go to the training center, where they are divided into teams.

The basic course of study lasts seven months. The initial stage includes physical training, running, hand-to-hand combat, swimming, studying weapons and working with them, mine demolition. Further study becomes more complicated. In shooting training, flash shooting exercises are performed, both individually and in pairs or teams. Here is what a veteran of the unit, who served in the group for more than five years, says: “Nobody drives the recruits, no one puts pressure on them.

Training GEO fighters requires a serious, step-by-step approach. First, you need to make sure that he can handle the main weapon well - a pistol, a machine gun, that he can quickly move from a calm state to a combat one, and does not lose concentration. Only after this the tasks become more complicated and instead of static shooting, moving targets appear - one, two, three. A fighter also does not stand still, he must be able to hit the target after running, from a car, in bad or clear weather, because no one can know in what place we will have to act next time.”

At the next stages, work in teams begins. A gradual approach is also practiced here. It all starts with a basic study of an ordinary room. The future fighter must explain how he would act if he had to carry out an operation in this building. The instructor then explains how he would act.

Penetration training begins with basic things. For example, a beginner must master opening a door using the so-called “dry” method, that is, without the use of special equipment. Then the fighter’s movement indoors is practiced. After this, the same thing happens within the group. Then - training in methods of penetration using special means. Again gradually. First, the entrance from one side is practiced, for example, through doors. Next comes a group working, for example, on the window side. Having brought these actions to automaticity, cadets practice simultaneous penetration into doors, windows and from the roof, using explosives or shotguns, special ropes and other means of penetration. GEO practices the release of hostages on trains and water transport, in vehicles and on airplanes.

Many trainings take place in conditions close to real ones, that is, with “live” fire. As a veteran of the squad explained, this allows the fighters to quickly get used to the situation and learn to manage their emotions.

In addition to anti-terrorism training, fighters also undergo army training. For example, they study methods of action in the mountainous part of the country, which requires a high level of physical ability, the ability to move and shoot in the mountains. The terrain of Spain is such that many places can only be reached by helicopter or boat, which also requires special skills. To do this, all fighters undergo skiing, light diving, and airborne courses. Having completed the main stage, police officers are assigned to combat teams, where they continue training, receiving additional specialties.

In total, no more than 10% of the total number of applicants for admission to the group are selected. According to the French specialized website, out of 130 candidates, 7-9 people are selected. After completing training, each fighter signs a three-year contract. Most extend it.

Dislocation, structure and tasks. The group's base is located in Guazallar, which is approximately 50 kilometers from Madrid.

GEO is responsible for the following tasks:

• preparation and conduct of anti-terrorist operations;
• providing force cover for police operations;
• seizure of criminals and dangerous goods (drugs);
• protection of high-ranking officials.

The group is divided into two sections: operational and support.

The operational section includes operational groups. Three of them are task forces commanded by inspectors.

The task forces are in turn divided into three sub-teams, commanded by sub-inspectors. Sub-teams are also divided into two commando units. Each commando unit consists of five people: two snipers, a demolitionist, a diver and a special systems expert.

The next task force is a special task force. O consists of ten people. This unit is responsible for developing special courses for GEO candidates, conducting tests and training with them, and conducting instructor sessions with foreign partners. In addition, this group organizes and conducts constant training with personnel of operational action groups.

Another operational group is the experimental and technical operational group. It also consists of ten people and is responsible for studying and testing new materials, developing new technology and operational procedures, and preparing reports to management on possible objectives of operations. In addition, the group studies the experience of foreign colleagues, analyzes the reasons for unsuccessful actions and, on this basis, prepares reports and recommendations.

The personnel of the support section are responsible for the serviceability of weapons and vehicles, communications, medical services, security issues, warehouses and headquarters. The group is also involved in logistics supplies, and provides administrative and technical support.

Operations. The detachment carried out several serious operations, including the release of hostages in banks (1981) and apartments, and participated in the neutralization of prisoners who rebelled in one of the prisons. In 1981, GEO passed a serious test during the storming of the Central Bank in Barcelona, ​​captured by 24 far-right groups. Despite the fact that heavily armed terrorists held 200 hostages, only one person died during the operation. It was GEO fighters who took part in the detention of the main suspects in organizing the March terrorist attacks.

But the main operations, of course, are related to the capture of ET militants

Unfortunately, there are no details of these operations, which is understandable, so all that remains is to list their dates and places of action. 1982 - neutralization of the armed element of the ETA, which planned and carried out a number of terrorist attacks. GEO fighters quickly prepared and carried out the arrest, achieving the main goal - capturing the militants alive.

In 1987 GEO carried out a number of operations together with French special forces, in which the top ETA was arrested. Similar operations took place in 1992 and 1995. In 2004, the group carried out a complex joint operation with the French, as a result of which the leaders of ETA militant cells were arrested and a huge amount of weapons and ammunition was captured.

Of course, ETA are not Islamic suicidal fanatics, but almost all the operations entrusted to the unit involve the capture of well-armed and experienced terrorists who are not easily caught by surprise. Surprise is one of the main components of success in such captures. As a result of studying the details of some operations, which we cannot talk about in the open press, we can conclude that all of them were planned and carried out at the highest professional level.

It was only in March 2004 that the group suffered its first loss.

Having surrounded the house where the terrorists who organized the “Madrid terrorist attack” were holed up, the fighters then entered it, but at that time an explosion occurred. A soldier was killed and 11 people were wounded. Later, veterans of the detachment criticized the leaders of the operation. In their opinion, if GEO had been allowed to work immediately, and not ordered to surround the house and begin negotiations with the terrorists about surrender, the death of the fighter could have been avoided.

Cooperation. Like all European special forces, GEO has established serious cooperation with colleagues from Germany, Italy, France, and England. The British SAS made a significant contribution to the development of GEO after its formation was completed.

This is what a GEO veteran says about the need for international cooperation: “We have the opportunity to improve our skills, take something new from our colleagues, because the same French GIGN or RAID have extensive experience and carry out dozens of operations every year.” But the squad veteran did not say that GEO conducts not only joint training, but also operations. With the same GIGN or RAID. In addition, close cooperation has been established with other special forces of Spain itself - UZARPAC, UAE. This allows us to significantly enrich the training of fighters and increase their versatility.

In turn, GEO provides assistance to anti-terrorism units in countries such as Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, Guinea, Algeria and Egypt.

Weapons and equipment. GEO fighters wear special black overalls with knee and elbow pads. Their equipment includes devices for carrying ammunition, special helmets with a protective mask.

GEO is armed with SIG Sauer P226 pistols, N&K MP5 submachine guns (SD5, A4) with silent and flameless firing devices, target designators and illumination, BHHTOBKI SSG-2000, SSG-3000, H&K PSG-1 sniper guns, Mossber and Remington shotguns, with night vision drills, stun guns, gas grenades, plastic explosives. Each fighter is equipped with a Motorola MX-2000 radio.

The group has various vehicles in its fleet: minivans, motorcycles, buses, Zodiac inflatable boats and even a helicopter.

GAR (Grupos Antiterroristas Rurales)

GAR (Grupos Antiterroristas Rurales)- The Grupos Antiterroristas Rurale (GAR) are units of the Civil Guard and operate exclusively in the north of the country against Basque separatists.

UEI (Unidad Especial de Intervencion) is also a unit of the Civil Guard, its tasks are the release of hostages in the event of capture

Military UEI is not as well known as civilian GEO, which is more similar to police SWAT units. The UEI was also created in 1978, when there was a sharp increase in the escalation of terrorism in Spain. The training of this detachment is distinguished by multifaceted requirements for cadets. These are the tactics of conducting combat operations as part of a unit, methods of waging guerrilla warfare, explosives, fire training, mountaineering, scuba diving, physical training - from cross-country to various types of martial arts.

The six-month training ends with the fact that, in accordance with his inclinations, each graduate becomes a narrow specialist in one of the many disciplines, but, in addition, can do work, replacing any other employee of the detachment;

The cadets go through a training cycle that would be the envy of students of theater universities and screenwriting departments. Together with the teacher, future special forces soldiers conduct role-playing exercises in various scenarios for the development of events in a combat situation. Among the future members of the detachment, a special group is being prepared that has the ability to conduct lengthy and complicated negotiations with terrorists.

In the future, this group improves their abilities with psychologists and psychiatrists, learning to influence the consciousness and psyche of various categories of criminals: terrorists, criminals, drug addicts. In the event of an unsuccessful outcome of the negotiations, these same employees are obliged to create the most favorable conditions for a surprise assault and interact with the capture group during the assault.

The physical training of Spanish special forces personnel is based on mastery of oriental martial arts. Moreover, during training, blows are delivered at full force, and therefore, although special protective equipment is used, cases of injuries are not uncommon. All employees of the unit have a “black belt” in karate.

The following details are known about the weapons and technical equipment of the special intervention unit. All employees have standard Mauser-Eb-Sp rifles with optical sights, Cetmes 5.65 mm light alloy revolvers, American-made shotguns with high destructive power, as well as firearms adopted by the Civil Guard.

The Special Intervention Unit was created to conduct operations to localize and suppress terrorist attacks in urban areas. Moreover, the main coverage area is Madrid.

In February 1965, an airborne brigade known as Brigada Paracaidista (BRIPAC) was created.

This brigade has its own special forces group called the Unidad de Patrulias de Reconocimientoen Profundidad (UPRP). Being directly subordinate to the control company, these special forces are intended primarily to conduct in-depth reconnaissance and collect the necessary data in the interests of the brigade.

If necessary, military personnel of this unit can operate behind enemy lines. To achieve success, special forces are divided into several detachments or teams called PRP (Patrulias de Reconocimiento en Profundidad), the type of which can vary depending on the tasks performed (engineering, communications, artillery, etc.) A standard special forces group consists of of five military personnel who are professional military personnel who have served for at least five years in tactical-level units in brigades.

The main purpose of special purpose groups (UPRP) is to conduct in-depth reconnaissance and collect the necessary information. Each standard five-man squad can simultaneously deploy two two-man observation posts on the ground. In this case, the radio stations are located in the rear of both posts, at a safe distance, but within visibility.

Special forces combat groups operate exclusively as tactical units, and their duration of operations rarely exceeds 7-10 days. The area of ​​operation is approximately 150-200 km, which corresponds to the brigade's area of ​​responsibility. The PRP's operational area is noticeably reduced due to the lack of helicopters designed to conduct special operations deep in enemy defenses.

In addition to conducting reconnaissance in the interests of the brigade, soldiers of special forces groups are also capable of conducting two types of operations: direct action against important targets and the evacuation of civilians during peacekeeping operations. These are the main areas of activity of the special forces of the Spanish army. It should be noted that the presence of special forces groups allows the brigade to constantly have in readiness a unit consisting of high-level professionals who can perform a wide range of tasks without the involvement of additional ground forces.

See also on Spetsnaz.org:

Strange as it may seem, we still know almost nothing about the life of foreign legions in different countries. French is better known than others. We know very little about foreign legions such as the English, Dutch, and Spanish. Therefore, let's talk today about the Spanish Legion. Although it is significantly smaller in size than the French one, this unit cannot in any way be called a smaller copy of it. If the French made their mark in a variety of countries - from Mexico to Indochina, then the Spaniards do not have such a rich military biography. The fact is that Spain had already lost most of its colonies by the beginning of the 19th century and needed not so much to acquire new possessions, as France had at that time, but to retain the remnants of its former power under its rule. For this reason, the number of the French Foreign Legion increased more and more, and the Spanish one gradually decreased.

For Spain in the 19th century, an important task was to retain its possessions in Morocco, allowing it to control the exit from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic. For a long time, the power of both the Spaniards and the French in Morocco was nominal and extended only to large cities and the coastal strip. Residents of the interior - Arabs and Berbers - refused to submit to the conquerors

The war with them in the mountains was very difficult and bloody. Therefore, the main burden of the fight against the Moroccans was borne by the foreign legions of France and Spain, used by their masters as cannon fodder and thrown into the most disastrous areas. A special test for both the French and Spanish legions was the war against the Moroccan leader Abd-El-Kerim in 1921 - 1926. However, this is a topic for a separate article.

We will talk about the most significant war in which the Spanish Legion had to take part - the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Until now, the Russians knew that thousands of Soviet soldiers and officers took part in this war on the side of the Republicans against the supporters of General Franco. Few people know that many dozens of our compatriots fought on the other side of the barricades, under the banners of national Spain and the tricolor Russian flag, incl. and in the ranks of the Spanish Foreign Legion.

Legion - the stronghold of General Franco

Before the events of 1936 - the pro-communist government came to power in Spain and the uprising against it on July 18, 1936 of the army, incl. and the Spanish Legion, there were few Russians living in this country compared to other European territories. True, it is known that even before the civil war in this country, at least four of our compatriots served in the Spanish Legion since 1932. They left Russia after the events of 1917. They took part in the Spanish Legion in the suppression of the October pro-communist uprising of 1934 in Asturias, where Moscow, through the hands of the Communist International (Comintern) - an international organization created to overthrow capitalist governments around the globe, was already trying to organize a revolution to spread it to other countries. This earned the Spanish Foreign Legion the reputation of one of Franco's most hated units among the Communists. The failure, which cost many lives of legionnaires and even more of the rebel workers, did not stop the ideologists of communism from the USSR. In 1936 they managed to bring their government to power. However, an attempt to further expand the revolution encountered resistance from the Spanish army. Perhaps the most serious bulwark of General Franco against the leftists who took power in Madrid was the Spanish Foreign Legion, whose soldiers and officers were among the first to rise up to fight against the communists.

The events in Spain were perceived by Russian emigrants as a continuation of the civil war and the fight against communism, which had recently been waged in the vastness of their homeland. Franco was called the Spanish Kornilov in the White Guard press of that time, and the Francoists were called the White Guards and Kornilovites. Indeed, much of what happened in Spain was painfully reminiscent of the civil war in Russia: the destruction of churches, the red terror of state security against the intelligentsia, the wealthy sections of the population, officers, the bloody atrocities of communists and anarchists, the socialization of women, the arrests and executions of opponents of the Republicans, the same international rabble, gathered for the civil war to rob, rape, kill under the banner of the fight against the fascists. Franco's slogans also strongly resembled the ideology of the white generals: “For a united and indivisible country,” an uncompromising struggle against the communists, a free choice by the population of the future structure of the state. Tens and hundreds of Russian volunteers were sent to help General Franco. These were mainly White Guards living in France, associated with the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS). However, the EMRO was unable to provide large-scale assistance to General Franco. The semi-socialist government of France, having learned about the help of Russian White Guards to the anti-communist forces of Spain, closed the border to them and did not allow them to help the Francoists. However, this ban did not apply to military cargo, including tanks and airplanes, as well as to the Red Comintern volunteers, who crossed the border in thousands and joined the Red International Brigades. At first, Franco's position was very difficult: the uprising he launched was only partially successful, because... did not achieve its main goal - the rapid overthrow of the pro-communist government. In addition, the capital of Spain remained in the hands of the left. Most countries of the world, including the United States, hypocritically speaking out about non-interference in Spanish affairs, secretly helped the communists and their allies.

During the first six months of the struggle, almost no one seriously helped Franco’s movement. Germany and Italy recognized Franco's government with great hesitation only in November 1936, since Hitler and Mussolini did not consider it related to them “in spirit.” Practical assistance to him began to be provided only from the end of that year. This only happened when they realized that Franco was better than the communists.

At this time, the attitude towards Russians in Spain was ambiguous. However, almost everyone associated the word “Russian” with the word “communist.” It got to the point that there were often cases when the Francoists sent back Russian volunteers who had traveled a long way and spent considerable sums of money on the journey, suspecting them of being communist agents. In general, even among the Spanish intelligentsia, little was known about Russia and the Russians, and the majority of the population believed that there “the Tsar and Tsarina named Rasputin kicked out the former Tsar Trotsky, who killed Lenin.”

By the beginning of the Civil War, the Spanish Foreign Legion was divided into banderas (battalions). Bandera consisted of campaigns (companies) - three rifle (rifle) and one machine gun. The machine gun company had 12 heavy machine guns of 7.65 mm caliber. In addition, each rifle company had 6 light machine guns of 6.5 mm caliber. According to the testimony of the English captain Kempt, thirty machine guns were not enough for the Bandera, because machine guns often malfunctioned.

In dangerous directions

During 1936, the Spanish Foreign Legion, located in the most dangerous directions, suffered heavy losses in continuous battles. Many of the Russian volunteers were transferred here from other Franco units to replenish the legion. However, there were not enough foreigners. A solution was found in recruiting a legion of Spanish volunteers - the Falangists (extreme right-wing party) and the Carlists - supporters of the monarchy. The detachments of these volunteers did not have heavy weapons and therefore were assigned as auxiliary forces to the legion, which by that time had technical units, incl. armored vehicles and heavy artillery. Subsequently, due to the lack of foreigners, Spaniards, both mobilized of several ages and volunteers, began to actively enroll as legionnaires. According to legionnaire Shinkarenko, “many Spaniards prefer to volunteer in parts of the foreign legion, because they have a much more advanced organization.” Unlike France, where serving in a foreign legion was considered a disgrace, since for many years those who had the gallows replaced by the army were sent there to serve, in Spain public opinion had a different attitude towards the legion: many of the prominent public and political figures passed through this unit, including h. and the governor of the city of Alcazar, famous for his heroic defense against the Republicans, as well as General Franco himself. For this reason, already at the beginning of 1937, foreigners of the Spanish Legion made up only a quarter of the total number of its personnel. It should be noted that subsequently the replenishment of the Spanish Foreign Legion by Spaniards became a tradition and today, to the chagrin of many who want to become mercenaries, the admission of foreigners to this unit has practically ceased.

"Wine doesn't count, it takes the place of water"

When conducting combat operations, Franco took into account the experience of the civil war in Russia. He immediately paid special attention to the logistical support of his troops, rightly believing that the poor organization of the rear by the White Guard generals was one of the main reasons for their defeat. Russian legionnaires were surprised at how wonderfully the Francoists organized their rear. Evidence from one of them: “Each captured piece of land is cleared, put in order, supplies are organized, prisoners correct the road, and only then we again capture and recapture a new piece of land from the Reds. Thanks to this, we always have good food and a sufficient amount of equipment, and where "We need tankers with water. Everything is organized really wonderfully." As a result, according to reviews of Russian volunteers, the Spanish Foreign Legion was supplied with everything it needed in the best possible way. In this he differed favorably from the French one. In the French Legion, supplies were so poor and salaries so small that, judging by the letters of legionnaires and their friends, in Tunisia, for example, one could see first-year legionnaires picking up abandoned cigarette butts on the streets. In Spain, despite wartime conditions, legionnaires received food in abundance. Thus, kabo (sergeant) Ali Gursky, a former Russian officer, writes: “I receive a soldier’s ration for sure and I have everything that is necessary. The food here is so good that the restaurants, of course, average, and in some cases, can envy us and all of you who remain in a peaceful environment. Today lunch is noodle soup seasoned with garlic, tomatoes, onions; beans with pieces of meat and cauliflower, with boiled potatoes; cuttlefish fried in its juice, a piece of veal with fried potatoes, a handful of dates (yesterday - walnuts), a glass of wine. And this - in the trenches, at the front, on the top of a mountain, miles away from the nearest city. And even big white bread. I never eat everything, and in the evening I often don’t have dinner, I only drink coffee And here's what we got for Christmas: an appetizer - on a toothpick - 1 olive, an anchovy, a piece of lobster, a piece of pickled cucumber, a piece of something else tasty and a piece of bread; a glass of vermouth, pilaf of shells, shrimp and cuttlefish with tomato sauce; an omelette with baked peppers, a piece of smoked ham, riesling, fillet with fried potatoes, oranges and apples, cookies, steak; coffee, Havana cigar; red wine doesn’t count, it’s instead of water.” A characteristic feature of the Spanish Foreign Legion was that soldier and officer rations were no different. In general, there was no concept of an officer’s ration; in the Spanish Legion they only knew the concept of a soldier’s or legionnaire’s ration. According to the general opinion of the legionnaires, the food here was better at that time than in any other army in the world.

Madrina - Legionnaire's military godmother

Moreover, a feature of the Spanish Foreign Legion was that each legionnaire had his own madrina - i.e. military godmother. In reality, almost none of the legionnaires knew their madrina. Often the military authorities themselves advertised in the newspaper that such and such a defender of the homeland from the legion did not have his own madrina, and asked girls and women to become one, or the representatives of the fair half of humanity themselves, who wanted to help the legionnaires, gave their addresses to the newspapers. Sometimes madrinas were appointed by political parties at the request of the legionnaires themselves. Madrinas, as usual, sent everything that their charges needed. However, many Russians simply corresponded with their madrinas, lacking female attention, not accepting gifts from them for the reason that they had everything they needed.

The only thing that Russian legionnaires suffered from in Spain was due to poor awareness of what was happening in their homeland and among the white emigration. This problem was soon partly solved - some White Guard newspapers and magazines began to send copies of their publications to Russian legionnaires at the front.

It is worth mentioning the uniform of the Spanish Foreign Legion, the distinctive feature of which at that time was the uniform green shirt. According to one Russian legionnaire, “everyone - from generals to ordinary privates - now wears these green shirts, the sleeves are worn rolled up above the elbow. It’s very hot. Many of us walk around in pants cut off at the knees, like cowards.” In the Spanish Foreign Legion they wore and special shoulder straps, a characteristic feature of this unit: an emblem patch in the form of a connected halberd, musket and crossbow. This emblem was taken by the leadership of the legion to emphasize its continuity from the units created from Europeans from different countries under the famous Duke of Alba, when Spanish troops went on campaigns throughout almost all of Western Europe. In the summer, legionnaires wear scarlet berets - slaughterhouses; in cold weather - a special gorro cap, scarlet or khaki. Legionnaires did not wear helmets as a matter of principle. Firstly, tradition did not allow, and secondly, this was not done because of the heat, thirdly, because of a kind of competition with the Moors, who wore only fabric turbans, and because of the desire to show off in front of each other. According to Russian legionnaires, each bandera of the Spanish Legion had its own priest. “The priests here wear an officer’s uniform - the same khaki and the same gorro cap on their heads. And a cross.”

Particular attention, according to letters from Russian legionnaires, in the Spanish Legion was paid to “giving honor. And when without gorro, then in a new way, hand up.”

How to get another rank?

According to the white general Shinkarenko, who arrived in Spain as an ordinary volunteer to fight against the communists and became a legionnaire, all the Russians who by that time were in the Spanish Foreign Legion enjoyed great sympathy from the legionnaires, both privates and officers. A characteristic feature of the Spanish army and the Spanish Foreign Legion was the extreme delay in the process of promotion to the next rank. Thus, a Russian legionnaire described: “a good friend of mine, who began his officer service in the legion under the command of Franco, told me that before receiving the captain’s braid, he spent 9 years as a lieutenant. This is in the order of things. There is no accelerated production in the Spanish army.” However, unlike the French Legion, the Russians “grew” here very quickly. Thus, Shinkarenko in his letters says that those four Russians who were serving in the Legion at the start of the Spanish Civil War, rose to junior officer ranks during the 5 years of their service. An indicator of the fighting qualities of Russian legionnaires is that many of them earned non-commissioned officer and even officer ranks after a year and a half of participation in the Spanish Civil War. For military merits, General Franco himself personally promoted Shinkarenko to an officer in the Spanish army. According to Shinkarenko, one of the Russian officers, a former cavalryman, not only became the commander of Bandera, but also, as a sign of the highest gratitude from the Francoist command, was seconded to occupy a high post in the Francoist Phalanx party.

According to the letters of the Russian legionnaire Shinkarenko, by the beginning of 1937 the Spanish Legion had established itself as one of the best units of the Francoists: “combatants speak very highly of the Bandera of the Spanish Foreign Legion, which has a good command staff. The officers are all Spaniards.”

The armor is weak. And the tank has already stalled

The main competitors of the legionnaires in “winning military glory” were the Moroccans. This was the paradox: the communists for many years, and not without success, kindled the flame of the anti-colonial struggle in Morocco, pitting the Moroccans against the Spaniards and the French. In the 1920s, the war in Morocco was almost constant. It seemed that a little more - and the agents of the Comintern would win here. However, this did not happen. The Spanish Foreign Legion successfully completed the tasks assigned to it, and after fierce fighting the Moroccans were defeated. In 1936, when the Spaniards were busy with the civil war, it seemed that the most favorable situation had been created for the Moroccans to attack the parts of the legion that were in Morocco and the Francoists, who defended the idea of ​​​​the indivisibility of Spanish possessions. The calculations of the communists did not come true: the Moroccans chose to fight with weapons in their hands in collaboration with their former sworn enemies, the legionnaires, against the communists, whose actions in Spain against religion they regarded as a manifestation of Satanism.

In battle, both legionnaires and Moroccan Moors had their advantages. And if, according to the reviews of Russian volunteers, the legionnaires had no equal in attack, then they were often inferior in stamina to the Moors in defense. In addition, at that time, a special competition between the Moors and legionnaires took place when fighting Republican tanks. The fact is that at first, Republican tanks were a real scourge for the Francoists: they had almost no tanks of their own, and the Italian and German vehicles that arrived in 1937, often armed only with machine guns and penetrable by a rifle bullet, could not compete with the Soviet tanks. The anti-tank weapons of the Francoists were also very weak: anti-tank rifles turned out to be ineffective, and anti-tank artillery was small in number and had an insufficient firing range. For a long time, the Francoists were unable to achieve air superiority, and therefore it was impossible to effectively fight enemy tanks with the help of aviation. Under these conditions, the legionnaires developed their own tactics: machine-gun and rifle fire cut off enemy infantry from armored vehicles, and self-made bottles of gasoline with a lit wick were thrown at approaching tanks. Soviet equipment of that time had so many flammable materials that often it was enough to be hit by one such bottle with a Molotov cocktail for the formidable armored vehicle to turn into a pile of charred scrap metal. Often the fight against tanks was made easier by the fact that they simply got stuck in the trenches and became easy prey: a stalled tank was surrounded on all sides, demanding the surrender of the crew, threatening otherwise to burn it along with the crew. If the legionnaires accounted for more destroyed enemy tanks, then the Moors accounted for a larger percentage of captured armored vehicles. The fact is that the Soviet tanks of that time BT and T-26, according to the testimony of Russian legionnaires, suffered from defects, due to which it happened that they stalled at the most inopportune moment and became easy prey for the Francoists. According to legionnaire Shinkarenko, by March 1937, legionnaires and Moors had captured 42 Soviet tanks. This allowed the Francoists to replenish their own fleet. Soon, the legionnaires began to receive tank sections of 8 tanks to support their attacks - 6 German (machine gun) and 2 captured cannon and machine gun (Soviet).

Legion and "international brigades". Who will win?

However, the most serious opponent of the legionnaires was not the tanks and aviation of the Republicans, but the international brigades of communist volunteers from different countries, among which there were especially many citizens of the USSR, Latin American states and France. In terms of their stamina and tenacity, the international brigades and the Spanish Legion competed with each other. It could be said with a high degree of confidence that in those areas where legionnaires and Moors were deployed, the Republicans would deploy international brigades. The battles between the international brigades and the legion cost both sides great casualties, and this struggle was fought with bitterness and with varying success. The legionnaires achieved great success on July 24, 1937 in the battle near Madrid, where 2 battalions of Lister’s international brigade were almost completely mowed down by machine-gun fire.

In turn, the communists also had successes. Geographically, many Russians in 1937 were on the Northern, Biscay front in the Dona Maria de Molina unit. Having failed to quickly capture the capital, Franco decided to gradually eliminate pockets of Republican resistance and cut off the part of Spain they occupied from the French border in order to stop their external supply and make it difficult to deliver military supplies to them. In this regard, at the end of the summer of 1937, Franco began an operation to liquidate the Northern Front, in which Russian volunteers and the foreign legion took an active part. Squeezed into a relatively small area in northern Spain, the Republicans of the Biscay Front not only stubbornly defended themselves, but also launched fierce counterattacks. During one of them at the end of August 1937, they defeated Franco's troops, breaking through the front line. During this battle, in the area of ​​​​the village of Kintai, one of the Franco companies was almost completely destroyed. Its remnants, led by officers of the Spanish service who had risen from private to lieutenant - former White Army general Fok and artillery officer of the famous Markov division Polukhin, took refuge in a local church, fighting off with rifles, pistols and a captured Maxim for two weeks from the pressing communists. They tried to rescue them unsuccessfully, although help was close. Every day, Franco pilots dropped pennants onto the roof of the church, saying that help was nearby and they needed to hold out a little longer. However, it was not possible to save them: according to one source, the communists, annoyed by the unsuccessful attacks on the church, smashed its walls with shells. At the same time, all the defenders were buried under its ruins, with the exception of one of these Russian officers, who, being wounded and not wanting to surrender to the enemy, shot himself. According to other sources, during the attack of the internationalists, when the ammunition of the defenders in the church was running out, and only a few wounded and exhausted people from continuous battles remained alive, Fock somehow called fire from the Francoist artillery “on himself”, under which both died defenders and attackers. One way or another, the Russian volunteers fought to the end. This was caused, firstly, by their irreconcilable attitude towards the communists and their reluctance to fall into the hands of their opponents alive. They knew the sad example of the Russian volunteer A. Kutsenko, who was captured by the Republicans: he was brutally tortured, castrated and his head crushed with a stone.

The story of General Fok is interesting because he unsuccessfully tried several times to volunteer for Franco’s army. His services were refused due to the general’s venerable age, 57 years old, but then the Spaniards accepted him into their ranks. It should be noted that generals Fok and Shinkarenko, having good earnings before the start of the war, gave up everything and joined the Spanish army as privates in order to risk their lives every second to fight the enemies. The death of Polukhin, a former staff captain who survived a memorable battle of the Russian Civil War, when a significant part of Markov’s division was cut down by Budennovists, and who died in battle with the communists on distant Spanish soil, was mourned by many white emigrants. Soon after this tragedy, Kintai was liberated by the Francoists. All the defenders of the church who died in the battle were found under the ruins, but Polukhin and Fok could not be identified, their bodies were so mutilated. All those who fell in that battle were buried in two mass graves, separately - officers and soldiers, but not separated by nation.

The Spanish Civil War attracted everyone's attention at the time. General Nissel, an outstanding French strategist who distinguished himself in the First World War, commenting on these battles, highly appreciated the actions of the Spanish Foreign Legion. According to him, “the initial practical superiority of the nationalists (Francoists), which allowed them to liberate Toledo and Oviedo, to approach the gates of Madrid, interrupting the communications of their opponents with French territory in Vizcaya, is due to the fact that they had solidly equipped and trained units of the Spanish on their side legion, which at first were opposed by a militia of volunteers without any military training. Their superiority over the Red militia, poorly disciplined and even less trained, is beyond any doubt - during the first weeks of operations the same superiority was over the regular units, on the side of the Reds, but deprived of their officers"

A common feature of the foreign legions of France and Spain was very strict discipline. According to the Russian legionnaire, this did not bother the Spaniards who served in it: “Spanish democracy is one of the deeply rooted national properties and therefore it not only finds its natural reflection in the army, but very easily gets along with the ferocious discipline of the legion.”

“The attitude towards me in Bandera is exceptional”

In addition to Russians and Spaniards, there were many representatives of other nationalities in the Spanish Legion: Germans, Italians, Belgians, French, English, etc. The main competitors of the Russians in terms of military glory were the French, whose representatives were regularly noted among the sergeants of the Spanish Legion, and the British, some of whom reached officer ranks. For example, in England, the fact that Captain Kempt participated in the Spanish Legion for two years in the civil war, returning home in 1938, became very famous. The attitude of not only the Spaniards, but also representatives of other nations towards the Russians was most remarkable. Ali Gursky testifies to this: “the attitude towards me in Bandera is exceptional, on the part of both officers and soldiers. There are no Russians around, and I speak only Spanish (and with the Bandarin-flagbearer - German), thanks to which I do successes in the language. When I was in the village, one legionnaire threw himself on my neck: “Friend, brother, let’s go drink wine!” I asked him: “Why am I your brother?” - “So you are Russian, and I am Italian , both are in the legion, which means they are now brothers!" I had to agree. "But since... If you're a good Russian, then pay for the wine." He drank and he drank, and in the evening I took it to his company. A very nice man!"

According to the letter of one Russian legionnaire, “we, Russians, have proven ourselves here in such a way that we, as a fighting element, are valued by everyone, from the head of the legion, General Yague, to a simple legionnaire. This explains the fact that we are not kept in the same Bandera. But almost all Russians in Bandera are appointed as commanders in the "lass" - personal orderlies. During very serious battles, the commanders order the orderlies to stay with them and do not send them anywhere. The captain knows that the Russian orderly will not abandon him to the end even in the event of injury or death will always bring you out of the fire." The example of the feat of the Russian legionnaire Kempelsky once again proved this. Kempelsky, having been appointed as an orderly under the commander, was in the battalion of the foreign legion during the offensive. The Reds opened strong rifle and machine-gun fire on the legionnaires. Here and there the wounded and dead fell. At this time, Kempelsky saw that his commander was wounded, and the company of legionnaires, unable to withstand the destructive fire, retreated and lay down. The wounded commander remained lying in neutral. Kempelsky, grabbing a light machine gun, ran far forward and shouted: “Legionnaires! Bring out your captain, I’ll cover you!” - he began to pour on the Republicans. They concentrated all the fire on him. After a few minutes of battle, he fell, wounded, but got up again and continued to shoot, covering the retreating legionnaires with the wounded commander, until he fell, riddled with enemy bullets, dead. Russian legionnaires wrote that the captain who owed his life to Kempelsky recovered, “and when a Russian is now introduced to him, he takes off his cap, comes up, shakes hands, saying: “Thank you for Kempelsky, who sacrificed himself to save his captain. Every Russian is a native member of my family!"

Near Madrid

And here are pictures of the battles of the Spanish Legion in 1936 - 1937 near Madrid. After individual units of the legionnaires took part in the capture of the suburb of the Spanish capital - the University City, they had the most difficult task of holding it. Here, for six and a half months, the legionnaires fought stubborn street battles, during which the Spanish Legion lost 650 people. By the standards of the war at that time, as Russian legionnaires testify, “this was considered small.” Here, in the piles of ruins, the legionnaires fought desperately against enemy tanks, machine guns and mortars. The enemy trenches were located only 30 steps from each other, so the enemies often threw gifts to each other in the form of hand grenades. According to the testimony of a Russian legionnaire, the tenacity of the battles near Madrid was evidenced by the fact that during the six and a half months that the Spanish Legion was there, even the existing remains of buildings turned into a heap of rubble. Here is a brief typical diary entry about the battles in this area of ​​a Russian legionnaire: “They shoot little. And they shoot more. This is the Madrid Front.”

The fact that the Spanish Foreign Legion has repeatedly won victories over the best communist units of the Republicans - international brigades and Soviet volunteers - speaks volumes. And most importantly - about the serious fighting qualities of this unit. In the words of Russian volunteers, “perhaps among all the current troops - all that exist in today’s world, the Spanish Legion is the most glorious and most famous army.”

The way to relax is like sardines in a box

And here is the description of the officers of the Spanish Legion, given to them by a Russian legionnaire: “9th Bandera. It is commanded by Major Jose Peñarredondo. Young, although older than our colonels were. And he very elegantly wears a wound on his face - an ugly scar above the corner of his mouth , next to the shaved mustache. The old African wound. Others are very nice officers. And the priest in our bandera is a very young Jesuit who came as a volunteer from Belgium"

And here are pictures of the battles on the Aragonese front. An interesting entry about the conditions of fighting in the Spanish mountains in winter conditions: “I haven’t washed for about 20 days. It’s very cold. The mountains are covered in snow. This is the coldest place in Spain. Previously, we imagined Spain as a burning sun, palm trees, but I assure you that it is not inferior to the cold of the north of Russia. I remember how in June (1937) during the Amborasin offensive we were shivering at night on the mountains from the cold! When I was wounded near Teruel, we were advancing at 15 degrees below zero! Snow was knee-deep! In the hospital Russian volunteer Nikolai Bibikov was lying with frostbitten feet for Biy. Our bandarin (flag bearer) was also lying there. They cut off his foot in front of me, and when I left, they had to cut off the other one as well. He froze them during the attack. We were dressed warmly, but naturally, when If you spend day and night in the air, your toes and hands get cold, no matter how you wrap them up. At the front you have to sleep on damp ground. The way legionnaires rest - like sardines in a box, for warmth - I avoid. I don’t want to feed strangers with myself too "pets", enough of your own. The captain allowed me to settle separately from the campaign and as I wanted, freeing me from roll call in the mornings and evenings."

Battle of Cuesta de la Reina

Among the many battles won by the Spanish Legion, special mention should be made of the battle of Cuesta de la Reina on October 13, 1937. Lieutenant Shinkarenko describes it as follows: “the Moors went Then - the legion: our bandera We turn around briefly and each company - not in chains, but in small packs Legionnaires - in short winter jackets, with the collars unbuttoned and the wide collars of green shirts hanging out, the same shirts with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows. Local manner. Arms bronze-tanned. Lots of tattoos. They go into battle and sing.

Legion song... About the readiness to die for free Spain, about the valor of the legion. Going on the attack with it is brilliant. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies went. Everything is equal. All bullets, bullets, bullets. And the field is such that there is nothing that could even a little delay at least one striking bullet, rifle and machine gun. And also artillery - ours and theirs, of all calibers, from three to six and a half inches (75 - 155 mm). All grenades and shrapnel. Stretchers with the wounded. From everywhere. More from us, from Bandera. Fire, fire and fire. The Moors attacked the enemy lightly and rescued us. Our Bandera attacked the very thick of the enemy, right into the fire. She attacked bloodily, leaving 6 officers and 150 legionnaires on the battlefield. This is for a small battalion. But our Bandera took Casa Colorado from the Reds.

In this battle, I did not see a single legionnaire who would go back healthy or under any pretext. And the wounded - almost not a single groan. And the officers! The commander of one of our banderas, Lieutenant Goldin, was seriously wounded in the leg and did not allow himself to be taken out and continued to command. And he was killed. Another lieutenant is Viyolba. He has his own, special misfortune: he has a father, a general, who serves as a Red, an important person among them. Villolba was wounded in both legs by two or three bullets. They bandaged it in front of me. And when the orderlies raised the stretcher to carry it to the rear, Viyolba shouted loudly so that everyone could hear: “Long live the legion!”

Padre Val, our priest is a Jesuit. And now he is in battle, everywhere. In all companies, in the fire itself, at the point of death And, in addition, he helps as a brother of mercy, as an orderly

Fight, fight and fight. The Reds have tanks, 3 or 4 Soviet vehicles. They are cautious, fearful. Are they afraid of bottles of gasoline, or what?..

Suddenly news was received that everyone had accepted that the “comrades” (a mocking name for the Reds from the time of the Russian Civil War by the White Guards) had been driven back, Cuesta de la Reina had been rescued. The comrades who were crushed today are party communists from the 14th International Brigade, they were beaten along with their tanks."

Teruel operation

Next, Ali Gursky writes about the participation of the Spanish Foreign Legion in the famous Teruel operation, the outcome of which largely determined the further development of the war in Spain. The Foreign Legion marched to Teruel to attack the Red International Brigade. The legionnaires went into this battle wearing all their orders and badges. On January 4, 1938, they attacked the Republicans, pushing them back 5-6 kilometers in battle. “The Reds were retreating, but they snapped back, but we almost ran forward, not allowing them to come to their senses, through the snow and hills. I was very tired. In the evening, we approached the main position of the Reds and lay down behind a hillock, and spent the night right there, right in the snow.”

The next day, with the support of artillery and aviation, the legionnaires struck the Republicans. “The Reds, who had brought up all their reserves and a mass of machine guns, defended themselves to the point of failure and even fought back with hand grenades when ours were already closer than 20 meters, and only then retreated and opened fire again. At about 12 o’clock our Bandera again launched an attack against the Reds on the mountain , and so, when our campaign came to the top, I was horrified. They had to attack them on a plane as flat as a table, up to one and a half thousand meters. A flat field in the snow, strewn with stones the size of a man’s head. They began running from stone to stone. The Reds opened hurricane fire from machine guns, we suffered heavy losses, but moved forward. The Reds also fired from a four-gun battery into the squares. And then there was a deafening explosion, something threw me up, hit me in the head with terrible force, and I fell. 10-15 minutes later I heard, that someone was crawling up behind me. It was one of the legionnaires. He began to shout: “Ali is wounded!” - and suddenly I felt that he had pulled off the blanket from me (the legionnaires wrapped themselves in them to escape the terrible cold) and was pulling off my bag with things Coolly, calculating my strength, I raised my leg and kicked the dashing legionnaire in the stomach. After this argument, he agreed with me, left my things alone and began to call a paramedic. Soon the orderlies came up with a stretcher and carried us back across this field, under machine-gun fire. Only God knows how none of us were wounded these 400 meters. In general, there were a lot of wounded legionnaires. They showed me my woolen helmet - covered in blood, with a hole from a shrapnel in front and pierced by bullets in six places! I even knew about it!

All the Red positions were taken, although we suffered heavy losses. I was wounded at the beginning of our attack, but the sheer number of taken tanks and downed Red airplanes - insanely tired, not counting the thousands of prisoners who surrendered in crowds - is very significant." In the village , where the wounded were taken, there were already 45 people from Ali Gursky’s Bandera alone by the time he was delivered there.

Next, Ali Gursky describes the Spanish Foreign Legion hospital in Zaragoza. There, each wounded legionnaire received cookies, cakes, chocolates, port wine, oriental sweets, nuts, cigars, 3 packs of cigarettes and 5 pesetas for personal needs.

At the final stage of the war in Spain, one could observe, according to the records of Sergeant Ali Gursky, the following pictures: “at about 12 o’clock in the afternoon - suddenly there were some screams. Everyone was running from the village to the posts. The Reds in the trenches stood up, raised their hands and began to say something shout. Some of them ran towards us without weapons. They, of course, were not allowed into the trenches and sent envoys and an officer to them. It turns out that they congratulated us on the brilliant victory in Asturias and the end of the Northern Front, they talk about the imminent end of the war, about that they don't want to fight, and asked for our newspapers. About a dozen of them actually ran over to us. They repeat such things often, but the last one turned out to be not so successful. The Reds, as always, stood in the trenches and began to ask for our newspapers. Of course, "They sent them to them. Both sides, out of curiosity, poured out of the trenches and began a roll call. Fortunately, I remained in the trench, because the Reds suddenly began to fire at ours with machine guns. The picture is interesting and instructive for the legionnaires. Imagine the result for yourself."

Dear victory price

These lines date back to the end of 1938, when the war was ending. In the end, Franco's forces managed to cut off a significant part of the Republicans from the French border and sharply limit Soviet aid to them by sea. This was one of the main reasons for the Republican defeat. In March 1939, the Republican government of Spain fell. Franco's victorious troops, including the Spanish Foreign Legion, entered Madrid, which they tried unsuccessfully to take for two and a half years. Russian volunteers paid a heavy price for this victory: out of 72 volunteers, 34 died in battle, i.e. almost half. Among the dead after Polukhin and Fok, the most famous was sergeant major Nikolai Ivanov, an old-timer of the Spanish Legion, who had gone through the African campaign and the suppression of the communist uprising in Asturias. All sorts of rumors circulated throughout Spain about his heroic death. He died in early 1939 on the Catalan front, when there were only a few days left before victory over the communists. Most of the others were wounded. Thus, legionnaire Nikolai Petrovich Zotov was wounded 5 times. Due to the last wound, one of his legs became much shorter than the other. For this reason, he was declared unfit for further service, but he begged his superiors to allow him to return to the ranks of the legion, where he enjoyed an exceptional reputation and, due to his personal courage, was set as an example to the already brave legionnaires." Another legionnaire, a former Russian service officer Georgy Mikhailovich Zelim -Beck, was wounded by an explosive bullet in the jaw and was also declared unfit for further service, but begged the legion authorities to leave him in the ranks. Lieutenant Konstantin Aleksandrovich Konstantino, company commander in the Spanish army, former officer of the Russian service, Georgian by nationality and sergeant Ali Konstantinovich Gursky was wounded three times, with the first losing one eye.Russian legionnaires played an important role in this war.The largest number of Russians - 26 - were concentrated in the Dona Maria de Molina company under the command of a lieutenant, a former officer of the Markov White Guard division Nikolai Evgenievich Krivoshey.

General Franco personally had a very great sympathy for the Russian legionnaires and insisted on their mandatory participation in the victory parade in Valencia on March 18 (31), 1939. According to the participants in this event, all those participating in the parade were given new uniforms, and the officers were given white gloves. Tassels were attached to the scarlet berets - boots, officers - gold, chief officers - silver, sergeants - green, privates and corporals - red. The Russian detachment, marching on the right flank of the combined Bandera of the Spanish Foreign Legion with the national “tricolor,” attracted everyone’s attention. How respected the Russians were among the legionnaires is evidenced by the fact that, according to Spanish military tradition, an officer must carry the banner of the Bandera legion. However, the officers of the legion insisted that Ali Gursky carry the Bandera banner at the parade as the best legionnaire, although he did not have the rank of officer.

After the end of hostilities, Franco did not demobilize the Russian detachment, but left it entirely as a sign of special gratitude as part of the Spanish armed forces with extraordinary production, which was nonsense for Spain and its army. The Russians, almost all of whom became officers in the Spanish Legion, reached great heights here and continued to faithfully serve Franco. Thus, the Russian volunteer Boltin rose to the rank of colonel and died in 1961. The fact that a Russian person was given such a high honor - the introduction of a foreigner to such a high rank in the Spanish army, which was previously prohibited, testifies to the highest professional qualities of the Russian officers who ended up in Spain.

The participation of Russian volunteers in hostilities on the side of Franco showed that the White emigration remained capable of actively fighting against communism. The very fact of the participation of dozens of Russians in this war on Franco’s side made it possible to partly dispel the image of Russians in the West as destroyers of peaceful life under the red flag and show that among them there are active opponents of Lenin’s ideas. In addition, Russian volunteers, through their own deeds, wrote their names in golden letters into the history of the Spanish Foreign Legion and contributed to the creation of high authority for the Russian name.

*Bandera - battalions in the Spanish Foreign Legion.

During the crisis in Western Sahara at the end of 1975, television screens revealed to the whole world the existence of a volunteer military force almost consigned to oblivion: the Spanish Foreign Legion.

But during the 55 years of its existence, it participated in 4,000 battles and paid for it with 46,000 killed.

Like its French brother, the legion had to leave its overseas cradle; but it remained the elite volunteer corps of the Spanish army.

In 1919, the one-armed and one-eyed Lieutenant Colonel José Millan Astray, whose religious, military and patriotic impulse bordered on fanaticism, came up with the idea of ​​​​organizing a corps intended for service in Morocco and consisting of civilian soldiers. His task was to pacify the territories acquired by Spain and restore order there.

The commander-in-chief of the Spanish army recognized the idea as sound, but even before receiving official approval, Astray visited the barracks of the French Foreign Legion at Sidi Vel Abbes in Algeria to study the methods of organization and training of the corps, which had a history of 88 years. At the end of his trip, he realized that he had learned quite a lot, but his concept was fundamentally different from its French prototype.

First of all, a Frenchman, whoever he was, could not get into the legion. For others, except the Swiss and Belgians, the doors were open. The Legion was a completely apolitical structure, and the loyalty of the French legionnaires was expressed primarily to their regiment. "What is your nationality?" Marshal Lyoti asked a recruit during an inspection of a legion battalion in Fez (Morocco). “Legionary, my general,” came the immediate answer.

For Millan Astray, his future legionnaires had to mainly divide their feelings between Spain and Catholicism. Foreigners were accepted, but he wanted the majority to be Spanish. In fact, the term "foreign" used to refer to the Spanish Legion is based on a misinterpretation of the Spanish word extranjero, which in Spain means "foreign", "foreign". And the expression Legion Extranjera does not mean a legion of foreigners, but a legion intended for service in overseas territories.

After returning from Algeria, Millan Astray officially presented his project for the creation of a legion based on the following principles:

1. The Legion will embody the virtues of our victorious infantry and our invincible army.

2. The legion will serve as the base of the colonial army.

3. The legion will save many Spanish lives, since the legionnaires will be ready to die for all Spaniards.

4. The Legion will consist of volunteers of all nationalities who will sign the contract with their real or fictitious name, relieving the state of any responsibility for this decision.

5. The spirit of competition created by the presence of recruits of different nationalities will lead to increased morale of the Legion.

6. Legionnaires will sign a contract for a period of 4 or 5 years, and by remaining in extended service, they become real soldiers

7. Vagrants, delinquents and criminals expelled from their countries are not allowed into the Legion.

8. For those who have no shelter, those who thirst for military glory, the Legion will give bread, shelter, family, homeland and a banner under which to die.

The most amazing thing is that the project was accepted and the necessary funds were allocated. This was despite the fact that anti-colonial propaganda was rampant throughout Spain and the cities were decorated with the following slogan: “Not one more man and a peseta for Morocco.” The royal decree was signed on September 2, 1920 and on the same day Millan Astray became known as Jefe (chief) of the Legion.

Surrounded by a small headquarters, he moved to Ceuta, where he established headquarters in a half-destroyed barracks - the only available housing. Recruitment centers were opened in all the most important cities of the country.

"Welcome to death!"

The first to sign up was a Spaniard from Ceuta. Since the end of September, 400 people have arrived from all over Spain to volunteer; they gathered in Algeciras, then boarded a ship, where they awaited departure to Ceuta. A herd in rags and rags, they were the scum of the cities. Among them, the majority were Spaniards, but there were foreigners, among whom were three Chinese and one Japanese.

Immediately after the landing, this motley gathering lined up on the embankment to listen to the welcoming words from their commander: “The Legion is glad to receive you. You are here to become part of the honor corps, destined to soon become the first corps of our glorious infantry. The life that awaits you, he continued, will be hard and grueling. You will have to die of hunger, suffer from thirst. The piercing rain will mercilessly drench you. The summer sun with its scorching rays will drive you crazy. You will dig trenches and build camps until you are completely exhausted, not knowing when the food will be ready. You will be wounded, your bones will be broken. But your ultimate goal is a death that can only be accepted on the battlefield... The Legion accepts you with all its heart. Welcome Caballeros (Gentlemen)! Legionnaires, attention! Disperse! One of the participants in this event recalled: “The new legionnaires on the way to the barracks were full of jubilation.”

To distinguish the Legion from other fighting units, Millan Ostray gave the name tercios to the main brigade-sized units, after famous units of the standing Spanish army from 1534 to 1643. Each tecsios consisted of two or three banderas (like a battalion).

Their briefing, which began on the field, consisted of fiery speeches from the commander, in which special emphasis was placed on the psychological and spiritual aspects of their mission.

Vive la mort (Long live death) was their battle cry. It was invented by Millan Astray, and legionnaires are still called Los Novios de la Muerte (wedded to death).

The transformation of this picturesque rabble into an elite corps owes primarily to the efforts of Millan Astray and his assistant, Commandante (commander) 28-year-old Francisco Franco - the future dictator of Spain, who ruled the country for 36 years, until his death in December 1975.

The legion immediately underwent a baptism of fire called Tercio de Marruuecos. In Morocco, the Rif tribe fought a very long guerrilla war against Spain. They lacked a talented organizer and leader to organize an open uprising.

They found him in the person of a representative of the Beni Ouriaghel tribe, Abd el-Krim. He was an immediate success. The situation became critical for the Spaniards. Their garrisons and outposts were for the most part dangerously isolated. The attacks carried out by the reefs one after another literally flooded the Spanish fortifications one after another, and it all ended in a serious defeat for the Spanish troops at Anual.

In August, Abd el-Krim controlled virtually the entire Spanish zone, with the exception of a narrow coastal strip and salients including Tétouan, the capital and the mountain town of Xauen.

Although the Legion was at the formation stage and was poorly equipped, 1 and 2 banderas were thrown into battle, and they recaptured a number of small settlements.

Most of the recaptured settlements were soon surrounded again, without any hope of salvation. One day, when an avalanche of reefs launched an assault on the Spanish positions, the commander of the encircled Spaniards, a young lieutenant, sent a final message via heliograph: “I have 12 rounds. When you hear the last one, aim your fire at us so that at least the Spaniards and Moors will die together."

In another, even more remote village, a garrison of Legion soldiers fought until their food, water and ammunition were exhausted. Shocked by this heroism, Abd el-Krim sent a proposal to the defender in which he promised to spare their lives if they threw out the white banner. As for the commander of the garrison, the very young lieutenant replied that he and his men swore to defend their positions to the death, and that they would not break the oath.

Petain destroys Abd el-Krim.

The war could continue like this for a very long time. Abd el-Krim received significant human reinforcements (mercenaries, Europeans, fighters against colonialism). But success and public attention turned the head of the Rif leader and in 1925 he made the fatal mistake of attacking the French zone, where he advanced to the old capital of Fez. And in 1926 Abd el-Krim faced the joint actions of the Spanish army and the French expeditionary force totaling 100,000 people under the leadership of Marshal Petain.

Everything ended very quickly. On May 26, after a short but fierce campaign, Abd el-Krim surrendered to Colonel Andre Corapp. Ironically, in 1940 his army was literally crushed by the German armies rushing to Sedan.

At the end of the war, 8 banderas were created. Only 9% of Novios de la Muerte were foreigners. The legionnaires fully justified their motto: 2,000 were killed, of which 4 were banderas commanders and 6,096 were seriously wounded.

After the conclusion of peace, the rather shabby banderas were put in order. There was talk of recruiting new units, but the coup that replaced the monarchy with a republic put an end to this. Closely associated with His Catholic Majesty, the Legion commander was shocked by the change of regime.

The new rulers of Madrid feared the Legion. However, this did not stop them from calling on the Legion to suppress an uprising in the north-west of Spain, an uprising of miners from Asturias, better known by the nickname Los Dinamiteros for their habit of throwing stones at those who did not share their point of view.

The uprising broke out at the end of September 1934. The 3rd Brigade landed in Barcelona on October 9, and on the 5th, 6th and 10th in Guijon. Three banderas under Franco's leadership entered into action the next day. This is one of the most famous episodes of the 30s. Despite its short duration, it was one of the most brutal and bloody operations of our time. Furious skirmishes raged in Guijon, Oviedo, Trubia, and in the mining centers of Mieres and Cabana Quintai. There was no mercy for the prisoners, which, however, was not asked for. Legionarios and dinamiteros gutted each other like rabid dogs. The ends justify the means: Tercio saved the Republic.

In 1936, political passions reached a point where a clash between the far right and the far left became inevitable. Having struck first, Franco secretly left his exile in the Canaries to capture Tetuan, where the Legion was located, which had been reduced to 6 banderas, each consisting of 4 companies. Franco managed to win the Legion to his side.

After no resistance was offered to the nationalists in Morocco, it became necessary to transport the Legion to the mainland as soon as possible. The overwhelming majority of the fleet went over to the Republican side, therefore, even crossing the Strait of Gibraltar was a risky undertaking. On August 5, one horseman went to sea. The Republican destroyer Alcano Galiano also joined the speed race. Incredibly, the convoy reached Algeciras without loss.

Over the next three years, the Spanish Legion was constantly “in action.” If a critical situation arose somewhere, the Legion was invariably there. During this period, its strength tripled: 18 banderas were created, consisting of 4 companies (approximately 600 people) as well as a company of machine gunners and flamethrowers.

The war seemed to reinforce the trend of complete Spanishization of the Legion; they said that the defeat inflicted on the Italian division by the Republican militia near Guadalajara was regarded by the legionnaires as a victory of Spanish weapons over foreigners.

In mid-1936, the ancient city of Badaios was a Republican fortress, with a well-organized defense. Nationalist artillery made a hole in the city wall and 3 and 5 Banderas launched an assault. As soon as they penetrated the walls, the leading companies (12 and 16) came under cross machine gun fire from perfectly placed machine gun nests. It can be said that the companies cleared positions from the enemy only with the help of a bayonet and a grenade. The 16th company suffered heavy losses during the operation. But her sacrifice allowed two others, reinforced by 5 bandera, to break through to the heart of the Republican defense of the Cuartel de la Bomba, which was surrounded after fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Suddenly, shots from a Republican machine gun were heard from the direction of the bell tower. The survivors of the 16th company were asked to wait for reinforcements. Her commander responded as follows: “I still have 14 rounds of ammunition. I don't need reinforcements."

At the end of 1937, the Republicans planned an attack on Teruel, which was carried out with all their might. 3 and 13 banderas were involved in the fighting. 3 was ordered to attack well-fortified Republican positions near Rincon de Molinero. Approaching the enemy was accompanied by piercing cold. But the enemy, taken by surprise, was forced to leave their positions, which was taken advantage of by the legionnarios, who pressed those retreating to the trenches of the second line. For the Republicans, this maneuver was a complete surprise, aggravated by the fact that they could not distinguish their own from the enemy. The legionnaire recalls: “The enemy battalion commander gave orders to our company... and only a grenade thrown at his feet showed him his mistake.”

Rincon del Molinero fell; Among the prisoners was the chief of staff of the republican brigade. He complained about the tenacity with which those whose captive he was now attacking him: “These are not people - these are real devils!” Less gratifying was the fact that between 27 and 30 December, 13 Bandera lost 400 killed.

During this period of time, cut off from the rest of the troops, in severe frosts (-15), the legionnaires withstood the continuous attacks of five battalions, supported by tanks and heavy artillery fire, and only after that they were forced to retreat to their old positions.

The bloodiest days of the civil war.

In the summer of 1938, the Republican troops were close to complete defeat. Therefore, it was decided to launch an offensive in order to win a decisive victory. The Ebro Valley was chosen as the location. Significant forces in the amount of 131 infantry battalions, three cavalry regiments, six companies of armored vehicles, two tank battalions and 107 artillery batteries were concentrated on the northern (left) bank of the river. The offensive, launched at 0.15 on July 25, made it possible to capture the bridgehead in the defense zone of the 50th nationalist division, which was practically destroyed.

7 banderas were immediately sent to the front. With heavy losses, the 3rd, 16th, 4th and 17th Banderas managed to delay the second phase of the Republican offensive, which stalled by August 7th. After this there was a short lull. Franco believed that there was a parallel between this desperate Republican effort and the German offensive of March 1918. It was assumed that the enemy had spent all his reserves and had failed to achieve his goal, therefore, it was time to launch a powerful counter-offensive, which could become the decisive phase of the entire war... Attacks with the participation of banderas in the first line were carried out throughout August, and on September 3 the nationalists led with the Legion went on the offensive.

The Republicans resisted with extraordinary courage. The battle reached its climax between 6 and 16 September. These ten days are rightfully considered the bloodiest of the entire war, a war exceptional in its cruelty.

4 bandera took part in the attacks launched against La Aguja. Captain Mazzoli was in the front ranks with the 11th and 16th Companies, pushing through the hellish fire to the crest of the hill held by the 1st Nationalist Division. With the support of tanks and howitzers, the enemy practically surrounded the position. Captain Mazzolini, encouraging the soldiers with his courage, intensified his attacks in the face of new danger. Bravely continuing to advance under enemy fire, Mazzolini and his guys pushed the enemy back from the heights, which radically changed the situation, which was already critical. At this moment of his victory, a bullet from a Russian tank pierced the captain's chest, and he died a few minutes later.

At the head of both offense and defense.

At the end of September, the Republican front was broken through in three places. But there still remained a fairly large pocket of resistance in the Sierra de Zaballas region. Most of the Sierra peaks were conquered by the Nationalists in fierce fighting that lasted throughout October.

On November 7, the Republicans launched a counterattack on the 3rd, 5th, and 13th Banderas, which ended in losses and critical situations for the nationalists. The battle, which raged from July 2, ended on November 14. Catalonia, the heart of Republican Spain, was left defenseless.

Despite the efforts made and the losses suffered, the banderas were not given a rest and found themselves at the head of the final attack on Barcelona and Zaragoza, while simultaneously developing the attack on Madrid. Before the ceasefire, the lists of those killed were replenished with a huge number of names of Legion soldiers. The Legion participated in 3,000 operations and its losses throughout the war were estimated at 37,000 killed, wounded and missing.

Appointed Minister of Aviation under Franco's first government, Yagyu addressed the legionnaires with a long and touching farewell: ".... in moments of greatest danger, they (the legionnaires) considered it an honor to be in the vanguard, requesting as compensation the right to be called a legionnaire."

After the war, which ended in April 1939, Morocco was almost completely recaptured. The inevitable reduction in numbers was carried out: the Legion was reorganized into three tercios, designated El Gran Capitan, El Duque d'Alba and Don Juan d'Austria, consisting of three banderas; the fourth tercio was transferred to the Spanish Sahara as a garrison in the areas of El Euna and Villa Sinceros.

The Spanish presence in the eastern Sahara dates back to 1746, when Captain Diego García de la Herera founded a settlement, which he named Santa Cruz de Mar Pequena and persuaded local tribal leaders to swear allegiance to the King of Castile. After some time, under unknown circumstances, the inhabitants of the settlement died and Spain left the region.

Spain returned here only after the Treaty of Tetouan (1861), according to which the Sultan of Morocco allowed the establishment of a permanent settlement here or “a piece of land sufficient to build a fishing settlement here on the site of the old Santa Cruz de Mar Pequena. Since 1883, the settlement has been better known as Sidi Ifni.

For a long time the situation here remained calm, and security was provided by a single battalion of Tiradores de Ifni. But in 1956, the anti-colonial struggle flared up here too. From the moment of their arrival, the tercios were always in the line of fire. Numerous skirmishes continued throughout 1957. The Spaniards even had to build several fortified points on the territory of the colony, the main one of which was in the Edsher combat zone.

13 bandera carried out reconnaissance in the Edshera-Sagiya area. In the afternoon, the lead company had just crossed a dry riverbed and immediately came under concentrated fire from rifles, automatic weapons and mortars. The attack was made from a low ridge just 500 meters from the Spaniards. The platoon that moved out first was completely destroyed.

The enemy troops turned out to be parts of the Liberation Army. They tried to break through the dunes to strike the company that was covering the left flank. The maneuver was discovered, and during the subsequent fierce battle the enemy was driven back with the loss of 50 men killed.

The coming night allowed the legionnaires to dig in so that at dawn they could continue the offensive against the enemy. But under the impression of heavy losses suffered in the battle with the Spaniards, the tribe’s warriors considered it best to retreat.

This minor skirmish had a stunning effect. In the numerous clashes that occurred subsequently, neither the Sahrawis nor other members of the resistance risked seeking any more major meetings with the Legion.

La Legion Spanish Legion
Years of existence
Subordination
Included in
Dislocation
Nicknames	Suitors of Death
Patron	Cristo de la Buena Muerte, (Congregación de Mena, Malaga)
Motto	Legionnaires in fight, legionnaires in death!
March	Tercios Heroicos La Canción del Legionario El Novio de la Muerte.
Participation in
Commanders
Notable commanders	Milian Astray Terreros

The Spanish Legion owes its creation to José Milian Astray, a legendary general who showed miracles of courage on the battlefield and lost an arm and an eye in battle. It was to him, the hero of the war in Morocco, who invariably fought in the front ranks and personally raised the fighters to attack, that the phrase that went down in history belongs “Long live death, and let reason perish!” (“Viva la muerte, y muera la inteligencia!”). Its first part is "Long live death!"- was the battle cry of the Legion.

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Excerpt characterizing the Spanish Legion

– Voulez vous bien?! [Go to...] - the captain shouted, frowning angrily.
Drum yes yes dam, dam, dam, the drums crackled. And Pierre realized that the mysterious force had already completely taken possession of these people and that now it was useless to say anything else.
The captured officers were separated from the soldiers and ordered to go ahead. There were about thirty officers, including Pierre, and about three hundred soldiers.
The captured officers, released from other booths, were all strangers, were much better dressed than Pierre, and looked at him, in his shoes, with distrust and aloofness. Not far from Pierre walked, apparently enjoying the general respect of his fellow prisoners, a fat major in a Kazan robe, belted with a towel, with a plump, yellow, angry face. He held one hand with a pouch behind his bosom, the other leaned on his chibouk. The major, puffing and puffing, grumbled and was angry at everyone because it seemed to him that he was being pushed and that everyone was in a hurry when there was nowhere to hurry, everyone was surprised at something when there was nothing surprising in anything. Another, a small, thin officer, spoke to everyone, making assumptions about where they were being led now and how far they would have time to travel that day. An official, in felt boots and a commissariat uniform, ran from different sides and looked out for the burned-out Moscow, loudly reporting his observations about what had burned and what this or that visible part of Moscow was like. The third officer, of Polish origin by accent, argued with the commissariat official, proving to him that he was mistaken in defining the districts of Moscow.
-What are you arguing about? - the major said angrily. - Whether it’s Nikola, or Vlas, it’s all the same; you see, everything burned down, well, that’s the end... Why are you pushing, isn’t there enough road,” he turned angrily to the one walking behind who was not pushing him at all.
- Oh, oh, oh, what have you done! - However, the voices of prisoners were heard, now from one side or the other, looking around the fire. - And Zamoskvorechye, and Zubovo, and in the Kremlin, look, half of them are gone... Yes, I told you that all of Zamoskvorechye, that’s how it is.
- Well, you know what burned, well, what’s there to talk about! - said the major.
Passing through Khamovniki (one of the few unburned quarters of Moscow) past the church, the entire crowd of prisoners suddenly huddled to one side, and exclamations of horror and disgust were heard.
- Look, you scoundrels! That's unchrist! Yes, he’s dead, he’s dead... They smeared him with something.
Pierre also moved towards the church, where there was something that caused exclamations, and vaguely saw something leaning against the fence of the church. From the words of his comrades, who saw better than him, he learned that it was something like the corpse of a man, stood upright by the fence and smeared with soot on his face...
– Marchez, sacre nom... Filez... trente mille diables... [Go! go! Damn it! Devils!] - curses from the guards were heard, and the French soldiers, with new anger, dispersed the crowd of prisoners who were looking at the dead man with cutlasses.

Along the lanes of Khamovniki, the prisoners walked alone with their convoy and carts and wagons that belonged to the guards and were driving behind them; but, going out to the supply stores, they found themselves in the middle of a huge, closely moving artillery convoy, mixed with private carts.

“I read with interest in one of the issues of “Professional” about the French Foreign Legion. But I recently learned about the existence of a little-known Spanish Legion. What kind of military formation is this?”

Sergeant
contract service
Roman KHRUSTALEV.

Contempt for death

The prototype of the Spanish army regiment founded in 1920 by General José M. Astray was the Foreign Legion of neighboring France, which even then had an impeccable military reputation. By the way, the legendary general himself (at that time a lieutenant colonel) showed miracles of courage on the battlefield, losing an arm and an eye in battle. It was he, the hero of the war in Morocco, who invariably fought in the front ranks and personally raised the fighters to attack, who wrote the phrase “Long live death, and long live reason!” that went down in history! (“Viva la muerte, y muera la inteligencia!”) Its first part is “Long live death!” - was the battle cry of the legion.
Having previously studied this military machine, perfect for those times, General Astrey formed the first three battalions of a new regiment, called “Foreign”. Having sworn allegiance to King Alfonso XIII (the Foreign Legion brigade now bears his name) on October 31, 1920, the regiment was immediately transferred to Morocco, where it participated in almost continuous fighting for seven years. Legionnaires could be distinguished from other soldiers not only by their military uniform, but also by the long, chin-length, thick sideburns that they grew. Traditionally, such sideburns were considered a symbol of contempt for death.
Taking Bushido, the code of honor of the Japanese samurai, as a basis, M. Astrey developed the 12 commandments of the legionnaire. They included commandments about courage, discipline, camaraderie, friendship, unity and mutual assistance, fortitude, etc. The most important commandment of the legion was considered the “death creed”: “To die in battle is the highest honor. They only die once. There is no pain in death, and dying is not as scary as it seems. There is nothing worse than living as a coward."
Why did the Spanish Legion begin its military history in Morocco? According to international agreements concluded in 1906 in Algeciras, this African country was divided into two zones, one of which was under the protectorate of Spain, and the other of France. Liberation movements periodically arose in Morocco, the goal of which was to expel foreigners from the country. The most famous rebel leaders were Mohammed Amezian - "El Mizzian", who captured the iron mines in the Rif, and Abd el Krim, who united groups of Moroccans who had once fought among themselves under his leadership. Abd el Krim operated primarily in the Spanish zone. His goal was to create an independent European-style state in the north of Morocco.
At that time, compulsory military service existed in Spain. Corruption, abuse and theft flourished in the army. The rich exempted their children from military service, sending young men from poor families to serve in the army instead for a fee. Without sufficient training, soldiers died in the thousands. The number of victims was so great that civil unrest began in Barcelona and other cities in Spain.
There was a need to create professional army units capable of resisting Moroccan troops, carrying out the most complex and risky operations, “fighting and dying with a smile on their lips and without a single complaint.”
The war in Morocco ended in May 1926, when Abd el Krim surrendered to the French. The last pockets of resistance were suppressed by 1927.
They were commanded by the Generalissimo
Legionnaires, including Russian emigrants, left a noticeable mark on the history of Spain during the Civil War. They marched in the forefront of the most ardent supporters of the overthrow of the Popular Front government - the troops of “socialists and communists” who tried to resist the putschists in the Canary Islands were crushed by legionnaires. Yes, it probably couldn’t have been otherwise - Francisco Franco Bahamonde himself, the future generalissimo, dictator and sole ruler of Spain until 1973, was none other than the former commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion.
After the Francoists came to power, in accordance with the decision of the command of the national army, the number of legionnaires was reduced threefold. The six battalions that survived the reform again occupied their usual locations in Spanish Morocco (in Ceuta and Melilla) and in the Canaries. A small part of the former legionnaires subsequently took part in the Second World War on the side of Nazi Germany, fighting as part of the so-called “Blue Division”, although for a short time. But this group of volunteer fanatics managed to distinguish themselves by their particular ruthlessness and contempt for death. Their sophisticated cruelty inspired horror not only among their compatriots, but also among their German allies. Despite the fact that the legionnaires continually violated the rules established by the Germans, not a single German officer dared to reprimand them.
Legionnaires always fought on the front line in the most dangerous areas. They looked terrifying when, with huge flowing sideburns and long knives clenched in their teeth, they burst into Russian trenches. Drunk from the sight of blood, they cut the throats of the wounded and cut off the hands of captured partisans so that they could never take up arms again. They brought the severed fingers of their opponents to the camp as souvenirs. The Blue Division soldiers, who overwhelmingly avoided cruelty to prisoners and civilians, were horrified by the behavior of the “Africans,” as they called the legionnaires, and shunned them.
11 years after the end of World War II, “fun” times came again for the Spanish legionnaires - Western Sahara turned into an arena of battles with rebels who were supported by the government of Morocco, which gained independence, formed in 1956. Having won one of its most significant victories over a 2,500-strong group of African extremists in November 1957, the legion fought incessant “local battles” with partisans for a year, confidently holding the enclaves remaining in Spain. In Western Sahara, units of the legion carried out military service until 1976, leaving this part of the African continent only after it lost its status as a Spanish colony.
Second life sideburn
Now the Spanish Legion, once called the Foreign Legion, is part of the rapid deployment forces of the armed forces of Spain, an active member of NATO. Its population, according to some sources, exceeds 7,000 people. Currently, the legion is represented by the following main units: the 1st separate regiment "Grand Captain", located in Melilla; 2nd separate regiment "Duke of Alba", stationed in Ceuta; Brigade "King Alfonso XIII". The main structural components of the brigade are: the 3rd Regiment "Don Juan of Austria", stationed on the island of Fuertoventura, and the 4th Regiment "Alejandro Farnesio", located in Ronda, province of Malaga.
In the legion, a special role is assigned to the 4th regiment “Alejandro Farnesio”. It, unlike other parts of the legion, has distinct special forces functions. In addition to two banderas (battalions) and one parachute unit, the regiment also has an operational battalion. It is he who is usually classified as a special forces unit of the Spanish Legion. The strength of this battalion is approximately 500 military personnel. All of them underwent special training and were trained in combat operations during naval operations, including their use as combat submariners; combat operations in the Arctic and mountain desert areas; organizing sabotage and sabotage; parachute landing (including landing on water); conducting long-term reconnaissance raids; conducting counter-terrorism operations; use of a wide variety of vehicles (the battalion still uses Land Rovers, BMR600S, Nissan trucks and other US and UK-made vehicles); the art of sniping.
The main weapons used by the battalion's special forces are practically no different from the weapons of other units of the legion and include: a CETME rifle (5.56 caliber), an Ameli assault rifle (7.62 caliber), a 9-mm machine gun and a Star model pistol, 40- mm grenade launcher. In terms of equipment, the Spanish Legion uses the same field uniforms as the Spanish Armed Forces. There is only one specific difference - red tassels on the headdresses.
The times when the procedure for joining the Spanish Legion was quite simple, like the process of joining the ranks of its French brother, are gone forever. In Spain, a foreign applicant for service in the legion could simply contact any police officer; abroad, they could go directly to the Spanish embassy. In both cases, he immediately received the opportunity to meet with representatives of the legion, who were ready to talk about the conditions of service and even show a demonstration film.
Formally, the legion was staffed by pre-selected foreigners, but the vast majority were fighters with Spanish citizenship. The trend towards “Hispanization” found its final expression in the decree of the King of Spain, which in 1986 eliminated the possibility of recruiting parts of the legion with foreign nationals.
Is the tongue also a weapon?
Nevertheless, the Spanish defense department does not plan to completely abandon the opportunity to fill the ranks of the legion with foreign citizens who are ready, among other things, to serve outside Spain. The difference is that now only emigrants from Latin American countries whose native language is Spanish can claim the title of legionnaire. A special form of oath is provided for them, but the basic requirements for recruits remain unchanged.
What does Spain intend to offer to volunteers from abroad? First of all, Spanish citizenship, which automatically guarantees natives of Latin America a higher standard of living (citizenship is provided only upon completion of service in the legion). Of course, the newly minted legionnaires will be provided with a fairly high salary and a whole package of a wide variety of benefits that are not so attractive to the native Spaniards.
Conscripts can also serve in the legion, but their service is limited to 18 months. The service life for volunteer contract soldiers is usually 3 years. Moreover, in accordance with the terms of the contract, leaving the legion of your own free will is even more difficult than in the French Foreign Legion.
The course of training, usually not exceeding 3-4 months, is usually completed by newly converted legionnaires in Ronda. The training program, which includes disciplines the study of which is also practiced in the French Foreign Legion, is very severe, to say the least. The hallmark of this training is the hardest forced marches, with the help of which “natural selection” is carried out. The training program of the Spanish Legion is recognized as one of the most stringent and difficult in the world practice of training ground units. It is common practice to use live ammunition and physical impact on legionnaires during training. The media has repeatedly leaked information about the facts of punishment of legion recruits, involving cruel assault. Moreover, this is far from being done by amateurs - the training course also includes training in “active” interrogation methods.
The Spanish Legion is not for the weak in body and spirit. It cannot be otherwise, the legionnaires themselves believe: in addition to participating in NATO peacekeeping operations abroad (Bosnia, Croatia, Angola, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala), Spain’s “headache” is relations with Morocco, which is increasingly demanding withdrawal parts of the legion from Western Sahara, which was once part of the so-called Spanish Morocco. In 2002, things almost came to an armed conflict, and therefore the Spanish Legion is in constant combat readiness.
...The legionnaires who went through bloody battles left this world or turned into feeble old men, and the horrors of wars passed into the realm of legends. Just as the warlike Vikings transformed into calm, peace-loving Scandinavians, today's legionnaires have become the same smiling and friendly Spaniards whom we see around every day, although some of them still wear long sideburns, remember the legionnaire's commandments by heart and remain confident that that the toughest macho men in the world serve in the Foreign Legion. As for the Spaniards themselves, they still call the legionnaires “wedded to death.”
Over the more than 80 years of the Legion's existence, the losses amounted to more than 40 thousand people, the last losses were in missions under the control of the UN in fulfilling the obligations given by Spain. Today, Spain's role in the international community is quite large. Close relations with Latin America, with which it is linked historically and culturally, open up new opportunities for the Legion's activities. Spain's actions as a mediator in various world conflicts are changing the role of the legion, which is more used in various peacekeeping missions conducted under the auspices of the UN.
Today, the legionnaire is the pride of the Spanish army: a highly qualified soldier, ready to carry out any mission. Its hallmarks are extreme dedication, devotion, loyalty and teamwork. Moreover, the missions can be completely different: military, humanitarian, and even civil protection. And he will always be ready to give everything for his country, his battalion, and will always help others, risking his life. After all, he is the “groom of death.” His name is Spanish legionnaire!