Regulares
Indigenous Regular Forces | |
---|---|
Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas | |
Islas Chafarinas. | |
Motto(s) | Fiel Regular hasta morir (Faithful Regular till death) |
Anniversaries | 12 October |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Dámaso Berenguer, José Millán-Astray, José Enrique Varela |
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Historically, the force, which has also included mounted divisions, has consisted of Berbers officered by Spaniards. The troops served as the indigenous component of the Army of Africa and played a significant role in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
History
Establishment
The Regulares were first raised in 1911 as a "batallón indígena" of infantry
The Regulares infantry were known for their ability to traverse "dead ground" without being detected, but their Spanish officers disliked unconventional warfare and only infrequently took advantage of this skill.[5]
Rif Wars
The Moroccan troops generally remained loyal during the
In 1923 a detachment of the Fuerzas Regulares de Ceuta mounted guard at the Royal Palace in Madrid, indicating the high-profile achieved by the Moroccan troops. In 1934 cavalry and infantry of the Regulares were brought to Peninsular Spain by the Republican Government to assist in the suppression of the rising by Asturian miners that year.
Spanish Civil War
In 1936 the Spanish "Army of Africa" (totaling 30,000 in the Legion and Moroccan Regulares regiments) formed part of the rebellion led by General Franco against the Republican Government in Madrid. In the crucial initial phase of the Spanish Civil War, the rebels were able to airlift a significant number of Moroccan troops plus legionnaires across the Straits of Gibraltar, with German and Italian assistance, in order to become the shock troops of the Nationalist battles.[6] The professionalism and brutality[7] of the Army of Africa played a major part in early Nationalist successes. As the war continued five more grupos of Regulares infantry were raised plus two of cavalry (the 1st Cavalry Group based in Teutan and the 2nd Cavalry Group in Melilla).
The Regulares with their experience of North African warfare proved to be excellent combatants in the open countryside while advancing from Seville to Madrid during August - November 1936. However they subsequently proved less adapt at street fighting in unfamiliar urban environments.[8] With the raising of substantial Nationalist forces in mainland Spain the role of the Regulares diminished but they retained a key function as shock troops until the end of the Civil War. Conspicuous in Franco's victory parade in Madrid in 1939, the Regulares were the most decorated units of the Nationalist forces.[9] The numbers of the Army of Africa doubled in the course of the war to about 60,000.
In Francoist Spain
Following the Nationalist victory the Regulares were reduced in number but retained their structure. Franco authorized the establishment of a ceremonial mounted honour guard ("
With the independence of Morocco in 1956 the majority of the Moroccan personnel of the Regulares, numbering about 12,500, were transferred to the newly raised
Present day
Spain retained the historic enclaves of
As part of a wider reorganisation of the Spanish Army in 1986, the existing 4 Regulares Groups were amalgamated into two light infantry regiments within the present day Spanish Army, which exist to this very day. Their active personnel are Spanish citizens first and foremost, many of them natives of the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, both Muslim and Christian.[11] They retain the traditional divisions of Grupos or Groups (regiments) and Tabores (battalions) as follows:
- Grupo de Infantería Ligera Regulares de Melilla nº 52 (Stationed in Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Peñón de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas )
- Tabor Alhucemas I
- Tabor Rif II
- Grupo de Infantería Ligera Regulares de Ceuta nº 54 (Stationed in Ceuta )
- Tabor Tetuan II (motorized)
- Anti-tank company
Both the present regiments are also successors to regular infantry regiments of the Spanish Army, which formerly served in Melilla and Ceuta.
In recent years detachments of Regulares have served in peace missions both in Bosnia and Afghanistan.[12]
Evolution
In 1914 the Regulares were expanded with the creation of four regiments, titled Groups (Grupos), specifially "Grupos de Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas (Groups/Regiments of Indigneous Regular Forces). Each of these four groups consisted of the regimental headquarters company, two Infantry Tabors (battalions) of three companies plus a Tabor of three cavalry troops/squadrons, together with support elements.
Specifically, the Groups of Indigenous Regular Forces were constituted as follows:
- 1st Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Tetuán", (Tetuan)
- 2nd Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Melilla" ( Melilla and Nador )
- 3rd Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Ceuta" ( Ceuta )
- 4th Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Larache" ( Arcila and Larache )
In 1921 and after the Battle of Annual a fifth unit was created:
- 5th Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Alhucemas", with HQ in Segangan
After the Spanish Civil War, five new groups were raised:
- 6th Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Xauen", based in the city of Xaue.
- 7th Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Llano Amarillo", with headquarters in Cabrerizas, Mellilia.
- 8th Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Rif", based in the Souk el Had, Beni Sicar
- 9th Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Arcila", based in the city of Alcazarquivir.
- 10th Group of Indigenous Regular Forces "Bab-Taza", with barracks in Bab-Taza.
Two groups of cavalry were also raised, organized into a regimental HQ and three Tabors of cavalry squadrons/troops each:
- 1st Group of Indigenous Cavalry Regular Forces Tetuán
- 2nd Group of Independent Indigenous Cavalry Forces Melilla
Uniforms
After a brief establishment period during which the Regulares wore white indigenous dress, the new corps was issued with uniforms modelled on those of the French
Currently the Regulares wear the same camouflage dress for active service and ordinary duties as the rest of the Spanish Army but retain a unique, khaki tropical uniform for semi-formal barrack dress and as the basis of its parade uniform. The most distinctive features of the modern Regulares uniform are the red fez, red or blue sashes and white cloaks (burnous) retained from the Moorish style dress uniforms worn prior to 1956.
Modern parade march
These regiments and their attached battalions march in both quick and slow time on parade and only turn to the slow march when they are ready to render salutes on the march.
Military Music Units
The military bands and Corps of drums of the Regulares regiments and Tabors are commonly known as the Nubas. They are the same as the normal Spanish Army military bands except that the Corps of Drums is a mix of drums, cymbals, tambourines, bugles, trumpets, bagpipes and chirimias or oboes. At the present time only the Corps of Drums is seen in continuous active service, with military band support usually from other units. It was led by a Bugle Major, who in the past was the assistant of the drum major, until in the 2014 National Day Parade the Corps of Drums of the 54th Regulares Group reinstated the practice of being led by a drum major which was formerly in force in the first decades. Personnel of the Nuba wear the same service dress as their comrades.
Depiction in popular culture
- The sentence Luchamos contra los morosin the Spanish Republican song Ay Carmela, as well as one of the verses of Si me quieres escribirand the opening line of No pasarán refer to the Regulares.
- The novel Kábila, by the Spanish author and journalist Fernando González Martín, is about a Moroccan who as a teenager hates the Spanish colonial troops but subsequently becomes a soldier of the Regulares, plays a major role in suppressing the Asturias repression and ends up as a high-ranking commanding officer in the military forces of Franco.[17]
- A famous "jota Navarra" sung from the civil war times till now refers to these military units:
- Tengo un hermano en el Tercio
- Y otro tengo en REGULARES
- y el hermano mas pequeño
- Preso en Alcalá de Henares.
It remains a popular song that is often heard at "jota" festivals or contests.
Awards
Personnel and units of the Regulares have received the following decorations for their roles in both the "Pacification" of Morocco and for their service in Spain (mainly in the Civil War of 1936-1939). Today the Regulares are the most decorated units of the Spanish Army.
- Laureate Cross of San Fernando:
- Lieutenant Samaniego del Tabor de Caballeria killed in 1912 during the occupation of the Aduar of Haddu al-Lal Kadur.
- Lieutenant Salustiano Sáenz de Tejada y Olózaga killed on 31 March 1924, when commanding a convoy taken to the position of Issen Lassen.
- Laureate Cross of San Fernando (Collective Medal for Units):
- II Tabor of the 5th Group of Indigenous Regulars of Alhucemas, Ciudad Universitaria (Parque del Oeste), November 1936.
- V Tabor of the Group of Indigenous Regulars of Ceuta No. 3, for action between 11/15/1936 and 5/19/1937 in the University City of Madrid. University City (Parque del Oeste)
- Collective Military Medal:
- 4th Group for service at Muires and Haman in 1920 .
- Group of Ceuta No. 3, for service during the combats of Barranco del Lobo and Casabona 1921 .
- Group of Regular Infantry Forces of Melilla No. 2, for service during the combats of Tizzi Assa and Tifaruin 1923 .
- Group of Tetuán # 1, by the combats of Peñas de Cayat.
- Group of Indigenous Regulars Alhucemas No. 5 for service at the University City (Parque del Oeste) November 1936.
- V Tabor of the Group of Indigenous Regulars of Melilla No. 2 for service in the Battle of the Ebro 25 July 1938.
- V Tabor of the Group of Indigenous Regulars of Ceuta No. 3, for distinguished service during the operations of Teruel, Maestrazgo and the Ebro. November 1938.
See also
- Spanish Army
- Army of Africa (Spain)
- Tiradores de Ifni, a similar force raised in Ifni
- Guardia Mora
- Goumier
- Spanish Legion
- Mohamed Meziane
References
- ^ Bueno 1990, p. 41.
- ^ Bueno 1990, p. 21.
- ^ Bueno 1989, pp. 16 & 18.
- ^ Bueno 1989, p. 32.
- ^ Beevor, Antony (1982). The Battle for Spain. Penguin Books. pp. 195–196.
- ^ Rojas, Carlos (1970). Por qué perdimos la guerra [Why did we lose the war] (in Spanish). Barcelona: Ediciones Nauta.
- ^ Thomas 2003, pp. 357–360.
- ^ Thomas 2003, p. 467.
- S2CID 153581786.
- ^ Bueno 1989, p. 10.
- ^ Bueno 1989.
- ^ "Ejército de tierra: Grupo de "Regulares de Melilla" nº 52" [Land Army: Group of "Regulares de Melilla" nº 52]. ejercito.defensa.gob.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Bueno 1989, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Bueno 1989, pp. 28–29.
- ^ ISBN 0-85045-282-1.
- ISBN 978-1-78200-782-1.
- ISBN 978-84-226-4519-1.
Bibliography
- Bueno, Jose (1989). Los Regulares [The Regulars] (in Spanish). ISBN 84-86629-23-3.
- Bueno, Jose (1990). Uniformes de Las Unidades Militares de la Ciudad de Melilla [Uniforms of the Military Units of the City of Melilla] (in Spanish). ISBN 84-86629-26-8.
- Thomas, Hugh (2003). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books.
External links
- Media related to Regulares at Wikimedia Commons