Regulares
| Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms |
|
| Active | 1911 - present |
| Country |  Spain |
| Allegiance | King, Fatherland |
| Branch |  Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Vanguard troops |
| Garrison/HQ | Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas. |
| Motto | Fiel Regular hasta morir (Till death, I'm a Regular) |
| Anniversaries | 12 October |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Dámaso Berenguer |
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), were the volunteer infantry and cavalry units of the Spanish Army recruited in Spanish Morocco. They consisted of Moroccans officered by Spaniards. These Moroccan troops played a major role in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39).
Contents |
[edit] Establishment
The Regulares were first raised in 1911 as a "batallón indígena" of infantry. Their formation came at a time when the Spanish army was expanding into the Moroccan hinterland from the long held coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Previously use had been made of Moroccan auxiliaries as scouts and the designation of "regulars" appears to have been intended to distinguish the newly raised force as a permanent unit of the Spanish army. Officers and some NCOs were seconded from Peninsular regiments.
[edit] History
From 1914 to 1922 the Regulares were expanded in numbers to five "Grupos" based respectively in Melilla, Tetuán, Ceuta, Alhucemas and Larache. While they remained predominantly infantry, recognition of Moroccans' skills as horsemen led to the establishment of cavalry "tábores" (squadrons). This mounted element of the Regulares was to remain a conspicuous feature throughout the period of Spanish rule.
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.[1]
The Moroccan troops generally remained loyal during the Rif War of the early 1920s, although there were reports of mutiny at Yat el Bax following the major Spanish defeat at the Battle of Annual (Spanish spelling) or Anwal (English spelling) in 1921. During this period the Regulares and the Spanish Legion ("Tercio") emerged as the elite corps of the Spanish Army - long-serving professionals on more or less continuous active service, attracting the best officers. These included the future dictator Francisco Franco who served initially with the Regulares (from 1913) before transferring to the newly raised Tercio (whose troops were mostly Spaniards) as second in command and commander of its 1st Battalion in 1920.
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. 1923 was the year in which the reactionary General Miguel Primo de Rivera became dictator of Spain, ruling in the King's name. 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.
[edit] Under Franco
In 1936 the Army of Africa (in Spain the term "Africa" often meant and means just western North Africa), totaling 30,000 in the Legion and Moroccan Regulares regiments, joined the rebellion led by General Franco against the Republican Government in Madrid. After some initial difficulty, the Nationalist rebels were, with German and Italian assistance, able to get significant numbers of the African troops across the Straits of Gibraltar. The professionalism and brutality[2] of the Army of Africa played a major part in early Nationalist successes. With the raising of substantial Nationalist forces in mainland Spain the role of the Regulares diminished but they retained a key role as shock troops until the end of the Civil War and were conspicuous in Franco's victory parade in Madrid in 1939. Their importance is also seen in the disproportionate number of decorations that they earned for their actions during the war.[3] The numbers of the Army of Africa doubled in the course of the war to about 60,000. Following the Nationalist victory the Regulares were reduced to the five Grupos of their peace-time establishment. Franco authorized the establishment of a ceremonial mounted honour guard ("Guardia de Su Excelencia el Generalísimo") from the Regulares cavalry which, with colourful Moorish uniforms and white Arab horses, served in close attendance on him.
With the independence of Morocco in 1956 the majority of the Moroccan personnel of the Regulares, numbering about 10,000, were transferred to the newly raised Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. The cavalry units (including Franco's ceremonial guard in Madrid) were disbanded. In 1957 the Guarda Mora (Moorish Guards) was replaced by an escort of Spanish cavalry, who however retained the white cloaks of the Regulares from the former unit.
[edit] Present day
Spain however retained the historic enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta and the reduced Grupos of Tetuan, Melilla, Ceuta and Alhucemas remained in existence as part of the two garrisons. The modern Spanish Army retains two regiments of Regulares which still parade in the fezs, sashes and white cloaks of the traditional Moorish style uniforms, although now recruited solely from Spanish citizens, many of them natives of Ceuta and Melilla[4]
As part of a wider reorganisation of the Spanish Army in 1996, the existing Grupos of Regulares were amalgamated into these two light infantry regiments:
- (i) Regimiento de Infantería Ligera Regulares de Melilla n.º 52 and
- (ii) Regimiento de Infantería Ligera Regulares de Ceuta n.º 54.
In recent years detachments of Regulares have served in both Bosnia and Afghanistan.
Tabor is the name given to the Regulares' constituent battalions of infantry and squadrons of cavalry.
[edit] Modern parade march
These regiments and their attached battalions march in slow time on parade, but change to the quick march time when ready to salute. However during the 2010 National Festival parade, the Regulares Tabor marched through Madrid and saluted in slow time.
[edit] Military Music Units
The military bands and Corps of Drums of the Regulares regiments and Tabors are the same as the normal Spanish Army military bands except that the Corps of Drums is a mix of drums, bugles, bagpipes and African flutes. But nowadays only the Corps of Drums is only seen in continuous active service, with military band support usually from other units.
[edit] Depiction in popular culture
The sentence Luchamos contra los moros in the Republican song Ay Carmela refers to the Regulares.
The main character in the novel Kábila by Fernando González Martín[5] is a Morrocan who as a teenager hates Spanish colonial troops, becomes later a soldier of the Regulares, has a major role in the Asturias repression, and ends as a high-rank commanding officer in Franco's army.
[edit] References
- ^ Anthony Beevor, pages 195-196 "The Battle for Spain", Penguin Books 1982
- ^ Hugh Thomas, pages 357-360 "The Spanish Civil War", Penguin Books 2003
- ^ Al Tuma, Ali (2011). "‘The Participation of Moorish Troops in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939): Military value, motivations and religious aspects’". War & Society 30 (2): 91–107.
- ^ Jose Bueno, "Los Regulares", ISBN 84-86629-23-3
- ^ Madrid, Debate, 1980, ISBN 978-8422645191
