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Regulares (Spanish for "Regulars", officially called the Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas) was the name commonly used to designate the volunteer infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
 and cavalry
Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
 units of the Spanish Army
Spanish Army

The Spanish Army is one of oldest active armies in the world and a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, in charge of land operations....
 recruited in Spanish Morocco
Spanish Morocco

Spanish protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonialism rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence....
. They consisted of Moroccans
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
 officered by Spaniards. These Moroccan troops played a major role in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted coup d'?tat by a group of Spanish Army generals, supported by the conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right , Carlist groups and the fascistic Falange, against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of pr...
 (1936-39). They were known for their ability to traverse "dead ground" without being detected.

Establishment
The Regulares were first raised in 1911 as a "batallon indigena" of infantry.






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Regulares (Spanish for "Regulars", officially called the Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas) was the name commonly used to designate the volunteer infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
 and cavalry
Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
 units of the Spanish Army
Spanish Army

The Spanish Army is one of oldest active armies in the world and a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, in charge of land operations....
 recruited in Spanish Morocco
Spanish Morocco

Spanish protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonialism rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence....
. They consisted of Moroccans
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
 officered by Spaniards. These Moroccan troops played a major role in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted coup d'?tat by a group of Spanish Army generals, supported by the conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right , Carlist groups and the fascistic Falange, against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of pr...
 (1936-39). They were known for their ability to traverse "dead ground" without being detected.

Establishment


The Regulares were first raised in 1911 as a "batallon indigena" of infantry. Their formation came at a time when Spain was expanding into the Moroccan hinterland from the long held coastal enclaves of Ceuta
Ceuta

Ceuta is an autonomous community#autonomous cities of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Spanish mainland....
 and Melilla
Melilla

Melilla is an autonomous cities of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the north coast in North Africa. It was regarded as a part of M?laga prior to March 14, 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed....
. 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.

History


From 1914 to 1922 the Regulares were expanded in numbers to five "Grupos" based respectively on Melilla, Tetuan, Ceuta, Alhucemas and Larache. While they remained predominantly infantry, recognition of Moroccan skills as horsemen led to the establishment of cavalry "tabores" (squadrons). This mounted element of the Regulares was to remain a conspicuous feature throughout the period of Spanish rule.

The Moroccan troops generally remained loyal during the Rif War
Rif War (1920)

The Rif War of 1920, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Morocco Rif and Jebala tribes....
 of the early 1920s, although there were reports of mutiny at Yat el Bax following the major Spanish defeat of the Battle of Annual in 1921. During this period the Regulares and the Spanish Legion
Spanish Legion

The Spanish Legi?n , formerly Spanish Foreign Legion, is an elite unit of the Spanish Army. Founded as the Tercio de Extranjeros , it was originally intended as a Spanish equivalent of the French Foreign Legion, but in practice it recruited almost exclusively Spaniards....
 ("Tercio") emerged as the elite corps of the Spanish Army - long serving professionals on more or less continual active service, attracting the best officers. These included the future dictator Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco

Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Te?dulo Franco y Bahamonde, Salgado y Pardo de Andrade , commonly known as Francisco Franco or Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was the dictator and Head of State of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975....
 who served initially with the Regulares (from 1913) before transferring to the newly raised Tercio (whose personnel were mostly Spanish) as second in command 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. In 1934 cavalry and infantry of the Regulares were brought to Spain by the Republican Government to assist in the suppression of the rising by Asturian miners
Second Spanish Republic

The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King of Spain Alfonso XIII of Spain left the country following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas and April 1 1939, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered to Nationalist...
 that year. The use of Moroccan troops (associated with the Moors of the Medieval wars) caused much critical comment both in Spain and internationally.

Under Franco


In 1936 the Army of Africa, totaling 30,000 in the Legion and Moroccan 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 undoubted brutality) 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. The numbers of the Army of African 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 authorised the establishment of a ceremonial mounted honour guard ("Guardia de S.E. el Generalismo") 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.

Present Day


Spain however retained the historic enclaves of Melilla
Melilla

Melilla is an autonomous cities of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the north coast in North Africa. It was regarded as a part of M?laga prior to March 14, 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed....
 and Ceuta
Ceuta

Ceuta is an autonomous community#autonomous cities of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Spanish mainland....
 and the reduced Grupos of Tetuan, Melilla, Ceuta and Alhucemas
Alhucemas

Alhucemas is a Spanish name which refers to:*the Moroccan Rif city of Al Hoceima*the Spanish island of Pe??n de Alhucemas, named after it, sometimes shortened as A....
 remained in existence as part of the two garrisons. The modern Spanish Army retains a single regiment of Regulares which still parades in the fez
Fez

Fez may refer to:*Fez , a brimless felt hat, once widespread in the Ottoman Empire*Fes, Morocco , a city in Morocco*The IATA code of Sa?ss Airport in Fes, Morocco...
s, sash
Sash

A sash is a cloth belt used to hold a robe together, and is usually tied about the waist. The Japanese equivalent of a sash, obi , serves to hold a kimono or yukata together....
es and white cloaks of the traditional Moorish style uniforms, although now recruited solely from Spanish citizens, many of them natives of Ceuta and Melilla.

See also

  • Spanish Army
    Spanish Army

    The Spanish Army is one of oldest active armies in the world and a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, in charge of land operations....
  • Goumier
    Goumier

    Goumier is a term used for Morocco soldiers, who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army, between 1908 and 1956. The term was also occasionally used to designate native soldiers in the French army of the French Sudan and French Upper Volta during the colonial era....
  • Spanish Legion
    Spanish Legion

    The Spanish Legi?n , formerly Spanish Foreign Legion, is an elite unit of the Spanish Army. Founded as the Tercio de Extranjeros , it was originally intended as a Spanish equivalent of the French Foreign Legion, but in practice it recruited almost exclusively Spaniards....
  • FAMET
    FAMET

    Fuerzas Aerom?viles del Spanish Army - Spanish Army Airmobile ForceAn Independent Army Aviation force was formed in 1965 as Aviacion Ligera del Ejercito de Tierra and renamed FAMET in 1973....