Courtesy of Fireforce Ventures


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Two Caballero Legionario ("Legionary Knight") and Dama Legionaria ("Legionary Lady) of the Ruthless Spanish Legion. Their uniform is unusual in contrast to most armies, the top button purposely opened, common visible tattoos, and insignia with Catholic iconography. It speaks volumes to their heritage as warrior rebels, and desperadoes.


Perhaps less well known than the French Foreign Legion, or British Gurkhas, this unit has an equally brutal training reputation, and legendary combat record. Though it has it's origins in the Napoleonic Wars, the modern unit was formed by the Spanish crown in 1920, led mostly by native Spaniards, and attracting foreign recruits from Latin America, most of whom were on the run from the law in their homeland.


With many volunteers being extremely violent, ardently anti-Communist, and devoutly Catholic, they were set loose on Spanish Africa during the Rif War, and Spanish Civil War. While the rest of many of Franco's Nationalist aligned local forces were mired in controversy, they maintained a comparatively clean battle record while fighting in Spanish Morocco. They lived by a motto "Long Live Death", making their lives as legionaries simple. From this reputation, the legend and the unit's bravado grew.


Their legendary battle record was cemented in 1957 when Brigade Sergeant Fransisco Fadrique Castromonte and Legionnaire Juan Maderal Oleaga held their ground while fighting against dozens of rebels in the Spanish Sahara. They fought hand to hand, cutting down 30 of the enemy with rifle and bayonet before succumbing to their wounds. The two legionaires would be awarded the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand posthumously, Spain's highest military decoration for gallantry. It would be the last to ever be awarded, as of 2019.


Foreign recruitment was abolished in the 1980s upon Franco's death. However, this was quickly reversed when conscription was abolished in Spain. The unit continues to serve operational in UN peacekeeping missions, and contributed several rapid reaction force units to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, notably participating in the Battle of Najaf in 2004.