The 2nd Brigade 'King Alfonso XIII' of the Legion

Welcome to the website of the Light Infantry Brigade “Rey Alfonso XIII”, 2nd of the Legion. Here you will learn about our unit’s day-to-day operations.

On 28 January 1920 King Alfonso XIII ordered the creation of an army unit which would be called “Foreigners Tercio (regiment)”. Its composition, duties and regulations were to be determined by the Ministry of War, at that time under the authority of José Villalba.

On 2 September of the same year Lieutenant Colonel José Millán Astray y Terreros was appointed commander of the Foreigners Tercio, and on 20 September the first legionnaire joined up. From then on, 20 September 1920 has been considered the date of establishment of the Legion, thereby highlighting the importance of the figure of legionnaire. The Legion is, therefore, the first professional unit of the Spanish Army in its recent history.

The Legion took part in the Africa campaigns, where it showed its effectiveness and commitment to the precepts of the Legionnaire Creed. As a result, on 5 October 1927 Queen Victoria Eugenie granted the unit its first battle ensign.

In November 1992 the Legion took part in the multinational force UNPROFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina as task force “Málaga”, which was composed of commanders and legionnaires from its four regiments. Since then, it has been deployed to Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lebanon. In fact, it is the first Spanish unit to be deployed to all those theatres of operations.

On 1 June 1995 the Legion Command, heir to the Legion Subinspectorate, was moved from Málaga to Almería. The Legion Brigade “Rey Alfonso XIII” was set up with troops from the Regiment “Don Juan de Austria”, with base in Fuerteventura, and the Regiment “Alejandro Farnesio”, with base in Ronda. The Brigade includes several support units: the Artillery Group, the Sappers Unit, the Logistic Group and the HQ Battalion. In addition, in 2008 a Reconnaissance Cavalry Group was integrated into the Brigade, and in 2010 the Sappers Unit became the Sappers Battalion.

The Legion has made a generous contribution to Spain over the years, with over 10,000 legionnaires dead and 40,000 injured during the different missions and campaigns the unit has taken part in. Its sacrifice has earned it the respect and admiration of the Spanish people.