Spanish Foreign Legion | Legión Extranjera Española | Ceuta | August 1966

August 1966.

Footage of an ITN News report on Ceuta capturing soldiers of the Spanish Foreign Legion. The Spanish outpost and its army was officially not welcome by neighbouring Morocco, but as the reporter revealed, King Hassan of Morocco privately welcomed their presence as a sort of insurance against a left-wing backed insurrection in his kingdom.

This is a excerpt from an ITN Report on August 3rd 1966, "Morocco: Spanish Foreign Legion Outposts".

Source: Getty Images.

1. Now known as the Spanish Legion (Legión Española), it is now a Special Forces unit that functions as a Rapid Reaction Force.

2. It was created by Lt. Colonel José Millán-Astray in 1920 as the Spanish equivalent of the French Foreign Legion and was designed to serve within the old Army of Africa which under General Francisco Franco had been used to launch the military coup against the Republican government; a venture that led to the Spanish Civil War.

3. José Millán-Astray y Terreros ("El Glorioso Mutilado"), who as a general became one of the key figures of the early era of the Franco regime, was the mentor of Francisco Franco.