The uniform and equipment of the Legion at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Legion, originally known as the Tercio de Extranjeros, is one of the most admired units of the Spanish Army.

A historic joint military parade of Spanish and French legionaries in Ronda
The X Flag of the Spanish Legion in an Alpha exercise in an abandoned town in Granada

Founded in 1920 following the example of the French Foreign Legion, it adopted identity traits inspired by the Spanish military tradition, including the way of naming its regiments, "Tercios", taking the name of the famous infantry units that existed in Spain during the Habsburg dynasty.

Without a doubt, one of the most characteristic aspects of the Legion is its uniform, especially two items of clothing that have become the most distinctive of the Spanish legionaries: the "chapiri", as the Legion's cap worn by its soldiers is known, and the green twill shirt. Both items of clothing are still used today by this elite unit, along with the Army's standardized field uniform.

The Legion played a very prominent role in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), fighting on the national side (let's keep in mind that General Francisco Franco had belonged to that unit). In July 1936, when the war broke out, the Legion was made up of six "Banderas" (the name given to the battalions of this unit), reaching a total of 18 units of this type until the end of the war. About the uniforms and equipment used by the soldiers of the Legion at the beginning of that war, today the Youtube channel Tropa Guripa (to which I recommend you subscribe if you like military history) has published an excellent and very well documented video especially designed for fans of military historical recreation (the video is in Spanish but has English subtitles, you can activate them in the bottom bar of the player):