The training of legionaries from Spain and France in a ghost town in Granada

As we saw last month, the Spanish Legion and the French Foreign Legion have strong ties of brotherhood.

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

On March 6, these ties were embodied in the first presentation of the "kepi blanc" to new recruits of the French Foreign Legion in a ceremony outside French territory, during a military parade held at the base of the Tercio "Alejandro Farnesio" 4th of the Legion in Ronda (Málaga). In addition, yesterday the French Army published a video showing a joint exercise between both Legions, in the ghost town of Minas de Alquife (Granada), also known as Minas del Marquesado (the video is in French, you can activate the automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):

On behalf of the Spanish Legion, this exercise had the participation of legionaries from the 2nd Company of the X Flag "Millán Astray", framed in the aforementioned Tercio "Alejandro Farnesio".

As for the French Army, this exercise included soldiers from the 4th Company of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion, a unit created in 1939, equivalent to a motorized infantry regiment and based in La Cavalerie, in the department of L'Aveyron, located in the Occitanie region.

As can be seen in the video, the exercise also featured the BMR 6x6 armored personnel carriers used by the Spanish Legion, a model that will be replaced in the near future by the VCR 8x8 Dragon, as well as the Uro VAMTAC tactical vehicles. In addition, the French Army deployed VBMR Griffon armored vehicles to the area.

The location chosen for this exercise is a mining town built in 1956, with the purpose of housing the workers of the iron deposit of the Alquife Mines. After the closure of the mines in 1996, this town was practically abandoned. The Spanish Legion regularly uses this ghost town for its urban combat exercises, as we saw here a year ago.

The French Army has stated that the objectives of this exercise were "interoperability and mastery of combat in urban areas", adding: "Night infiltration, coordinated assault, extraction of wounded, investigation of buildings, use of armored vehicles and specific support: all the fundamental know-how was employed and deployed in a demanding collaboration between the two Legions."

The French Army has highlighted: "Beyond training, a true brotherhood of arms was expressed. Between technical exchanges and moments of cohesion, the two units have cultivated this unique bond that unites legionaires, regardless of their origin."