September 20th is the formal centenary of the Spanish Legion. Spain's "Expendables," the Legion was created in 1920 as a copy of its French namesake but most of its soldiers were Spaniards. The first 200 enlistees as Gentlemen Legionnaires in September 1920 were mostly Catalans. https://twitter.com/ArtClauzel/status/1307306026799190016

It was the brain child of LTC José Millán-Astray. A brave soldier and a war hero at the age of 18 in the Philippines, Millán-Astray created a tough, volunteer force to be used in Spain's brutal colonial war in Morocco. He chose an able young Major Francisco Franco as his deputy.

The Legion also distinguished itself on the Nationalist side of the Spanish Civil War, where it was among the best (along with the Moroccan Regulares) of Franco's soldiers. Today it still exists and participates in peacekeeping operations worldwide.

The four regiments ("tercios") of @Lalegion_es are named after famed Spanish military commanders of the Golden Age - Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, "the Great Captain," the 3rd "Iron" Duke of Alba, Don Juan of Austria, and Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma.