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he was made an instructor of the Infantry
School and subsequently spent several years
on the faculty of the Staff College. Although
Spain was a neutral during World War I,
Millán saw ample combat in M
OROCCO
,
where the stability of Spain's political posi-
tion was deteriorating. In 1919, by now a
major, he presented a proposal to his supe-
riors for the creation of the Spanish Foreign
Legion. The French Foreign Legion (which
had been created originally to fight in Spain
during the First Carlist War) had long been
engaged in North African colonial conflicts.
Millán visited some of their units to gain
data and ideas for support of his plan.
Although he encountered opposition from
vested interests in the army, those whose
judgment mattered, from the king to the
minister of war, approved his proposal, not
the least because it offered an alternative to
increasing the number of annual conscripts
sent to Morocco. Although the French For-
eign Legion had little difficulty in raising
volunteers, especially in the postwar period,
the Spanish force initially authorized in
1920 was not as successful in recruitment at
first. The number of actual foreigners was
never very large (most of them being either
Portuguese or Cuban). Even after enlist-
ments increased the preponderant number
would be Spanish social misfits, ex-crimi-
nals, and men driven by economic despera-
tion. Millán, appointed commander of the
new unit, with the rank of lieutenant colo-
nel, proved phenomenally successful in
transforming these outcasts into a highly
disciplined and dedicated body of soldiers.
His exhortations to recruits bore a strong
resemblance to those a priest might give to
sinners: They were going to redeem them-
selves from everything bad in their past by
their selfless sacrifice on the battlefield. He
frequently told them that a glorious death
would wipe away the bad things they had
done up until then. He hailed them as the
novios
(bridegrooms) of death and gave them
a battle cry:
“¡Viva la muerte!”
(“Long live
death!”). The Foreign Legion, formally
known as the T
ERCIO
(in honor of the famed
military units of 16th-century Spain), went
into action in 1921 and gained rapid renown.
Millán helped publicize its operations by
arranging for battlefield scenes to be filmed.
Victories over Moroccan insurgents and the
relief of threatened towns contributed to its
positive image. By the late 1920s, when the
insurrection was put down, the legion had
expanded to six battalions, despite the loss
of thousands of men killed or wounded.
Millán himself, in the forefront of the fight-
ing, lost an eye and an arm. Eventually he
turned over active command of the troops
to his fellow Galician, F
RANCISCO
F
RANCO
.
By the time the S
PANISH
CIVIL
WAR
broke out
in 1936 the Spanish Foreign Legion was
famous (or notorious), and Franco would
make full use of its military reputation dur-
ing the war. Millán, although retired from
active duty, continued to advocate his vio-
lent personal philosophy, adding to his orig-
inal slogan a preface that horrified Spanish
intellectuals:
“¡Abajo con la inteligencia! ¡Viva
la muerte!”
(Down with intelligence! Long
live death!). In his later years, Millán Astray,
promoted to general, was president of the
League of War Wounded.
Miranda, Francisco de
(1750-1816)
Spanish colonial rebel
Born in Caracas, V
ENEZUELA
, Miranda
became an officer in the Spanish army; took
part in the capture of Pensacola in 1781,
when Spain was aiding the American revo-
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