Jordana Donostian, Ciano kondearekin (italiar politikaria) batera

The Guardia Mora (Moorish Guard), officially the ''Guardia de Su Excelencia el Generalísimo'' (En: The Guards of His Excellency the Generalissmo) was Francisco Franco's personal ceremonial escort. It was formed in February 1937 from personnel drawn from the

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the au ...

Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...

and the II Tabor of Grupo de

Regulares The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry ...

de Tetuan No.1. Their white and red hooded cloak, based on the

djellaba The djellaba or jillaba (; Arabic: جلابة; Berber: ''aselham''), also written gallabea, is a long, loose-fitting unisex outer robe with full sleeves that is worn in the Maghreb region of North Africa. In central and eastern Algeria it is cal ...

, was worn over the white parade uniform of Regulares officers. The Guardia Mora was not controlled by the

Spanish military The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution o ...

but by the ''Casa Militar de Su Excelencia el Generalísimo y Jefe del Estado'', the Military House of His Excellency the Generalissimo and Head of State.

History

The Guardia Mora has its origins in the early stages of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. In July 1936 as Military Commander of the Canary Islands, General Francisco Franco managed to fly to Spanish Morocco, where he took control of the

Spanish Army of Africa The Army of Africa ( es, Ejército de África, ar, الجيش الإسباني في أفريقيا, Al-Jaysh al-Isbānī fī Afriqā) or Moroccan Army Corps ( es, Cuerpo de Ejército Marroquí') was a field army of the Spanish Army that garriso ...

, consisting mainly of Moroccan

and

Spanish Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the pena ...

units. These professional troops were transported to Spain and began to advance towards Madrid. Already in October 1936, when he was appointed head of state during an official ceremony in Burgos, Franco attended the event accompanied by an escort formed by Moroccan horsemen from the existing Regulares cavalry regiments. Thereafter, Franco began attending public events flanked by a large escort of Moroccan cavalry in "Moorish" ceremonial uniforms and carrying

lances A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike s ...

The British historian Paul Preston has pointed out that the Guardia Mora became a symbol in itself and the best example of the new power that was being built around the figure of Franco. After the end of the Civil War, the Moroccan units of the Army of Africa were either disbanded or returned to continue serving in Spanish Morocco. However a selected cavalry unit remained on the peninsula, as mounted guards, performing escort and other ceremonial functions and providing protection for the Head of State. When Franco moved his official residence to Madrid, the Guardia Mora followed him, and once established in the capital they came to have a permanent quartering in the Palace of El Pardo, official residence of the "

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

." The Guardia Mora was dissolved in 1956, after the incorporation of Spanish Morocco into the newly independent

Kingdom of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

The mounted Guard itself continued to serve with Spanish personnel only, under the title of "Guardia de Franco". Upon Franco’s death and the ascension of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Juan Carlos I as the head of state, the guard regiment formed the basis of the "Regiment of the Royal Guard" (''Regimiento de la Guardia Real''); the modern day Guardia Real.

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Franco y su fiel Guardia Mora
Spanish only Spanish ceremonial units Military history of Spain Military units and formations of Spain Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War Spanish Army Military history of Morocco Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1956

History

See also

Notes

External links