The Tiradores de Ifni ("Ifni Rifles" or "Ifni Shooters") were volunteer indigenous

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the enclave of

Ifni Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands. It had a total area of , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing. The present-day Moroccan province in th ...

The tiradores were originally recruited from the Spanish Morocco, forming part of the Army of Africa and mostly officered by Spaniards. These troops played a role in 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 ...

(1936–1939).

History

In existence from 1934 to 1969, this corps was modeled on the North African

tirailleur A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French ...

s of the French Army of Africa.

Creation

The Government of the

Spanish Second Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

, by Decree of 9-VI-1934, ordered the creation of a territorial garrison to be headquartered in Sidi-Ifni, and that this force would be named the ''Tiradores de Ifni''. Prior to the Spanish Civil War the ''Tiradores de Ifni'' consisted of 1,235 men; which included 31 officers (including 10 Moroccans), 38 non-commissioned officers and 1,166 troops, comprising three

tabor Tabor may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Tábor, a town in the South Bohemian Region ** Tábor District, the surrounding district * Tábor, a village and part of Velké Heraltice in the Moravian-Silesian Region Israel * Mount Tabor, Galilee ...

Spanish Civil War

During the war six tabors of Tiradores were sent to serve in Spain. A separate ''Bandera de Ifni-Sahara'' was also listed. The Tiradores participated in

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

's ''Desfile de la Victoria'' (Victory Parade), held in Madrid in 1939.

Final years

Following the Civil War, the ''Tiradores de Ifni'' continued to provide the bulk of the Spanish forces garrisoning the territory. However stresses and divided loyalties caused by the

Ifni War The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain (''la Guerra Olvidada''), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi ...

of 1957-58, led to desertions amongst the indigenous rank and file of the four tabors still comprising the Tiradores. Accordingly, Spanish recruits were brought in to maintain these units at full strength. The ''Tiradores de Ifni'' were finally dissolved following the

retrocession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdicti ...

of Ifni to Morocco in 1969.

Uniforms

The Tiradores were generally uniformed similar to the

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 ...

with the addition of a '' siroquera''. A tarbuch was worn, by the native officers and men, with a

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

colored shirt and

breeches Breeches ( ) are an article of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Formerly a standard item of Western men's c ...

with brown leather equipment. Spanish officers wore a sand colored variant of the standard Spanish Army uniform with a red topped

peaked cap The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It ...

Badges

The original badge worn was an open yellow five pointed "saharian" star on a red diamond cloth patch. After 1937 the star was placed over a points-up white crescent and the color was changed to blue. The star and crescent were superimposed over crossed rifles and "Ifni" was emblazoned on the crescent in 1941.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tiradores de Ifni veterans organization
(Spanish)

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 Rif War Military units and formations established in 1934 Military units and formations disestablished in 1969