You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (September 2020)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
The military regions of the Spanish Armed Forces were a administrative subdivision that existed in Spain from the 18th century to the end of the 20th century. They constituted a territorial subdivision in terms of the allocation of human and material resources for defence purposes, and responded to a territorial defence model (see es:Neutralidad armada, Armed Neutrality).
Spanish military regions were commanded by a captain general and the garrisons were made up of regiments, which were grouped into brigades and divisions, commanded by the respective generals. There were also auxiliary and non-combatant units (for example health, Quartermaster, etc.) and other combatant units not grouped into regiments and reporting directly to the captain general (for example, naval or air forces).
In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs created the first captaincy general of Castile in the recently conquered Kingdom of Granada. This would later lead to the creation of the military regions. During the reign of Felipe V of Spain the old figure of Captain General, responsible for the royal army present in his jurisdiction, was revitalized.
The division of Spain into captaincies general dates from 1705, when they adjusted to the old kingdoms that constituted the Hispanic Monarchy. They were thirteen regions: Andalusia, Aragon, Burgos, Canary Islands, Castilla la Vieja, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, Coast of Granada, Guipúzcoa, Mallorca, Navarra and Valencia. In 1714 the Captaincy General of Castilla la Nueva was created from the General Commissariat of the War People of Madrid. [1]
In 1898 the peninsular territory was reduced to seven new military regions, while at the same time that the General Command of Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. In 1907 the captaincies general were restructured, receiving the name of military regions.
During the Second Spanish Republic, one of the military reforms of the politician and minister Manuel Azaña suppressed the military regions, creating instead the organic divisions commanded by a major general. [2]
At the end of the Civil War, the Spanish (Francoist) Army numbered 1,020,500 men, in 60 Divisions. [3] During the first year of peace, Franco dramatically reduced the size of the Army to 250,000 in early 1940, with most soldiers two-year conscripts. [4]
After the establishment of the Franco dictatorship, through the Decree of 4 July 1939 of the Ministry of National Defence the administrative division of military regions and their scope were officially established. [5] The eight traditional Military Regions (Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Burgos, Valladolid, La Coruña) were reestablished. In 1944 a ninth Military Region, with its headquarters in Granada, was created. [3] In 1959 it would be raised to the same rank as the others and its commander raised to lieutenant general (for organic reasons, the command had until then been conferred on a division general, with the title and powers of captain general), [6] at the same time that it would also integrate the province of Jaén, [7] until then dependent on the II Military Region. Thus, the following regions were established:
Region No. | Coat of Arms | Region Details |
---|---|---|
I | I Military Region , captaincy general of Madrid. | |
II | II Military Region , captaincy general of Seville. | |
III | III Military Region , captaincy general of Valencia. | |
IV | IV Military Region , captaincy general of Barcelona. | |
V | V Military Region , Captaincy General of Zaragoza. | |
VI | VI Military Region , Captaincy General of Burgos. | |
VII | VII Military Region , Captaincy General of Valladolid. | |
VIII | VIII Military Region , Captaincy General of La Coruña. | |
IX | IX Military Region , Captaincy General of Granada. |
The Ninth Military Region was not created in 1939. Due to the Allied landings in North Africa, Operation Torch, in November 1942, the creation of the IX Military Region was established to reorganize the forces in the area. [8] For this purpose, it was established as a segregation of the II Military Region and with General Captaincy in Granada, on 1 March 1944. [9]
After the failure of the pentomic reorganization of 1958 (American-inspired structuring of pentomic divisions, which were divided into five "combat groups" that could act independently), as it was based on American doctrine but did not have its human, material and financial resources, the Spanish Army undertook a new reorganization in 1965, inspired by French military doctrine, and with a marked regionalizing profile. From an operational point of view, the Army units were organized into: [10] [11] [12]
These types of units provided the military regions in which they were stationed with enormous military power and strategic importance, since they were first-rate military units, well armed and powerful.
Simultaneously, in 1965, both the Reserve Infantry Brigade (BRIR), which would be based in the IX Military Region, and the Army Corps Artillery Brigade (BRARTCE), located in the VI Military Region, would be constituted and included within the FII, at the same time as the Cavalry Division, established after the Civil War, would be dissolved, also creating and including the Cavalry Brigade (BRC) Jarama I, mostly quartered in the VII Military Region. Shortly after, in December of that same year, the Parachute Brigade (BRIPAC) was created in the 1st Military Region, and in January 1966, in the 8th Military Region, the Airborne Brigade (which would also be included within the Immediate Intervention Forces), thus culminating this new process of reorganization of the Spanish Army.
After 1978, along with other extrapeninsular demarcations, the Spanish Army went from being divided from nine to six [13] and four military regions. [14] To this end, on 17 October 1984 the second (Seville) and ninth (Granada) were abolished, to constitute the Southern Military Region, in application of the decree of restructuring of the territorial organization for the Army, which was approved that same year. [15]
Military districts are formations of a state's armed forces which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle.
The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies – dating back to the late 15th century.
The Portuguese Army is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its origins going back to the 12th century, it can be considered one of the oldest active armies in the world.
The Chilean Army is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade.
The Captaincy General of Venezuela, was an administrative district of colonial Spain, created on September 8, 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of 1777, to provide more autonomy for the provinces of Venezuela, previously under the jurisdiction of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo and then the Viceroyalty of New Granada. It established a unified government in political (governorship), military, fiscal (intendancy), ecclesiastical (archdiocese) and judicial (audiencia) affairs. Its creation was part of the Bourbon Reforms and laid the groundwork for the future nation of Venezuela, in particular by orienting the province of Maracaibo towards the province of Caracas.
The Algerian Land Forces are the land forces of the Algerian People's National Army. The forces' equipment is mostly supplied by Russia and China.
A triangular division is a designation given to the way military divisions are organized. In a triangular organization, the division's main body is composed of three regimental maneuver elements. These regiments may be controlled by a brigade headquarters or directly subordinated to the division commander. By contrast, in a square division, there were typically two brigades of two regiments. Other structures are possible, such as a pentomic division, where the division commander controls five maneuver elements, which was used in the United States Army in the late 1950s, with the regiments replaced by combined arms battlegroups.
Pentomic was a structure for infantry and airborne divisions adopted by the US Army between 1957 and 1963, in response to the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons, on future battlefields. It was intended that the five subordinate units, which were often referred to as battle groups, would be able to deploy and engage in operations more rapidly than conventional brigades while also having greater offensive capabilities than conventional battalions.
Silesian Military District was one of three military districts in Poland, the other two being the Pomeranian Military District and the Warsaw Military District. All three were disbanded by the end of 2011 due to the restructuring of the Polish Army. Its headquarters was in Wrocław.
The Carabineros was an armed carabiniers force of Spain under both the monarchy and the Second Republic. The formal mission of this paramilitary gendarmerie was to patrol the coasts and borders of the country, operating against fraud and smuggling. As such the Carabineros performed the dual roles of frontier guards and customs officials.
The history of the Arkansas Army National Guard and the Cold War involves several statewide re-organizations that occurred as a result of the evolving structure of United States Army Divisions and Brigades. In 1959 the state re-organized and restationed units in response to the Army's adoption of the Pentomic Division, the structure which was designed to counter the Soviet threat in eastern Europe. Several Arkansas National Guard units were mobilized in 1960 as part of the Berlin Crisis. In 1963 the state reorganized again as the administration of President John F. Kennedy focused on "Flexible Response" and divisions reorganized to meet the challenged of numerous small wars such as the war in Vietnam. In 1967 the 39th Infantry Division was reorganized as the 39th Infantry Brigade (Separate) as a result of a plan to reduce the total number of National Guard Divisions nationwide. The state would eventually gain a new headquarters, the State Area Command in order to provide a higher headquarters for several units which were not assigned to either the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade or the 39th Infantry Brigade (Separate).
The Spanish Republican Army was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939.
The Second Army was a field army of the Romanian Land Forces, created on 18 August 1916. Its successor is the 2nd Infantry Division.
Captaincies were military and administrative divisions in colonial Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies, established in areas under risk of foreign invasion or Indian attack. They could consist of just one province, or group several together. These captaincies general should be distinguished from the ones given to almost all of the conquistadores, which was based on an older tradition. During the Reconquista, the term "captain general" and similar ones had been used for the official in charge of all the troops in a given district. This office was transferred to America during the conquest and was usually granted along with the hereditary governorship to the adelantado in the patent issued by the Crown. This established a precedent that was recognized by the New Laws of 1542, but ultimately the crown eliminated all hereditary governorships in its overseas possessions.
The Central Region Army Group, Spanish: Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Central (GERC), was a military formation of the Spanish Republican Army during the last phase of the Spanish Civil War. It gathered the most powerful section of the republican military and would endure until the 1939 surrender. The GERC was under the command of general José Miaja Menant, the Defence of Madrid hero.
The Mechanised Division "Guzmán el Bueno" No. 2 whose name recalled Guzmán el Bueno, a nobleman of 1256 – 1309, was a military formation of the Spanish Army, created in 1965. Its headquarters was located at Granada in the IX Military Region (Spain).
The VIII Military Region, also known as the Captaincy General of Galicia, was a military district of the Spanish Armed Forces from 1939 to 1984. It was focused upon territorial defence.
The III Military Region also known as the Captaincy General of Valencia, was a historical subdivision of Spanish territory from the military point of view - a military district, from 1939-1984. Its jurisdiction extended through the provinces of the current Valencian Community, and the Murcia Region. The region's headquarters was located in Valencia.
The 80th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army created during the Spanish Civil War. Located on the secondary front of Andalusia, the brigade played a minor role during the war.