ABSTRACT
Like other twentieth-century European powers, Spain incorporated foreigners into its armed forces when the need arose. Tens of thousands of Moroccans served under Spanish command not only in North Africa but also in Europe during the Spanish Civil War. Indeed, Francisco Franco’s Moroccan troops helped bring him to victory in that conflict, and they subsequently contributed to the imperial symbolism of his dictatorship, which lasted until his death in 1975. With its strongly Orientalist flavour, Franco’s ‘Moorish Guard’ complemented the mythology of the ‘Caudillo’, or strong leader, at the base of Francoist ideology. Even as they became increasingly anachronistic, Franco’s Moroccan soldiers fit well enough into the basic mould of imperial military history.
