Civil Guard (Spain)

The Guardia Civil was founded as a national police force in 1844 during the reign of Queen Isabel II of Spain by the 2nd Duke of Ahumada and 5th Marquess of Amarillas, an 11th generation descendant of Aztec emperor Moctezuma II. Previously, law enforcement had been the responsibility of the "Holy Brotherhood", an organization of municipal leagues. Corruption was pervasive in the Brotherhood, where officials were constantly subject to local political influence, and the system was largely ineffective outside the major towns and cities.[6] Criminals could often escape justice by simply moving from one district to another.[6] The first Guardia police academy was established in the town of Valdemoro, south of Madrid, in 1855. Graduates were given the Guardia's now famous tricorne or Cavaliers hat as part of their duty dress uniform.

First ever photograph taken of a Guardia Civil, somewhere between 1855 and 1857 in Reinosa, Spain.

The Guardia was initially charged with putting an end to brigandage on the nation's highways, particularly in Andalusia, which had become notorious for numerous robberies and holdups of businessmen, peddlers, travelers, and even foreign tourists.[7][8][9] Banditry in this region was so endemic that the Guardia found it difficult to eradicate it completely. As late as 1884, one traveler of the day reported that it still existed in and around the city of Málaga:[10]

The favorite and original method of the Malagueño highwayman is to creep up quietly behind his victim, muffle his head and arms in a cloak, and then relieve him of his valuables. Should he resist, he is instantly disembowelled with the dexterous thrust of a knife...[The Spanish highwayman] wears a profusion of amulets and charms...all of undoubted efficacy against the dagger of an adversary or the rifle of a Civil Guard.[10]

Column of Guardias Civiles during the 1934 Asturian Revolution, Brañosera

The Guardia Civil was also given the political task of restoring and maintaining land ownership and servitude among the peasantry of Spain by the King, who desired to stop the spread of anti-monarchist movements inspired by the French Revolution. The end of the First Carlist War combined with the unequal distribution of land that resulted from prime minister Juan Álvarez Mendizábal's first Desamortización (1836–1837) had left the Spanish landscape scarred by the destruction of civil war and social unrest, and the government was forced to take drastic action to suppress spontaneous revolts by a restive peasantry. Based on the model of light infantry used by Napoléon in his European campaigns, the Guardia Civil was transformed into a military force of high mobility that could be deployed irrespective of inhospitable conditions, able to patrol and pacify large areas of the countryside. Its members, called 'guardias', maintain to this day a basic patrol unit formed by two agents, usually called a "pareja" (a pair), in which one of the 'guardias' will initiate the intervention while the second 'guardia' serves as a backup to the first.

Under the pre-1931 monarchy, relations between Gitanos and the Civil Guard were particularly tense.

Republican Civil Guard emblem (1931–1939)

During the Spanish Civil War, the Guardia Civil forces split almost evenly between those who remained loyal to the Republic, 53% of the members[11] (which changed their name to Guardia Nacional Republicana – "Republican National Guard")[12] and the rebel forces.[13] However, the highest authority of the corps, Inspector General Sebastián Pozas, remained loyal to the republican government.[14] Their contribution to the Republican war efforts were invaluable, but proved effective on both sides in urban combat.

The proportion of Guardia Civil members that supported the rebel faction at the time of the 1936 coup was relatively high compared to other Spanish police corps such as the Guardias de Asalto and the Carabineros (Real Cuerpo de Carabineros de Costas y Fronteras), where when the Civil War began over 70% of their members stayed loyal to the Spanish Republic.[15]

Loyalist General of the Guardia Civil José Aranguren, commander of the 4th Organic Division and Military Governor of Valencia, was arrested by the victorious Francoist troops when they entered the city of Valencia at the end of March 1939. After being court-martialed, Aranguren was given the death penalty and was executed on 22 April in the same year.[15]

Locally recruited units of the Guardia Civil were employed in Spain's overseas territories. These included three tercia (regiments) in the Philippines and two companies in Puerto Rico prior to 1898.[16] Over six thousand Civil Guards, both indigenous and Spanish, were serving in Cuba in 1885 and smaller units were subsequently raised in Ifni and Spanish Guinea.[17]

Following the Civil War, under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (1939–1975), the Guardia Civil was reinforced with the members of the Carabineros, the "Royal Corps of Coast and Frontier Carabiniers", following the disbandment of the carabinier corps.[18]

Critics of the Guardia Civil have alleged numerous instances of police brutality because of the organisation's association with Franco's regime. The fact that the Guardia largely operated in mostly rural and isolated parts of the country increased the risk of police violations of individual civil rights through lack of supervision and accountability. García Lorca's poems have contributed to the Guardia Civil's reputation as, at least at the time, a heavy-handed police force.

The involvement of Guardia Civil figures in politics continued right up until the end of the twentieth century: on 23 February 1981, Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero Molina, a member of the Guardia Civil, participated with other military forces in the failed 23-F coup d'état. Along with 200 members of the Guardia Civil, he briefly took hold of the lower house of the Cortes before the coup collapsed following a nationally televised address by King Juan Carlos, who denounced the coup.

The first hymn was composed between 1915 and 1916 by Asunción García Sierra (who wrote the lyrics) and Ildefonso Moreno Carrilllo (who composed the music) as a school hymn. In the 1920s, Lieutenant Colonel José Osuna Pineda was assigned to the center as Head of Studies and arranged the original text and melody. This hymn was that of the College of Young Guardsmen, adopted as the school's alma mater march since December 1922. Despite the absence of any legal provision, the hymn became official upon its use.[23]

The motto of the Civil Guard is "Honor is my badge".[24] It comes from article 1 of the "Cartilla del Guardia Civil", written by the Duke of Ahumada in 1845. The full text says: "Honor is the main badge of the Civil Guard; it must, therefore, be kept spotless. Once lost, it is never recovered".[25]

The Music Unit of the Civil Guard (Spanish: Unidad de Música de la Guardia Civil is the military band of the Civil Guard and is one of multiple in the Armed Forces. It is officially part of the guard's General Directorate. Since its creation in 1844, it has had musical infantry and cavalry formations through various ranks. Only the Civil Guard and the Royal Guard, as well as many Army cavalry and artillery units retained mounted bands with cavalry trumpeters at the time while the infantry of both the Army and Civil Guard had bugle bands then (formerly corps of drums composed of drummers and fifers). It was not until 19 November 1859 when a unified band appeared for the first time. Other bands would be formed throughout the years in both Madrid and Valdemoro. In 1940, the first squads of Civil Guard musicians were officially approved and applications to join the official Civil Guard band were released in October 1941. In 1949, and as a consequence of the merger of the Carabineros Corps and the Civil Guard, their respective Music bands were also unified.[26] These templates remained that way for over two decades when they were increased to adapt them to those of Army Music, forming two bands: one with 75 musicians attached to the General Directorate of the Corps and with 50 instrumentalists belonging to the Jefatura de Enseñanza. More recently, according to the resolutions of 28 June 2004 and 14 February 2006, the two music units were unified, constituting the current band which reports to the General Subdirectorate of Personnel and is administratively attached to the General Affairs Service.[27]

A small mounted band is in service with the Security Group's Civil Guard Cavalry Squadron, with its barracks and stables in Valdemoro, administratively under the supervision of the Young Guardsmen's College. Unlike other mounted bands, they only use small fanfare trumpets (clarines de caballeria and trompetas bajas). They continue the traditions of the Civil Guard cavalry since its foundation. In 2022 the Mounted Band of the Civil Guard Cavalry Squadron finally received its own kettledrummer, bringing it in line with the Royal Guard's Mounted Band of the Royal Escort Squadron.

The element of uniformity that characterizes the Civil Guard is the tricorn, which is the official service's headgear in full and service dress uniforms. Other pieces of headgear such as peaked caps, berets or garrison caps are currently used in addition to this one. Throughout its history, other headwear of various types, colors and shapes have been used, including the Teresiana Kepi. Officially, it is known by the Civil Guard as the "black hat".

On 8 February 1913, Our Lady of the Pillar was declared by royal decree as the guard's exalted patron saint.[28]

• EMTAN Ramon 9x19mm - adopted by the Guardia Civil in 2021 as a new sidearm to fully replace the Beretta 92F in service. The Ramon is similar in appearance to the Glock 19 with some differences. [32][33]
• Heckler & Koch USP Compact 9×19mm (since 2020): The USP pistols were chosen between 2018 and 2019, but the issuing wouldn't start until 2020. [34]
• Beretta 92 9×19mm (Being phased out for H&K USP Compact)
• Heckler & Koch MP5 9×19mm
• EMTAN MZ-4P 5.56×45mm[35]
• Heckler & Koch G36 5.56×45mm
• Heckler & Koch HK33 5.56×45mm
• SIG Sauer MCX Rattler .300 AAC Blackout - 15 Units purchased in 2023
• CETME rifle 7.62×51mm
• SIG SG 553

• CASA CN 235
• INDRA P2006T

• MBB BÖ-105
• MBB/Kawasaki BK-117
• Airbus H-135
• Airbus H-365 Dauphin II