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118-477: The Spanish military greeted the advent of the Republic with ambivalence. The officer corps was generally made up of conservative monarchists, but following the tumultuous last years of Primo de Rivera’s military dictatorship , which had compromised and discredited the army, most military men preferred to stay clear of politics. It was only when the new regime was set on a firmly leftward course and started to target

236-748: A sidearm or ancillary weapons . Infantry with ranged or polearms often carried a sword or dagger for possible hand-to-hand combat. The pilum was a javelin the Roman legionaries threw just before drawing their primary weapon, the gladius (short sword), and closing with the enemy line. Modern infantrymen now treat the bayonet as a backup weapon, but may also have handguns as sidearms . They may also deploy anti-personnel mines, booby traps, incendiary, or explosive devices defensively before combat. Infantry have employed many different methods of protection from enemy attacks, including various kinds of armour and other gear, and tactical procedures. The most basic

354-681: A successful military operation in Al Hoceima , Spain and France pushed back Abd-el-Krim's forces and regained some control of the Spanish protectorate. After the dictatorship's victory, the Military Directory organised celebrations country-wide. It awarded Primo de Rivera a high honour in the Spanish military, the Gran Cruz Laureada de San Fernando . In December 1925, Primo de Rivera's dictatorship transitioned from

472-410: A coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII . In establishing his dictatorship, Primo de Rivera ousted the liberal government led by Prime Minister Manuel García Prieto and initially gained the support of King Alfonso XIII and the army. During the Military Directory (1923–1925), the dictatorship created

590-628: A few exceptions like the Mongol Empire , infantry has been the largest component of most armies in history. In the Western world , from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages ( c. 8th century BC to 15th century AD), infantry are categorised as either heavy infantry or light infantry . Heavy infantry, such as Greek hoplites , Macedonian phalangites , and Roman legionaries , specialised in dense, solid formations driving into

708-512: A full suit of attack-proof armour would be too heavy to wear in combat. As firearms improved, armour for ranged defence had to be made thicker and heavier, which hindered mobility. With the introduction of the heavy arquebus designed to pierce standard steel armour, it was proven easier to make heavier firearms than heavier armour; armour transitioned to be only for close combat purposes. Pikemen armour tended to be just steel helmets and breastplates, and gunners had very little or no armour at all. By

826-448: A handful of second-rate politicians, chiefly Manuel Burgos y Mazo , and possibly few industrial tycoons. Stanley Payne estimates that only around 5% of the officer corps supported the coup. A number of political heavyweights were at least aware of the conspiracy but assumed an ambiguous stand, the key ones having been Alejandro Lerroux and Melquíades Alvares . Some, also aware, have clearly refused to take part but took no action against

944-417: A hundred meters wide and a dozen rows deep. Maintaining the advantages of heavy infantry meant maintaining formation; this became even more important when two forces with heavy infantry met in battle; the solidity of the formation became the deciding factor. Intense discipline and training became paramount. Empires formed around their military. The organization of military forces into regular military units

1062-577: A large scale. Primo de Rivera ordered the termination of all local governments as he attempted to remove political corruption in Spain, replacing the civil officials with military supervised positions. In April 1924, Primo de Rivera created the Unión Patriótica (UP). UP was the official party of the dictatorship, and it united around vague patriotic ideas, taking the motto: Nation, Church, and King. The party's creation aimed to give

1180-493: A loose sequence of meetings. The conspirators holding highest positions were chief of staff Manuel Goded and head of Carabineros, José Sanjurjo; others commanded field units or garrisons, like generals Emilio Fernández Pérez , Miguel Ponte , Manuel González Carrasco , José Fernández de Villa-Abrille , Rafael Villegas and José González y Fernández . The remaining plotters were retired generals José Cavalcanti and Emilio Barrera  [ es ] , some lower-rank officers,

1298-554: A number of high-command officers, some of them conspiracy members, following the Carabanchel incident. Goded resigned himself in act of solidarity, replaced by a new fully loyal chief of staff. On August 9 Azaña was already fully informed about the decision taken the previous day by the plotters; he forewarned generals in provincial capitals, e.g. in Zaragoza, Barcelona, and Cadiz, and made sure loyal security units were located near

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1416-584: A permanent seat in the League of Nations in 1926, leaving and re-joining the League of Nations in the process, still as a non-permanent member. Primo de Rivera's dictatorship nationalised Spain's economy throughout the Civil Directory. It suppressed free trade and strictly supervised all economic activity in Spain. In 1927, the dictatorship created CAMPSA , a Spanish oil monopoly , by confiscating

1534-399: A problem. This can be avoided by having shield-armed soldiers stand close together, side-by-side, each protecting both themselves and their immediate comrades, presenting a solid shield wall to the enemy. The opponents for these first formations, the close-combat infantry of more tribal societies , or any military without regular infantry (so called " barbarians ") used arms that focused on

1652-440: A return to body armour for infantry, though the extra weight is a notable burden. In modern times, infantrymen must also often carry protective measures against chemical and biological attack, including military gas masks , counter-agents, and protective suits. All of these protective measures add to the weight an infantryman must carry, and may decrease combat efficiency. Early crew-served weapons were siege weapons , like

1770-478: A single reference either to monarchy or to religion. Sanjurjo dismissed both the civil governor and the military commander; he conducted talks with local established conservative politicians, either related to Acción Popular or to defunct Unión Patriótica , some of them landholders, former diputación dignitaries and monarchists. However, he seemed to have most trust in the Carlists; Cristóbal González de Aguilar

1888-510: A successful coup d’état in Barcelona in the mould of 19th-century pronunciamientos . With the army's support, he ousted the parliamentary government of Marquis Manuel García Prieto . Primo de Rivera stated he would create a temporary government to save Spain from the corrupt politicians that had been mismanaging it since 1898. Shortly after, on 14 September, King Alfonso XIII declared his support for Primo de Rivera's coup and dismissed

2006-617: A temporary increase in economic growth . Originally, the dictatorship was going to fund these improvements by implementing a progressive tax system, where Spain's wealthiest people would pay more in tax. This plan was dropped after much resistance from the upper classes . In 1929, Spain experienced an economic downturn that coincided with the start of the Great Depression , and Spaniards lost confidence in Primo de Rivera's dictatorship. The dictatorship also struggled to maintain

2124-463: Is personal armour . This includes shields , helmets and many types of armour – padded linen , leather, lamellar , mail , plate , and kevlar . Initially, armour was used to defend both from ranged and close combat; even a fairly light shield could help defend against most slings and javelins, though high-strength bows and crossbows might penetrate common armour at very close range. Infantry armour had to compromise between protection and coverage, as

2242-744: Is first noted in Egyptian records of the Battle of Kadesh ( c.  1274 BC ). Soldiers were grouped into units of 50, which were in turn grouped into larger units of 250, then 1,000, and finally into units of up to 5,000 – the largest independent command. Several of these Egyptian "divisions" made up an army, but operated independently, both on the march and tactically, demonstrating sufficient military command and control organisation for basic battlefield manoeuvres. Similar hierarchical organizations have been noted in other ancient armies, typically with approximately 10 to 100 to 1,000 ratios (even where base 10

2360-422: Is hardly possible to tell how their rule would unfold. However, Sanjurjo took some measures which allow a glimpse into his vision of the future Spain and which are at times referred to when judging political leaning of the rebels and their actual or would-be social basis. In the morning of August 10 he issued a manifesto, the only public statement of the rebels. It was edited by Juan Pujol and allegedly modeled on

2478-416: Is known about outcome of these talks; some authors claim Ansaldo was promised 200 machine-guns and some suggest that a shipment from Italy might have been already sent; confirmed or not, no foreign impact on the future developments has been proven. Political vision of the conspirators is extremely unclear. Among many conflicts emerging during the planning phase, the key one was that between the monarchists and

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2596-524: The Huelva garrison, according to another he conceded defeat and released his subordinates from all obligations. Soon afterwards, having boarded a car with his son and his ADC colonel Esteban-Infantes , they left Westbound. All three, suspected of fleeing to Portugal , were detained near Huelva around 4:30 AM. During the early morning hours of August 11 the rebel troops in Seville surrendered. Just like

2714-619: The National Assembly , where Spanish corporations had their interests represented. The dictatorship formed good relationships with Italy and increased its interactions with countries in Latin America . It invested heavily in Spanish infrastructure, such as roads and railways, and expanded labour laws to assist nursing mothers in the workforce. Throughout the dictatorship, women became an increasing percentage of Spain's skilled labour . In 1929 an economic downturn occurred, and

2832-638: The Philippines , Cuba , and Puerto Rico , Spain experienced increasing social strife. Along with the defeat of Annual in 1921 against Riffian tribesmen in Spain’s Moroccan Protectorate , Spain was dominated by a desire for regeneration. Following the defeat at Annual, the Spanish parliament inquired into assigning responsibility for the loss. Right before Primo de Rivera took over, the results of this inquiry were going to be released to

2950-1142: The Royal Dragoon Guards , Royal Lancers , and King's Royal Hussars . Similarly, motorised infantry have trucks and other unarmed vehicles for non-combat movement, but are still infantry since they leave their vehicles for any combat. Most modern infantry have vehicle transport, to the point where infantry being motorised is generally assumed, and the few exceptions might be identified as modern light infantry . Mechanised infantry go beyond motorised, having transport vehicles with combat abilities, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), providing at least some options for combat without leaving their vehicles. In modern infantry, some APCs have evolved to be infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), which are transport vehicles with more substantial combat abilities, approaching those of light tanks . Some well-equipped mechanised infantry can be designated as armoured infantry . Given that infantry forces typically also have some tanks, and given that most armoured forces have more mechanised infantry units than tank units in their organisation,

3068-530: The Spanish Saharan military prison outpost in Villa Cisneros , few released as late as the fall of 1933. Around 300 officers considered accomplices not involved were stripped of command. 382 families deemed involved in the coup were expropriated; since almost all were landholders, their former estates became subject to agrarian reform. Taking advantage of administrative measures available under

3186-442: The ballista , trebuchet , and battering ram . Modern versions include machine guns , anti-tank missiles , and infantry mortars . Beginning with the development the first regular military forces, close-combat regular infantry fought less as unorganised groups of individuals and more in coordinated units, maintaining a defined tactical formation during combat, for increased battlefield effectiveness; such infantry formations and

3304-409: The exchange rate of Spain's currency, the peseta , and no economic policy it tried stopped the peseta from falling in value. In 1924, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera gave unmarried women the right to vote in local elections if they were older than 23 and not subject to any parental authority. Women were also allowed to run for office in town councils, and fourteen women were invited to be on

3422-469: The 1800s with the invention of more accurate and powerful weapons. In English, use of the term infantry began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot. The word derives from Middle French infanterie , from older Italian (also Spanish) infanteria (foot soldiers too inexperienced for cavalry), from Latin īnfāns (without speech, newborn, foolish), from which English also gets infant . The individual-soldier term infantryman

3540-592: The 1936 coup if not the Civil War itself. In Marxist historiography the coup is presented as a counter-revolutionary attempt financed by oligarchy of landowners, though also in many other scholarly works Sanjurjada is lined-up in a history of right-wing violence, increasingly flavored with authoritarian trends. There are scholars who consider Sanjurjo's action a stepping stone from accidentalism to fascism . Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera 's dictatorship over Spain began with

3658-527: The American all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment (ALICE). Infantrymen are defined by their primary arms – the personal weapons and body armour for their own individual use. The available technology, resources, history, and society can produce quite different weapons for each military and era, but common infantry weapons can be distinguished in a few basic categories. Infantrymen often carry secondary or back-up weapons, sometimes called

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3776-563: The Directory and present them to the king to sign. Primo de Rivera framed the formation of his dictatorship as a patriotic action against the ineffectiveness of Spain's liberal system. Through this, Primo de Rivera presented himself as Joaquín Costa's ' Iron Surgeon ,' who would perform surgery on Spain to cure the political corruption and social chaos that plagued it. He stated: "I have no experience in government. Our methods are as simple as they are ingenious. They are methods for which

3894-610: The Military Directory that he would find a quick solution to the Rif War , where Riffian rebels opposed the Spanish colonial presence in northern Morocco. Primo de Rivera initially aimed to negotiate with Abd-el-Krim , the Riffian leader, to end the conflict. He withdrew 29,000 recruits from Spain's Moroccan Protectorate by the end of 1923 and an additional 26,000 by March 1924. In total, Primo de Rivera abandoned 180 military bases by mid-December. In doing so, he also aimed to reduce

4012-571: The Military Directory to the Civil Directory. During the Civil Directory, Primo de Rivera created the National Assembly, where corporate interests were represented rather than voters' individual interests. Groups such as the UP, the Church, and the army were represented in the National Assembly, along with local governments and various economic organisations. Primo de Rivera also decreed that

4130-662: The Ministry of Interior. Though the coup failed, its outcome significantly contributed to the future sequence of events. Perhaps its most important result was further radicalization of the Left; ensured that reaction would never come to terms with the Republican regime, their propaganda embraced increasingly sectarian tone and spurred belligerency of the party militias. Amnesty to those involved in Sanjurjada became key program of

4248-509: The Ministry of War. The rebel plan relied on decisive action of few determined officers in some key garrisons; Barrera would act as the supreme military authority. In Madrid, conspirators counted on two infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments, smaller auxiliary units and one tercio of Guardia Civil . Detached sub-units were supposed to take control of the Ministry of War building , declare state of war and move on to seize other key spots in

4366-473: The National Assembly in 1927. However, Primo de Rivera made his view on the role of women clear, saying: "Women can do as much good as men, and undertake and accomplish all the tasks performed by men. But there is one that is essential in women: housekeeping, and that is what really underscores their importance." The dictatorship encouraged large families, and in 1926 it started subsidising families with more than eight children. The dictatorship also protected

4484-420: The Republic, equidistant between the former two. Another author suggests there were 2 strands, an Alfonsist one and a "constitutionalist" one, though initially all that was rather secondary to generally corporative nature of the growing dissatisfaction. Since the late 1931 a number of officers have been discussing a possible coup. The talks, carried out in private and in public, until the early summer of 1932 were

4602-446: The Republican law, provincial civil governors detained some 5,000 people for few days or at most few weeks. The government took advantage of the coup to crack down on most centers of perceived anti-Republican activity, either involved in the conspiracy or not: some 130 newspapers were closed, usually temporarily, and most premises belonging to parties and organizations deemed involved were shut down. Azaña made sure that Guardia de Asalto

4720-643: The Rif War, Primo de Rivera's dictatorship pushed for Tangier to be included in the Spanish protectorate in Morocco. A conference with France in 1927 failed to settle the matter, as did a 1928 conference with France, Italy, and Britain. All the dictatorship gained was the post of the city's chief of police and improvements in the protection of arms trafficking in Tangier's international zone . Primo de Rivera also launched an unsuccessful campaign for Spain to have

4838-531: The Rif", he issued first engagement orders. However, as the night was getting late he started to realize that isolated and with government apparently determined to act, his position was getting very difficult. Around 1 AM on August 11, two of his high commanding officers informed Sanjurjo that given the circumstances, they were not prepared to engage in what looked like a forthcoming fratricidal battle. According to one author he declared leaving to ensure compliance of

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4956-644: The Right during the 1933 elections, leading to further, bi-polar division of political scene. Azaña rested in his disdainful confidence that the military were pathetic failures, which would lead to his complacency and self-assurance in the spring of 1936 . The rebellion seriously weakened Lerroux, commencing disintegration of the Radical Party . Future conspirators concluded that any action should not rely on retired or off-duty generals but must be organized by officers holding key command positions, as indeed would be

5074-507: The Swiss, English, Aragonese and German, to men-at-arms who went into battle as well-armoured as knights, the latter of which at times also fought on foot. The creation of standing armies —permanently assembled for war or defence—saw increase in training and experience. The increased use of firearms and the need for drill to handle them efficiently. The introduction of national and mass armies saw an establishment of minimum requirements and

5192-527: The afternoon of August 9, he arrived in Seville around 5 AM on August 10. Having set his provisional headquarters at a private estate, he sent envoys to both civil governor and military commander, demanding compliance. There are conflicting accounts on their position: according to some they refused, according to the others they assumed an ambiguous stand. Faced with a possible stalemate, Sanjurjo decided to act. He showed up at Plaza de España, acclaimed by local Guardia Civil; his aide, García de la Herrán , did

5310-443: The arms they used developed together, starting with the spear and the shield. A spear has decent attack abilities with the additional advantage keeping opponents at distance; this advantage can be increased by using longer spears, but this could allow the opponent to side-step the point of the spear and close for hand-to-hand combat where the longer spear is near useless. This can be avoided when each spearman stays side by side with

5428-557: The army for serious reform that voices of dissent started to be heard. A series of reforms , introduced since 1931 by the Prime Minister and the minister of war at the same time, Manuel Azaña , was aimed at scaling down an overgrown officer corps, structural reform and bringing the armed forces firmly under the civilian control. This, combined with Azaña's patronising, if not contemptuous, rhetoric, proved fertile soil for growth of corporative disenchantment. The government confronted

5546-475: The army would remain passive. There was little if any bloodshed anticipated. Though some military thought the plan an outdated 19th-century-style pronunciamiento , others considered prestige of some participants, especially Sanjurjo and Barrera, sufficient to win the army. In April 1932 the conspirators sought support from the Fascist Italy , and their envoy Juan Ansaldo spoke with Italo Balbo . Little

5664-519: The capital. At the same time, other military conspirators were tasked with taking control of a number of provincial garrisons, the key ones in Seville, Pamplona , Valladolid , Granada and Cádiz ; in case of a stalemate in Madrid, they were supposed to send rebel reinforcements to the capital. The rebels did not expect major opposition; they assumed the government would give in, militant workers would be overwhelmed before they could take action and most of

5782-411: The carrying burden is spread across several infantrymen. In all, this can reach 25–45 kg (60–100 lb) for each soldier on the march. Such heavy infantry burdens have changed little over centuries of warfare; in the late Roman Republic, legionaries were nicknamed " Marius' mules " as their main activity seemed to be carrying the weight of their legion around on their backs, a practice that predates

5900-457: The case 4 years later. As the coup was about military rebels having been defeated by military loyalists, would-be future plotters overfocused on the army; they disregarded potential for popular resistance, which in 1936 would prove decisive in opposing the insurgents. For Gil-Robles Sanjurjada demonstrated utter nonsense of violent means and reinforced penchant for constitutional path, pursued later by CEDA . Own successful decisiveness when repelling

6018-404: The civilian government, suspending the 1876 Spanish constitution . He made Primo de Rivera the head of a new Military Directory, with powers to propose "whatever decrees are convenient" to the king. There was initially a lot of support in Spain for the coup. Not only were conservative newspapers like La Vanguardia supportive, liberal media such as El Sol also stated their support for

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6136-783: The communists and socialists) won a majority of city council seats over monarchists in urban centres and provincial capitals. These results demonstrated how the public no longer favoured King Alfonso XIII. He resigned after the election, and Spain's Second Republic was established on the 14 or 15 of April 1931. Infantry Infantry is a specialization of military personnel who engage in warfare combat . Infantry generally consists of light infantry , irregular infantry , heavy infantry , mountain infantry , motorized infantry , mechanized infantry , airborne infantry , air assault infantry , and naval infantry . Other types of infantry, such as line infantry and mounted infantry , were once commonplace but fell out of favor in

6254-491: The conspirators their talks became sort of a public secret; the government was aware of the conspiracy also thanks to a well developed network of informers. Prime Minister Azaña judged that the plotters lacked extensive backing and that instead of mounting a pre-emptive strike, he would be better off allowing the coup to unfold, effectively setting up a trap. Apart from ensuring that loyal commanders were on alert and loyal units were stationed near key points, in late July he relieved

6372-399: The conspirators. The emerging centre-right leader José María Gil Robles rejected the scheme from the onset and the official Carlist executive withdrew from initial informal talks about requetés taking part, though some Carlists individually pledged support. The conspiracy climaxed in a meeting of August 8 in Madrid, when final decision to act was taken. Due to rather loose discipline among

6490-450: The costs of the campaign to Spain and the dictatorship. This withdrawal displeased many africanistas in the army, who encouraged a more aggressive policy in Morocco. The pressure from the africanistas, along with an escalating Riffian offensive in 1924, persuaded Primo de Rivera that continuing his withdrawal would have severe political consequences and could endanger his regime. His dictatorship secured French aid in 1925, and following

6608-596: The dictatorship credibility and maintain the public's conformity under Primo de Rivera's dictatorship. Once in power, Primo de Rivera's dictatorship quickly enforced laws against separatism , which banned teaching the Catalan language , singing the Catalan national anthem , and displaying the Catalan flag . After the coup, the dictatorship also imposed rigid censorship on the press. It censored all publications, telephones, and telegraphs and encouraged them to promote patriotic ideas. Primo de Rivera promised early into

6726-430: The dissent with few arrests, a number of personal reassignments and a handful of new regulations, which tightened its grip on the army further on. There is little indication that growing opposition among some of the generals was fuelled by ongoing political controversies, especially the problems of agrarian reform, relations between state and church, re-defining labor regulations and ambitions of peripheral nationalisms. It

6844-463: The distinction between mechanised infantry and armour forces has blurred. The first military forces in history were infantry. In antiquity , infantry were armed with early melee weapons such as a spear , axe , or sword , or an early ranged weapon like a javelin , sling , or bow , with a few infantrymen being expected to use both a melee and a ranged weapon. With the development of gunpowder , infantry began converting to primarily firearms . By

6962-509: The early afternoon of August 10 they were loaded onto trains and departed towards the Andalusian capital. Further 2 battalions were concentrated in Ceuta , 2 tabores of regulares were swiftly brought from Africa to Cadiz and an aviation bombing unit was relocated from Barcelona to Cartagena . Commanders of neighboring garrisons, Cádiz in particular, issued orders to prepare for combat. In

7080-455: The enemy to prepare for the main forces' battlefield attack, protecting them from flanking manoeuvers , and then afterwards either pursuing the fleeing enemy or covering their army's retreat. After the fall of Rome, the quality of heavy infantry declined, and warfare was dominated by heavy cavalry , such as knights , forming small elite units for decisive shock combat , supported by peasant infantry militias and assorted light infantry from

7198-442: The eponymous Gaius Marius . When combat is expected, infantry typically switch to "packing light", meaning reducing their equipment to weapons, ammunition, and other basic essentials, and leaving other items deemed unnecessary with their transport or baggage train , at camp or rally point, in temporary hidden caches, or even (in emergencies) simply discarding the items. Additional specialised equipment may be required, depending on

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7316-463: The evening first loyalist units started to deploy South of Seville and the city trade unions declared general strike. In the late afternoon Sanjurjo was already aware that the coup failed not only in Madrid but also in all other provincial garrisons; he also learnt about government units heading towards Seville. Despite the news, he seemed determined to fight off the loyalists. Due to his decisive and valiant stand during Moroccan wars nicknamed "Lion of

7434-460: The events unfold from the upper floor of the ministry; by 8 AM the coup in Madrid was over. Undetected, Barrera, Cavalcanti and Fernandez Perez left their hideout. As was initially agreed in case of failure, Barrera took a prepared plane to Pamplona. Since the city remained calm he made it to Biarritz seeking a long-distance aircraft which would take him to Seville, but having failed he returned to Pamplona and flew back to Madrid, where he spent

7552-400: The existence of any organised military, likely started essentially as loose groups without any organisation or formation. But this changed sometime before recorded history ; the first ancient empires (2500–1500 BC) are shown to have some soldiers with standardised military equipment, and the training and discipline required for battlefield formations and manoeuvres: regular infantry . Though

7670-434: The expected duration of time operating away from their unit's base, plus any special mission-specific equipment. One of the most valuable pieces of gear is the entrenching tool —basically a folding spade —which can be employed not only to dig important defences, but also in a variety of other daily tasks, and even sometimes as a weapon. Infantry typically have shared equipment on top of this, like tents or heavy weapons, where

7788-473: The forthcoming coup, resulting in extra measures undertaken to ensure nothing unexpected happens. As a result, even the officers determined to act found it semi-suicidal to commence rebellion. The only major urban centre in Spain where the coup triumphed was Seville. It was Sanjurjo appointed to lead the rebels in the city and back in July he established his operational network in the garrison. Having left Madrid in

7906-516: The good of the [homeland] dictates and our resolutions are taken while we are kneeling at the shrine of the national spirit." Primo de Rivera connected many of his speeches with religious themes, and Catholicism was integral to his dictatorship's discourse. Primo de Rivera stated how disseminating patriotism was 'preaching', and he collaborated with the Catholic Church throughout his dictatorship to promote patriotism and patriotic ideas on

8024-432: The groups. Women's participation in the workforce as skilled workers also increased rapidly from 1925 to 1930, as did the percentage of women in apprenticeship programs , which rose from 32.6% to 36.4% throughout the late 1920s. James Rial notes that these changes in women's status occurred without any political undertakings from the dictatorship. The economic struggles of 1929 and the dictatorship's failure to stabilise

8142-889: The individual – weapons using personal strength and force, such as larger swinging swords, axes, and clubs. These take more room and individual freedom to swing and wield, necessitating a more loose organisation. While this may allow for a fierce running attack (an initial shock advantage) the tighter formation of the heavy spear and shield infantry gave them a local manpower advantage where several might be able to fight each opponent. Thus tight formations heightened advantages of heavy arms, and gave greater local numbers in melee. To also increase their staying power, multiple rows of heavy infantrymen were added. This also increased their shock combat effect; individual opponents saw themselves literally lined-up against several heavy infantryman each, with seemingly no chance of defeating all of them. Heavy infantry developed into huge solid block formations, up to

8260-764: The installations and sales outlets of private oil companies in Spain, including large foreign firms like Shell . Primo de Rivera also raised tariffs on foreign goods, with the League of Nations labelling Spain the most protectionist country in the world in 1927. Spanish goods were promoted over foreign goods, and the dictatorship launched campaigns that presented buying Spanish goods as patriotic while it criticised Spaniards who assumed that foreign goods were better quality than Spanish goods. Primo de Rivera's dictatorship increased spending on public infrastructure and worked to improve roads, railways, irrigation networks, and more. The dictatorship paid for these improvements by taking on large amounts of debt , and this led to

8378-422: The introduction of special troops (first of them the engineers going back to medieval times, but also different kinds of infantry adopted to specific terrain, bicycle, motorcycle, motorised and mechanised troops) culminating with the introduction of highly trained special forces during the first and second World War. Naval infantry, commonly known as marines , are primarily a category of infantry that form part of

8496-422: The king appointed General Damaso Berenguer as the new Prime Minister of Spain. Berenguer prepared to return to the parliamentary monarchy that existed before Primo de Rivera's dictatorship. This plan was opposed by republicans, socialists , and people like Niceto Alcalá‐Zamora , who no longer supported Alfonso XIII or the monarchy. In Spain's next elections in 1931, republicans and their coalition (including

8614-725: The lower classes. Towards the end of Middle Ages, this began to change, where more professional and better trained light infantry could be effective against knights, such as the English longbowmen in the Hundred Years' War . By the start of the Renaissance , the infantry began to return to a larger role, with Swiss pikemen and German Landsknechts filling the role of heavy infantry again, using dense formations of pikes to drive off any cavalry. Dense formations are vulnerable to ranged weapons. Technological developments allowed

8732-417: The main enemy lines, using weight of numbers to achieve a decisive victory , and were usually equipped with heavier weapons and armour to fit their role. Light infantry, such as Greek peltasts , Balearic slingers , and Roman velites , using open formations and greater manoeuvrability, took on most other combat roles: scouting , screening the army on the march, skirmishing to delay, disrupt, or weaken

8850-447: The main force of the army, these forces were usually kept small due to their cost of training and upkeep, and might be supplemented by local short-term mass-conscript forces using the older irregular infantry weapons and tactics; this remained a common practice almost up to modern times. Before the adoption of the chariot to create the first mobile fighting forces c.  2000 BC , all armies were pure infantry. Even after, with

8968-492: The manifesto prepared by the Republican rebels in the Jaca uprising in 1930. Grandiose and verbose in terms of style but enigmatic and vague in terms of contents, it lambasted the regime as based on social injustice and unlawful despotism, producing nothing but suffering and misery of the millions. In veiled language it made references to autonomous regulations as to assault on integrity of Spain, and to street violence as to chaos and

9086-487: The mid 17th century began replacement of the pike with the infantry square replacing the pike square. To maximise their firepower, musketeer infantry were trained to fight in wide lines facing the enemy, creating line infantry . These fulfilled the central battlefield role of earlier heavy infantry, using ranged weapons instead of melee weapons. To support these lines, smaller infantry formations using dispersed skirmish lines were created, called light infantry, fulfilling

9204-445: The military officials still holding government positions must return to their military duties, and civil governors were appointed to replace them. With the creation of the Civil Directory, Primo de Rivera rejected returning to a parliamentary system , as promised in 1923, and oriented towards a long-term rule for his dictatorship. Primo de Rivera's dictatorship formed good relationships with Fascist Italy . The dictatorship banned

9322-430: The ministry building, managed to deploy Guardia Civil and Guardia de Asalto units on defensive positions around Plaza de Cibeles before the rebels marched in. The shootout lasted around 30 minutes before loyalist units outflanked the rebels and started to advance from other neighboring streets. At this point the rebels acknowledged defeat; some started to flee, some were wounded and most of them surrendered. Azaña watched

9440-595: The mission or to the particular terrain or environment, including satchel charges , demolition tools, mines , or barbed wire , carried by the infantry or attached specialists. Historically, infantry have suffered high casualty rates from disease , exposure, exhaustion and privation — often in excess of the casualties suffered from enemy attacks. Better infantry equipment to support their health, energy, and protect from environmental factors greatly reduces these rates of loss, and increase their level of effective action. Health, energy, and morale are greatly influenced by how

9558-431: The neighborhood; instead, rather loose groups of some 100 officers and civilians attempted to enter the building using the back entrance at calle de Prim . They were fired at by the sentries, suffered first losses and started to withdraw. Another, smaller group of equally disorganized rebels entered the nearby Palacio de Comunicaciones hoping to take command of Guardia Civil stationed there, but some were taken prisoner and

9676-401: The night. Informed that Sanjurjo had been detained he dismissed the news as false and flew to Seville, due to lack of fuel landing on an improvised airfield. As his pilot managed to get petrol, on August 12 Barrera flew back to Madrid and, disguised, made it to France by way of cars and buses. In almost none of the provincial garrisons there was any rebellious action recorded. One of the reasons

9794-455: The official party of the regime, the Unión Patriótica (UP). It also censored the Spanish press and worked to eliminate separatism in Catalonia . Under Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, Spain won the Rif War , where Spanish forces fought Riffian tribes in Morocco. Primo de Rivera's dictatorship established the Civil Directory in 1925. During the Civil Directory, Primo de Rivera created

9912-400: The others in close formation, each covering the ones next to him, presenting a solid wall of spears to the enemy that they cannot get around. Similarly, a shield has decent defence abilities, but is literally hit-or-miss; an attack from an unexpected angle can bypass it completely. Larger shields can cover more, but are also heavier and less manoeuvrable, making unexpected attacks even more of

10030-536: The others withdrew. None of the infantry and cavalry regiments supposed to rise did. The only sub-unit which rose to arms was Depósito de Remonta; its company with some 70 soldiers commanded by colonel Martinez de Baños marched out from the barracks towards Paseo de la Castellana , where they met insurgents withdrawing from earlier failed attempts; the group grew to some 300 men. At that time, colonel Juan Hernández and captain Arturo Menéndez , commanding from

10148-408: The perspective of a civil war. The total number of fatal casualties is usually given as around 10, all of them result of the Madrid clashes: some sources claim 2 officers and 7 soldiers, others count in also 2 rebel civilians. An unclear number of wounded, probably around 20–30, was recorded. As no artillery was used, there were no major damages. Key conspirators captured were trialed: Esteban-Infantes

10266-637: The press from attacking Fascist Italy, and Primo de Rivera spoke of his admiration for Italy's Prime Minister , Mussolini . Primo de Rivera also linked his dictatorship to Spain's former colonies in Latin America. The dictatorship organised many initiatives to further these relations, such as the 1929 Iberian-American Exhibition in Seville, where it invited Latin American countries to attend. It signed commercial treaties with Argentina and Cuba, and established radio-telegraph links with Uruguay and Brazil, among other Latin-American countries. After

10384-508: The previous morning, when Sanjurjo was taking over the city, no shot was fired and no casualty was recorded. Compared to other instances of violent anti-government insurgency of the Second Republic the coup did not produce massive bloodshed, first because the government monitored the plot and contained insurgency before it could unfold, but also because Sanjurjo, the only rebel commanding significant troops, stepped back when faced with

10502-466: The province. At 10 AM he was in full control, aware of the Madrid failure but unclear about other provincial capitals. He was also aware that the rebels seized control in Jerez de la Frontera , a city in the neighboring province of Cádiz; the local Guardia Civil commander Pedro Romero Basart was an oldtime Sanjurjo acquaintance. The rebel control of Seville lasted no longer than 24 hours and hence, it

10620-528: The public, and they implicated many high-ranking military officials. This exacerbated the deteriorating relationship between the politicians and the military, who felt the politicians were to blame. The military at first planned to install a new government led by General Francisco Aguilera, president of the Supreme Council of Military Justice, but they ultimately chose Primo de Rivera to lead this new government. On 13 September, Primo de Rivera staged

10738-458: The raising of large numbers of light infantry units armed with ranged weapons, without the years of training expected for traditional high-skilled archers and slingers. This started slowly, first with crossbowmen , then hand cannoneers and arquebusiers , each with increasing effectiveness, marking the beginning of early modern warfare , when firearms rendered the use of heavy infantry obsolete. The introduction of musketeers using bayonets in

10856-471: The rebels might have given Arturo Menéndez excessive confidence during the Casas Viejas incident half a year later. Last but not least, the events elevated Sanjurjo to symbolic champion of later conspiracy , resulting in his appointment to nominal leader of the 1936 coup. There are conflicting views on long-term impact of the coup on stability of the Republic. Some authors maintain that it strengthened

10974-727: The regime and helped to consolidate the forces supporting it. Others claim that the coup and Azaña's strategy to let it develop weakened the Republic by rocking the already unstable boat of Spanish politics. It was the first major attempt against the Republican constitutional order – thought not against the Republic itself - and soon it would prove the point of reference for the Right and for the Left, both sides plotting their own subversive schemes. There are students who compare Sanjurjada to 19th-century Spanish pronunciamientos: military-driven, politically ambiguous, praetorian in concept, with restoring order as key rationale and no popular mobilisation involved. Others consider it rather preconfiguration of

11092-410: The regime on the understanding that Primo de Rivera would leave power in three months, as he initially declared. In El Sol , Jose Ortega y Gasset wrote: "The alpha and omega of the military directory's task is to do away with the old politics. Their goal is so excellent as to preclude reservations." The Catholic Church and the wider Spanish public also showed their backing of the dictatorship, and

11210-411: The republicans, the former headed by Barrera and the latter by Goded. The republicans seemed to prevail; most of the conspirators envisioned the coup as aiming to topple the government, not the Republic. A vague practical compromise was agreed; following the victorious coup Barrera would create a committee assuming supreme power, headed by himself with Cavalcanti and Fernandez Perez forming part; their task

11328-538: The rights of individual workers with its 1926 labour code . It introduced maternity benefits and allowed nursing mothers a paid hour each day to feed their babies. In November 1926, the dictatorship created the National Corporative Association, where committees representing trade and industry would meet with an equal proportion of employers and employee representatives. They discussed legislation and aimed to solve labour conflicts between

11446-437: The rule of criminals. Claiming responsibility for the country, the document pledged loyalty to the Republican system, but declared Cortes illegal from the very onset. It pledged to restore order, tranquility and social justice by means of discipline and the rule of law; it declared formation of a provisional governing Junta, which would hand over power to a new, legitimate parliament elected by the people. The document contained not

11564-489: The same in the Zapateros barracks. From that moment most units in the city adhered to the coup; colonel Puigdendolas , the most determined of the loyalists, was disarmed before he could take action. With no opposition, Sanjurjo moved his command post to Capitania General building at Plaza de la Gavidia, declared state of war, gave press interviews, issued a manifesto and started appointing new civil and military authorities in

11682-1041: The same multiple roles as earlier light infantry. Their arms were no lighter than line infantry; they were distinguished by their skirmish formation and flexible tactics. The modern rifleman infantry became the primary force for taking and holding ground on battlefields as an element of combined arms . As firepower continued to increase, use of infantry lines diminished, until all infantry became light infantry in practice. Modern classifications of infantry have since expanded to reflect modern equipment and tactics, such as motorised infantry , mechanised or armoured infantry , mountain infantry , marine infantry , and airborne infantry . Beyond main arms and armour, an infantryman's "military kit" generally includes combat boots , battledress or combat uniform , camping gear , heavy weather gear, survival gear , secondary weapons and ammunition , weapon service and repair kits, health and hygiene items, mess kit , rations , filled water canteen , and all other consumables each infantryman needs for

11800-403: The sketchy nature of their plan, but they feared that delay would lead to arrests and decimate the command structure; the moment of rebellion was set at 4 AM, August 10, 1932. During the night Barrera, Cavalcanti and Fernandez Perez placed themselves in one of the buildings next to the Ministry of War. Despite the plan, no organized military sub-unit showed up in the very early morning hours in

11918-723: The soldier is fed, so militaries issue standardised field rations that provide palatable meals and enough calories to keep a soldier well-fed and combat-ready. Communications gear has become a necessity, as it allows effective command of infantry units over greater distances, and communication with artillery and other support units. Modern infantry can have GPS , encrypted individual communications equipment, surveillance and night vision equipment, advanced intelligence and other high-tech mission-unique aids. Armies have sought to improve and standardise infantry gear to reduce fatigue for extended carrying, increase freedom of movement, accessibility, and compatibility with other carried gear, such as

12036-399: The stock market rising immediately after the coup is indicative of the confidence Spaniards had in the new regime. Some of the only detractors of the coup were the small Communist party ( Partido Comunista de España ) and Anarchist trade unions. The Military Directory consisted of eight generals and one admiral. They were subordinate to Primo de Rivera, who could alone approve Decrees for

12154-464: The time of Napoleonic warfare , infantry, cavalry and artillery formed a basic triad of ground forces, though infantry usually remained the most numerous. With armoured warfare , armoured fighting vehicles have replaced the horses of cavalry, and airpower has added a new dimension to ground combat, but infantry remains pivotal to all modern combined arms operations. The first warriors, adopting hunting weapons or improvised melee weapons, before

12272-445: The time of the musket, the dominance of firepower shifted militaries away from any close combat, and use of armour decreased, until infantry typically went without wearing any armour. Helmets were added back during World War I as artillery began to dominate the battlefield, to protect against their fragmentation and other blast effects beyond a direct hit. Modern developments in bullet-proof composite materials like kevlar have started

12390-531: The tribal host assembled from farmers and hunters with only passing acquaintance with warfare and masses of lightly armed and ill-trained militia put up as a last ditch effort. Kushite king Taharqa enjoyed military success in the Near East as a result of his efforts to strengthen the army through daily training in long-distance running. In medieval times the foot soldiers varied from peasant levies to semi-permanent companies of mercenaries, foremost among them

12508-529: The value of the Spanish peseta fell. The army's grievances with Primo de Rivera grew, and seeing this, the King stopped supporting the dictatorship. Primo de Rivera resigned in 1930, ending his dictatorship, and General Dámaso Berenguer succeeded him before Spain's Second Republic was established in 1931. After the 1898 Spanish defeat to the United States, where Spain lost its remaining colonies in

12626-402: The value of the peseta were large hits to its reputation. According to Carr, "it was not, however, the collapse of prosperity 1929 that brought down the regime: the fundamental failure was a political failure." Primo de Rivera failed to establish political legitimacy for his rule. The 1876 constitution was suspended when he came to power, and the new constitution created by the National Assembly

12744-613: The weapon speciality; examples of infantry units that retained such names are the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Grenadier Guards . Dragoons were created as mounted infantry , with horses for travel between battles; they were still considered infantry since they dismounted before combat. However, if light cavalry was lacking in an army, any available dragoons might be assigned their duties; this practice increased over time, and dragoons eventually received all

12862-452: The weapons and training as both infantry and cavalry, and could be classified as both. Conversely, starting about the mid-19th century, regular cavalry have been forced to spend more of their time dismounted in combat due to the ever-increasing effectiveness of enemy infantry firearms. Thus most cavalry transitioned to mounted infantry. As with grenadiers, the dragoon and cavalry designations can be retained long after their horses, such as in

12980-435: Was a reliable and loyal republican guard; the formation was further expanded to 10,000. On the other hand, it was decided to decrease the powers of Minister of War and split control over other armed uniformed branches: Carabineros , formation serving mostly as border guards and uninvolved in the coup, but since February 1932 headed by Sanjurjo, were moved to the Ministry of Finance and similarly, Guardia Civil were transferred to

13098-573: Was nominated the new civil governor while others were appointed either to ayuntamiento or to some military positions, both in the city or in the controlled areas. No systematic repressive action was organized, though in the afternoon mounted police was sent to disperse the proletarian crowd, heading for the ayuntamiento and shouting "death to Sanjurjo!". Though the government lost control in Seville, Azaña and his staff were determined to regain it. Two regiments of infantry and further artillery units, all led by trusted commanders, were assembled in Madrid. In

13216-570: Was not coined until 1837. In modern usage, foot soldiers of any era are now considered infantry and infantrymen. From the mid-18th century until 1881, the British Army named its infantry as numbered regiments "of Foot" to distinguish them from cavalry and dragoon regiments (see List of Regiments of Foot ). Infantry equipped with special weapons were often named after that weapon, such as grenadiers for their grenades , or fusiliers for their fusils . These names can persist long after

13334-399: Was not common), similar to modern sections (squads) , companies , and regiments . The training of the infantry has differed drastically over time and from place to place. The cost of maintaining an army in fighting order and the seasonal nature of warfare precluded large permanent armies. The antiquity saw everything from the well-trained and motivated citizen armies of Greece and Rome,

13452-422: Was rather politicians who attempted to bank on frustration of the military, some of them second-rank Alfonsist monarchists, some of them Republicans and some of them Carlists . A contemporary scholar distinguished between 3 different lobbying groups pursuing 3 paths: a "constitutional" revolt aimed at installing a new less radical regime, a coup leading to monarchist restoration and a technical "rectification" of

13570-494: Was rejected by the monarchists , liberals , and republicans . The army also had grievances with Primo de Rivera and his dictatorship. These complaints mainly came from members of Spain's artillery corps, whom Primo de Rivera suspended in 1926. As the king saw Primo de Rivera lose support among the army, he could no longer support Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, and Primo de Rivera resigned on 28 January 1930, ending his dictatorship. Following Primo de Rivera's resignation ,

13688-443: Was sentenced to 12 years in prison, Garcia de Herrán to lifetime incarceration and Sanjurjo received death penalty, soon commuted to life imprisonment. Since the Republican legal system did not allow trials in absentia, leaders who fled Spain, including Barrera, were effectively barred from re-entering the country and condemned to exile. Some 200 officers were brought to trial; ultimately 144 of them, plus some civilians, were deported to

13806-439: Was that the decision to rise did not reach some local conspirators; also, many of them remained vacillating and in fact preferred to join the already successful action than to take the risk of initiating the insurgency. The key reason, however, was that the conspiracy network in provincial capitals was skimpy and that the government took appropriate precautionary steps. On August 9 Azaña alerted all trusted provincial commanders about

13924-503: Was to restore public order. What would happen next is not clear. According to some scholars, the conspirators planned to replace the Azaña cabinet with a government headed by a politician considered more moderate, most likely Lerroux. According to the others, provisional military authority was supposed to organize elections to Cortes Constituentes; this in turn might or might not lead to a monarchical restoration. The conspirators were aware of

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