Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII

Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII

If the social media posts seeded by LIV insiders are to be believed, Jon Rahm will name his team “Legion XIII.”

As a student (and teacher) of history, I wonder which Legion XIII the team is honoring. Both that I am aware of were military units involved in overthrowing a Republic in favor of a Dictatorship. One also was involved in committing war crimes in both the colonial subjugation of a nearby country and in its own.

Rome’s Legion XIII

Legion XIII, under the command of Julius Caesar, is one of the units that crossed the Rubicon with him to overthrow the Roman republic and establish a line of Dictators, Emperors and God-Kings.

Under the law of the Republic, only elected consuls and praetors could command troops within Italy. A leader who entered Italy (crossing the Rubicon) was no longer legally allowed to command troops. The rule was a bulwark against a military overthrow of the Republic.

Caesar violated the law, triggering a civil war which ended in being granted the title Dictator Perpetuo. That act resulted in the death of the Republic and the somewhat hereditary series of Emperors and God-Kings.

Until Caesar, a dictator was a temporary position authorized by the Senate under extraordinary circumstances, usually a war or rebellion. The Senate maintained oversight, and when the emergency was over, the dictator stepped down.

Cincinnatus (for whom the city is named) was one dictator who was revered as a model of Roman virtue. Given near absolute authority by the Senate to deal with a series of rebellions and invasions, he dealt with the emergency and immediately resigned to return to his farm (we can have a separate argument about whether the rebellions were more virtuous than their crushing).

The US Founding Fathers thought highly of Cincinnatus. The Society of the Cincinnati was formed in 1783 by Continental Army officers. George Washington was compared to Cincinnatus for virtuously stepping down after two terms.

Caesar and his Legio XIII, on the other hand, possessed no such virtue. Legion XIII was one of Caesar’s tools in his rise to despotism.

Spain’s Legion XIII

Perhaps Rahm is thinking about the Spanish Legion XIII.

I recently finished reading a couple of books — I read a lot of history — on the Spanish Civil War and the Moroccan Rif war (The Rif War, volumes 1 and 2 by Javier de Gabiola and The Spanish Civil War by Helen Graham). It is not a pleasant story.

The Spanish Legion was formed in 1920 as an army unit raised for a colonial war (The War of the Rif) against Morocco to prevent it from gaining its independence. Legion XIII was modeled on the French Foreign Legion, which also fought to subjugate Morocco.

Francisco Franco was Legion XIII’s second in command. Yes. THAT Francisco Franco — the fascist Nazi collaborator and Dictator.

The War of the Rif lasted from 1921 to 1926. Ultimately, the Spanish effort also was supported by the French.

Spain’s interest in Morocco was in a part a reaction to Spain’s loss of stature as a world colonial power. By the time King Alphonso XIII came to the throne in 1886, Spain’s colonial sun was setting. The 1898 Spanish American War left Spain only with colonies in Morocco and Guinea. The loss of prestige created an Africanist faction in Spanish politics, pushing for a replacement empire in Africa.

The entire colonial empire movement and US involvement in such is a conversation for another time. There is a lot of unpleasantness there. No one covered themselves in virtue during this time.

In crushing the Moroccan rebellion against French and Spanish rule, Legion XIII committed a long list of well-documented atrocities, including the use of poison gas against civilian populations, torture, forced labor, rape, mutilation and summary executions.

The barbaric techniques used to crush Morocco later were turned against Spain’s own citizens by Legion XIII in the Spanish Civil War.

Following the Rif War, Legion XIII was used in 1934 to crush a miner’s strike in Spain. A number of Legion XIII members eventually were executed for looting, raping and torturing prisoners just as they had in Morocco.

Later, under the command of Franco, Legion XIII was part of the fascist coup that overthrew the Second Spanish Republic and sent the country into a savage civil war.

Franco’s Nationalists were backed by the Nazis. Franco, who rose to power as second-in-command of Legion XIII, then ruled as a fascist dictator from 1938 to 1973.

Like the Roman thirteenth, the Spanish Legion XIII a tool of despotism.

Remember yes. Honor no.

I have long liked Jon Rahm and don’t blame him a bit for taking the LIV cash. If someone offered me $500 million, I’d be tempted.

The Legion XIII name, however, is not a good look. In my mind, honoring Legion XIII is the same as a US-based LIV team celebrating the “Seventh Cavalry,” ignoring its participation in Wounded Knee and other atrocities. Or a Japanese team calling itself Unit 731 (Unit 731 committed biological and chemical crimes against humanity in Japan during WWII).

I also wonder how the Kingdom of Morocco — which in recent years has shown a great interest in golf — will feel about the monicker. I have long had a soft spot in my heart for Morocco, which is the United States’ oldest ally. The Kingdom recognized the US in 1777 — during our War of Independence — and a Moroccan – American Treaty of Friendship has been in place since 1786. I was lucky enough to visit Morocco a few years back on a golf trip.

Some things are best left remembered, but not honored. Legion XIII, whether Roman or Spanish — falls into that category.