Spanish Marines

The first and most famous Spanish marine units were the Tercio Nuevo de la Mar de Nápoles; Tercio de la Armada del Mar Océano; Tercio de Galeras de Sicilia; Tercio Viejo del Mar Océano y de Infantería Napolitana. But the core of the Spanish Marines was the Tercio Nuevo de la Mar de Nápoles and it bore in its coat of arms two crossed anchors that became the Corps’ coat of arms until 1931.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Tercios became regiments: Regimientos de Bajeles (Vessel’s Regiments), Regimiento de la Armada (Navy Regiment), R. del Mar de Nápoles (Naples’ Sea Regiment), and R. de Marina de Sicilia (Sicily’s Navy Regiment), detaching some small units to the Army, and the main body remained in the Navy becoming the Cuerpo de Batallones de Marina (Navy Battalions Corps).

The Spanish Marines fought in the most savage battle of the 16th century, the Battle of Lepanto, in which the Infantería de Marina defeated the Muslim Turkish fleet in 1571 by boarding the Turkish ships from their galleys in the middle the battle. The most famous Spanish writer, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, fought in this fierce battle, losing his left arm in the battle. Later, he would state: "I sacrificed my left arm for the glory of the right."