Francisco Franco was one of the leaders of the legion and the unit's second-in-command, concurrently commanding the 1st Legion Bandera. The legion fought in Morocco in the War of the Rif (to 1926). Together with the "Regulares" (Moorish colonial troops), the legion made up the Spanish Army of Africa. In October 1934 units of both the legion and the "Regulares" were brought to Spain by the Republican Government to help put down a workers revolt in the area of Asturias.