government decided to send the Legion to Spain and so, on June 28, 1835, the Legion was handed over to the Spanish government. This had the added benefit that in the event that France decided to remove itself from the conflict in Spain, the government would not have to deal with the issue of extricating Frenchmen from conflict. The Legion disembarked at the port of Tarragona in Catalonia on 17 August with around 4,100 men. The calling them Los Argelinos (the Algerians) due to their previous posting. Upon his arrival Colonel Bernelle was granted the rank Marshall of the Royal Armies of Her Majestsy Isabelle II. One of Col. Bernelle's first actions as commander of the Legion was to reorganize the Foreign Legion, abolishing the previous system of battalions organized around the nationality of the enlisted men. The extant battalions of the Foreign Legion at the time were replaced with five newly consolidated battalions composed of members from every battalion throughout the legion regardless of nationality. Each of these five battalions would have two companies considered elite in comparison to regular line infantry companies; one of these companies was composed of grenadiers and the other was composed of voltigeurs. Surprisingly the newly heterogeneous nature of the origins of soldiers within the battalions fostered a competitive environment among the ranks with soldiers striving to outdo soldiers of origins alien to their own. Col. Bernelle upon the Legion's arrival in Spain issued an order instituting corporal punishment; Bernelle reasoned that though the practice of caning was forbidden in the French Army, it was permissible in the Spanish Army of which he was now a part. By September 1836, Bernelle ordered the Legion to move out from their port of arrival to Catalonia, where in the mountainous terrain of that region he was forced to disperse his troops in company-sized detachments throughout the region so that they could effectively engage Carlist forces utilizing guerrilla tactics. By January 1836 the Legion was ordered to redeploy to Vittoria where it would find itself under the command of General Espartito. Col. Bernelle, doubtful of the competence of the Spanish military and their willingness to support the Legion composed of foreigners when their own country was in such disarray, decided to raise additional battalions to supplement his existing forces. This distrust on Bernelle's part was due in part to his previous experiences in the Peninsular War, along