Vicente Rojo Lluch
Encyclopedia
Vicente Rojo Lluch was Chief of the General Staff of the Spanish
Armed Forces during the Spanish Civil War
.
during the Spanish-American War
, from where he returned ill.
In 1911 Rojo entered the Infantry
Academy at the Alcazar of Toledo
, receiving his commission in 1914 with the rank of second lieutenant
, fourth in a class of 390 cadets. After having been assigned to Barcelona
he went on to the Group of Regulars from Ceuta
(the Regulares were Moroccan colonial troops with Spanish officers). He was later posted back to Barcelona and to La Seu d'Urgell
.
In 1922, having risen to the rank of captain, he returned to the Infantry Academy in Toledo, where he occupied diverse educational and administrative positions. He was one of the editors of the curricula on the subjects of "Tactics", "Weaponry" and "Firepower" for the new section of the Military Academy of Zaragoza. In this period at the Academy he collaborated on the foundation and direction of the Military Bibliographical Collection, along with captain Emilio Alamán.
In August 1932, he left the Academy to enter the Superior War School with the objective to make the course of the General Staff. During his time at the academy, a peculiar event took place in which he proposed to the cadets a tactical assumption that consisted of passing through the river Ebro
to establish a route in the Reus
-Granadella, an operation very similar to one a few years later, during the civil war, he would later put into practice in the famous Battle of the Ebro
in the area between Mequinenza
and Amposta
. He was promoted to major on February 25, 1936.
- stayed loyal to the Republican Government and was one of the military professionals who participated in the reorganization of the Republican forces.
In October 1936 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was designated head of the General Staff of the Forces of Defense commanded by General Jose Miaja
, head of the Junta de Defensa de Madrid created to defend the capital
at all costs after the transfer of the Republican government from Madrid to Valencia. In this capacity he prepared an effective defense plan for the city that prevented its fall. Afterwards, his fame as an organizer increased. As head of the Central Army HQ, he demonstrated outstanding performance in the planning of the main operations developed by the mentioned Army, in the battles of Jarama
, Guadalajara
, Brunete
and Belchite
.
On March 24, 1937 he was promoted to colonel, and after the formation of the Negrín government in May, was made Head of the General Command Staff of the Armed Forces and head of the General Staff of the Ground forces. From this new position he was in charge of directing the expansion of the People's Army, and created the denominated Mobile Army, that served as the offensive advance force of the Republican Army.
On September 22, 1937 he was promoted to the rank of general. Throughout that year he planned the offensives of Huesca
, Brunete, Belchite, Zaragoza and Teruel
. He was awarded the highest Republican decoration, the "Placa Laureada de Madrid" on January 11, 1938 for his planning of the last mentioned operation.
The most ambitious operation he carried out throughout 1938 was the offensive of the Ebro, a plan that grew from the previously mentioned tactical assumption developed in the Superior War School, that gave rise to the long running battles of the Ebro that developed from July 25 to November 16, 1938. In these battles the Republic gambled its international prestige, its endurance and the possibility of being able to give a favorable turn to the course of the war.
, in February 1939, he moved with the government to France
, where on February 12, 1939 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General
, the second only of the Republican army.
After a brief stay in that country, the Service of Emigration of Spanish Republicans (SERE) paid his passage to Buenos Aires
. Between 1943 and 1956 he taught as a professor at the military school of Bolivia
.
Rojo has been considered one of the most prestigious military officers of the Republic, and of the war as a whole. His figure was respected even by his nationalist opponents. The most surprising homage is Franco
's portrayal of him in the film Raza.
, a former military chaplain who had served under Rojo.
Although he was not bothered in the beginning by the Francoist
authorities, on July 16, 1957 the Special Court for the Repression of Masonry and Communism informed him that he would be prosecuted for the crime of military rebellion, in his position as ex-commander of the Army. This was the customary charge on professional military officers who did not join the rebels in 1936. He was sentenced to 30 years, but did not served a single day as the sentence was suspended sentence, and he was soon pardoned.
Vicente Rojo died at his home in Madrid
, June 15, 1966. Of the obituaries appearing in the Spanish press, only the one in El Alcázar, -mouthpiece of the Francoist ex-combatants- and the one by noted Falangist
writer Rafael Garcia Serrano in the party press, amply eulogized his military achievements.
He wrote several books detailing his military experiences in the civil war, which were published in the following order: ¡Alerta a los pueblos! (1939), ¡España heroica! (1961) and Así fue la defensa de Madrid (1967).
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
Armed Forces during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Early life
He was the posthumous son of a military man who fought against the Carlists and in the campaigns of CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, from where he returned ill.
In 1911 Rojo entered the Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
Academy at the Alcazar of Toledo
Alcázar of Toledo
The Alcázar of Toledo is a stone fortification located in the highest part of Toledo, Spain. Once used as a Roman palace in the 3rd century, it was restored under Charles I and Philip II of Spain in the 1540's...
, receiving his commission in 1914 with the rank of second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
, fourth in a class of 390 cadets. After having been assigned to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
he went on to the Group of Regulars from Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
(the Regulares were Moroccan colonial troops with Spanish officers). He was later posted back to Barcelona and to La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bishop of Urgell, one of the Andorra co-princes...
.
In 1922, having risen to the rank of captain, he returned to the Infantry Academy in Toledo, where he occupied diverse educational and administrative positions. He was one of the editors of the curricula on the subjects of "Tactics", "Weaponry" and "Firepower" for the new section of the Military Academy of Zaragoza. In this period at the Academy he collaborated on the foundation and direction of the Military Bibliographical Collection, along with captain Emilio Alamán.
In August 1932, he left the Academy to enter the Superior War School with the objective to make the course of the General Staff. During his time at the academy, a peculiar event took place in which he proposed to the cadets a tactical assumption that consisted of passing through the river Ebro
Ebro
The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.The Ebro flows through the following cities:*Reinosa in Cantabria.*Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León....
to establish a route in the Reus
Reus
Reus is the capital of the comarca of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague...
-Granadella, an operation very similar to one a few years later, during the civil war, he would later put into practice in the famous Battle of the Ebro
Battle of the Ebro
The Battle of the Ebro was the longest and bloodiest battle of the Spanish Civil War...
in the area between Mequinenza
Mequinenza
Mequinenza or Mequinensa is a town and municipality of the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is located by the confluence of the rivers Segre and Ebro.-History & Features:...
and Amposta
Amposta
Amposta is the capital of the comarca of Montsià, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.It is located at 8 metres above the sea, by the Ebre river, not far from its end. Population 18,841 ....
. He was promoted to major on February 25, 1936.
Spanish Civil War
When the Civil War started (July 1936), Rojo - a devout Catholic, and linked to the conservative Unión Militar EspañolaUnión Militar Española
Unión Militar Española was a secret society of Spanish Army officers involved in a conspiracy to bring about the restoration of the monarchy during the 1930s...
- stayed loyal to the Republican Government and was one of the military professionals who participated in the reorganization of the Republican forces.
In October 1936 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was designated head of the General Staff of the Forces of Defense commanded by General Jose Miaja
José Miaja
José Miaja Menant was a Spanish Army Officer in the Second Spanish Republic.-Early life:He entered the Infantry Academy at Toledo in 1896. His first post was in Asturias...
, head of the Junta de Defensa de Madrid created to defend the capital
Siege of Madrid (1936-39)
The Siege of Madrid was a three-year siege of the Spanish capital city of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. Madrid was held by various forces loyal to the Second Spanish Republic and was besieged by Spanish Nationalist and allied troops under Francisco Franco...
at all costs after the transfer of the Republican government from Madrid to Valencia. In this capacity he prepared an effective defense plan for the city that prevented its fall. Afterwards, his fame as an organizer increased. As head of the Central Army HQ, he demonstrated outstanding performance in the planning of the main operations developed by the mentioned Army, in the battles of Jarama
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War...
, Guadalajara
Battle of Guadalajara
The Battle of Guadalajara saw the Republican People's Army defeat Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid during the Spanish Civil War...
, Brunete
Battle of Brunete
The Battle of Brunete , fought 15 miles west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War...
and Belchite
Battle of Belchite (1937)
Battle of Belchite was a group of military operations that took place in the Spanish Civil War between 24 August and 7 September 1937 nearby the town of Belchite, in Aragon.-Prelude:...
.
On March 24, 1937 he was promoted to colonel, and after the formation of the Negrín government in May, was made Head of the General Command Staff of the Armed Forces and head of the General Staff of the Ground forces. From this new position he was in charge of directing the expansion of the People's Army, and created the denominated Mobile Army, that served as the offensive advance force of the Republican Army.
On September 22, 1937 he was promoted to the rank of general. Throughout that year he planned the offensives of Huesca
Huesca
Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
, Brunete, Belchite, Zaragoza and Teruel
Battle of Teruel
The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War in December 1937 – February 1938. The combatants fought the battle during the worst Spanish winter in twenty years. It was one of the bloodier actions of the war. The city changed hands several times,...
. He was awarded the highest Republican decoration, the "Placa Laureada de Madrid" on January 11, 1938 for his planning of the last mentioned operation.
The most ambitious operation he carried out throughout 1938 was the offensive of the Ebro, a plan that grew from the previously mentioned tactical assumption developed in the Superior War School, that gave rise to the long running battles of the Ebro that developed from July 25 to November 16, 1938. In these battles the Republic gambled its international prestige, its endurance and the possibility of being able to give a favorable turn to the course of the war.
Exile
After the fall of CataloniaCatalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, in February 1939, he moved with the government to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where on February 12, 1939 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
, the second only of the Republican army.
After a brief stay in that country, the Service of Emigration of Spanish Republicans (SERE) paid his passage to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. Between 1943 and 1956 he taught as a professor at the military school of Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Rojo has been considered one of the most prestigious military officers of the Republic, and of the war as a whole. His figure was respected even by his nationalist opponents. The most surprising homage is Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's portrayal of him in the film Raza.
Return to Spain and Death
In February 1957 he returned to Spain, where most of his family already lived. This return was made possible through a series of negotiations which involved several Nationalist military officers in Madrid, F. José Luís Almenar Betancourt S.J., a Jesuit who was in contact him during his stay in Bolivia, and the Bishop of CochabambaCochabamba
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
, a former military chaplain who had served under Rojo.
Although he was not bothered in the beginning by the Francoist
Spanish State
Francoist Spain refers to a period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975 when Spain was under the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco....
authorities, on July 16, 1957 the Special Court for the Repression of Masonry and Communism informed him that he would be prosecuted for the crime of military rebellion, in his position as ex-commander of the Army. This was the customary charge on professional military officers who did not join the rebels in 1936. He was sentenced to 30 years, but did not served a single day as the sentence was suspended sentence, and he was soon pardoned.
Vicente Rojo died at his home in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, June 15, 1966. Of the obituaries appearing in the Spanish press, only the one in El Alcázar, -mouthpiece of the Francoist ex-combatants- and the one by noted Falangist
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
writer Rafael Garcia Serrano in the party press, amply eulogized his military achievements.
He wrote several books detailing his military experiences in the civil war, which were published in the following order: ¡Alerta a los pueblos! (1939), ¡España heroica! (1961) and Así fue la defensa de Madrid (1967).