Rafael García Valiño

Rafael García Valiño (1898–1975) was a Spanish Army Officer who participated in the Spanish Civil War.

Early life

He was born in Toledo, Spain, and enrolled in the Infantry Academy at age fifteen. In 1916 he earned his commission as a lieutenant, volunteering to fight in the Spanish Army of Africa. In Morocco he was wounded several times and was promoted to major due to his field performance. In 1935 he studied in the Superior Military School.

Spanish Civil War

The outbreak of the Civil War surprised him, as he was spending the summer on the Basque coast. He crossed enemy lines to reach Pamplona to join up with the Nationalist Army of the North, led by Emilio Mola. He commanded several Carlist units, and with the First Navarrese Brigade participated in the campaign of the North. After he was promoted to colonel, he commanded the First Division of Navarre, with which he fought in Teruel[1] and in the campaign of Aragon, along with those of Aranda, to the Mediterranean, thus cutting the Republican zone in two. He also commanded an army corps in the XYZ battle,[2] in the Battle of Ebro[3] and participated in the offensive of Catalonia.[4] He led the Maestrazgo Army in the final offensive of the Spanish Civil War.[5]

Francoist dictatorship

After the civil war he was named commander-in-chief of Melilla, in Spanish Morocco. In 1942 he became chief of staff of the Army. In 1944 he participated in the repression of the Valle de Aran's invasion by the Spanish Maquis.[6] In 1947 he was promoted to lieutenant general and in charge of the captainship of the VII Military district. From 1951 to 1956 he was High Commissioner in Morocco.[7] In 1957 he was named director of the Superior School of the Army and, later, commander in chief of the First Military district, a position that he occupied until 1964. In 1965 he established Air Spain together with the Banco del Noroeste and his relatives José Maria Rivero de Aguilar and Colonel Carbó.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. p. 320
  2. ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. pp.345-347
  3. ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. pp.357-358
  4. ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. pp.373-377
  5. ↑ Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.888
  6. ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. p. 422
  7. ↑ “"Telegramas entre S.A.I. El Jalifa y El Nuevo Alto Comisario". (1951, April 4). ABC, p. 14
  8. ↑ El Britannia en Air Spain

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