Heli Rolando de Tella y Cantos
Heli Rolando de Tella y Cantos (September 14, 1888 – October 10, 1967) was a decorated Spanish soldier and military officer who served in the Moroccan War and the Spanish Civil War, siding with Franco's Nationalists.
Tella, born to a family of Galician farmers, studied at the Toledo Infantry Academy in his youth and was deployed to Spanish Morocco.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936 Tella, a Major, commanded a column of General Juan Yagüe's Army of Africa in its drive north from Seville. His outstanding success was the Battle of Mérida, on August 11, in which his defence of the city enabled the bulk of Yagüe's army to move against Badajoz without being outflanked. He then took part in the Siege of Madrid.
Later in the war Tella was promoted to Brigadier General and named Governor of Lugo. A military tribunal discharged Tella from the army in 1943. His decorations for valour included a Military Merit Medal, awarded in 1923, and the San Fernando Cross, Spain's highest military honour.
Tella died in 1967.