Francisco Franco

Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde Salgado Pardo de Andrade (December 4 1892 – November 20 1975), abbreviated Francisco Franco Bahamonde and sometimes known as Generalísimo Francisco Franco, was Head of State of Spain from 1936 until his death in 1975. Known as el "Caudillo de España", and officially as "Caudillo de España por la gracia de Dios" (The Leader of Spain by the grace of God), he presided over the authoritarian government of the Spanish State following victory in the Spanish Civil War.

Early life

Born in Ferrol (officially known as El Ferrol del Caudillo from 1938 to 1982), Spain, Franco's early life was marked by his father's drunkenness and womanizing which contrasted with his devout mother's overprotective devotion. His first ambition was to follow the family tradition and join the Navy, but cutbacks resulting from Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898 reduced the available positions and Franco enlisted in the Army instead. Some say he was too short to be accepted in to the Navy. His brother Ramón Franco was a pioneer aviator.

Related Topics:
Ferrol - 1938 - 1982 - Drunkenness - Navy - Spanish-American War - 1898 - Army - Ramón Franco - Aviator

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After graduating from the Infantry Academy in Toledo in 1910, he spent two years in a quiet garrison in mainland Spain, but obtained a posting to Morocco at the earliest opportunity. Spanish efforts to physically occupy their new African protectorate provided the only chance of being engaged in combat and thus earning promotion through merit. In practice this meant surviving actions in which heavy losses were suffered; officers would get either la caja o la faja (a coffin or a general's sash).

Related Topics:
Toledo - Morocco - African - Protectorate - Combat - Merit - Officer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Franco soon gained a reputation as a good officer and joined the newly formed regulares colonial native troops with Spanish officials to improve his chances of swift advancement.

Related Topics:
Regulares - Colonial

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the tender age of 23, he was badly wounded in a skirmish at El Biutz, and although Spain's highest honor for gallantry, the coveted Cruz Laureada de San Fernando eluded him, he became the youngest Major in the Spanish Army and returned to the mainland where he met Lieutenant Colonel José Millán Astray, a histrionic but charismatic officer who would found the Legión Extranjera, along similar lines to the French Foreign Legion. Franco became the Legión's second-in-command.

Related Topics:
Skirmish - El Biutz - José Millán Astray - Histrionic - Charismatic - Legión Extranjera - French Foreign Legion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the summer of 1921, the overextended Spanish army suffered a crushing defeat at Annual at the hands of the Riff tribes led by the Abd el-Krim brothers. The Legión symbolically, if not materially, saved the Spanish enclave of Melilla after a gruelling three-day forced march led by Franco.

Related Topics:
1921 - Annual - Riff - Abd el-Krim - Melilla

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~