José Miaja

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General José Miaja

José Miaja Menant (born April 20, 1878 in Oviedo , Asturias , † January 14, 1958 in Mexico City ) was a Spanish general . As military commander in chief of the republic, he led the defense of Madrid in the Spanish Civil War .

Life

Miaja was born in 1878 as the son of a gunsmith in a rifle factory in Oviedo. It was not his social background but rather the friendship between his parents and the officer Francisco Guerra that determined his future life. Miaja graduated from the Military Academy in Toledo and served as a professional soldier in the army. He fought in North Africa and took a. a. participated in the Rif War (1921–1926) . He was promoted to colonel in the Melilla garrison . In August 1932 he was promoted to brigadier general and was given command of the 2nd Brigade in Badajoz . During the government of Prime Minister Diego Martínez Barrio , he was given command of the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Madrid garrison in November 1933. The Conservative Minister of War José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones had him temporarily transferred to Lérida in 1935 , far from the capital, an indication that Miaja did not have the full confidence of the government at the time. His former war comrade Antonio López Fernández had acted as his personal secretary since 1936, who revealed as a journalist that General Mola was trying to stir up political unrest in Morocco. After the Left Alliance ( Popular Front ) had won the elections on February 16, 1936, Azaña was tasked with forming a government, and General Masquelet was appointed as the new Minister of War. Miaja was allowed to return to his old brigade and after the illness of General Virgilio Cabanellas temporarily took over the leadership of the 1st division.

At the beginning of the civil war, General Miaja again commanded the infantry brigade of Madrid and organized the defense of the city. The nationalist troops under General Juan Yagüe wanted to advance into Madrid in August 1936, but Franco insisted that the aid of the trapped garrison in Toledo be given first. This gave the Republican side time to prepare the defense of Madrid. Believing the city would soon fall, the Republican government moved its seat to Valencia on November 6th . General Miaja stayed in the city and formed the Junta de Defensa de Madrid , a committee for the defense of Madrid. Miaja was officially Commander in Chief of the Republican Army in Madrid during the Civil War. The Soviet military advisers under General Gorew had a decisive influence on the military decisions of the republican side. General Smushkevich commanded the air force provided by the Soviet Union and General Pavlov commanded the armored units. In June 1937 the Republican General Staff came to the conclusion that an attack on Brunete could reduce nationalist pressure on Cantabria and Madrid. Miaja led an unsuccessful attack at the Battle of Brunete and the Guadarrama in order to blow up the siege ring. In 1938 the siege of Madrid narrowed and the civilian population suffered more and more from food shortages and the cold. The republican army lacked more and more weapons and ammunition.

After the collapse of the Republican forces on other sectors of the front, in the spring of 1939 the position of the defenders became hopeless. This created a split in the ranks of the Republicans. On 4th / 5th March 1939, parts of the republican army under Colonel Casado carried out a coup against the government in Madrid on the pretext that a Communist takeover was imminent. Both Casado and Besteiro were in contact with representatives of the “fifth column” of Franco, who had given them to understand that a negotiated surrender was possible. Miaja served briefly as President of the National Defense Council (March 13 to March 25, 1939). In a civil war lasting several days in the city, the insurgents prevailed, numerous communists were imprisoned, left in prisons when Franco's troops marched in and then executed.

General Miaja managed to escape to Gandía in time on March 26th , where he embarked on a British ship for Algeria. He later went into exile in France and finally in Mexico.

literature

  • Hugh Thomas : The Spanish Civil War. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 1962.

Web links

Commons : José Miaja  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walther L. Bernecker : The Social Revolution in the Spanish Civil War , Vögel, 1977, p. 176. ( limited preview on Google Book Search ).
  2. ^ Siegfried Kogelfranz: You will win, but you will not win. In: Der Spiegel . No. 33 , 1986 ( online - 21 July 1986 ).
personal data
SURNAME Miaja, José
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Miaja Menant, José (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish General of the Republic in the Spanish Civil War
DATE OF BIRTH April 20, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Oviedo , Asturias
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 1958
Place of death Mexico city