Juan Yagüe

Juan Yagüe in 1939

Juan Yagüe Blanco (born November 19, 1891 in San Leonardo , Soria Province , † October 21, 1952 in Burgos ) was a general in the Spanish army . He fought on the side of the nationalists during the Spanish Civil War .

The son of a doctor, he entered the Infantry Academy of Toledo at a very young age , where he met the cadet Francisco Franco . They served together in Morocco , where Yagüe was injured several times and received several awards. In 1932, Yagüe was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1934 he took part at the side of General Franco and General López Ochoa in the suppression of the revolt in Asturias ordered by the republican government . Politically, he supported the Falange of his friend José Antonio Primo de Rivera .

After the election victory of the Frente Popular and the election of President Niceto Alcalá Zamora in May 1936 (successor: Manuel Azaña ), he took part in the conspiracy between Generals Emilio Mola , Francisco Franco, Gonzalo Queipo de Llano and José Sanjurjo . On July 17, 1936, the military uprising began. The troops commanded by Yagüe took power in Ceuta and then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to join the other nationalist forces under General Queipo de Llano in Seville . His troops (3,000 men) captured Mérida and attacked the city of Badajoz on August 14th . There were heavy losses on both sides.

After his victory in Badajoz , Yagüe was promoted to colonel. He set his troops on the march towards Madrid and quickly conquered the cities of Trujillo , Navalmoral de la Mata and Talavera de la Reina, among others . Numerous Republican prisoners were shot on his orders. His offensive towards Madrid was broken off at the beginning of September 1936 and he received the order from Franco to rush to the aid of the nationalist forces under Colonel José Moscardó in Toledo ( siege of the Alcázar of Toledo ). Yagüe disagreed with this decision and was replaced by José Enrique Varela . Until 1937 he fought in the siege of Madrid .

Yagüe was deployed in early 1938 for the Aragon offensive , where he captured the cities of Belchite , Caspe and Lleida . He played a prominent role during the Battle of the Ebro that same year and was the first to enter Barcelona with his victorious troops .

After the overthrow of the Republic in March 1939, he was promoted to general and was Minister of Aviation between August 11, 1939 and June 27, 1940. In 1943 he became commander of the VI. Military district near Burgos , where he died on October 21, 1952 at the age of 60.

In his honor, a monument was erected in his birthplace, San Leonardo de Yagüe, Soria Province . According to the Ley de Memoria Histórica , it was dismantled in May 2009.

literature

• Paul Preston: Franco. Caudillo de España. Debolsillo, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-9759-477-6 .

Web links

• Newspaper article about Juan Yagüe in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .