Julio Mangada conflict Spanish Civil War
Military career
A professional soldier, well known for his progressive and often radical ideas, Mangada began his military career in 1896 by joining the Infantry Academy, where he was commissioned as a lieutenant. On May 1, 1900, as a young infantry lieutenant of the Sicilian 7th Regiment stationed in San Sebastián de los Reyes, a soldier who had heard him express some private views in sympathy to the proletarian celebration of May Day, denounced him to his colonel, and he was arrested. In 1904 he began a close friendship with journalist and writer José Nakens, who constantly battled reactionaries and struggled tirelessly to achieve a Spanish republic. In 1906, he writes, he had been promoted to captain, but to his great chagrin had to visit his new friend in a cell where Nakens had been imprisoned after having been suspected of agitation in favour of the murder of King Alfonso XIII. Other republicans visiting him in prison invited Mangada to join the Masons, which he did. About the same time he met then-Captain (later General) José Perogordo, who taught him the Esperanto language.
He was subsequently promoted to commander (1918) and to lieutenant colonel (1929).
Colonel Mangada played a major military and political role as a military officer in the Second Spanish Republic, where in 1932 he was the protagonist of the "incident of Carabanchel", in which, after the defeat of dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870–1930) and the exile of the unpopular King Alfonso XIII, Mangada gained huge popular support by defending the democratically elected Spanish government against right-wing officers who supported the rebellious monarchist forces that were eventually to coalesce under Francisco Franco. After Justice Minister Alvaro de Albornoz spoke in Avila defending the arrests of rebel army officers, disgraced Generals Milans del Bosch and José Cavalcanti (1871–1936) proclaimed their outrage and were themselves arrested. On June 27, with the full support of War Minister Manuel Azaña, Colonel Mangada confronted, arrested and imprisoned the rebellious Caballero (1869–1946), Major General Goded (1882–1936) and General Villegas at the Carabanchel parade ground.In 1936, at the beginning of the Civil War, he commanded a military group known as "Column Mangada", which won several important battles near Madrid. His troops defeated columns from the fascist commander Lisardo Doval, and killed the co-founder of Falange Española, Onésimo Redondo. For this he was promoted to Colonel, but was widely known informally as the People's General.
After some defeats, he was given other responsibilities. At the end of the war he fled Spain aboard the ship Stanbrook to Algiers, and after some months to Mexico, where he died.
battle warfare struggle fighting combat