Evening star., 1938-07-31
REVENGE 7
By LIAM LENIHAN.

~ today more than one million men
~ are trying to kill one another A
few miles of rugged terrain Sepa-
rates them here; tortuous row of make
SHIFT trenches there. Dividing them is
No Mans Land swept by fire and shell and
a passion born of hate. For two years now
the battle lines have ebbed and flowed in
change. Only hate there is constant.
Hate-and the valor of human hearts.
The Spanish War has not been ro-
mantle one. Modern wars never are.
Romanticism passed with the age of
swords. Yet this war, like most political
wars. has its national heroes. These men
will be remembered in history as the Mad
Anthony Waynes of Spain. They were only
names at the start. They now have be-
come legends.
In the beginning of the Civil War,
during those chaotic days of July and
August, 1886. when Gen. Francois jugger-
naut was rolled to the gates of Madrid,
these embryonic heroes commanded motley
bands Of volunteers. They held no official
rank. Their commands consisted of raw
recruits-laborers, clerks and farmers
oIIico Will oV-yCdI -Olu OlteH UIloy
fought with pistols. Sometimes even with
bare hands. All became soldiers under fire.
The cost was terrific of course. But the
coolness Of their shirt-sleeve leaders spurred
them on to fanatical heights.
Now Veteran Soldiers.
Two years have passed since then The
raw mitiamen are now veteran soldiers
~,
But the esprit de corps between commander
and command remains. The men have
grown into divisions and brigades But
they have not lost their identity They are
still known by the names of these young
generals who sprang from the ranks to
command them
Despite official optimism in the early
days Of the conflict, the detection of the
regular army was a serious blow to the
republic. 1t is true, of course, that there
was no army in Europe quite like the
Spanish Army. 1t was always defeated in
foreign wars. 1t was inefficient and inef-
fective. Yet no other army played so i'm
portant a role in the life of nation. 1t
was a caste army There was one officer to
every 10 men. These officers were carefully
recruited. Very few were drawn from the
common people, few even from the middle
classes. Thus the monarchy could always
rely on the army as a buffer and weapon
against social unrest
Regardless of its drawbacks however the
Spanish Army that unfurled the nag Of
revolt in July, 1896, was much superior to
the raw recruits mobilized to oppose it. 1t
was well of6cered, too. Gen. Franco had
won an enviable reputation in Morocco;
Gen. Jose Sanjurjo was considered bril-
liant and able tactician. The other key
generals were minor figures. but were ad-
mirably schooled But all lacked one quail
ity. The magnitude OF their adventure
required perfect timing and coordination
was a virtue foreign to Spanish generals
long accustomed to playing solos at revolt.
There followed costly delays Gen. Emilio
Mola's offensive begged down in the Quad
errama Mountains. Gen. Coded failed to
reckon with the militant Catalan workers.
The respite enabled the government to
arm the workers and peasants. The shirt
sleeved leaders appeared from nowhere.
Panic ended. The curtain on Spains trag
edy was now raised.
Franco Discovers Generals.
Who are those shirt-sleeved generals?
The outside world has not yet discovered
them. But Franco has He respects them,
to. The most colorful perhaps is Eel Camp
esino"-the farmer. His men, mostly peas
ants are known as the CampeSinos They
effectionately call him "Barba," perhaps
because of his brstling, black beard.
El Campesino is a Castilian by origin.
The son OF a poverty stricken sharecropper,
he was christened Valentin Gonzalez As a
child he toiled in the hell of the Penarroya
mercury mines. It was a hard school. It
taught him naught but bitterness and rebel
lion He was driven into strikes and riots.
In one several Civil Guards were killed.
The l5-year-old lad barely escaped death
sentence
Prom that day on Gonzalez pledged his
life to the underdog. When the Moroccan
War broke out he joined, mutinied and de-
serted to the standard of Abd-el-Krim.
When Franco crossed with his legionnaires
into the mainland, this son of Spanish
tenant farmer led 10 men to the Guadar-
rama front.
He is 80 now and a general. He is still
cursed with a violent temper. But his men
worship him for his fighting heart and his
remarkable leadership. Many stories are
told Of him in Spain today for he has be-
come well-nigh legendary. One in par
ticular is characteristic of this man who is
rs unsparing of others as he is of himself.
One day a young Spaniard signaled his
speeding staff car for a lift. The car
ground to an abrupt halt-"So you want
a ride" belligerently demanded "Barba"
"lll tell you what to do. Join the army.
Fight like the very devil Become a COM
mander Of division Then you can ride
IN car. That's what did" And he was
on in cloud of dust.
Contrary to popular belief. the Lister
Brigade is not international" The COM
mander. Gen. Enrique Lister. is q Ga,icisn
by birth. He was born in 1907 tho .on of
humble road worker. As hor h. Ia