page_title: José María de Orbe y Gaytán
section_title: Conspiracy and war (1868-1876)
hierarchical_section_title: José María de Orbe y Gaytán / Conspiracy and war (1868-1876)
caption_attribution_description: English: Carga del Escuadron Real de Carlos VII, Ferrer Dalmau
context_page_description: José María de Orbe y Gaytán de Ayala, 5th Marquess of Valde-Espina, 1st Viscount of Orbe was a Spanish Carlist soldier and politician. His career climaxed during presidency of the provincial Gipuzkoan self-government in the 1910s, though he is known mostly as member of the iconic Basque Valde-Espina dynasty. In the party ranks he rose to provincial leader in Gipuzkoa and was briefly member of the national Carlist executive.
context_section_description: Given the Carlist record of his paternal grandfather and (until the 1860s) of his father, José María seemed poised to follow suit and to adhere to the legitimist cause. Together with his parent and his younger brother in 1868 he moved to France to mount another insurgency. As part of the job he returned to Spain shortly afterwards; engaged in La Escodada, a failed attempt to stage a rising in Navarre, he fled back to France in 1870. In 1872 as cavalry lieutenant he joined insurgency in Gipuzkoa; his first engagement was on May 14, when Carlist units were already in retreat, during the skirmishes at Mañaria. During the clashes at Oñate two days later Orbe's horse was hit twice, but he finally made it to France later that month.
  In early 1873 Orbe entered Spain for the third time, assigned to units commanded by his father which having conquered southern Gipuzkoa advanced towards Biscay. On March 3 he took part in engagements at Marquina-Echevarria and later advanced to Guernica. In April his cavalry unit was shuttled across Gipuzkoa and Álava to Navarre, recording sweeping operations at Oñate, Azcárate and San Vicente-Peñacerrada before fighting at Eraul on May 5. The following phase consisted of commanding a column controlling Valle Baztan; in July 1873 he welcomed Carlos VII back in Spain at Zugarramurdi. Made adjutant general of the claimant, during the summer Orbe took part in operations which ensured Carlist takeover of central Navarre, engaged at Ibero, Las Campanas, Estella, Allo, Dicastillo and the siege of Viana. Successfully repelling governmental counter-offensive in early November near Montejurra, in early 1874 he was transferred back to Biscay and took part in the siege of Bilbao. In March he was assigned a prestigious task of handling the iconic Carlist war banner, Generalisima, before it was adopted by personal squadron of the claimant. Soon afterwards Orbe took part in rout of enemy troops at Somorrostro.
  Promoted to capitán and decorated, in the spring of 1874 Orbe was to organize the journey of his queen from Pau to the Carlist capital of Estella. He designed the plan which involved travelling by train, by coach and accompanying camouflage activities, intended to deceive the French; it all worked out and in the summer via Dancharinea Doña Margarita made it to Estella. During the fall of 1874 he was assigned to combat operations in Gipuzkoa, mostly boiling down to failed sieges of Irún and Guetaria. Back in Navarre in early 1875, he took part in the February battle of Lacár. Promoted to comandante and decorated again in the summer of 1875 he accompanied Carlos VII during Jura de Los Fueros in Guernica. From that moment Orbe stayed within his personal escort and is not noted as engaged in frontline combat. Accompanying the claimant to the French frontier, in February 1876 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and awarded with vizcondado, In Valcarlos Orbe crossed the border bridge with the claimant and decided to join him into exile.
caption: Carlist cavalry charging
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