Alberto Bayo y Giroud (27 March 1892 – 4 August 1967) was a
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
military commander of the
Republican faction during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. His most significant action during the war was the attempted invasion of the
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
-held islands of
Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
and
Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
at the
Battle of Majorca
The Battle of Majorca, also known as the Majorca Landings, was an amphibious landing of Republican forces early in the Spanish Civil War aimed at driving the Nationalists from Majorca and reclaiming the island for the Republic. After some initi ...
. He was also a poet and essayist.
Biography
He was born in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and studied in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. In his youth he joined the Spanish Military Aviation. He had his first flight in 1916. He was expelled from the Aviation after taking part in a duel. He was then forced to join the
Spanish Legion
For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal ...
in 1924, and participated in the Moroccan War, which he stayed for two years as a company commander. In 1925 he was seriously wounded in the groin, spending a year in recovery. In 1926 he requested to return to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and was assigned the 3rd
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
of the Mehal-la de Gómara – which was part of General Capaz's troops – taking part in heavy fighting until 1927.
He returned to the
air force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
during the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
and was stationed in administrative posts, but he was not promoted.
He was appointed as the 2nd Chief of Staff of the V Army Corps for the
Battle of Brunete, Modesto, but the commander of the unit opposed this and Bayo was relieved. He was successively promoted to Commander and
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
. He was going to be in charge of preparing a guerrilla column in the Sierra de Madrid, but finally the project was not carried out and Bayo spent most of the contest as a
military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
in the Ministry of War.
After that war was lost, Bayo had a furniture factory in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and is reported to have been an instructor at the Military Academy of
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
. Bayo had contact in Mexico with prominent
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n revolutionaries, and was associate and mentor of some, including
Ernesto Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
and
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
.
He joined the guerrillas as an advisor and participated in the Cuban revolution. There he maintained a close friendship with Castro and Che Guevara. While it is not known if he continued contact with
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
agents such as "Comandante Carlos Contreras" (
Vittorio Vidali
Vittorio Vidali (27 September 1900 – 9 November 1983), also known as Vittorio Vidale, Enea Sormenti, Jacobo Hurwitz Zender, Carlos Contreras, and "Comandante Carlos", was an Italian communist. After being expelled from Italy with the rise ...
), both were present in Mexico at the same period.
Death
Alberto Bayo died a General of the
Cuban Armed Forces.
Bayo as author and poet
*''Cualquier cosilla'' (poetry), Spain, 1911
*''Mis cantos de aspirante'' (poetry), Spain, 1911
*''Cadetadas'' (poetry), Spain, 1912
*''Canciones del Alkázar'' (poetry), Spain, 1914
*''Juan de Juanes'' (novel), Spain, 1926
*''Uncida al yugo'' (novel), Spain, 1926
*''Dos años en Gomara'', Spain, 1928
*''La guerra será de los guerrilleros'', Spain, 1937
*''El tenorio laico'' (poetry), Spain, 1938
*''Mi desembarco en Mallorca'', Mexico, 1944
*''Tempestad en el Caribe'', Mexico, 1950
*''Cámara, México'' (history), 1951
*''El caballero de los tristes destinos'' (capitán Alonso de Ojeda), México, 1953
*''Magallanes, el hombre más audaz de la tierra'', Mexico, 1953
*''150 preguntas a un guerrillero'', Mexico, 1955
*''Fidel te espera en la Sierra'' (poetry), Mexico, 1958
*''Mis versos de rebeldía'', Mexico, 1958
*''Sangre en Cuba'' (poetry), Mexico, 1958
*''Mi aporte a la revolución cubana'', 1960
*''El tenorio cubano'' (poetry), 1960
*''Versos revolucionarios'', 130 pp, 1960
*''Mis versos'', 223 pp, 1965
References
External links
Cubaliteraria: Albert BayoEspaña en Guerra (.pdf)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayo, Alberto
1892 births
1967 deaths
People from Camagüey
Cuban people of Spanish descent
Stalinism
Anti-revisionists
Cuban communists
Cuban male poets
Cuban soldiers
Spanish generals
Foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista members
Guerrilla warfare theorists
Cuban revolutionaries
People from Ibiza
Military history of Ibiza
People of the Cuban Revolution
20th-century Cuban poets