Antonio Aranda Mata (13 November 1888 – 8 February 1979) was a military officer who fought on side of the Rebel faction in 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 ...

Biography

Antonio Aranda Mata was born in Leganés on 13 November 1888. During the Morocco wars Aranda earned an outstanding record as an engineer and geographer. He participated in the quelling of the 1934 Asturian revolt and rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, he was in command of the

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

, which joined the coup d'etat against the Republic and quickly took control of the city for the Rebel faction. Aranda then successfully defended Oviedo from "miners' militias". For his efforts he was awarded the Cross of San Fernando and promoted to the rank of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. Aranda participated in several further engagements during the war including the Battle of Teruel and the Battle of the Ebro. He served as captain general of the military region of Valencia. Immediately following the war Aranda was appointed as the head of the Royal Geographical Society. In 1941 he participated in several

clandestine Clandestine may refer to: * Secrecy, the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups, perhaps while sharing it with other individuals * Clandestine operation, a secret intelligence or military activity Music and entertainmen ...

actions in favor of the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

that resulted in irritating the government of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

. He was one of a group of pro-British monarchist generals to secretly receive money from British Intelligence MI-6. He was briefly imprisoned in 1947 for two months. In 1949, Aranda, then a

division general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...

, was retired from duty by Franco. Reasons argued by commentators for the cessation include the liberal ideology reportedly espoused by Aranda, his protracted lobbying and conspirations in favour of the installment of a constitutional monarchy (headed by Juan of Bourbon), or, rather anecdotically, an alleged link to

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. According to the , the latter's cousin Francisco Franco was convinced that Aranda was a freemason. In 1976, after Franco's death,

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

promoted Aranda to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. He died in the Hospital del Generalísimo on 8 February 1979.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *
Time (magazine)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aranda Mata, Antonio 1888 births 1979 deaths People from Leganés Spanish generals People of the Rif War Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Francoist Spain