Etelvino Vega Martínez (1906–1939) was a Spanish politician and military officer.

Life

In 1931, he was a member of the central committee of the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving as ...

(PCE). In 1932, after the failed ''coup'' of Sanjurjo, he supported the government of 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 ...

against the will of the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

(he launched the slogan “Defence of the Republic"). He and the other members of the central committee were expelled from the party. He lived for some time in the Soviet Union and later he came back to Spain. After the outbreak of 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 ...

, he fought with the

Fifth Regiment The Fifth Regiment ( es, Quinto Regimiento, the full name ''Quinto Regimiento de Milicias Populares)'', was an elite corps loyal to the Spanish Republic at the onset of the Spanish Civil War. Made up of volunteers, the Fifth Regiment was active ...

in the Somosierra front and later in the Popular Army in the

Battle of Guadalajara The Battle of Guadalajara (March 8–23, 1937) saw the victory of the People's Republican Army (''Ejército Popular Republicano'', or EPR) and of the International Brigades over the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid d ...

. After that, he led the 34th division of Heredia’s 18th

Army Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

in the

Battle of Teruel The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War between December 1937 and February 1938, during the worst Spanish winter in 20 years.Hugh Purcell, p. 95. The battle was one of the bloodiest actions of ...

and the 12th Army Corps in the

Battle of Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

. In March 1939, he was appointed military commander of

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, but during Casado’s coup on 6 March he was arrested by the supporters of Casado. After the end of the war, he was captured by the Nationalists, confined in Albatera concentration camp and executed in November 1939. He left his handkerchief to one of his cellmates, asking him a last favour: "It's all I have, you give it to my wife".

Notes

References

*Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war, 1936–1939.'' Penguin Books. London. . * *Thomas, Hugh. (2001). ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Etelvino Spanish army officers Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) People executed by Francoist Spain 1906 births 1939 deaths Executed Spanish people