Francisco Galán Rodríguez (1902–1971), was a Spanish military officer.

Early life

He was the brother of Captain Fermin Galán and the Republican

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

s José Maria and Juan Galán. Before 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 was a lieutenant of the

Spanish Civil Guard The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the a ...

Spanish Civil War

In July 1936 he remained loyal to the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

government and led one

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

column in the Somosierra front. In November 1936 he led the 3rd Mixed Brigade of the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la Repú ...

during the

Battle of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Octo ...

. In August 1937 he was one of the Republican commanders in Asturias and in September 1937 he led the 14th

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 Asturias Campaign and on October he fled on board a fishing boat in order to avoid capture by the Nationalists. After that, in February 1938 he led the XX Corps in the Battle of Teruel, replacing

Leopoldo Menéndez Leopoldo Menéndez López (30 April 1891 – 1965) was a Spanish military officer. Before the war, he was an adviser of the prime minister Manuel Azaña. A professional officer of the Spanish Army, he supported the Second Spanish Republic, Repub ...

and he led the XII Corps during the

Catalonia Offensive The Catalonia Offensive ( ca, Ofensiva de Catalunya, es, Ofensiva de Cataluña) was part of the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist Army started the offensive on 23 December 1938 and rapidly conquered Republican-held Catalonia with Barcelona ( ...

. On March 3, 1939, he was appointed military commander of Cartagena, but on March 4 he was arrested by the supporters of Casado during the

Cartagena Uprising The Cartagena uprising took place 4–7 March 1939 during the Spanish Civil War. The troop transport was sunk during the revolt. Background After the fall of Catalonia in February 1939, the military situation of the Republic was hopeless. Th ...

. On March 6 he fled from Cartagena to Bizerte on board a republican ship.Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. London. pp.390-391.

Exile

After the end of the war, he fled to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and lived there until his death in 1971.

Notes

References

*Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. London. *Jackson, Gabriel. (1967). ''The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939.'' Princeton University Press. Princeton. *Thomas, Hugh. (2001). ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Galan, Francisco 1902 births 1971 deaths Spanish army officers Communist Party of Spain politicians Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Argentina