Fidel Dávila Arrondo (24 April 1878 – 22 March 1962) was a

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

officer 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 ...

. Born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, as an infantry officer, he fought 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 ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and received the Cruz del Mérito Militar. He later entered the General Staff of the Army. He was then promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned to

Spanish Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. In 1929 he was promoted to brigadier general and was assigned to the VII Military district. During the military reforms of Prime Minister

Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the last President of the Repu ...

, he solicited permission to go into the reserves and settled down in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

, from where he participated in the military conspiracy to overthrow the Popular Front government. On the night of the July 18–19, 1936 he seized the civil government of Burgos. He was a member of the '' Junta de Defensa Nacional'' and president of the ''

Junta Técnica del Estado The Junta Técnica del Estado (Spanish for: ''Technical State Junta'') was one of several political-administrative bodies created by General Franco in October 1936 after his appointment as head of government of rebel Spain during the Spanish Civ ...

'', the core of the future national government, as well as chief of staff of the Army. He participated in the War in the North resulting in the conquest of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, Cantabria, and Asturias. He was named minister of National Defense in the first 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 ...

(February 1938), at the same time he was promoted to lieutenant general. He organized the Aragon Offensive campaign to isolate

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

and participated in the campaign of the

Maestrazgo The Maestrazgo () or Maestrat () is a natural and historical mountainous region, located at the eastern end of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range, in Spain. It encompasses the north of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, in Castellón provinc ...

, the Battle of the Ebro and the Catalonia Offensive resulting in the final conquest of that region.Beevor, p.378 In August 1939 he received the post of captain-general of the II Military district and the headquarters of the general staff. In July 1945 he was designated minister of the Army and in 1949 he was named head of the government. In 1951 he was part of the Council of the Kingdom and president of the Geographic Superior Council. He died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1962.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davila Arrondo, Fidel 1878 births 1962 deaths People from Barcelona Spanish captain generals Spanish generals People of the Rif War Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Grandees of Spain Prime Ministers of Spain Defence ministers of Spain