Heli Rolando de Tella y Cantos (14 September 1888 – 10 October 1967) was a decorated

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

soldier and military officer who served in the Moroccan War and 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 ...

, siding with Franco's

Nationalists 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 ...

. Tella, born to a family of Galician farmers, studied at the Toledo Infantry Academy in his youth and was deployed to Spanish Morocco after graduating from the Spanish Infantry Academy at Toledo. Tella's decorations for valour included a ''Military Merit Medal'', awarded in 1923, and the San Fernando Cross, Spain's highest military honour in 1925. He received the latter for heroic actions in leading native Moroccan troops,

Regulares The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry ...

, in battle. He was strongly opposed to the Spanish Republic of 1931 and was one of the few officers to participate in the failed coup attempt of General Jose Sanjurjo of 10 August 1932. For his participation, he was deported to Villa Cisneros in

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...

until he was released in the general amnesty of 1934. During his stay in Villa Cisneros he neared

Carlism Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...

and during the conspiracy of 1936 he served as a Carlist representative in the Army of Africa.Melchor Ferrer, ''Historia del tradicionalismo espanol'', vol. XXX, Sevilla 1979, p. 58 At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936 Tella, a

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 ...

, commanded a column 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 ...

Juan Yagüe Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe (19 November 1891 – 21 October 1952) was a Spanish military officer during the Spanish Civil War, one of the most important in the Nationalist side. He became known as the "Butcher of ...

's Army of Africa in its drive north from

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. His outstanding success was the

Battle of Mérida The Battle of Mérida saw Republican militia twice fail to halt the Spanish Army of Africa near the historic town of Mérida early in the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalists beat the Republicans from the city on 10 August 1936 and secured cont ...

, on 11 August, in which his defence of the city enabled the bulk of Yagüe's army to move against

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population ...

without being outflanked. He then took part in the

Siege 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 ...

. Tella was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 1938 and in 1940 made commander of the 81st Division. Tella was named military

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 ...

and in 1942 of

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

. A

military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bod ...

discharged Tella from the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1943, supposedly for financial corruption while serving military governor in Lugo. Historian

Paul Preston Sir Paul Preston CBE (born 21 July 1946) is an English historian and Hispanist, biographer of Francisco Franco, and specialist in Spanish history, in particular the Spanish Civil War, which he has studied for more than 30 years. He is the win ...

suggests that Tella was removed because of his strong pro-monarchist position which wanted to see Franco replaced by the pretender Juan de Borbon y Battenberg. He was kept under house arrest in Albacete and Palencia from 1944 to 1945. Tella died in 1967.

References

External links

Tella page at Galegos Info
1888 births 1962 deaths People from Lugo (comarca) Spanish generals Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) {{Spain-mil-bio-stub