Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe (19 November 1891 – 21 October 1952) was a Spanish
military officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
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 ...
, one of the most important in the
Nationalist side. He became known as the "Butcher of Badajoz" (''Carnicero de Badajoz'') because he ordered thousands killed, including wounded men in the hospital.
Early life
The son of a doctor, he enrolled at a young age in the
Toledo Infantry Academy
The Infantry Academy (ACINF) is a military training center of the Spanish Army located in the city of Toledo, Spain, Toledo. The center is responsible for providing basic training, specialization and training for officers and non-commissioned offic ...
, where
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 ...
was a fellow cadet. The two men received their commissions concurrently and served together in Africa, where Yagüe was wounded on several occasions and received several decorations.
Yagüe was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1932. He, along with Franco and General
Eduardo López Ochoa
Eduardo López Ochoa y Portoundo (1877 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish general, Africanist, and prominent Freemason. He was known for most of his life as a traditional Republican, and conspired against the government of Miguel Primo de Rivera ...
, helped suppress a workers uprising in
Asturias using Moroccan
Regulars and
Legionnaires
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army. It ...
in 1934. He was a strong early supporter of the
Falange Española and a close personal friend of
José Antonio Primo de Rivera.
Spanish Civil War
When
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora was replaced as President of the Republic by the
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
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 ...
on 10 May 1936, a group of Spanish Army officers, including Yagüe,
Emilio Mola
Emilio Mola y Vidal, 1st Duke of Mola, Grandee of Spain (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936, which started the Spanish Civil War.
After the death of Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...
, Franco,
Gonzalo Queipo de Llano and
José Sanjurjo, started plotting to overthrow the democratically elected Popular Front government. This led to a
military uprising which precipitated 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 ...
on 17 July 1936.
Yagüe's forces revolted in
Ceuta
Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa.
Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
before crossing the
Straits of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...
to link up with Nationalist forces in
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 ...
, led by Queipo de Llano. Yagüe advanced northward, first
seizing
Seizings are a class of stopping knots used to semi-permanently bind together two ropes, two parts of the same rope, or rope and another object. Akin to lashings, they use string or small-stuff to produce friction and leverage to immobilize la ...
Mérida before
attacking Badajoz with 3,000 troops on 14 August 1936. Bitter street fighting took place when the Nationalists advanced into the city. Yagüe's forces eventually gained control of Badajoz, with both sides suffering heavy casualties.
Under Yagüe's direction, hundreds of prisoners, military and civilians, were killed or executed in Badajoz during the
Badajoz massacre.
[Robert Payne (1962) "The Civil War in Spain, 1936-1939". New York, Putnam.]
Before leaving the city, Yagüe was asked by the American journalist
John T. Whitaker
John Thompson Whitaker (January 25, 1906 in Chattanooga, Tennessee – September 11, 1946) was an American writer and journalist who served as a correspondent for several prominent newspapers in different parts of the world.
Training and ear ...
about his reason for killing 10% of the city's population and he answered:
Yagüe was then promoted to colonel and afterwards advanced on
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 ...
,
capturing Trujillo, Navalmoral de la Mata and
Talavera de la Reina, but was unable to take the capital. He took part in the
Aragon Offensive and seized control of
Belchite
Belchite is a municipality and town in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite ''comarca'' (administrative region) and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the highe ...
,
Caspe
Caspe is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon (Spain), seat of the comarca Bajo Aragón-Caspe. As of 2018 it had a population of 9,525 inhabitants (INE 2018) and its municipality, of 503.33&n ...
and
Lérida. He also played a leading role in the Nationalist victory at the
Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
. In May 1938, Yagüe was removed from his command and imprisoned for injudicious remarks he made in a speech at
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 ...
, critical of Franco. He was back at the front within weeks. It was reportedly said that he was the only commander of Spanish forces that the
Condor Legion respected. Yagüe never showed panic even when the enemy was close by, and was able to adjust battle plans quickly to suit changing circumstances.
Post-war
After the collapse 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 ...
in 1939, Yagüe was promoted to major-general and appointed as Minister of the Air Force by General Franco. He was made a lieutenant general in 1942 and was posthumously promoted to commander-in-chief.
Notes
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yague, Juan
1891 births
1952 deaths
People from the Province of Soria
Spanish generals
People of the Rif War
Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction)
Spanish anti-communists
Francoist Spain
Defence ministers of Spain
Government ministers during the Francoist dictatorship