__NOTOC__ Jaime Milans del Bosch y Ussía (8 June 1915 – 26 July 1997) was a lieutenant general in the

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 ...

who was dismissed and imprisoned in 1981 for his role in the failed coup d'état of 23 February 1981.

Biography

Milans del Bosch was born into a noble family whose members had held many senior military ranks. He was the grandson of Joaquín Milans del Bosch. Jaime Milans del Bosch is reported to have repeatedly boasted of how many of his ancestors had participated in coups d'état. In 1934, he entered the

Toledo Infantry Academy The Infantry Academy (ACINF) is a military training center of the Spanish Army located in the city of Toledo. The center is responsible for providing basic training, specialization and training for officers and non-commissioned officers of the in ...

. As a cadet, he fought in 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 ...

at the

Alcázar of Toledo The Alcázar of Toledo ( es, Alcázar de Toledo, ) is a stone fortification located in the highest part of Toledo, Spain. It is a large quadrangular building measuring 60 meters on a side, framed by four large towers 60 meters high, each crowned ...

, where he was injured during a republican bombing. Shortly afterwards, he received his officer's commission in the

Spanish Foreign Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal ...

. In 1941, Bosch joined the

Blue Division The Blue Division ( es, División Azul, german: Blaue Division) was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain within the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated the Spanish Volunteer D ...

to fight against the Soviet Union under German command. After the war, he held successive positions as military attaché in Spanish embassies in Latin American countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay. Promoted to brigadier general in 1971 and major general in 1974, he was appointed commander of the III Military Region (headquartered in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

) in 1977, at the rank of lieutenant-general.

''Coup d'état'' of February 1981

In 1981, Milans del Bosch was the only senior army commander who supported the coup d'état attempt without reservation and conducted offensive operations of importance. On 23 February 1981, shortly after

Antonio Tejero Antonio Tejero Molina (born 30 April 1932) is a Spanish former Lieutenant Colonel of the Guardia Civil, and the most prominent figure in the failed coup d'état against the newly democratic Spanish government on 23 February 1981. Career Tejer ...

had stormed the

Spanish Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

, he ordered tanks onto the streets of Valencia and decreed a state of emergency. After the televised message of King

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

, those in the military who had not yet committed themselves decided to remain on the side of the government, causing the coup to fail. Despite the lack of support, Milans del Bosch only surrendered at 5 a.m. on the next day, 24 February.

Court-martial and dishonorable discharge

Milans del Bosch was court-martialled on 8 March 1981. On 3 June 1982, he was sentenced to 26 years and 8 months imprisonment and expelled from the army. Barely nine years later, in 1991, he was pardoned and released due to advanced age. He never expressed remorse for his involvement in the coup. He returned to live in his native Madrid, where he died of a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

in 1997. He is buried at the

. On 17 September 2018, after the planned exhumation 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 ...

, it was proposed by Podemos to also exhume Milans del Bosch and José Moscardó, but this was rejected by Vox.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milans del Bosch, Jaime 1915 births 1997 deaths Spanish generals Spanish monarchists Spanish military personnel of World War II Spanish nationalists People who were court-martialed Recipients of Spanish royal pardons People from Madrid Francoists Deaths from brain cancer in Spain