Manuel Matallana Gómez (25 December 1894 – 1952) was a Spanish officer and lawyer. A son of a military officer, he joined the Spanish army and participated in the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by History of France, France in 1924) and the Berbers, Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at ...

. He supported 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 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 ...

. In November 1936 he was a member of the general Miaja’s staff 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 ...

. After that, he was promoted to colonel and in July 1937 he was the chief of staff of Miaja during the

battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the Rep ...

, and then later promoted again to general. In February 1939 he said to the prime minister Negrin that it was impossible to continue the war and in March 1939 he joined

Casado's coup The National Defence Council ( es, Consejo Nacional de Defensa) was the governing body in Republican Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The council seized power with Colonel Segismundo Casado’s coup on 5 March 1939 when ...

against the Negrin government. After the end of the war, he was detained and jailed by the

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 ...

. Convicted to 30 years imprisonment, Franco granted him a reduced sentence, and by 1941 Matallana was a free man. He died in Madrid in 1952.Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.923

Notes

References

*Beevor, Antony. ''The battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. 2006. London. *Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. 2001. London. *Jackson, Gabriel. ''The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939.'' Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:Matallana Gomez, Manuel 1894 births 1956 deaths People from Madrid Spanish generals Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction)