Alberto Bayo y Giroud (27 March 1892 – 4 August 1967) was a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a pers ...

military commander of the Republican faction 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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. His most significant action during the war was the attempted invasion of the

Nationalist 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: Th ...

-held islands of

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...

and

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

at the

Battle of Majorca The Battle of Majorca, also known as the Majorca Landings, was an amphibious landing of Republican forces early in the Spanish Civil War aimed at driving the Nationalists from Majorca and reclaiming the island for the Republic. After some ini ...

. He was also a poet and essayist.

Biography

He was born 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 Caribb ...

and studied in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. In his youth he joined the Spanish Military Aviation. He had his first flight in 1916. He was expelled from the Aviation after taking part in a duel. He was then forced to join the

Spanish 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 pen ...

in 1924, and participated in the Moroccan War, which he stayed for two years as a company commander. In 1925 he was seriously wounded in the groin, spending a year in recovery. In 1926 he requested to return to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and was assigned the 3rd

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

of the Mehal-la de Gómara – which was part of General Capaz's troops – taking part in heavy fighting until 1927. He returned to the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

during 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 King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

and was stationed in administrative posts, but he was not promoted. He was appointed as the 2nd Chief of Staff of the V Army Corps for 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 R ...

, Modesto, but the commander of the unit opposed this and Bayo was relieved. He was successively promoted to Commander and

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

. He was going to be in charge of preparing a guerrilla column in the Sierra de Madrid, but finally the project was not carried out and Bayo spent most of the contest as a

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

in the Ministry of War. After that war was lost, Bayo had a furniture factory in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, and is reported to have been an instructor at the Military Academy of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

. Bayo had contact in Mexico with prominent

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n revolutionaries, and was associate and mentor of some, including

Ernesto Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

and

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...

. He joined the guerrillas as an advisor and participated in the Cuban revolution. There he maintained a close friendship with Castro and Che Guevara. While it is not known if he continued contact with

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

agents such as "Comandante Carlos Contreras" (

Vittorio Vidali Vittorio Vidali (27 September 1900 – 9 November 1983), also known as Vittorio Vidale, Enea Sormenti, Jacobo Hurwitz Zender, Carlos Contreras, and "Comandante Carlos", was an Italian communist. After being expelled from Italy with the ris ...

), both were present in Mexico at the same period.

Death

Alberto Bayo died a General of the

Cuban Armed Forces The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Tr ...

Bayo as author and poet

*''Cualquier cosilla'' (poetry), Spain, 1911 *''Mis cantos de aspirante'' (poetry), Spain, 1911 *''Cadetadas'' (poetry), Spain, 1912 *''Canciones del Alkázar'' (poetry), Spain, 1914 *''Juan de Juanes'' (novel), Spain, 1926 *''Uncida al yugo'' (novel), Spain, 1926 *''Dos años en Gomara'', Spain, 1928 *''La guerra será de los guerrilleros'', Spain, 1937 *''El tenorio laico'' (poetry), Spain, 1938 *''Mi desembarco en Mallorca'', Mexico, 1944 *''Tempestad en el Caribe'', Mexico, 1950 *''Cámara, México'' (history), 1951 *''El caballero de los tristes destinos'' (capitán Alonso de Ojeda), México, 1953 *''Magallanes, el hombre más audaz de la tierra'', Mexico, 1953 *''150 preguntas a un guerrillero'', Mexico, 1955 *''Fidel te espera en la Sierra'' (poetry), Mexico, 1958 *''Mis versos de rebeldía'', Mexico, 1958 *''Sangre en Cuba'' (poetry), Mexico, 1958 *''Mi aporte a la revolución cubana'', 1960 *''El tenorio cubano'' (poetry), 1960 *''Versos revolucionarios'', 130 pp, 1960 *''Mis versos'', 223 pp, 1965

References

External links

Cubaliteraria: Albert Bayo

España en Guerra
(.pdf)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayo, Alberto 1892 births 1967 deaths People from Camagüey Cuban people of Spanish descent Stalinism Anti-revisionists Cuban communists Cuban male poets Cuban soldiers Spanish generals Foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil War Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista members Guerrilla warfare theorists Cuban revolutionaries People from Ibiza Military history of Ibiza People of the Cuban Revolution 20th-century Cuban poets