Alfredo Kindelán y Duany, 1st Marquess of Kindelán (13 March 1879 – 14 December 1962) was a Spanish general and politician. A close ally of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

before and during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, their relationship would later become strained as Kindelán emerged as a leading advocate for a swift restoration of the monarchy. He belonged to the Kindelán family, a noted Spanish family of Irish origin.

Early career

Kindelán was a prominent figure within the

Spanish Armed Forces The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Spanish ...

and was founder and head of the

Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...

. A staunch supporter of the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

, he took voluntary exile in April 1931 rather than live in a republic. Kindelán was one of the earliest collaborators of

, along with José Millán Astray,

Luis Orgaz Yoldi Luis Orgaz Yoldi (28 May 1881 in Vitoria-Gasteiz – 31 January 1946 in Madrid) was a Spanish general who was a leading figure of the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War. He later went on to become a critic of the regime of Francisco Fra ...

and the leader's brother Nicolás.

Spanish Civil War

Kindelán was central to the conspiracies amongst the nationalist generals and took command of the

right wing Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

of the Air Force upon the outbreak of the

. In the early stages of the war he directed his operations from his place of exile in

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before returning to Spain. His importance to the actual war effort in the field, as well as that of the Air Force as a whole, declined after the arrival of the

Aviazione Legionaria The Legionary Air Force (, ) was an expeditionary corps from the Italian Royal Air Force that was set up in 1936. It was sent to provide logistical and tactical support to the Nationalist faction after the Spanish coup of July 1936, which mar ...

from

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

which soon became the main air combat unit. Nonetheless, he remained an influential figure and an important strategist. One of Franco's most trusted aides, it was Kindelán who initially raised the prospect of Franco as overall commander of the Nationalist forces. He also helped to ensure that the role came with the promise of Franco ultimately assuming the role of head of state, largely because he trusted that Franco would restore the monarchy at the earliest possible opportunity. In terms of the conduct of the war he was central to the planning of

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...

's assault on the north in March 1937, having been convinced by Juan Vigón of the need for a swift resolution to the war. Franco's failure to follow this course became a bone of contention in the relationship between the two, with Kindelán regularly writing to Franco to plead with him to abandon his attacks on

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in favour of all-out war in the north. He further criticised Franco's involvement in the long-running

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro (, ) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between July and November 1938, with fighting mainly ...

and suggested that his decision to commit to this rather than an attack on

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

added four months to the war.

Fall from grace

Following the nationalist victory, Kindelán made it clear that he viewed Franco's regime as a

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

and sought a restoration of the Alphonsine line as soon as possible. Prone to criticism of Franco, whom he considered an equal rather than a superior, he was sidelined in August 1939 when he was given the role of military commander of the

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, an effective demotion. He was also replaced as Air Force chief in 1939 by

Juan Yagüe Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe (9 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 ...

in a move Franco later claimed had been done at the instigation of the

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. Kindelán was personally close to the United Kingdom, to such an extent that the British authorities attempted to use him to force Franco to restore the monarchy in 1942 in order to push Spain away from the

. Nothing came of the scheme however. Kindelán enjoyed a return to favour of sorts in 1941 when he became Captain General of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, a promotion designed by Franco to improve the standing of the military as a buffer against the power of

Ramón Serrano Súñer Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), B ...

and the Falange. In November 1942, when Minister of the Army

Carlos Asensio Cabanillas Carlos Asensio Cabanillas (14 November 1896 – 28 April 1969) was a Spanish soldier and statesman who fought for the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War, rising in command from Colonel to General in Franco's Army of Africa. Whe ...

was pushing for Spain to finally enter the war, Kindelán privately informed Franco that were this to happen he would personally overthrow Franco and restore the monarchy. Given that Kindelán enjoyed the support of a number of leading generals Franco initially did not react but after three months he removed Kindelán from his new position. Kindelán then served as head of the ''Escuela Superior del Ejército'' although he was sacked from this position in August 1945 after a stinging attack on Franco in a fiercely pro-monarchist speech. Meanwhile, his memoirs were delayed until 1945 and even then were

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

due to a passage of fairly restrained criticism dealing with Franco's conduct of the war in the north.

Later years

Removed from influence, Kindelán was free to devote his time to the various upper class conspiracies designed to ensure the restoration of

Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg; 20 June 1913 – 1 April 1993), was a claimant to the Spanish throne as Juan III. He was the third son and designated heir of King Alfonso XIII o ...

to the Spanish throne. When in 1946 the so-called '

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manifesto' was published calling for immediate restoration, Franco identified Kindelán as being the ringleader of those who had signed the document and ordered his imprisonment. Following an appeal to Franco by

Fidel Dávila Arrondo Fidel Dávila Arrondo, 1st Marquess of Dávila (24 April 1878 – 22 March 1962) was a Spanish Army officer during the Spanish Civil War. Born in Barcelona, as an infantry officer, he fought in Cuba during the Spanish–American War and received ...

on the grounds of Kindelán's strong service record and his advancing age ''El Caudillo'' relented and instead sent Kindelán into exile in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. In 1961, Kindelán was ennobled as a '' Marqués'', although the gesture was interpreted as an ironic joke on the part of Franco, mocking the fact that, despite all his efforts, Kindelán was still not living in the monarchy that he so desired.Preston, ''Franco'', p. 573 He died the following year with Spain still under Franco.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kindelan, Alfredo 1879 births 1962 deaths People from Santiago de Cuba Spanish aviation pioneers Spanish generals Spanish military personnel of the Rif War Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish monarchists Spanish people of Irish descent History of the Spanish Air Force Captains General of Catalonia