Domènec Batet i Mestres (; August 30, 1872 – February 18, 1937) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

military man who became general of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

. Starting as a lieutenant, Batet quickly escalated ranks during the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Litt ...

. After the

Disaster of Annual The Battle of Annual was fought on 22 July 1921 at Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Rifian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always referred to by the Spanish ...

, as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, Batet took part in the investigation of the defeat taking part in the drafting of the

Picasso File The Picasso File (in Spanish: ''Expediente Picasso'') is the name given to the report written by General Juan Picasso González, assigned to the Supreme Council of War and Navy, the highest body of military jurisdiction, in relation to the event ...

. During the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

, Domènec Batet was designated chief of the IV Organic Division in

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 ...

and crushed the Catalan Uprising of October the 6th. With the outbreak of 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 ...

Batet remained loyal to the Republic and was deployed in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, where his subordinates betrayed him and captured him for the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

. After months of captivity,

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

ordered the execution of Batet.

Biography

Early military career

Domènec Batet i Mestres started his career in the

as a volunteer lieutenant in the

. During the war, he received decorations and was promoted multiple times. He also developed a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

ideology. After that, during the

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

, as a colonel he was one of the instruction judges who wrote the Picasso Files, a

report A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...

directed by

Juan Picasso González Juan Picasso González (22 August 1857 – 5 April 1935) was a Spanish military man and general who participated in the Rif War with the Spanish Army of Africa in late 19th century and early 20th century. He was a military investigation instruc ...

that pointed out the corruption of the African deployed Spanish officers, including

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 ...

The Catalan uprising

Shortly after the proclamation of the

, Domènec Betet was deployed in

as chief of the IV Organic Division. In that position Batet was always deferent with the

Generalitat of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is Self-governance, self-governed as an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parli ...

, treated the soldiers well and promoted the use of the Catalan language between them. In 1932, Batet led the repression of the

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

of the Alt Llobregat. Instead of using terror tactics, ordered by

Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain, Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the la ...

, he acted quickly and avoided unnecessary bloodshed. Batet then played a most important role during the Republican years with the successful suffocation of the

Events of October the 6th The events of 6 October () were a general strike, armed insurgency and declaration of a Catalan State (1934), Catalan State in Catalonia during the Revolution of 1934 on 6 October 1934. The predominantly left-wing Generalitat de Catalunya, Ge ...

, a Catalan attempt at secession in 1934. The Catalan uprising was fuelled by multiple issues, the most important: the inclusion of anti-republican ministers of the

CEDA The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA) was a Spanish right-wing political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined ...

, a right wing Spanish political party that won the 1933 elections, and the cancellation of the Law of Contracts of Cultivation (''Llei de Contractes de Conreu''). This law was approved by the government of

Lluís Companys Lluís Companys i Jover (; 21 June 1882 – 15 October 1940) was a Catalan politician who served as president of Catalonia, Spain from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War. Companys was a lawyer close to the labour movement and one of the mo ...

and later on banned by the Spanish government, arguing that it exceeded the

Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932 The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932, also called the Statute of Núria, was the first implemented statute of autonomy for Catalonia, officially providing self-government to Catalonia for the first time in more than 200 years. The Statute ...

. The Law of Contracts of Cultivation protected the

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s and when the Spanish government banned it infuriated the Catalan working class. On October 5, 1934, a

collapsed several cities of Spain. The following day, Lluís Companys decided to declare the

Catalan Republic Catalan Republic or Catalan State refers to Catalonia at various times when it was proclaimed either an independent republic or as a republic within a Spanish federal republic: * Catalan Republic (1640–1641), an independent state under French pro ...

and numerous heavily armed squads occupied the streets of

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 ...

and other towns, supporting the initiative and capturing public offices. Lluís Companys also telephoned Domènec Batet, asking for support, but Batet remained loyal to the central government and gained some time demanding a written request. While Companys wrote the request, Batet prepared the Army,

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...

, and

Guardia de Asalto The Assault Guards, officially known as the Security and Assault Corps ( Spanish; Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto), were a gendarmerie and reserve force of the blue-uniformed urban police force of Spain under the Second Spanish Republic. The Assaul ...

troops and directly attacked the

Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya The Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia ( Catalan: ''Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya'', ; Spanish: ''Palacio de la Generalidad de Cataluña'') is a historic palace in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It houses the offices of the Presidency ...

. He was able to avoid any major confrontation with the militias in armed revolt and

Mossos d'Esquadra The ''Mossos d'Esquadra'' (; ), also known as the ''Policia de la Generalitat de Catalunya'' and informally as ''Mossos'', is the State police#Spain, regional police force in the autonomous community of Catalonia. They trace their origins back ...

, because they were ordered not to attack until they were told to do so. Batet managed to surround the building, breaking the Catalan government chain of command, and shoot multiple warning shots with a

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

. After 10 hours, isolated from the militiamen and Mossos d'Esquadra (who could not receive orders from the rebel Catalan leadership), Lluís Companys was forced to surrender. Acting as he did, Batet minimised any casualties that might have been caused and used minimal force to fulfil the orders of the official Spanish government. Some sources say that in order to avoid further fights against his own people, Batet asked to be redeployed somewhere else; while others claim that he was ordered to a change of position as a punishment for his passivity during the confrontation. In any case,

Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president. Early life ...

transferred him to

Spanish Civil War and execution

On June 13, 1936, Batet was transferred to the Organic Division of

, where the general

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 ...

, leader of the

Nationalist faction The Nationalist faction (), also Rebel faction () and Francoist faction () was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 ...

, was also deployed. When the

started, Batet was betrayed by his own men and they imprisoned him. While Mola, who respected Batet as a military man, was the leader of the Nationalists, Batet was kept in prison. When

became the

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative ...

of the Nationalist forces he ordered the execution of Batet, according to leftist sources, in retaliation for the Picasso Files, where Batet accused Franco of corruption during the Rif War.

References

Bibliography