Luis Barceló Jover (31 August 1896 – 15 March 1939) was a Spanish military officer.
Spanish Civil War
A professional officer of the Spanish Army, he supported the
Republican government 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 ...
. In 1936 he was a major of the Spanish army. In July 1936, he was one of the officers who set up summary courts to try the rebel officers captured after the failure of the ''
coup'' in Madrid. In September 1936, he took part in the
Siege of the Alcazar. Later, he joined the
Communist Party of Spain and led one mixed brigade of
Juan Modesto's division in the
Second Battle of the Corunna Road. Later, he was promoted to colonel and in June 1937, he became one of the Republican commanders in the
Segovia Offensive. In 1939, he was the commander of the I
Corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
of the Republican Army of the Centre.
Casado coup and execution
On March 5, 1939, the Colonel
Segismundo Casado, an officer of the Republican Army, supported a section of the
PSOE (
Julián Besteiro), a section of the
UGT (Wenceslao Carrillo), the CNT (
Cipriano Mera), the general
Manuel Matallana and the secret service of the Republic ''(SIM)'',
staged a coup, deposed the prime minister,
Juan Negrín, and
established the
National Defence Council (''Consejo Nacional de Defensa'') to start peace negotiations with
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 Council dismissed the communist commanders of the I, II, and III Corps of the Army of the Centre, such as Barceló, but he rejected the authority of the Council, and on March 7, he appointed himself as Commander of the Army of the Centre, set up his headquarters in the Pardo Palace and entered with his troops in Madrid, supported by the Bueno's II Corps and the Ortega's III Corps, starting a brief civil war inside the Republic. After days of bloody combat, he was defeated by Cipriano Mera's IV Corps and surrendered himself to the Council on March 12. On March 13, he and his commissar, José Conesa, were
sentenced to death by a military tribunal and executed.
[Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. London. p.394]
References
Sources
*Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil war, 1936–1939.'' Penguin Books. London. .
*Preston, Paul. (1995). ''Franco.'' Fontana Press. London. .
*Preston, Paul. (2006). ''The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, Revolution & Revenge.'' Harper Perennial. London. . .
*Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. 2001. London.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barceló, Luis
1896 births
1939 deaths
Military personnel from Madrid
Spanish army officers
Communist Party of Spain politicians
Spanish communists
Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista members
Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction)
Executed communists
Executed Spanish people
People killed by the Second Spanish Republic
People executed by Spain by firing squad