Ricardo Serrador Santés (

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipalit ...

, 1877 –

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

, 23 January 1943) was a Spanish

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

, known for his participation in 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 ...

on the Nationalist side.

Biography

Military career

Son and grandson of soldiers, as a young man he entered the

Toledo Infantry Academy The Infantry Academy (ACINF) is a military training center of the Spanish Army located in the city of Toledo. The center is responsible for providing basic training, specialization and training for officers and non-commissioned officers of the in ...

. He participated in 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 ...

commanding a unit of the

Regulares The ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the (Regulars), are infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Historically, the force, which has also included mounted divisions, has consisted ...

, forming part of the so-called

Africanists African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demograph ...

. With the rank of colonel he participates in

Sanjurjada Sanjurjada () was a military coup staged in Spain on August 10, 1932. It was aimed at toppling the government but not necessarily at toppling the Spanish Republic. Following brief clashes it was easily suppressed in Madrid. Hardly any action was r ...

, the failed attempted coup d'état led by General

José Sanjurjo José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 ''coup d'état'' that started the Spanish Civil War. He was endowed the nobiliary title ...

, on 10 August 1932. He was convicted, dismissed from service and exiled to

Villa Cisneros Dakhla (, ; formerly known as Villa Cisneros) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative region Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. It has a population of 1 ...

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...

, although at the end of 1932 he managed to escape along with other convicts. Ignacio Martín Jiménez (2010). ''La guerra civil en Valladolid, 1936–1939: amaneceres ensangrentados'', pág. 70 Accepted by the

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

granted by the radical government of

Alejandro Lerroux Alejandro Lerroux García (4 March 1864, in La Rambla, Córdoba – 25 June 1949, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party. He served as Prime Minister three times from 1933 to 1935 and held sever ...

, he rejoined 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 ...

and was assigned to

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, headquarters of the . Serrador actively participated in the military conspiracy that led to the

Spanish coup of July 1936 The Spanish coup of July 1936( or, among the rebels, ) was a military uprising that was intended to overthrow the Spanish Second Republic, but precipitated the Spanish Civil War, in which Nationalists fought against Republicans for control o ...

, being one of the organizers of the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

uprising in the

Province of Valladolid Valladolid () is a province of northwest Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 525,398 across a total of 225 municipalities, an area of , meaning a population density of 64.77 people ...

. These activities raised the suspicions of the Madrid authorities, so in April he was sanctioned by the Government with a month of arrest in Cartagena and later forcibly assigned to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. However, Serrador managed to evade police surveillance and on 19 July he managed to move to Valladolid.

Civil War

Already in Valladolid he met the retired general

Andrés Saliquet Andrés Saliquet Zumeta, Marquis of Saliquet (21 March 1877 – 23 June 1959) was a Spanish soldier who participated in the failed military coup against the Second Republic, which gave rise to the Spanish Civil War. During the war he took charge ...

, new leader of the uprising in the city, who after deposing general managed to take control of the . Throughout that day the rebels managed to suppress the pockets of resistance, especially the workers. At midnight on Tuesday, 21 July, Serrador left Valladolid commanding a column composed of Falangists from the city with the mission of occupying an important

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the

Sierra de Guadarrama The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is in Spain, between the systems Sierra de ...

, the

Guadarrama Pass The Guadarrama Pass (), also known as ''Alto del León'', is a mountain pass in Spain. It is located in the Sierra de Guadarrama, part of the Sistema Central system of ranges. Historically it has been an important communication line between Madrid ...

, located west of

Somosierra Somosierra is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located at 83 km north of Madrid, in the mountain pass with the same name, at an elevation of 1433 metres above sea level, being the northernmost town of Community of Madrid ...

. At two in the morning on the 22nd, they left along the Olmedo highway towards

Villacastín Villacastín is a municipality located in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating ...

and the pass along the

N-VI The N-VI is a major highway in Spain. It connects Madrid to A Coruña. It has generally been up-graded or replaced by the Autovía A-6. It passes via Tordesillas, Ponferrada and Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomo ...

Madrid–

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

highway. When they arrived at the pass they found that it had already been occupied by a group of the MAOC militiamen from Madrid, but they managed to evict them during the

Battle of Guadarrama The Battle of Guadarrama (), also known as the Battle of Somosierra (''Batalla de Somosierra''), was a battle that occurred in the Sierra de Guadarrama during the Spanish Civil War from 22 July to 15 September 1936. The Nationalists sent by Em ...

, and on 25 July it was in their hands. Hugh Thomas (1976). ''La Guerra Civil Española'', Ed. Grijalbo, pág. 432 However, their advance towards Madrid was stalled by strong Republican resistance, so their offensive towards the capital failed. The front in this sector will remain motionless until the end of the conflict. At the end of 1936 he was appointed commander of the . Later Serrador was appointed commander of the 71st Division, and later Chief of the "Group of Divisions of Guadarrama–Somosierra" that garrisoned the front in the Sierra de Guadarrama. While in command of the 71st Division, 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 R ...

the initial Republican attack caught his unit by surprise, forcing them to give ground and suffering serious casualties. On 8 January 1937, he was promoted to brigadier general, and on 23 February 21939, he became major general.

Captain General of the Canaries

After the end of the Civil War, in August 1939 he was appointed Captain General of the Canary Islands, a position he would hold until his death on 23 January 1943. His period as military commander 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 ...

coincided with

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which gave him greater power. He was also appointed head of the Economic Command of the Canary Islands, which was created to try to avoid isolation of the archipelago during the years of the conflict. Shortly before his death he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. Juan Arencibia de Torres (1994). ''Canarias y los militares: un siglo de historia'', pág. 233

References

Bibliography