Vicente López Tovar (5 September 1909 – 26 December 1998) was a Spanish soldier, politician and anti-Franco guerrilla fighter. He fought for the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 ...

, for the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

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 ...

, and led a failed invasion of Spain in 1944 to oust

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 ...

. After the

Liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

Lopez Tovar was decorated with the

Legion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

and the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. A street is named after him in Toulouse, France.

Invasion of Aran Valley

On 19 October 1944, López Tovar led a force of exiled anti-Franco guerrilla fighters from the Unión Nacional Española (UNE), a military organization formed by the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

but that included

monarchists Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

and other political denominations, across the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountains into the

Aran Valley Aran (; ; ) (often known as the Aran Valley, or Val d'Aran in Aranese Occitan; in other forms of Occitan: ''Vath d'Aran'' or ''Vau d'Aran'', in Catalan: ''Vall d'Aran'', in Spanish: ''Valle de Arán'') is an autonomous administrative entity (form ...

. The force consisted of 4,000 or 5,000 fighters, depending on the source. The objective was to establish a foothold in Spain from which to launch a full-scale invasion to overthrow Franco. The political leadership of the anti-Franco movement intended to make the city of

Vielha Vielha e Mijaran () is a municipality in central Aran, Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest municipality of the region, with a population of . It is part of the terçons of Castièro and Marcatosa. It was created in 1970 by the mer ...

a provisional capital that would give the movement legitimacy and thereby attract the financial and military backing of the Allied Powers for a larger operation. In his memoir, López Tovar writes that he was against the operation because of the lack of equipment and preparation. The invasion was a failure. Franco was aware of the impending arrival of the troops and pursued a

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...

strategy that left the UNE with little to capture in the valley outside of the city of Vielha. The guerrillas captured some villages defended by the

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 ...

, but Franco sent reinforcements of 50,000 regular army troops over the

Port de la Bonaigua Port de la Bonaigua (el. 2072 m., 6,798 ft) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees in Catalonia, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring th ...

and through the

Vielha tunnel The Vielha tunnel (Aranese: , Catalan and ) is a road tunnel in Spain, connecting Vielha, the capital of the Aran valley, with the Alta Ribagorça comarca. It is part of the N-230 road and consists of two parallel tunnels. The older one, na ...

to defend the city. López Tovar was forced to hastily retreat back into France across the

Pont de Rei The Pont de Rei (, , ) is a bridge and border crossing over the river Garonne that connects the Aran Valley of Spain with the Haute-Garonne department of France. The road on the French side is N125, ending in the commune of Fos; on the Spanish ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tovar, Vicente Lopez 1909 births 1998 deaths French Resistance members Spanish communists Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish military personnel of World War II Spanish revolutionaries Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France

Invasion of Aran Valley

See also

References