Eduardo Sáenz de Buruaga y Polanco (1893 in Camagüey,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

– 17 February 1964 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

) was a prominent

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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

military officer from the Army of Africa and recipient of the Military Medal of Spain along with numerous others

military decorations Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ...

. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge o ...

Sáenz de Buruaga backed

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

and led elements of the

Nationalist Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

in the key battles of the Corunna Road, the Jarama, and

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...

. In 1910 Sáenz de Buruaga enrolled at 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 ...

(''Academia de Infantería de Toledo'') and studied under Colonel José Villalba Riquelme. Rising in support of Franco's '' pronunciamiento'' of 17–18 July 1936, Sáenz de Buruaga's and Colonel Asensio's troops seized Tetuán in Spanish Morocco for the military rebels and imprisoned the Spanish High Commissioner. Franco promoted him to full general during the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) 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 Ju ...

. After the war Sáenz de Buruaga served terms as

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, the Balearic Islands; and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Madrid and the comarca of the Campo de Gibraltar. Sáenz de Buruaga is responsible for ruthless massacres of loyalists in the early period of the Spanish Civil War, including the Massacre of Baena, where about 700 loyalists were murdered by his orders. Other estimates mention up to 2,000 victims following the brutal repression in Baena.No solo corrieron rios de sangre en Badajoz
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Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz de Buruaga, Eduardo 1893 births 1964 deaths People from Camagüey Spanish colonial governors and administrators Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Francoist Spain Spanish people in Spanish Cuba

See also

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