Alberto Bayo y Giroud (27 March 1892 – 4 August 1967) was a Cuban military commander of the Republican faction 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 ...

. His most significant action during the war was the attempted invasion 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 ...

-held islands of

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

and

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

at the Battle of Majorca. He was also a poet and essayist.

Biography

He was born in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and studied in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In his youth he joined the Spanish Military Aviation. He had his first flight in 1916. He was expelled from the Aviation after taking part in a duel. He was then forced to join the

Spanish Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the foreign regiments () such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the Penal la ...

in 1924, and participated in the Rif War, in which he stayed for two years as a company commander. In 1925 he was seriously wounded in the groin, spending a year in recovery. In 1926 he requested to return to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and was assigned the 3rd

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of the Mehal-la de Gómara – which was part of General Capaz's troops – taking part in heavy fighting until 1927. He returned to the

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

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. ...

and was stationed in administrative posts, but he was not promoted. He was appointed as the 2nd Chief of Staff of the V Army Corps for the Battle of Brunete, Modesto, but the commander of the unit opposed this and Bayo was relieved. He was successively promoted to Commander and Lieutenant Colonel. He was going to be in charge of preparing a guerrilla column in the Sierra de Madrid, but finally the project was not carried out and Bayo spent most of the contest as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in the Ministry of War. After that war was lost, Bayo had a furniture factory in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and is reported to have been an instructor at the Military Academy of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. Bayo had contact in Mexico with prominent

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n revolutionaries, and was an associate and mentor of some, including Ernesto Che Guevara and

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

. He joined the guerrillas as an advisor and participated in the Cuban Revolution. There he maintained a close friendship with Castro and Che Guevara. While it is not known if he continued contact with

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

agents such as "Comandante Carlos Contreras" ( Vittorio Vidali), both were present in Mexico at the same period.

Death

Alberto Bayo died a General of the

Cuban Armed Forces The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (; FAR) are the military forces of Cuba. They include Revolutionary Army, Revolutionary Navy, Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Troops Militia ...

Bayo as author and poet

*''Cualquier cosilla'' (poetry), Spain, 1911 *''Mis cantos de aspirante'' (poetry), Spain, 1911 *''Cadetadas'' (poetry), Spain, 1912 *''Canciones del Alkázar'' (poetry), Spain, 1914 *''Juan de Juanes'' (novel), Spain, 1926 *''Uncida al yugo'' (novel), Spain, 1926 *''Dos años en Gomara'', Spain, 1928 *''La guerra será de los guerrilleros'', Spain, 1937 *''El tenorio laico'' (poetry), Spain, 1938 *''Mi desembarco en Mallorca'', Mexico, 1944 *''Tempestad en el Caribe'', Mexico, 1950 *''Cámara, México'' (history), 1951 *''El caballero de los tristes destinos'' (capitán Alonso de Ojeda), México, 1953 *''Magallanes, el hombre más audaz de la tierra'', Mexico, 1953 *''150 preguntas a un guerrillero'', Mexico, 1955 *''Fidel te espera en la Sierra'' (poetry), Mexico, 1958 *''Mis versos de rebeldía'', Mexico, 1958 *''Sangre en Cuba'' (poetry), Mexico, 1958 *''Mi aporte a la revolución cubana'', 1960 *''El tenorio cubano'' (poetry), 1960 *''Versos revolucionarios'', 130 pp, 1960 *''Mis versos'', 223 pp, 1965

References

External links

Cubaliteraria: Albert Bayo

España en Guerra
(.pdf)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayo, Alberto 1892 births 1967 deaths People from Camagüey Cuban people of Spanish descent Anti-revisionists Cuban communists Cuban male poets Cuban soldiers Spanish generals Foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista members Guerrilla warfare theorists Cuban revolutionaries People from Ibiza Military history of Ibiza People of the Cuban Revolution 20th-century Cuban poets