Manuel Mora Torres (1913-2005) was an Andalusian

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and militant.

Biography

Born in Carmona in 1913, he was a member of the CNT. He participated in the Confederal Congress of Zaragoza, in 1936. After the outbreak of 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 ...

he joined the

confederal militias The confederal militias were a movement of people's militia during the Spanish Civil War organized by the Spanish anarchist movement: the National Confederation of Labor (CNT) and the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). The CNT militias repl ...

and, later, the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la República'' ...

. In July 1938, in the face of the

Ebro Offensive The Battle of the Ebro (, ) 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 July and November 1938, with fighting mainly ...

, Mora was appointed commander of the 16th Division of the XII Army Corps. On 27 July, the division crossed the Ebro, participating in the fighting against Villalba de los Arcos. On 22 August, a

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 ...

attack against the 16th Division positions caused their disbandment, including its commander. Manuel Mora was unaccounted for several hours, until he reported to the command post of the 124th Mixed Brigade and communicated (falsely) to

Juan Modesto Juan Guilloto León, usually referred to as Modesto or Juan Modesto (24 September 1906 – 16 April 1969), was a Republican army officer during the Spanish Civil War. Biography Early life Born at El Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz, Juan G ...

that the nationalist advance had already reached the Ebro river. Mora was instantly dismissed and replaced by

Sebastián Zamora Medina Sebastian (; ) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill h ...

. After the end of the conflict, he went into exile, passing through

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

- where he arrived in 1946.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * 1913 births 2005 deaths Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Confederación Nacional del Trabajo members {{Spain-activist-stub