Rafael García Valiño (24 October 189829 June 1972) was a

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

who fought 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 Nationalist faction.

Early life

He was born in Toledo, and enrolled in the Infantry Academy at age fifteen. In 1916, he earned his commission as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, volunteering to fight in the

Spanish Army of Africa The Army of Africa (, , Tarifit, Riffian; ''Aserdas n Tefriqt''), also known as the Army of Spanish Morocco ('), was a field army of the Spanish Army that garrisoned the Spanish protectorate in Morocco from 1912 until History of Morocco#Independ ...

. In

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, he was wounded several times and was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

due to his field performance. In 1935, he studied in the Superior Military School.

Spanish Civil War

The outbreak of the Civil War surprised him, as he was spending the summer on the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

coast. He crossed Republican lines to reach

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

to join up with the Nationalist Army of the North, led by

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...

. He commanded several

Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

units, and with the 1st Brigade of Navarre participated in the campaign of the North. After he was promoted to colonel, he commanded the 1st Division of Navarre, with which he fought in

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

and in the campaign of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

, along with those of Aranda, to the Mediterranean, thus cutting the Republican zone in two. He also commanded an army corps in the XYZ battle, in the Battle of Ebro and participated in the offensive of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. He led the Maestrazgo Army in the

final offensive of the Spanish Civil War The final offensive of the Spanish Civil War took place between 26 March and 1 April 1939, towards the end of the Spanish Civil War. On 5 March 1939, the Republican Army, led by Colonel Segismundo Casado and the politician Julián Besteiro, ...

Francoist Spain

After the Civil War, he was named commander-in-chief of

Melilla Melilla (, ; ) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga un ...

. In 1942, he became Chief of Staff of the Army. In 1944, he participated in the fighting against the Valle de Aran's invasion by the

Spanish Maquis The Maquis (; ; also spelled maqui) were Spanish guerrillas who waged irregular warfare against the Francoist dictatorship within Spain following the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War until the early 1960s, carrying out sabotage, rob ...

. In 1947, he was promoted to lieutenant general and in charge of the captainship of the VII Military district. From 1951 to 1956, he was High Commissioner of the

Spanish protectorate in Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

."Telegramas entre S.A.I. El Jalifa y El Nuevo Alto Comisario". (4 April 1951). ABC, p. 14 In 1957, he was named director of the Superior School of the Army and, later, commander in chief of the First Military district, a position that he occupied until 1964. In 1965, he established Air Spain together with the Banco del Noroeste and his relatives José Maria Rivero de Aguilar and Colonel Carbó.El Britannia en Air Spain

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Valino, Rafael 1898 births 1972 deaths People from Toledo, Spain Spanish generals Spanish military personnel of the Rif War Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish military personnel of World War II People from Francoist Spain