The Civil Guard and the Spanish Second Republic, 1931-1936 Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the University of London Candidate: Gerald Blaney, Jr. London School of Economics and Political Science 1 October 2007 UMI Number: U5020B0 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U502030 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 /f tt e-S E S' rS' £ > ES Brftrati L *r»‘ • "'■'*' 11 Abstract This thesis seeks to understand the variety of factors that influenced the fairly widespread defection of much of the Spanish paramilitary constabulary, the Civil Guard, during the military rebellion that sparked the 1936-1939 Civil War. The significance of this phenomenon for the initial stages of the uprising has been recognised in the literature, but the explanations presented for it have been often either overly deterministic or focus too much on structural aspects, at the expense of social and historical factors. Indeed, most academic studies have conflated the issue of the Civil Guard with that of the “military problem”, that is, the ubiquitous presence of the military in the political evolution of modem Spain, which often allowed the Spanish armed forces to interfere and eventually assume the control of the governing of the nation. This study, while noting the importance of the links between the Civil Guard and the military, gives equal if not greater importance to the fact that the former is primarily a policing body, and thus a variety of other dynamics have to be considered when attempting to understand the attitudes and actions of the corps. Indeed, while much of the military was detached from the daily workings of society, civil guards were on the front line of social conflict, and this unavoidably affected attitudes within the corps towards the viability of the Republic, and the legitimacy of its left- wing governments. Furthermore, the Civil Guard was not immune to the political passions of the day. Indeed, the antagonism between the Left and the Civil Guard reached a new intensity in the wake of the October 1934 Revolution, leading to a further deterioration when the leftist Popular Front coalition won the February 1936 elections. The polarization that infected Spanish politics during this period, as well as the increasing levels of social unrest and political violence, were key factors in influencing civil guards’ loyalties once the military rebellion began in July 1936. 3 Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to all the institutions and persons that have supported my research over these past years. First and foremost I would like to thank the Fundacion Canada Blanch, especially Miguel Dols and Luis Aznar, for their generous financial support has been and continues to be paramount for my own research. Similarly, I would like to express my gratitude to the Department of International History at the London School of Economics, which has contributed in a meaningful way to the expenses involved in completing my research. Furthermore, I wish to thank Carol Toms and Nayna Bhatti for their assistance (and patience) in dealing with various administrative aspects of my degree. I am indebted to the following persons for their help both as academics and friends: Eduardo Gonzalez Calleja, Ivan Pliego Moreno, Alejandro Quiroga, Petula Iu, Clive Emsley, Gonzalo Jar, Diego Muro, Gregorio Alonso, Ana de Miguel, Cristina Palomares, Marisa Maldonado, Richard Baxell, Chris Ealham, Sebastian Balfour, Isabelle Rohr, Casilda Giiell, Miguel Angel del Arco Blanco, Jose Luis Ledesma, Jonathan Dunnage, and Pablo La Porte. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support throughout the years. A special note of thanks is due to my two examiners: Francisco J. Romero Salvado and Helen Graham, whose comments and critiques of my thesis undoubtedly will be of great assistance as my research moves on to the next stage. Finally and most importantly, I would like to express my eternal gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Paul Preston. He has been a source of inspiration and knowledge, and his indefatigable support has enabled me to accomplish much of what I have done over the past few years. I can only hope he is pleased with the results. Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to all the institutions and persons that have supported my research over these past years. First and foremost I would like to thank the Fundacion Canada Blanch, especially Miguel Dols and Luis Aznar, for their generous financial support has been and continues to be paramount for my own research. Similarly, I would like to express my gratitude to the Department of International History at the London School of Economics, which has contributed in a meaningful way to the expenses involved in completing my research. Furthermore, I wish to thank Carol Toms and Nayna Bhatti for their assistance (and patience) in dealing with various administrative aspects of my degree. I am indebted to the following persons for their help both as academics and friends: Eduardo Gonzalez Calleja, Ivan Pliego Moreno, Alejandro Quiroga, Petula Iu, Clive Emsley, Gonzalo Jar, Diego Muro, Gregorio Alonso, Ana de Miguel, Cristina Palomares, Marisa Maldonado, Richard Baxell, Chris Ealham, Sebastian Balfour, Isabelle Rohr, Casilda Guell, Miguel Angel del Arco Blanco, Jose Luis Ledesma, Jonathan Dunnage, and Pablo La Porte. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support throughout the years. A special note of thanks is due to my two examiners: Francisco J. Romero Salvado and Helen Graham, whose comments and critiques of my thesis undoubtedly will be of great assistance as my research moves on to the next stage. Finally and most importantly, I would like to express my eternal gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Paul Preston. He has been a source of inspiration and knowledge, and his indefatigable support has enabled me to accomplish much of what I have done over the past few years. I can only hope he is pleased with the results. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract 2 A cknowledgements 3 Chapter One: Introduction 5 Chapter Two 25 Chapter Three 66 Chapter Four 104 Chapter Five 159 Chapter Six 199 Chapter Seven 250 Bibliography 308 Illustrative material Page Illustration 1 204 4 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION The Civil Guard, Spain’s paramilitary constabulary and largest police force until recent times, played an influential role in many of the pivotal events of the Second Republic (1931-1939), a fact recognized by both historians and contemporary protagonists of otherwise diverse views. For example, many have noted that the reluctance of the Director-General of the Civil Guard, Lieutenant General Jose Sanjujro, to maintain the monarchy through force after the Republican victory in the April 1931 elections was instrumental in the peaceful change of regime.1 Indeed, the uncertainty of gaining the support of the Civil Guard for any potential coup against the Republic would prove a deterrent for many would-be military conspirators for the next five years.2 Their concerns over the attitudes of the Civil Guard were well-founded. When the Army rebelled in July 1936, several scholars have noted that the division of Spain in those first few days roughly corresponded to the split of loyalties among the Civil Guard in favor of 1 Amongst those witnesses to the events of 12-14 April 1931 who noted the importance of Sanjuijo’s desertion of the monarchy: Miguel Maura,Asi cayo Alfonso XIII (Mexico City, 1962), pp. 165-166; Conde de Romanones, “Historia de cuatro dias”, originally published in 1940, reproduced inNotas de una vida (Madrid & Barcelona, 1999), pp. 511-512; Alvaro Alcala Galiano,La caida de un trono (Madrid, 1933), pp. 191-192; Francisco Franco Salgado-Araujo,Mis conversaciones privadas con Franco (Barcelona, 1976), pp. 450-452, and Mi vida junto a Franco (Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 1977), pp. 97-98. Historians have accepted largely their verdicts: Gerald Brenan, The Spanish Labyrinth (Cambridge, 1990), p. 86n2; Stanley Payne,Politics and the Military in Modem Spain (Stanford, CA, 1967), pp. 264-265; Joaquin Arraras, Historia de la segunda Republica espahola, Vol. I (Madrid, 1970), p. 28; Guillermo Cabanellas, La guerra de los mil dias, Vol. I (Buenos Aires, 1975), pp. 178-179; Paul Preston, Franco: A Biography (London, 1995), pp. 69-71; Eduardo Gonzalez Calleja, El mausery el sufragio (Madrid, 1999), pp. 611- 617. Ricardo de la Cierva, formerly the official state historian under the Franco regime, talks of Sanjuijo’s “three blows” against the monarchy, which earned the General “the number one position in the list of gravediggers of the monarchy”:Historia ilustrada de la guerra civil espahola, Vol. I (Barcelona, 1977), pp. 105-110. Rafael Borras Betriu mirrors La Cierva’s “three blows”, in which he calls Sanjurjo’s adhesion to the Revolutionary Committee on the morning of April 14th “the first of the momentosfour estelares” which led to the proclamation of the Second Republic:Cambio de regimen: Caida de la Monarquiay proclamacion de la Republica (Barcelona, 2001), p. 248. 2 Preston, Franco, pp. 70, 111 -118. 5 either the government or the insurgents.3 Indeed, one historian even suggests that this fact was partially responsible for turning a coup d’etat into a civil war.4 The actions of the Civil Guard affected the evolution of the Republic in other ways as well.