- Antonio Aranda
Antonio Aranda Mata (1888-1979) was a military officer who fought on side of the Nationalists in the
Spanish Civil War .During the Morocco wars Aranda earned an outstanding record as an engineer and geographer. He participated in the suppression of the
Asturias Revolt of 1934 and rose to the rank ofColonel . At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, he was in command of theOviedo garrison , which raised in revolt against the Republic and won theSiege of Oviedo . For his efforts Aranda was awarded the Cross of San Fernando and promoted to the rank ofGeneral . Aranda participated in several further engagements during the Spanish Civil War including theBattle of Teruel andBattle of the Ebro . In 1939, following the war, his troops occupied Valencia where he was promoted to the rank ofCaptain General .Immediately following the war Aranda was appointed as the head of the Royal Geographical Society. In 1941 he participated in several
clandestine actions in favor of the monarchy that resulted in irritating the government ofFrancisco Franco . The government, recalling that Aranda had been afreemason before the war, promulgated a law forcing him into early retirement. He was arrested in 1943, and accused of conspiring against Franco's government. In 1976, after Franco's death, King Juan Carlos I promoted Aranda to the rank ofLieutenant General .References
*http://www.fuenterrebollo.com/Masoneria/aranda-mata.html
*http://www.guerracivil1936.galeon.com/bionac.htm
*http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,889085,00.html
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