Reketé (from French requeté - a signal of dog hunting) is a youth paramilitary organization of the extreme right-wing absolutist traditionalist movement advocating the restoration of an unlimited monarchy in Spain, led by a descendant of Don Carlos [1] .
Rekete were the most combat-ready units in the troops of General Franco. Sometimes volunteers could be three generations of the same family at once - from 60-year-old grandfathers to 15-year-old boys. Often, a Crucifix attached to a flagpole was carried into battle next to the banner.
Content
- 1 History
- 1.1 Symbols of Rocket
- 1.2 Russian Rocket
- 2 See also
- 3 notes
- 4 Literature
History
In 1834, during the First Carlist War , the 3rd Navarre battalion, called Rekete, was operating in the troops of the Carlist General Thomas de Sumalacarrega . The name of this battalion subsequently became the name of the entire organization.
During the Second Carlist War of 1872-1876 Rekete detachments, formed from young men under the age of 20, became the main striking force of the Carlist movement. Members of Reket were raised in the spirit of fanatical devotion to the Catholic Church , the Carlist branch of the Bourbon dynasty , and their leaders. The main personnel of Reket were always supplied by the peasantry of Navarra .
At the beginning of the XX century, the name "Rekete" was carried by several organizations in various regions of Spain: Catalonia , Aragon and Andalusia . One of these organizations was founded in 1907 by Juan Maria Roma. She turned into a youth wing of the carlist movement. The organization had its own newspaper, Mestre The Titas.
Under the leadership of Joaquin Llorens, the Rekete paramilitaries took as their model the French royalist organization Camelots du Roi (right wing Axion Frances), which carried out direct actions against Republicans, Reds and Jews.
During the First World War, the activities of the Rekete fighters began to decline. However, after the war, already in 1920, under the leadership of the new leader Juan Perez Nager, after the fall of the monarchy and the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, the number of Rekete increased to 10 thousand people.
In 1932, “Rekete” was headed by Colonel Varela , who reorganized the organization’s structure - the grassroots cell ( Spanish la patrulla ), consisting of 5 people (red berets) - the campaign ( Spanish compañía ), consisting of 246 people - and finally third ( Spanish tercio - regiment), which included 3 campaigns. In 1935, “Rocket” was headed by Ricardo de Rada del Peral. The number of fighters has increased to 30 thousand people.
On April 15, 1934, a parade was held for the first time in Seville - a review of the combat forces of Requet. 650 red berets from Andalusia took part in it. This day is still a Carlist holiday and is called Acto del Quintillo.
During the nationalist uprising of General Franco against the Republicans, Requete was the main strike force. A total of 41 thirds were formed: 10 from Navarra, 8 from the Basque Country , 8 from Castile , 7 from Andalusia , 6 from Aragon, 2 from Asturias , 1 from Catalonia .
Shortly before the putsch, July 17-18, 1936, on behalf of the leader of the Rekete de Rhodesno, Colonel Varela reorganized and trained the 15,000th Rekete corps. The Navarre brigades of Rekete in 1936-1939 were the most combat-ready units of the Franco troops. In total, 60 thousand Rekete fighters fought on the side of Caudillo in the civil war, 6 thousand of them died.
After the end of the Civil War in Spain 1936-1939. Requete has joined the Spanish phalanx .
Symbols of Requet
One of the required attributes of a requet was a red beret with a golden tassel. On the left side, many rackete wore the so-called “Detente” - a patch depicting the Heart of Jesus, around which their mothers, sisters or wives embroidered a short request to God for protection and patronage, for example: “¡Detente! El Corazón de Jesús está conmigo! ”-“ Stop! (appeal to the enemy pool) Let the heart of Jesus be with me! ” Such patches were made for soldiers and in fairly large quantities - carlist women’s organizations [2] .
On the left sleeve of the racket, they wore a patch of the - a symbol of the Carlist movement. Rekete officers often wore white lilies on their collars - a symbol of the Bourbon house.
The marching song “Oriamendi” served as a hymn.
Russian Rockete
During the Civil War in Spain, Russian white emigrants joined the Rekete as volunteers. Despite their ranks and awards, often general’s, Russian volunteers began serving as ordinary soldiers and in the usual manner received the corporal, sergeant, and first officer ranks of the Spanish army. For example, the St. George Knight, Russian Major General A. V. Fock , died in 1937 at the Battle of Quinto de Ebro with the rank of Lieutenant Reket. Major General N.V. Shinkarenko received the rank of Lieutenant of the Legion from Franco only after being wounded in the head near Bilbao in 1937. Former Russian lieutenants and captains, at best, managed to rise to the rank of ensign by the end of the war, but basically they received the ranks of sergeants.
See also
- Carlista
Notes
Literature
- Julio Aróstegui . Los combatientes carlistas en la Guerra Civil española 1936-1939, Madrid, - 1991. (Spanish)