Mola, emilio

Born in Cuba , the then Spanish colony. Father - the captain of the Civil Guard (gendarmerie), who served in Cuba and entered into a marriage with a local native. After the defeat of Spain in the war with the United States in 1898 , which resulted in the loss of Cuba, the family moved to Spain. In 1904 - 1907 Emilio was educated at the Toledo Infantry School, after the successful completion of which he was promoted to lieutenant.

He served in the Bailen Infantry Regiment, participated in the colonial war in Morocco as part of the Melilla Infantry Regiment, distinguished himself in the campaign of 1909 . On August 1, 1911 he served in the Moroccan rifle units ( Las Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ), in 1912 he was seriously wounded in the thigh and for military differences in the fighting on the plain Zayo promoted to captain. After returning to service, he was sent to the Serinola infantry regiment, with which he participated in battles in North Africa (including in the Tetouan area). He again distinguished himself and was promoted to the Majors.

From 1915 he was commander of the Alba de Tormes Volunteer Battalion in Barcelona , two and a half years later he was transferred to Madrid , and from there again to Spanish Morocco to Ceuta, where he again fought in the regulares subunit. In 1919 - 1920 he participated in many battles against Moroccans, in June 1921 he was given the rank of lieutenant colonel, and he was assigned to the Andalusian infantry regiment in Santander . However, three months later, he returned to the ranks of the regulares of Melilla, distinguished himself during the operation at Dar Hakob. Soon he was promoted to colonel (in this rank he commanded the infantry regiment of Melilla), and in 1927 - to brigadier generals with the appointment as commander of the troops in Larache (on the Atlantic coast of Morocco). Mole's successful military career was due to his differences in the fighting in North Africa (he not only received extraordinary promotions for bravery, but also received awards, including a particularly honorable personal Medal). Another famous young "African" general of the time was Francisco Franco .

In 1930, the conservative general Mola was the director of security, and in this capacity he restored socialists and liberals against him (in 1930–1931, one of the revolutionary slogans was “Shoot the Mole”). During this period, he was engaged in the reorganization of police units, including the creation of an assault guard. In 1931, after the overthrow of the monarchy, he was imprisoned in 1932 , after the military intervention of the right general José Sanhurho was dismissed. This period he was engaged in the publication of articles, including for the purpose of earnings. At the same time, Mola gained fame as a military theorist. In 1932 he published the book "Experiments", in which he advocated the reorganization of the Spanish army on a professional basis. British historian Hugh Thomas called Mol a “dedicated general with a literary mind.”

In 1933, Mola was amnestied and returned to the army, served in the General Staff under the direction of General Franco. In 1935, the center-right government, whose defense minister was the Spanish Confederation of Independent Rights José Maria Gil-Robles , appointed him commander of the troops in Melilla and then commander-in-chief of the Spanish armed forces in Morocco. After the Left Popular Front defeated in February 1936 in the parliamentary elections in Spain, General Maul was appointed to the peripheral post of Commander-in-Chief in Pamplona ( Navarre ). At the same time, Franco was moved to a similar post on the Canary Islands - there the left government tried to remove disloyal military leaders from key posts.

However, the actions of the authorities did not prevent the Mole from becoming one of the most prominent organizers of the military conspiracy against the government of the Popular Front. Moreover, the appointment of the Mole in Navarre allowed him to establish relations with the most conservative part of the monarchist movement, the Carlists , who had a significant influence there and then actively supported the military intervention led by Franco (while Mola himself was a supporter of the republican government). The Russian historian Sergei Danilov gives the following description of the activity of the Mole during this period:

Emilio Mola became the main coordinator of the military insurgency. This man, with a discreet appearance, wearing glasses with a cheap frame, with constant fatigue on his face, more likely not like a military man, but like a school teacher or accountant, conducted a lot of telephone and telegraph negotiations with all military districts of the country, with officers of each corps and every divisions. He sent out to the generals, colonels and majors involved in the conspiracy clear and comprehensive instructions on what to do and when. Mola reached an understanding with the officers of the fleet. He met with the leaders of the monarchical movement of Castile and Navarre, seeking unity of action. Companions respectfully called the Mall "Director".

On June 5, 1936, Mola presented to other participants in the conspiracy a plan of uprising, which provided for the creation of a "directory" of the president and four members and the suspension of the Constitution. The plan of the Mole also provided for a resolute suppression of all political and military forces that could interfere with the success of the performance, as well as "exemplary punishments" of political opponents.

Despite the conspiracy, rumors of a conspiracy spread throughout the country. On July 16, 1936, General Domingo Batet, the leader of the Mole , loyal to the republic, summoned him to his headquarters and offered to leave Pamplona, ​​citing the possibility of an attempt on the life of the Mole by the anarchists. In addition, Batet demanded from Mol to give an honest word that he would not oppose the republic. To this, Mola gave the word that he was not going to get involved in adventures — this wording allowed him to continue his involvement in the conspiracy, which he did not consider an “adventure”. Despite the suspicions, Batet allowed the Mole to return to Pamplona. On the same day, Mola sent out to the conspirators a telegram with a code signal to the beginning of the speech: “Seventeenth at seventeen. Director.

On July 17, the military action began in Morocco. On the night of July 18-19, the newly appointed Prime Minister of the Republic, Diego Martínez Barrio, called Mole in Pamplona and invited him to take a ministerial post in order to stop the performance. Mola refused:

The Popular Front cannot provide order. You have your supporters, and I have mine. If we had made a deal, we would have betrayed both our ideals and our people. And both of us would be worth lynching.

During the suppression of his speech in Barcelona on July 20, his brother, Captain Ramon Mola, an active supporter of the nationalists and conspirator , was killed. At the same time, General Mole managed to establish control over a large part of the north of the country. He was engaged not only in military and organizational issues, but also in propaganda, personally speaking on the radio and sharply criticizing the Republicans. He was particularly attacked by President Manuel Asania , whom he blamed for actions aimed at the collapse of the army (Asana was defense minister when Mola was dismissed from the military), called a monster and demanded a cage.

As early as July 22, the Northern Army of the Mole occupied Old Castile, but the attempt to break through to Madrid ended in failure due to lack of strength and lack of reserves. In August, his troops launched a new offensive, which was demonstrative in nature - it held down the forces of the Republicans, not allowing them to successfully operate on other sectors of the front. At the same time, he attacked the Basques in the north against the Republicans who fought on the side of the Republicans, achieving success with great losses. On September 3, 1936, the troops subordinate to him, commanded by Colonel Alfonso Beorleg, took the city of Irun, after which the Basque armed forces were cut off from the French border. September 13 was taken by San Sebastian - it was not only a military, but also a political victory.

On September 30, 1936, Mola participated in a meeting of eight leading nationalist military leaders, at which Francisco Franco was elected sole military-political leader (caudillo). Maul was among the two generals who voted against Franco. In October-November 1936, he led the storming of Madrid, promising to take it by November 7. At the same time, he owns the famous maxim about the “ fifth column ”, which will support the offensive of four military columns of nationalists from within. However, the storming of Madrid ended in failure, and by the end of November, the sides switched to a positional war - the front line ran along the outskirts of the city.

In the spring of 1937, Mola led a new offensive in the north of the country against the Basques. In the course of this offensive, on April 26, the allied nationalists German aviation destroyed the ancient Basque capital, Guernica , which was occupied by the Mole the next day. On June 19, the nationalists took the capital of Biscay, Bilbao , which was the decisive success of the nationalists in this sector of the front.

However, on June 3, General Mola died in a plane crash, heading from Pamplona to the northern front. The complex relationship between Franco and Moloy led to the appearance of a version about the involvement of the caudillo in the death of the “Director”. According to the German ambassador to Spain, General Wilhelm Faupel , Franco, "no doubt felt relieved at the news of the death of the Mole" . In addition, in July 1936, another possible rival Franco, General José Sanhurho, also died in a plane crash. However, no evidence of this version exists. After the war, Franco posthumously assigned Mole the title of duke.

Adolf Hitler after the death of the general said: “The death of the Mole became the tragedy of Spain. Mola is a real brain, a real leader. ” The Chilean poet and an active supporter of the Spanish Republicans, Pablo Neruda, called one of his harshest poems, "Maul in Hell."

In memory of the Mole, the submarine was named “General Mola” (“General Mola”), given to the Spanish nationalists by their Italian allies (in Italy it was called “Torricelli”). She was in service until the early 1950s, when she was replaced by a submarine built in Spain.

• Thomas H. Spanish Civil War. 1931-1939 - M .: Tsentrpoligraf, 2003. - 573 p. - ISBN 5-9524-0341-7 .
• Danilov S.Yu. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). - M .: Veche, 2004. - 352 p. - ISBN 5-9533-0225-8 .

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