Manuel Goded

Manuel Goded Llopis (San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 15, 1882 – Barcelona, August 12, 1936) was a Spanish soldier who participated in the Rif War and at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

Biography

Military career

He was born on October 15, 1882, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, into a family of military tradition and of French origin. His father was an artillery commander. At the time Goded was born, Puerto Rico was still Spanish territory; After the Spanish-American War, the Goded family returned to mainland Spain.

Goded began his military career at the age of fourteen, entering the Toledo Infantry Academy in 1896. In 1905 he became captain of the General Staff. Like many soldiers of the time, he was promoted by war merit thanks to the war in Morocco; in 1924 he was promoted to colonel, and two years later he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.He participated in the landing of Al Hoceima and was chief of staff of General Sanjurjo. He would rise to major general in 1927.

Although he initially supported the regime of General Primo de Rivera, he later participated in intrigues against him. In 1930 he exercised on several occasions, on an interim basis, the functions of Minister of the Army —replacing General Dámaso Berenguer.

Second Republic

General Goded towards 1930

When the Republic arrived, Goded was appointed chief of the Army's Central General Staff. Involved in the Carabanchel Incident, in June 1932, he was dismissed from his position. He participated in the "Sanjurjada" on 10 August 1932, for which he was again withdrawn from military activity by the government. However, shortly after he was amnestied by the government of Alejandro Lerroux and returned to the ranks.

In October 1934, he collaborated with Franco by order of the Republican government in the suppression of the revolt in Asturias, after which the radical-Cedista government appointed him General Director of Aeronautics and head of the III Inspection of the Army. In 1935 he joined the clandestine organization Unión Militar Española, forming part of its Central Board from where he resumed contacts with the other generals involved in the 1932 coup. At the beginning of 1936, with the Popular Front in power, his lack of harmony with the new government motivated him to be removed from Madrid, being sent as commander general to the Balearic Islands, in the confidence that this leadership (away from the great centers of power and with few troops under his command) would prevent him from carrying out a successful revolt against the government.

Involved in the military conspiracy that led to the Civil War, Goded was appointed to take charge of the leadership of the rebellion in Barcelona.

Spanish Civil War

Map of fighting in Barcelona on July 19, 1936, including the itinerary of Goded.

On the morning of July 19, 1936, after the uprising of some military garrisons had taken place, Goded declared a state of war and revolted the archipelago. In a short time he managed to gain control of the islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, without much difficulty. As agreed, Goded marched to Barcelona in a seaplane—in turn escorted by a seaplane squadron—to lead the military uprising in Barcelona. After arriving in Barcelona, Goded managed to remove and arrest General Francisco Llano de la Encomienda, commander of the IV Organic Division, but failed in his attempt to take control of the city. Faced with the blockade situation, and after the hard fighting that took place, Goded agreed to surrender. He would be arrested by the Republican authorities in the afternoon of the same July 19, being forced to confess over the radio the failure of the uprising and his surrender:

Luck has been adverse to me and I have fallen prisoner; if you want to prevent the shedding of blood from continuing, you will be rid of your commitment to me.

His voice was heard throughout Spain and encouraged supporters of the Republic in the rest of the country.

Shortly thereafter he was taken to the prison ship Uruguay along with other captured rebels, where he was imprisoned. On August 11, 1936, accused of treason, he was tried by a court martial and sentenced to death. The following day, August 12, Manuel Goded was shot along with other soldiers (such as Álvaro Fernández Burriel) in the moats of Montjuic Castle.