Vicente Rojo Lluch

Vicente Rojo Lluch (Fuente la Higuera, Valencia, October 8, 1894-Madrid, June 15, 1966) was a Spanish soldier, Chief of Staff of the People's Army of the Republic during The spanish civil war.

He is known for his outstanding participation in the defense of Madrid, as well as in planning the Battle of the Ebro, the Battle of Brunete, and finally Plan P. Despite being on the Republican side, he himself defined as "Catholic, Apostolic and Roman".

At the end of the war he was in exile in France, Argentina and Bolivia. In 1957 he returned to Spain where he was tried for "helping the rebellion" and lost his military job. He was the author of several books related to the historical narrative of the Spanish Civil War, as well as the social environment that surrounded the conflict. He served as a teacher both during his military career in Spain and in exile.

Biography

Vicente Rojo himself wrote some autobiographical notes about his life, which were not published (and which for unknown reasons avoid the period of the civil war). Despite this, one of the most complete biographies is the written by his own grandson José Andrés Rojo. There are several documents, with the name The papers of General Rojo and located in the Military Historical Archive (as a donation by himself to the State archives), that narrate some of the ideas and projects of this Spanish soldier. Of the four sisters, the eldest of them (known as Pitusa and called Teresa Rojo Almazán) wrote notes about the history of the family, including details about his life. All this makes up the body of bibliographic information about the life of Vicente Rojo.

Childhood and family environment

Vicente Rojo's bust in his hometown, Fuente la Higuera.

Vicente was born on October 8 in the small Valencian town of Fuente de la Higuera. His father, Isaac Rojo González, had died three months before his birth, leaving his wife, Dolores Lluch Doménech, a somewhat limited pension for the economic maintenance of the family's life.At birth he is the sixth child of the family From a young age he learns and lives under the protection of his mother.

Vicente's father had been a soldier who, after having fought as a replacement soldier against the Carlists in Catalonia, had served in the Overseas Army in Havana starting in 1876. In Cuba he was promoted for seniority, and after After half a dozen years of service, he returned to Spain very ill and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant for war merits. Finally, Isaac settled in the Valencian town of Fuente de la Higuera and died of his ailments, months before meeting to his son Vincent.

The humility of Vicente Rojo's origin marked him from adolescence, combined with a growing relationship with the military world. Of the six brothers, only two were boys: Vicente and Francisco. Both brothers grew up in a Catholic environment and the friendship between them was always close and cordial.

Military Training

His mother died when Vicente was thirteen years old, and he had no choice: he was immediately assigned to the institution representing boarding school called the Infantry Orphans. It can be said that Rojo did not choose a military career: he entered this institution as a military orphan. Aggravated by the economic situation of his family in 1911, he entered the Toledo Infantry Academy. A disease in his left eye delays his studies, after three years of convalescence he learns to hide the problem of his reduced visibility. Vicente was able to spend these first years thanks to the solidarity economic contributions of his older brothers. In this, his first stay in the Alcázar de Toledo studying, he made great friends with some of his classmates. His colonel José Villalba Riquelme would remember him as a diligent student, of whom he finished his studies in 1914 with the rank of second lieutenant, having obtained number two in a class of 390 cadet students from the academy. Franco had finished his studies at the same academy years before, in 1911.

His first assignment was in Barcelona, in June 1914, when he was assigned to the 57th Vergara Regiment. It was a complicated time of social conflicts in the streets of Barcelona. He was living in the same house with his brother Francisco de él, three years older than him. His brother worked at Catalana de Gas y Electricidad and managed to keep his job until after the Civil War. Like Vicente, he had been educated in a military orphanage in Toledo (María Cristina), only in the end he did not choose a military career. Vicente's period in Barcelona strengthened the bond between the two brothers. During this time he had to face the Catalan strikes as a repressor, and on the other hand he had to listen to the versions of his brother (who was on the other side). Fernando during the War joined the UGT, although this attitude was normal during the war for reasons of survival. The economic hardship and the low salary of Vicente in Barcelona (which corresponded to 35 duros) forced him to request the destination of Morocco to the African campaign of Spain. The destiny of Morocco was promising, since King Alfonso XIII had granted promotion advantages in the ranks to the military stationed there. It is very likely that Vicente wanted to try his luck.

Moroccan War

On January 10, 1915, he joined the 10th Infantry Regiment of Córdoba, located halfway between the positions of Ceuta and Melilla, in the Spanish protectorate of Morocco. This was a place where ambitious Spanish soldiers achieved high positions in the ranks in a short period of time. After spending a period of acclimatization in Córdoba, on February 18 he joined the Arapiles Hunters Battalion No. 9, stationed in Tetouan. His baptism of fire was in the city of Laucién, and it was a skirmish. On June 29, 1916, an important operation took place in the Anyera Kabyle. The Arapiles Hunters Battalion participated in said operation. In 1916 he was awarded the Red Cross for Military Merit. In June 1918 he was promoted to captain. He participated in the Alcazarseguir mission in northern Morocco.

The African adventure does not seem to achieve the desired satisfaction in Rojo, and after requesting a change of assignment on July 12, 1919, he joined the Vergara Infantry Regiment number 57 located in Barcelona. During his leave periods that he enjoyed in Ceuta, he met Teresa Fernández; They both get married in Madrid on March 13, 1920. After getting married he is assigned to the Alfonso XII Mountain Hunters Battalion number 1 located in Vich. In 1922 he had his second child and managed to be assigned as a professor at the Toledo Infantry Academy, something he had been wanting for several years. The Infantry Academy was a teaching institution for officers at the time.

Professor at the Infantry Academy

Upon obtaining the transfer, Vicente Rojo and his wife settled in the city of Toledo in 1922, already as captain. At the Infantry Academy he holds various teaching and administrative positions. He will hold this teaching position for close to a decade. As a teacher, he is in charge of various subjects within the curriculum offered by the Academy, such as: Means of Transportation, Tactics, Logistics, Hygiene and Food, Topography, Armament and Material. He also participated in the practices that were carried out in the Alijares Camp. He was one of the editors of the study plans for the subjects of Tactics, Weapons and Shooting for the new stage of the Academy of Zaragoza. It is during this period at the Academy that he collaborates in the foundation and direction of the Military Bibliographic Collection , a collection on military subjects that was widely disseminated in Spain and abroad, together with Captain Emilio Alamán. Ortega. This collaboration extended from 1928 to 1936, and nearly a hundred titles were translated, reaching print runs of nearly two hundred thousand copies. The ideological repertoire of the works was wide-ranging. Vicente Rojo himself publishes studies such as "Orientation and data", "The exercises on the plane", etc.

During his stay at the school, the curious circumstance occurred that the students of his promotion were proposed to develop a tactical assumption that consisted of crossing the Ebro river to establish themselves on the Reus-Granadella route, an operation very similar to which a few years later, during the Civil War, General Rojo would have put into practice in the famous battle of the Ebro, in the stretch between Mequinenza and Amposta. In another facet of his biography, his concern and involvement in the training of young people also led to the fact that around this time (1931-1933) he was appointed General Commissioner for Instruction of the Explorers of Spain ("boy scouts"). Spanish people"). During his stay at the academy, events occurred in political life, such as the advent of the Second Republic on April 14, 1931.

In August 1932, he left the Academy to enter the Escuela Superior de Guerra in Madrid with the aim of taking the General Staff course, a diploma that he would obtain in 1936 (shortly after being promoted to commander). His wife is pregnant with the sixth child. Shortly after leaving the Academy, the former head of it at the time of Morocco, General Sanjurjo, revolts against the Republic in the city of Seville, in what was called the Sanjurjada. For a brief time he became chief of staff of the 16th Infantry Brigade in León; this new position allowed him to verify the reality of the army before the Civil War. In the same way, he was able to verify how the future conflict was brewing in military environments, and from time to time he was summoned to meetings in which it was intended that he join a possible revolt.

Outbreak of the Civil War

Promoted to commander on February 25, 1936, at the outbreak of the civil war in July 1936, he remained loyal to the Government of the Republic, and was one of the professional soldiers who participated in the reorganization of the republican forces during the moments after the coup. The suspicious intention of the Giral government was to dismantle the army, finally in August of this year the military ranks were reactivated. It is not to be expected that Vicente Rojo's loyalty was questioned since from the first moments he was transferred to the offices of the General Staff of the Ministry under the command of Hernández Saravia. Due to the operations to harass the capital from the north, on July 24 he left for Somosierra to join a column that was under the orders of Enrique Jurado, he was stationed in Lozoyuela until August 28, after this first point of contact he returned to the General Staff. The first contact with the militiamen was well understood and was considered from that first assignment. During those months of great activity they had to reorganize a new army capable of confronting the rebel troops that were advancing through Extremadura towards the capital, in that attempt the General Inspectorate of Militias was created in order to control the volunteer battalions. On August 18, the news of the capture of Badajoz and the subsequent brutal repression by Lieutenant Colonel Yagüe arrived.

One of the first missions assigned to Vicente Rojo (in the company of a militiaman whom he calls simply M. in his papers) was to agree to surrender the besieged Alcázar de Toledo on September 9, 1936, this mission (proposed by Francisco Largo Caballero) was certainly hard for him, since it meant going back to the academy where he was assigned as a teacher for almost a decade. On September 8, the Toledo Defense Board (located in the Post Office) drafted the message that Moscardó had to accept. Rojo knew in advance that Moscardó will not accept the conditions. That September 9 at ten in the morning he enters the Carros door blindfolded to meet with Moscardó. Many of his old comrades were inside him (among them his former collaborator Emilio Alamán Ortega). The reception at the Alcázar by General Moscardó was cold and formal, he listened to the conditions and later allowed Rojo to greet his former colleagues. He requested the entrance to the enclosure of a priest so that he could do his religious services inside the Alcázar. He returned to Madrid and informed Largo Caballero in person of what had happened.

In October 1936, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, being appointed chief of the General Staff of the Defense Forces, commanded by General Miaja, head of the Madrid Defense Board, created to defend the capital at all costs after of the transfer of the Government of the Republic to Valencia. In this position he prepared an effective plan for the protection of the city, which prevented its fall. From then on, his fame as an organizer only increased. His work was based on organizing the militias so that they could offer a disciplined front against the Francoist advance. Avoid improvisation and promote organization at the front as much as possible.

On October 18, the first six Mixed Brigades were created. The advance of the rebel troops towards Madrid seemed unstoppable after the capture of Toledo by the Francoist army on September 28. After this incident, the first skirmishes took place in Illescas in the first week of October. Vicente Rojo was appointed to stop the advance in that town. General José Asensio Torrado was appointed to plan this operation. The fighting began on October 20 and lasted until the 24th. During the approach, Rojo was able to verify the chaos of the Republican defense, he tried to improve communications in the town of Seseña in order to establish logistics. He was soon able to verify that the artillery batteries were of very different calibers (7.5 and 6.5) and that they were not well supplied, in most cases the ammunition received was 6.5. Spontaneous outbreaks of panic on the front lines, poor preparation of the militiamen, etc. Red realizes when he is in the line of fire that there were many things to improve, it is at this time that he meets Juan Modesto Guilloto, who will be his close collaborator. On November 2, he was appointed head of the Organization and Mobilization section in the General Staff.

Battle of Madrid

The march of the Republican Government to Valencia took place on November 6, 1936, but before that General Pozas was left to take charge of the Army of the Center, and the Madrid Defense Board to General Miaja, the slogan was: «The defense of Madrid at all costs». Vicente Rojo, who was under the orders of Miaja, took charge of the situation from the first moment. The perimeter to be defended comprised between 32 and 35 kilometers. The defense of Madrid began when General Varela's troops advanced until they passed Casa de Campo on November 7. Some authors describe the situation: "If General Miaja was the voice of command, Rojo was the thinking head and the organizing will." When the rebel troops advanced through the Casa de Campo on the 8th, the defense was already organized. The counterattack of the 3rd Brigade towards Húmera surprises the left flank of Varela's troops, who have to fight in wooded terrain, in the center the front is stagnant. On the right flank skirmishes take place in Carabanchel, and on November 9 there is "house to house" combat. They fought hand to hand, in some cases it was difficult to remunicate certain areas. On the same day, the 8th, Rojo left the front to ask Miaja for reinforcements on the Moncloa front; this one refuses to reserve them for an offensive in the Jarama. He requested permission to convince in person the first Brigade of the International Brigades that they were stationed in Ciempozuelos, where he received the same refusal. From the 10th to the 14th, the General Staff reconsidered its initial refusal and reinforcements began to arrive: two International Brigades (XI and XII) and three mixed ones (2nd, 5th and 6th).

In these days the family of Vicente Rojo is evacuated from the house near the front (Guzmán el Bueno) to the house of the film director Luis Buñuel (Menéndez Pelayo). He had little time to be with his family, while he lived in the General Staff accompanied by the lieutenant colonels closest to him. About the tension experienced during those first days of November, Rojo writes in his Anecdotario 103 points, of which he could only describe the titles. In them he reflects on the problems with the Defense Junta, with the communist militiamen, with the Finnish Embassy, the requests for ammunition to Valencia, etc. On November 13, Barrón takes the Garabitas hill from the Casa de Campo. On the 15th, Rojo prepares a counteroffensive to recover Garabitas and fails to coincide with a violent offensive by the rebel troops that caused panic among the Republican units. The Francoist troops open a gap and enter the University City up to the Clinical Hospital, and there the 3rd Brigade under the command of Jesús Martínez de Aragón stopped the attack. That same day, a delegation of Miaja and Rojo was sent to inspect the front at the height of the Modelo Prison and they found themselves involved in the middle of the commotion. On November 23, after a visit by Francisco Franco from Leganés, he decided to stop the offensive. The front is stopped at the Clinic. General Miaja decides to stop the existing chaotic situation with the indiscriminate murders of innocents produced with the sacks of prisoners, the walks and the checas. One of the heroes of this first confrontation was Manfred Zalmanovich Stern (known as General Emil Kléber) and his personality was radically different from that of Vicente Rojo. He denounced before Miaja what came to be known as the "Kléber case". In said nine-point report he points out the discrepancies that existed between the two. Kléber was relieved of his duties in the defense of Madrid in January 1937. However, Rojo's relationship with the Russian general Vladimir Gorev was cordial at all times.

On November 29, 1936, another offensive began with strong aviation support in the so-called first battle of the La Coruña highway. This offensive was led by García-Escámez. The resistance organized by Rojo achieved its results by paralyzing the front again. The second battle of the La Coruña highway begins on the thirteenth of December, this offensive shows a very prepared maneuver, it is more far-reaching than the previous one and is slowed down by the fog, which makes it impossible for it to use its greater power. aerial and artillery, and by the obsession to take Boadilla, where the republicans show their good preparation for the defense. On January 14, 1937, when the fighting on the La Coruña highway was dying out, General Pozas tried to advise Largo Caballero of the need to carry out a double encirclement maneuver along the Jarama against the enemy troops in order to break your line of communication. Rojo maintained that Brunete's simultaneous attack would have been vital due to how poorly protected the area was. On February 6, the insurgent army begins the offensive on a front that goes from Perales to Ciempozuelos. The advance was unstoppable until on the 14th when the Pingarrón was consolidated, the place where the series of attacks and counterattacks were focused until on the 23rd General Miaja declared the battle over, leaving everything at a point of equilibrium. After this offensive it was expected that another would come, until on March 8 an advance was made in Guadalajara by Italian motorized troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie) in support of Franco. The offensive reaches Brihuega on March 10. That day and in that place where it was stalled by the resistance of the republican army and the International Brigades, the bad weather helping to slow down the advance of the large war material they were transporting. For the 18th a strong counterattack was planned and Brihuega was recovered.

With increased prestige, in March 1937 he was appointed colonel and in May, after the formation of the Negrín government, chief of the Central General Staff of the Armed Forces and chief of the General Staff of the Army. new job was in charge of directing the expansion of the Popular Army, and created the so-called Maneuver Army, which was to serve as offensive outpost of the Republican Army. In March 1937 the offensives to the North began and the first objective of the rebel troops was Bilbao. Rojo proposes a change in strategy and recommends going on the offensive and one of the initial objectives was to reach the Garabitas hill, from which Madrid was punished. Several divisions and various tanks (Soviet T-26) as well as aviation and artillery were mobilized and on April 10 the offensive began, the execution was done according to plans but the fierce fighting caused so many casualties that some commanders withdrew (including Líster) and on the 14th the operation was suspended with a balance of 1,500 dead Republican soldiers and Franco's troops maintained their initial positions prior to the operation. The first offensive of the Red General Staff had been a failure. On April 23, the Madrid Defense Board was dissolved and after his promotion to colonel he was assigned to Valencia, to the Central General Staff. In a meeting of the General Staff, he proposed an offensive that would fulfill four points: decongest Bilbao, reduce the Teruel salient and create a threat to Zaragoza, move the enemy away from Manzanares and cut off communications on the north-south axis through Extremadura. The first of the points could not be achieved because on June 19 Bilbao fell, the others suffered delays.

In spite of everything, on July 6, 1937, the Brunete offensive was launched. The instruction for its execution was approved by Indalecio Prieto, but it had been proposed several months before by Rojo as a maneuver to stop the advance by the North. The planned advance, despite its clear progress, suffered various mishaps. The surprise effect worked and the Francoist troops' campaign towards Santander was halted. The Condor Legion appeared in the skies and harassed Red's troops. On the seventh day of the battle, the offensive was stopped. There were problems with the supply of ammunition and the rate of consumption of artillery ammunition alerted the upper echelons of the army. Madrid at that time had ceased to be a military objective for Franco. On August 14, Rojo announces his "political-military action plan", in which he announces that he has information on the state of decomposition of some enemy rear positions and it was necessary to exploit his discontent. Other attempts by Colonel Rojo from Valencia to stop the advance of Franco's forces to Santander with a distraction maneuver.

The offensive in Aragon

Vicente Rojo began to assess in August 1937 that the Aragon front was ideal for presenting a front and advancing. He visited the area in person to reconnoitre the terrain near the Zuera sector, where he planned to start the attack. Since that visit he collaborated with the Government in extinguishing the Council of Aragon and the so-called Iron Column From the beginning of the uprising most of the anarchist militias went to Aragon. A decree of August 11, 1937 imposed the dissolution of the Council of Aragon. Líster with the 11th Division was entrusted with the occupation of Aragón and surveillance of said decree. In August military forces from other areas were regrouped in order to start the offensive. On August 24, the attack on Zaragoza began and what later ended up becoming the battle of Belchite. Rojo gave the order to advance the units towards Zaragoza without worrying about leaving the flanks uncovered. The beginnings of the operation went according to plan, but as positions were taken the columns slowed down due to the confidence gained from their success, transportation across the plain was painful due to the lack of good roads. With thirty kilometers to go, the front was stopped. Belchite was taken on the 7th but Zaragoza was far away. Franco began the advance to Santander on the 18th and the city surrendered on August 26, 1937. In October, the rebel troops put an end to the last resistance in Asturias, Gijón and Avilés fell on October 21. At the end of October, Indalecio Prieto considered the Cantabrian Coast and the Basque provinces for lost.

On September 12, Rojo rejected the procedures for the award of the Laureate Plaque of Madrid (the highest decoration of the Republican Army, equivalent to the Laureate Cross of San Fernando). He is convinced that this gratitude would trigger comments and gossip. It was finally granted on March 11, 1938. Promoted to general in October 1937, at that time he was already one of the most prestigious soldiers in the Republic. On November 1, he met with Azaña in Barcelona and told him that an attack is to be expected in ten or fifteen days. He tells him that a very virulent attack on Madrid is to be expected and that he prevent the troops from leaving. While offensives would be unleashed in the north of the Ebro. The object of such actions was to cut off communications with Catalonia. He mentioned the lack of trucks and ammunition. But what was most serious was the atmosphere of defeatism that was beginning to emerge among the army. He advised him to attack through Extremadura, deepening until reaching the Almendralejo-Zafra-Llerena line towards Badajoz. This proposal was called Plan P, this plan would have various delays. He had the approval of Negrín and also had an execution date for November 14. Finally, the Governing Council voted against the so-called Plan P, something that annoyed Rojo and Azaña (who had traveled to Madrid to review the attacking forces on a cloudy morning on November 13). The bombing of a Nazi battleship was supported by Red, giving rise to what is called the Deutschland incident. After all this, Rojo conceives the battle of Teruel, which began on December 15 with a Republican attack that was successful in the first days and there were great advances towards the city of Teruel, something that delayed the fifth attack on Madrid by the rebels. Some authors mention that Rojo entered Teruel on December 22 without an escort on horseback. Days later, after immense offensives by both sides, in an environment of terrible cold, the Republican troops gave in to the attack and on December 31 they abandoned Teruel. Finally, at the beginning of January the last redoubts surrender and Red's Plan P is postponed. A counteroffensive designed by Rojo recovers Teruel at a great cost of Republican casualties. In mid-January, when it was believed that the defense of Teruel was possible with a certain degree of success, General Aranda carried out an unexpected attack that caused the surprise of the Republican troops.. At the beginning of February, the pressure was so great that little by little positions were giving up. Finally, on February 22, the Republican troops withdrew to the starting positions of the Teruel offensive. This operation affected Vicente Rojo to the point of offering his position to Negrín with the express desire to be replaced. Negrín not only rejects such an offer, but praises Rojo, something that surprises the general who finally agrees to continue the fight.

The most ambitious operation that Rojo carried out occurred throughout 1938 and it was the Ebro offensive, which gave rise to the long battle of the Ebro developed from July 25 to November 16, 1938, and in the which the Republic risked its international prestige, its capacity for resistance and the possibility of being able to turn the course of the war in a favorable direction. The first advances planned by Rojo were successful. After a first surprising advance on Franco's forces, the front soon stabilized. Franco's planes bombed Barcelona in March. After the Aragon offensive, which the Republican troops led by General Rojo were unable to finally stop, Franco's troops managed to touch the Mediterranean, cutting off Barcelona's communication with Madrid and Valencia for the first time. Thus begins the offensive of Catalonia. Plan P de Rojo was included again, but the seriousness of the events once again negated its execution. The first days of April fall Lleida and Gandesa. Rojo in Barcelona with his family plans military operations, but the rebel troops governed by Franco change their minds and go to Valencia along the coast. Castellón falls on June 14 and Valencia will suffer numerous aerial bombardments by Franco's aviation until March 30, 1939, at which time they manage to take the city. Despite the organization of the republican troops, on January 15, 1939, Tarragona fell. On January 18, at the insistence of Negrín, General Rojo spoke on the radio for the first time in the entire war. This speech, full of hope, impressed Antonio Machado who wrote a letter to Vicente Rojo the next day. On January 26, Barcelona falls and Rojo mentions that the city had the same material and human resources as Madrid in 1936, mentioning that Barcelona "was lost simply and simply because there was no will to resist". Since the 15th there were population outcries towards the Pyrenean border with France, the fall of Barcelona aggravated the situation. Despite General Rojo advising Negrín to end the War, he claimed that resigning would mean a struggle between those who wanted to continue and those who abandoned. As President Negrín also stated to Juan Simeón Vidarte: "Peace always negotiated; surrender without conditions so that they shoot half a million Spaniards, never that".

After the fall of Barcelona, the Republican army concentrated on February 1 in front of the Tordera river in order to cover the regions of Vich and Seo de Urgel. General Saravia was commissioned and ended up being deposed from the mission by special advice from Rojo. The only thing that mattered to Rojo was that the Republican army cross the border with France in an orderly manner. On February 9, Franco's troops reached the border of Le Perthus, completing the crossing to the border from the Spanish side. The general is one of the last to leave the border and cross over to the French side. The French authorities disarmed the soldiers, and those without references forced them to confine themselves in concentration camps.

Period of exile

After the fall of Catalonia in February 1939, Rojo moved to France, to the small town of Vernet-les-Bains where he reunited with his family. Teresa, his wife, gives birth to the youngest of the daughters on September 29, 1938 and his godfather will be Juan Negrín. At this time Red shows his friendship with the politician. The family was together, with the exception of one of the sons who had been in the rebel zone since the beginning of the war. Red soon checks the painful situation of the Spanish refugees in the French zone, located in concentration camps. This situation outraged Rojo who, in his attempt to act, writes & # 34; categorical & # 34; to Negrín demanding a solution.

Argentine Period

Eventually, Rojo and his family decide to leave France and through the Spanish Republican Emigration Service (SERE), which pays for his ticket to move to Buenos Aires (Argentina). On August 11, 1939, he left for the city of Buenos Aires on the ship Alcántara, where he coincided with José Ortega y Gasset, the trip lasted eighteen days. The family had no home there, what awaited them was unknown. The initial intention was to accept that as provisional, but the political situation in Europe was getting worse. They finally found a house in the Floresta neighborhood (at Calle Ramón Falcón 4115). The Argentine government was reluctant to welcome Spaniards from the conflict and forced them to look for work. The beginning of the Second World War allowed Vicente Rojo the possibility of offering his military opinions in Crítica (newspaper founded by businessman Natalio Botana). In that newspaper, Vicente Rojo wrote more than half a thousand articles, all of them covering history, opinion on the combats, attacks, alliances, etc. Their collaboration began on September 4, 1939 and ended on January 22, 1943. At the end of 1939 he published Alert the peoples ! and gets rave reviews for it.

During this period, Rojo developed a conference activity that allowed him to travel throughout the country. These conferences represented an important income for his family economy. In them he spoke of the Civil War, the establishment of the people's army, the armed conflicts that took place during the Second World War, and so on. In August 1941, the Rojo family received the news of the acceptance of their son Francisco's visa to go to Argentina, with him the family was already complete. On April 1, 1941, Vicente Rojo inaugurated a magazine called Spanish Thought, this editorial project aims to make clear the opinions of the Republicans in exile, as well as to favor the conciliation of the Spanish. This adventure is backed by the Catalan politician Manuel Serra and the Galician Ramón Rey Baltar. Numerous Spanish writers from exile wrote in the magazine. During this period he wrote the book España heroica .Notable are the initiatives to help Spanish refugees from Argentina via the social services of SERE and JARE. One of Rojo's most bitter incidents was when, upon the arrival in Buenos Aires of his friend and collaborator of the Military Bibliographic Collection , Emilio Alamán, he refused to greet him. Despite everything, in London, Negrín gave a speech in 1942 praising the heroic attitude of the Chief of Staff, sparing no praise.

The arrival of José Antonio Aguirre (former president of the Basque Government during the Republic) in April 1941 to give a lecture at the Republican Center in the Argentine capital, prompted an editorial in the Spanish Thought written by Vicente Rojo and entitled Spanish unity and nationalisms that raised disputes among the founders. It unleashed an editorial war with another publication called Euzco Deya that defended separatist positions. Finally, in a letter published by Pensamiento Español in 1942, the two generals —Vicente Rojo and Enrique Jurado— decided to leave so as not to harm the publication, since they understood that the attacks were directed against them.

Period in Bolivia

In 1942 the Bolivian government offered him the possibility of organizing and directing the course on Military History and Art of War at its Escuela de Estado Mayor (Command and General Staff School), a task he developed between 1943 and 1945, being recognized his employment as general of the Spanish Army and decorated with the highest award. He settled with his family in Cochabamba (in the Muyurina neighborhood) and began to give classes to Bolivian army officers in 1943. The astonishment that Bolivia left with the general is reflected in a work published in 1965 entitled Caminar (illustrated with drawings by his son José Andrés), in this book he describes routes through which he was in this country. The contract promoted by General Peñaranda and through which Vicente Rojo was taken to Bolivia was initially for a duration of five years, later it would be extended. The older children enrolled in the University and the younger ones in school. Vicente Rojo often traveled with the army, attended to distinguished visitors who came to Cochabamba (one of them is the poet from Zamora León Felipe). In his daily life he wrote, ate salteñas on weekends after leaving mass, attended social events, etc.

The curious thing is that during that period Red was away from the political instability of Bolivia. In his writings he does not even mention the events of 1952 in Bolivia. Some of his children were beginning to marry. Ángel, one of his sons who followed in his father's footsteps, is soon involved in the incidents in Bolivia. Rojo finds out in Bolivia about the Madrid Pacts in which Spain begins relations with the United States, he is openly against it. In that year of 1952 one of Rojo's daughters was studying in Madrid, the girl's return was strange. In 1953 his wife, Teresa, is the one who crosses the ocean to go to Spain to see her family. She once again returned in 1954 for her mother's funeral. These trips of her family make Rojo think about the possibility of returning. He writes a text on his papers that he calls synthesis , in which he puts the reasons for returning. Among them it is worth noting his desire to die in Spain.

On October 31, 1954, Rojo requests his return to the Spanish ambassador in La Paz. His illness harassed him and in 1955 he stopped doing his teaching work because of it. He initiated the efforts for his return, along with that of his family. In January 1956 he expedites the procedures with the help of one of his sons. The procedures for his return went through various trances, the republican government in exile did not see it well initially. The persistent idea of returning caused some discrepancy of opinion among his children, it was already October 1956. At the beginning of 1957, after an interview with Agustín Muñoz Grandes from one of his envoys, the papers began to be processed for the first time. The farewell decorations begin in Bolivia: Commander of the Order of the Condor of the Andes, Gold Medal of the Bolivian Armed Forces. In March 1957, the Rojo family left Cochabamba for Buenos Aires by train.

Return to Spain

In March 1957 he returned to Spain, thanks to the efforts of a Jesuit he met during his stay in Bolivia and also endorsed by the Bishop of Cochabamba, a former military chaplain under Rojo's orders. He disembarked in Barcelona and headed for Madrid. Upon arrival in Rojo, an information file is opened for him by Colonel Enrique Eymar Fernández, he is informed that it is a routine procedure with those who arrive from exile. Vicente moves to Sagunto and there he finds out that the information file procedure ends up being raised to Criminal Cause . On July 16, 1957, he was summoned to be prosecuted for "military rebellion". Vicente Rojo, relying on article 554, appealed. With this, the proceedings began. The situation seemed very offensive to Rojo, after forty-six years of service without incident, he was now being sentenced for a cause that perplexed him. During the procedure, he had to go before the judge every seven days to prove that he remained in Madrid (Raymond Carr invited him to London and received a concise answer: "in no way&# 34;). On the day of the trial, he chose a military lawyer on duty, preventing a friend from defending him. In the provisional qualification they wanted to sentence him to thirty years. The trial took place on December 5, 1957. He would finally be tried for & # 34; aid to the rebellion & # 34;, in his capacity as ex-commander of the Army, for not having rebelled against the legitimate government of the Republic.

Apparently his return from exile had not been liked by certain military sectors, among them Franco himself who would write in his own handwriting in his file "deny bread and salt" (Bread and salt is considered a greeting). On January 18, 1958, he received at his home in Ríos Rosas, 48 the sentence of life imprisonment, civil interdiction and absolute disqualification. The sentence is accompanied by the pardon for the sentence of life imprisonment, not so to the accessory sentences of civil interdiction and absolute disqualification, said pardon was conditional to any recidivism. Rojo comments: & # 34; I have been reduced to civil death & # 34;. During these initial days in Madrid, he visited a few friends, some relatives. Outside of this environment, the climate was rarefied, acquaintances avoided contact with him. Dr. Gregorio Marañón visited him as a friend and doctor, although little by little the visits became more and more professional. His wife, Teresa de él, watched as her friends from before the war crossed the sidewalk avoiding greetings. Since the disqualification sentence, a policeman followed his steps, watching him. His life was reduced to meeting acquaintances in a cafeteria, spending an afternoon with relatives and taking a walk. At this time he wrote a novel entitled "? " ( question mark ) and left it unfinished among his papers.

It is at this time that he decides to make himself useful by writing his «History of the Spanish War» (which he dedicates to his wife: Teresa), for which he requests a Letter dated January 20, 1961, and addressed to his son who lived in Bolivia, asking him to send different materials from his personal file through trusted acquaintances. The book was already written and mature at the beginning of 1962, the problem was its marketing: a book published by the Red General in the midst of Francoism was intrinsically problematic. The economic urgency makes him offer the rights of «This was the defense of Madrid» to the editor and poet Carlos Barral, who in the end advises Vicente Rojo to contact with Alberto Mondadori, who finally acquires the universal rights of the book. He begins to work on other publications that will remain incomplete such as his " Anecdotario " . The last years of his life he was writing a notebook that he himself called "Flying Saucers" , in his writings he reflects ideas, aphorisms, experiences, opinions, etc.

Vicente Rojo suffered from pulmonary emphysema and this caused him serious health problems due to his smoking. His addiction to tobacco prevented him from quitting, and he remained in his habit until his last days. He finally died at his father-in-law's house at Ríos Rosas 48, at seven in the morning on June 15, 1966. In his will he bequeathed the little he owned to his wife and gave his “Autobiography» to his heirs. The press agencies gave the news very concisely, while the newspapers ABC and Ya recognized his employment as a general and described him as "the military chief the most brilliant of the republican army during the civil war". For its part, the newspaper El Alcázar, which at that time was one of the most open-minded newspapers within the Madrid press, highlighted the prestige that he enjoyed among the military for his professional capacity. The obituaries in the different provincial newspapers were adding up. The burial was held the day after and his remains were transferred to the San Justo Cemetery.

Work

In his first stage as a trainer at the Toledo Academy, before the Civil War, it is worth noting that he reflected his military knowledge in some books of the series Colección Bibliográfica Militar, a series he produced in collaboration with Emilio Alamán. His activity as a journalist was carried out in exile in Argentina writing for La Crítica, he being the founder of El pensamiento Español . His effort to explain the history of Spain that led to the Civil War was reflected in some of his works.

Civil War

He wrote several books, where his military experiences in the Spanish civil war are collected, in this way he published:

• "Open the peoples!» (1939) - This is a political-military study of the final period of the Civil War.
• «Heroic Spain!» (1942) - With subtitle of "Ten sketches of the Spanish Civil War".
• «This was the defense of Madrid» (1967)

Some incomplete books, which are part of General's Personal Archive and are part of the countless newspaper articles written during exile, are:

• In the National Historical Archive, a manuscript entitled "History of the Spanish War» in almost 600 folios. Discovered by Jorge Martínez Reverte as he prepared the documentation of his book «The art of killing». The work was published by RBA in 2010 with the title History of the Spanish Civil War, in edition of Martínez Reverte, accompanied by an introductory study of that historian.
• In 2006, one of his grandchildren, the journalist El País José Andrés Rojo, published a complete biography entitled Vincent Red. Portrait of a Republican General (Tusquets Editors).

Military Art

Among the books that Vicente Rojo wrote about military art

• «The History of War Lessons» - Cochabamba (1943)
• « Logistics Lessons» - Cochabamba (1947)
• «Command and General Staff Lessons» - Cochabamba (1948)
• «Doctrina militar para Bolivia»- Cochabamba (1954)
• «Elements of the Art of War»- Cochabamba
• "Strategy, tactics and driving large units"- Buenos Aires (1947)

Miscellaneous

• "Andares"- Madrid (1965) - (ilustrated with drawings by his son José Andrés), in this book describes routes through which he was in Bolivia.
• «Trip on Spain»- Madrid (1953) -
  • «With thought in Spain»- Madrid (1946) -
  • «Esmpas» - Madrid (1946) -
  • «Momento español» - Madrid (1946) - Never published, is a critique of the Francoism and the Politics of the Republic
• « Flying saucers» - Madrid 1962 - Book of memories (not published).
• «?» (without title) - Madrid 1961 - Novela with the questioning sign that left unfinished.

Tributes

• "Sagunto's Postcard 1936-1939." Philatelic exhibition promoted by Emilio Llueca Úbeda in tribute to General Vicente Rojo Lluch in his first centenary (1894-1994). Colegio Público Cronista Chabret. 20,21 and 22 April 1995.
• Apparition as a character in the Raza feature feature, which takes place almost at the end of the film. The brief scene focuses on October 22, 1937, the day after the resistance of the Northern Front (Asturias) ceased. And he says a phrase: "We are giving a very sad proof of the usual lack of harmony, true cause of the setbacks suffered so far."
• No novelty at the Alcazar whose director is Augusto Genina, describes the visit he made as a parliamentarian.
• In May 2013, Republican General Vicente Rojo was honored in his people, Fuente la Higuera, unanimously celebrating a Mass for all the victims of the war.