Enrique Cánovas Lacruz
Birth nameEnrique Cánovas Lacruz
Born(1877-06-29)June 29, 1877
A Coruña
DiedOctober 13, 1965(1965-10-13) (aged 88)
Madrid
Allegiance Kingdom of Spain
(1892–1931)
 Spanish Republic
(1931–1936)
Nationalist faction
(1936–1939)
 Nationalist Spain
(1939–1943)
Service/branch Spanish Army
Years of service1892–1943
RankGeneral
Commands heldGeneral Command of the Balearic Islands
III Military Region
Battles/warsRif War
Revolution of 1934
Spanish Civil War
Awards Grand Cross of the Order of Cisneros
Grand Cross (with White Decoration) of Military Merit
Spouse(s)
Concepción Curbera Vicuña
​
​
(m. 1910; died 1933)​
Other workDirector General of the Civil Guard (1942–1943)

Enrique Cánovas Lacruz (A Coruña, 29 June 1877 – Madrid, 13 October 1965) was a Spanish military officer, captain general of Valencia and Director General of the Civil Guard during the early years of the Francoist regime.[1] With the rank of colonel, he led the Spanish coup of July 1936 in Galicia, since generals Enrique Salcedo (commander of the VIII Military Region) and Rogelio Caridad Pita (military governor of A Coruña) refused to join the uprising; they were arrested and executed.[2]

Biography

Born in A Coruña on 29 June 1877, his parents were Pascual Cánovas Carrillo, captain of the Infantry, and his mother Práxedes Lacruz Tordesillas. Shortly after, the family moved to Vigo, where he spend his childhood and managed to excel in his studies. On August 24, 1892, when he was barely 15 years old, he entered the General Military Academy of Toledo.

After his return from Cuba, he married Concepción Curbera Vicuña, daughter of local businessman Enrique Curbera Tapias, on 23 September 1910. His wife passed away on 4 November 1933. Two years later, in 1935, he entered the Generalate Promotion Course.

Graduated from the Academy of Military Engineering of Guadalajara, after passing through the General Military Academy of Toledo, at the time of the coup d'état on 18 July 1936, he held the rank of colonel and was chief of the Service of Engineers of the VIII Military Region. He joined the Nationalist faction and was in charge of making the coup succeed in Vigo.[3] During the Civil War he was promoted to divisional general and assigned to the General Command of the Balearic Islands from 1937 until the end of the conflict.[4][5]

On 7 October 1940, he replaced Lieutenant General Antonio Aranda as Captain General of the III Military Region. During his tenure, he softened the situation of the special courts, allowing defenders to provide all kinds of evidence.[6] On 13 April 1942, he was appointed Director General of the Civil Guard, a position he held until 1 July 1943, when he moved to the reserve. During his tenure, the internal regulations and official uniforms were approved.[7]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ (in Spanish) Esquela al diario ABC
  2. ↑ Preston, Paul (2011). El holocausto español. Odio y exterminio en la Guerra Civil y después (in Spanish). Barcelona. pp. 294. ISBN 978-84-8306-852-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ (in Spanish) «Quise humanizar a los personajes que influyeron en nuestra historia», La Voz de Galicia, 25 de noviembre de 2008
  4. ↑ (in Spanish) General Cánovas Lacruz
  5. ↑ (in Spanish) Josep Massot y Muntaner Menorca dentro del dominó mediterráneo, 1936–1939, p. 181
  6. ↑ (in Spanish) Manuel Girona Rubio0general&f=false Una miliciana en la Columna de Hierro: María "la Jabalina", p. 127
  7. ↑ (in Spanish) GENERAL DE DIVISIÓN D. ENRIQUE CÁNOVAS LACRUZ, DIRECTOR GENERAL DE LA GUARDIA CIVIL (13–04–1942 a 01–07–1943), benemeritaaldia.org
  8. ↑ "DECRETOS de 25 de septiembre de 1941 por los que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Militar con distintivo blanco a los Tenientes Generales don Alfredo Kindelán Duany, don Andrés Saliquet Zumeta, don Luis Orgaz Yoldi y don Fidel Dávila Arrondo, y a los Generales de División don Ricardo Serrador Santés, don Enrique Cánovas Lacruz, don José Monasterio Utiarte, don Luis Solans Labedán y don José Solchaga Zala" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (276): 7612. 3 October 1941. ISSN 0212-033X.
  9. ↑ "Decreto 623/1965, de 25 de marzo, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden de Cisneros a don Enrique Cánovas Lacruz" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (73): 4529. 26 March 1965. ISSN 0212-033X.
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