Antonio Aranda

Who was Antonio Aranda?

Antonio Aranda Mata was a military officer who fought on side of the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.

During the Morocco wars Aranda earned an outstanding record as an engineer and geographer. He participated in the suppression of the Asturias Revolt of 1934 and rose to the rank of Colonel. At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, he was in command of the Oviedo garrison, which raised in revolt against the Republic and won the Siege of Oviedo. For his efforts Aranda was awarded the Cross of San Fernando and promoted to the rank of General. Aranda participated in several further engagements during the Spanish Civil War including the Battle of Teruel and Battle of the Ebro. In 1939, following the war, his troops occupied Valencia where he was promoted to the rank of Captain General.

Immediately following the war Aranda was appointed as the head of the Royal Geographical Society. In 1941 he participated in several clandestine actions in favor of the monarchy that resulted in irritating the government of Francisco Franco. The government, recalling that Aranda had been a freemason before the war, promulgated a law forcing him into early retirement. He was arrested in 1943, and accused of conspiring against Franco's government. In 1976, after Franco's death, King Juan Carlos I promoted Aranda to the rank of Lieutenant General.