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Miguel CampinsSpanish military leader, general.
Country:
 Spain |
Content:
Miguel Campins Aracil
Birth and FamilyMiguel Campins Aracil was born on an unknown date to Miguel Campins Corta and Juana Concepción Aura Calvo in Alcoy, Spain. In 1916, he married Dolores Roda Rovira, and they had a son named Miguel, who became an officer in the Spanish army.
Military Career
Campins Aracil graduated from the Infantry School in Toledo in 1901 and began his military career as a second lieutenant in Lerida. He served in Barcelona from 1903 and was promoted to lieutenant. In 1906, he was transferred to the Canary Islands as a battalion adjutant.
In 1908, Campins Aracil entered the Higher War School, where he studied until 1910 and was promoted to captain. He then practiced with the Asturian Infantry Regiment and was sent to Morocco in 1911 to gain experience in three branches of the military. During his time in Morocco, he participated in combat. After returning to Spain, he received his diploma from the Higher War School in 1913 and was sent back to Africa, where he took part in the Larache campaign in 1914.
Campins Aracil became a major in 1915 and served in his hometown of Alcoy. In 1918, he served in Oviedo alongside future generalissimo Francisco Franco and in Madrid from 1919. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1921 and transferred to Lerida before being sent to Melilla, Morocco, in the same year. There, he commanded a battalion during combat operations.
Campins Aracil then served in the military aviation and studied at the flying school in Getafe. He returned to the infantry in 1924 and served in Morocco again. He was one of the commanders of the eastern group of Spanish troops alongside Colonel Franco during the successful landing in Alhucemas Bay behind the lines of Abd el-Krim's troops, which proved decisive in the victory in the Rif War. Campins Aracil was promoted to colonel on February 3, 1926, and transferred to the African Infantry Regiment.
In 1927, Campins Aracil was invited to participate in the commission to establish the General Military Academy in Zaragoza. From 1928 to 1931, he served as deputy director of the newly created academy under General Franco and authored a scientific work on military education. After the monarchy was overthrown in 1931, the new authorities closed the academy, and Campins Aracil was sent to command an infantry brigade in Girona.
Role in the Spanish Civil War
After the government of the Popular Front came to power in 1936, Campins Aracil, a conservative colonel, was promoted to brigadier general (May 7) and appointed commander of the third infantry brigade and commander of the troops in Granada. His promotion may have been influenced by his loyalty to the republic. When Franco wrote to him in 1936 about the possibility of military intervention in politics, Campins Aracil replied that he opposed such intervention and remained loyal to the government and the republic.
Campins Aracil took office on July 11, and on July 17, an anti-republican uprising began in Morocco, spreading to mainland Spain the next day. In these circumstances, General Campins refused to support the military officers who had risen against the Popular Front government and assured them of his loyalty.
Campins Aracil refused a request from General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano to support the military uprising. He gathered the officers of the Granada garrison and declared that "the minister has authorized me to take any measures that I consider necessary to prevent those officers who sympathize with the rebels from joining the mutineers." Campins expressed confidence that none of the officers in the garrison would assist the rebels and that everyone would "do their duty."
On July 19, Campins attempted to form a military column to advance on Cordoba, which had been taken by the rebel military. However, the officers in the garrison sympathized with the rebels and engaged in sabotage. The next day, they arrested Campins and forced him to sign an order declaring martial law in Granada. Some have claimed that Campins managed to include mitigating amendments in the document, particularly regarding penalties for violating martial law, excluding the application of the death penalty.
Death
While under arrest, Campins claimed that he did not authorize the arming of civilian supporters of the Popular Front for use against the rebel military. However, General Queipo de Llano, who had assumed command of the Southern Nationalist army, accused him of refusing to support the uprising and ordered a trial. Campins was transferred to Seville and sentenced to death for "trying to prevent the salvation of Spain." General Franco, not yet the universally recognized leader of the rebel military in August 1936, pleaded with Queipo de Llano to pardon his old comrade and friend but was refused. On August 14, Campins was executed after confessing and receiving communion.
