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Alejandro Utrilla Belbel

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Utrilla and the second or maternal family name is Belbel.
Alejandro Utrilla Belbel
Alejandro Utrilla 1936.jpg
Born
Alejandro Utrilla Belbel

1889 (1889)
Alcalá la Real, Spain
Died1963 (aged 73–74)
Granada, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Occupationprofessional officer
Known formilitary
Political partyCarlism

Alejandro Utrilla Belbel (1889–1963) was a Spanish cavalry officer. In the early Francoist period and with the rank of general he held posts of military governor in the provinces of Mallorca, La Coruña and Valladolid; his career climaxed in the early 1950s, when he briefly headed the VII Military Region. He is best known for his instrumental role in anti-Republican conspiracy of early 1936 in Navarre, when as the local requeté commander he co-engineered swift takeover of the region and contributed to rebel advances in Gipuzkoa and Aragón. Politically he supported the Carlist cause. Apart from leading the Navarrese militia, in the mid-1940s he briefly served in the national party executive. Later he abandoned the mainstream Javierista current and sided with the dissenting Traditionalist faction, known as Regencia de Estella.

Family and youth

Alcalá la Real, present view

The family of Utrilla was initially related to Northern Spain; in the Middle Ages its representatives were related to Villaviciosa in Asturias and to the mountainous area North of Burgos.[1] One branch moved south during the Reconquista and as hidalgos settled in the town of Guadix, in the then Reino de Granada. Its first descendant known by name, a Miguel de Utrilla, in the late 16th century took residence in Alcalá la Real, a town built around an ancient fortress in what would become a province of Jaén, in Eastern Andalusia. He commenced a line of its prestigious citizens, which included local jurados, regidores and other officials. In the modern era the family grew to wealth, owned some 500 ha[2] in the neighboring county and later built numerous houses in Alcalá.[3]

Over time the family got branched; some of its less affluent descendants took state jobs, also in the uniformed services. This was the case of Alejandro's father, Juan Utrilla y Utrilla, owner of a modest house in Alcalá;[4] nothing closer is known about him, except that in the early 20th century he served as head of postal services in Jaén.[5] At unspecified time though probably prior to the early 1880s[6] he married Francisca Belbel Tapia (born 1860),[7] a girl from another well-known local family.[8] It is not clear how many children the couple had; some authors claim that Alejandro had one brother and two sisters.[9] He frequented local schools[10] and at one point, perhaps influenced by military traditions of the family,[11] he opted for career in the army. In 1907 he was admitted to Academía Militar de Avila, an intendancy and administration school;[12] however, already in 1908 he was listed as a first-year-student at Academía de Caballería in Valladolid.[13] His cavalry education progressed according to schedule;[14] Utrilla graduated as segundo teniente in 1910.[15]

cavalry Academy, Valladolid
cavalry Academy, Valladolid

At unspecified time and most likely in the late 1910s[16] Utrilla married Consuelo León Brezosa (1895-1984); born and raised in Madrid, she was daughter to a physician from Andalusia.[17] They had 5 children,[18] born between the early 1920s and the 1930s: Consuelo, Mercedes, Matilde, Alejandro and Jaime Utrilla León[19] None of them became a public figure, though Alejandro was loosely active in Carlism and in the 1970s he was related to a late- and post-Francoist think-tank ANEPA.[20] Among the grandchildren the best known are members of the Utrilla Palombi family, as Partido Popular activists holding various posts in self-governmental bodies related to Madrid;[21] Elena de Utrilla Palombi was councilor of the Madrid town hall and deputy to the regional chamber, Asamblea de Madrid. Antonio Lizaur Utrilla grew to army colonel,[22] while others landed jobs in medicine[23] or business.[24]

Junior officer

Lusitania cavalryman

In 1910 Utrilla obtained his first service assignment, namely to Regimento de Caballería Dragones de Santiago,[25] at the time stationed in Barcelona.[26] The garrison duty did not last longer than a year; in 1911 he was posted to Cazadores de Taxdirt,[27] a combat unit deployed in Morocco. At the time the Spanish troops were involved in operations against Berber tribes around the outpost of Melilla. The fighting soon escalated into a so-called Kert Campaign, fought along the Melilla perimeter; during the crossing of the Kert river Utrilla commanded a machine-gun section.[28] In 1912 he was promoted from sub-lieutenant to lieutenant (teniente primero)[29] and with this rank in early 1913 he was transferred to the Cazadores de Alcántara regiment.[30] The same year he was moved from the line to the rear and assumed duties at Cuadro Eventual de Larache,[31] a replenishment centre of the unit.

In 1915 Utrilla was transferred to the Cazadores de Lusitania regiment[32] and he resumed service in frontline combat units. The same year he took part in the battle of Tauima; while commander of the unit was hit, Utrilla personally led the charge against enemy lines, which earned him notice in the newspapers.[33] In 1916 he was again posted to head the Cuadro Eventual de Ceuta.[34] In 1919 and already as capitán he moved to 4. Establecimiento de Remonta,[35] and in 1920 to Deposito de Recria y Doma in 2. Zona Pecuaria.[36] In 1921 he returned to line when transferred to the Cazadores de Tetuán regiment.[37] Since 1922 he moved to units formed from the local Moroccan volunteers,[38] and until 1923 he served in Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas de Larache.[39] At the time he formed part of an informal group of officers known as Grupo de Larache; the camaraderie included later known personalities like Enrique Varela and Manuel Goded.[40]

a valley in Aoiz judicial district

In September 1923 the coup of Primo de Rivera terminated the period of liberal democracy in Spain; the dictator intended to replace the perceived rotten and corrupted system with a new, efficient regime. Part of the plan was to dispatch military inspectors (delegados gubernativos) to reform local government and instill patriotism in the population;[41] they were expected to root out the patronage networks of caciques and catalyze the emergence of new, prototypical Spanish citizen through cultural and propagandistic means. In December 1923 Utrilla was nominated to such a role[42] and assigned to the Navarrese district of Aoiz.[43] Nothing is known of his endeavors at the Pyrenean foothills. However, the concept of delegados gubernativos attracted increasing criticism; some claimed that it backfired by alienating local population and generating animosity towards the army. Since mid-1924 Primo started to withdraw his delegados;[44] in December 1924 Utrilla was recalled from Navarre[45] and in early 1925 he returned to Morocco.[46]

Senior officer

regulares in action, Morocco

Back in Africa Utrilla was posted again to lead the indigenous troops, though this time he was assigned to Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas de Ceuta.[47] It is not clear whether he took part in combat during the final, victorious Spanish campaign following the Alhucemas landing late in 1925. However, in 1926 he was already promoted to comandante (major) and included in Expedientes de Recompensas por Meritos de Guerra, a summary package of rewards intended for distinguished officers of gallant service.[48] Since early 1927 he was put in command of 3. Grupo de Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas de Ceuta, the unit comparable to a regiment.[49] As there was hardly any wartime action recorded in Morocco at the time, the unit was deployed on vigilance and patrol duties; this proved to be Utrilla's last assignment in Africa.

In late 1927 Utrilla was transferred back to the peninsula and posted to the prestigious 2. Regimento de Lanceros Reina unit, stationed in Alcalá de Henares.[50] He served on the garrison duty slightly longer than 2 years;[51] jointly with 3 other officers in the rank of a major, he was positioned third in the command chain of the regiment.[52] In late 1929 Utrilla commenced his second spell in Navarre, though it is not clear whether this was on his request. Promoted to teniente coronel (lieutenant colonel),[53] he was moved to the Cazadores de Almansa regiment, based in Pamplona, to assume the role of second-in-command.[54] In 1930–1931, during the fall of the dictatorship, dictablanda and declaration of the Republic, he kept serving in Pamplona.

cavalry barracks, Pamplona

The republican government of Manuel Azaña embarked on major reform of the army. The sore point within the officer corps was the method of promotion, with so-called "africanistas" opting for combat merits, and so-called "junteros" preferring the strict seniority rule.[55] As africanistas were considered the most reactionary segment of the army Azaña sided with the junteros; strict seniority was restored and all merit promotions were retracted, subject to review. For Utrilla it boiled down to annulment of his promotion to teniente coronel; he was downgraded to comandante,[56] though this retraction was paired with reception of Cruz de Merito Militar, second class.[57] Some time in late 1931 or early 1932 Utrilla left Navarre and following 21 years returned to Catalonia; he was transferred to Barcelona, home to his new unit, 10. Regimento de Caballería.[58] The service in ciudad condal did not last long. One of the objectives of the ongoing military reform was to scale down what was perceived as an overgrown officer corps; the government deployed a scheme, partially forcing and partially encouraging officers to retire. It is not clear what mechanism worked for Utrilla;[59] in August 1932 he was declared voluntarily retired and as pensioner moved back to Alcalá la Real.[60]

In conspiracy

drill of Andalusian requeté, 1934

According to some historians many retired officers, embittered by governmental policy towards the army, used their leisure time to conspire.[61] This was the case of Utrilla, though mechanism of his exact political choice remains obscure; he neared the Carlists.[62] In 1935 he already publicly identified as a Traditionalist; he subscribed to the official party press mouthpiece[63] and himself published Traditionalist pieces in the local daily.[64] At one stage[65] he engaged in organization and training of the East Andalusian branch[66] of the party para-military militia, the requetés;[67] according to some sources, he headed the Andalusian requeté organization.[68]

In early 1936 the party command nominated Utrilla Inspector General de Requeté de Navarra.[69] His task was to re-organize and train the local paramilitary; during the next few months he kept cruising the region[70] busy with recruitment, nominations, planning, drills, and arms smuggling.[71] By late January the force grew to one tercio, a unit which comprised some 250 men in three companies.[72] During the February elections his people manned security points in Pamplona, officially helping to maintain order.[73] Following victory of Popular Front Utrilla put his requeté in state of alarm, apparently anticipating a revolutionary turmoil; it took orders from Carlist high command to lift it.[74]

Don Alfonso Carlos

In the spring of 1936 Utrilla entered the Carlist Supreme Military Junta[75] and was involved in drafting rebel plans; he was supposed to lead an insurgent requeté column during a planned Carlist-only rising.[76] The plan was abandoned due to counter-action of state security services. Initially Utrilla was not identified as involved, but during a June raid of jefe de seguridad Mallol he was briefly detained on suspicion of illegal possession of arms.[77] As no proof has been found Utrilla was released, but since then he went into hiding when in regional conspiracy command; he is credited for future efficiency of the rebels in Navarre,[78] though he procured weapons also for the Catalan branch.[79] In early July 1936 he headed a semi-clandestine military academy in Pamplona, in name of the Carlist claimant Alfonso Carlos appointing NCOs and officers.[80]

At the time there was some tension between the local Navarrese executive and the national command led by Manuel Fal Conde. Utrilla stayed on good terms with both groups;[81] some authors portray him as a person who – apart from enjoying genuine charisma and confidence among the volunteers – demonstrated also some mediation skills.[82] However, on July 13 he issued a directive which instructed the requetés to rise only on strict order from the militia leadership, a reflection of lingering tension within the party command.[83] As a senior career officer he served also as a Traditionalist link to head of military conspiracy, general Mola, and met him on July 14 to discuss the Carlist terms of access. On July 15 Utrilla issued to Navarrese requeté an order to rise with no date indicated;[84] on July 18 it was specified as the following morning.[85]

Civil War

with Navarrese volunteers

During the first 4 days of insurgency Utrilla acted as head of Carlist regional general staff. He was busy mostly organizing the avalanche of volunteers, forming units, nominating commanders, deploying troops in specific directions[86] and raising morale by delivering public addresses.[87] Apart from Navarre, he helped to organize the rebellion also in the neighboring Álava.[88] His crucial contribution, however, consisted of heading a 1,200-strong column of Navarrese requetés which on July 23 moved by train from Pamplona to Zaragoza. The convoy was organized as urgent emergency measure,[89] since insurgents’ control over the Aragonese capital was extremely shaky. Utrilla enforced swift transport[90] and then ensured rebel domination in the city;[91] with Jesús Comín he was also the one who made the local rebel military commander, general Cabanellas, to replace the republican flag with the monarchist roja y gualda.[92] In early August he handed over command of the requeté troops in Zaragoza, to honor the Carlist queen already named Tercio de María de las Nieves,[93] and returned to Pamplona.[94]

Utrilla spent most of August in Pamplona; on the last day of the month he left for the Gipuzkoan front.[95] In early September he was back in combat since the Moroccan times of 1925; on approaches to Irún he commanded a heterogeneous unit which consisted of requetés, Falangists and soldiers, 6 companies in total. It formed part of so-called Columna Los Arcos and assaulted the fortified outpost of San Marcial; it overran Behovia on September 4.[96] In mid-September he advocated shuttling some troops from Gipuzkoa to Aragón;[97] following the seizure of San Sebastián, in mid-month he indeed led some of the requeté sub-units transferred East.[98] He resumed command over Tercio María de las Nieves, most of it deployed on defensive positions along the Ebro. Utrilla remained in charge until November, when he handed over to José Medrano.[99]

with requeté officers

Utrilla's whereabouts during the winter of 1936-1937 are not clear. In March 1937 he was listed in the official order of the Nationalist high command, already in the regular army service; as comandante retirado he was assigned to head Cuadro Eventual of the 6. Division, to be raised in Granada.[100] His later service record is not known; a press note from late 1937 hailed his contribution to victorious Northern campaign, but provided no details.[101] A contemporary historian speculates that Utrilla served in Jefatura de Milicias, the section of Nationalist general staff entrusted with organization of militia units, formally incorporated into the army but allowed a grade of autonomy.[102] In June 1938[103] he was – again, following the annulled 1929 elevation – promoted to coronel de caballería.[104] None of the sources consulted provides information on his assignment during final phases of the Civil War.

Post-war military career

cavalry barracks, Alcalá de Henares

In the Francoist era Utrilla's military career consisted of spells at administrative positions, in command of large units and in the judiciary; hardly anyone of these lasted longer than 2 years. In September 1939 and as teniente coronel Utrilla received his first post-war nomination; he was to head 1. Brigada de Caballería, again in Alcalá de Henares.[105] In 1940 he moved from the range of senior officers to generals, promoted to general de brigada; he remained in charge of the same cavalry unit[106] in Alcalá.[107] Following less than 2 year at this position, his regular garrison service was terminated and Utrilla obtained the first quasi-political nomination; in May 1941 he became the military governor of the Mallorca province.[108] He performed the role slightly longer than 12 months; in June 1942 followed the appointment to commander of the 93. division, stationed at unclear location.[109] During the official career path it was also the first moment Utrilla left cavalry – in the Spanish army there were no mounted units larger than brigade at the time – and assumed command of a combined-arms unit. He remained in charge throughout 1943 and at this role he was promoted to general de división.[110] In 1944 he was not with the 93. any more,[111] but his exact assignment is not clear. In April 1945 Utrilla resumed service as Gobernador Militar in the province of La Coruña,[112] but the following year he was posted to command 42. division, also at unclear location.[113] This proved to be his last role of commander of a large military unit.[114]

Utrilla, 1950s

In 1947 Utrilla was nominated consejero militar of Consejo Supremo de Justicia Militar, the highest army military tribunal.[115] In 1948 he ceased at this role and for the third time assumed duties of the military governor, this time in the province of Valladolid; in addition, he was nominated sub-inspector of VII Región Militar, which covered León and part of Old Castile.[116] Following a series of appointments lasting hardly longer than 12 months, these were the longest of his service assignments; in 1949 he was also personally admitted by Franco.[117] Having served over 4 years in Valladolid, in 1952[118] Utrilla was again admitted at a personal audience by caudillo;[119] at the same time he was promoted to teniente general and nominated Capitán General of the Baleares.[120] In December 1953 he ceased in the Mediterranean and returned to Old Castile, though this time at the supreme role of commander of the VII Región Militár and head of Cuerpo de Ejército de Castilla VII, again with headquarters in Valladolid.[121] It is not clear how long Utrilla remained at this position, though his service did not go beyond late 1955.[122] At some point in the mid-1950s he moved to the semi-retired status of “a los ordenes de Ministro del Ejército”. In September 1959, having reached the upper limit of regular military retirement age, Utrilla left active service and as teniente general was released to reserve.[123]

Late Carlist engagements

Carlist standard

There is no information on direct Utrilla's activity in Traditionalist ranks during the first post-war years. However, it is known that he maintained his party links and within the limits permitted by the regime, he tried to cultivate the Carlist identity. During his assignment in Alcalá he found the time to attend the 1941 Holy Week festivities in Granada; they were highly saturated with the Traditionalist flavor, as detachments of requeté ex-combatants with flying standards paraded along the streets. The local Falange commander complained later the event turned into “una verdadera manifestación política” and that Utrilla, present at the honorary tribune, did not intervene and remained motionless during the “¡Vivan los leones del Requeté!” cries.[124] During his Baleares service in 1942 the Falangists reported that Utrilla supported a separate, Carlist-only organization of Mártires de la Tradición feast, appeared in military uniform completed not with a peaked cap but the Carlist red beret, and intervened in favor of the Carlists detained later.[125] In 1943 he was present at the Montserrat Aplec along party leaders like Fal, Zamanillo and Sivatte;[126] in 1945 during a local event in Zaragoza he received honors from and greeted the marching requeté detachment; the day produced later a melee between the Carlists and the Falangists.[127]

Utrilla's relations with the party hierarchy in the 1940s are not clear. According to one source in 1943 he was appointed to the national Carlist executive, Junta Nacional,[128] but neither duration of the term nor any particular activity is known. He remained on correct terms with the regent-claimant, who in private correspondence lectured Utrilla on trappings of the Francoist “parodia del Monarquía” and warned him not to engage in the regime politically.[129] However, at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s Utrilla was increasingly leaning towards the faction led by Sivatte,[130] who criticized Don Javier for his alleged appeasement towards the dictatorship.[131] When in the mid-1950s the Sivattistas left the Javierista Carlism and created a breakaway group known as RENACE, Utrilla was considered a member of its “núcleo privado”,[132] though he refrained from public statements.

Sivatte

When half-retired Utrilla tried to attend the Sivattista Montserrat gatherings. One day prior to such a rally in 1959 he was courted by Capitán General de Barcelona, Pablo Martín Alonso, who offered him managerial position at a state-controlled metalworking and manufacturing company ENSIDESA, with a hefty salary package of 75,000 ptas a month included; in return Utrilla was supposed to refrain from quasi-political activity. He refused; the following day Utrilla – teniente general at the time - was detained by policía militar and driven to Alcalá la Real.[133] Also afterwards he continued to sympathize with Sivattistas, though no longer in public. As late as in the early 1960s he believed that given decay of the Javierista current, RENACE was the only guardian of genuine Traditionalist values. He invited these which “pride themselves in being named Traditionalists or Carlists" to follow “the Regency of Estella, which today is the only legitimate Carlist authority".[134]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Pacomartín, En la revista del Cristo de la Salud, [in:] Casas de Cabildo blog service, 03.09.20 [page blocked by Wikipedia, try "pacomartinrosales" blogspot with "en la-revista-del-cristo-de-la-salud-mi.html entry]
  2. ^ the total area attributed to the family at one point reached 652 fanegas, equivalent to slightly below 500 ha, Pacomartín 2020
  3. ^ in Alcalá the family owned houses at calle de la Monjas ad at calle Utrilla; in the neighboring county they owned estate near Fuente de la Lancha, Moraleja, Chaparral de Nubes, Llano de los Muchachos, Cantera Blanca, Rábita and elsewhere, Pacomartín 2020
  4. ^ see the GoogleMaps service, available here
  5. ^ La Correspondencia de España 17.06.12, available here. At the time postal service formed part of the Ministry of Interior
  6. ^ Francisca was born in 1860; the oldest child of the couple, Juana, was born in 1885, Francisca de Paula Belbel Tapía entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available here
  7. ^ Ideál 05.08.1989, p. 12
  8. ^ Anuario Militár de España 1911, available here
  9. ^ Juana, Rita and Francisco, Francisca de Paula Belbel Tapía entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available here; see also La Voz 06.09.24, excerpts available at Biblioteca Municipál “Lope de Vega” de Fuente Obejuna, available here
  10. ^ Ideál 05.08.1989, p. 12
  11. ^ a Fernando Utrilla Utrilla, born 1861 and originating from eastern Andalusia, entered military service in 1878; in the 1920s he rose to coronel. His later fate is not known, see e.g. Anuario Militar de España 1921, available here. The brother of Alejandro, Francisco Utrilla Belbel, also joined the army and served in its medical branch; the last information on him comes from the mid-1920s, when he served with the rank of a captain
  12. ^ La Correspondencia Militar 20.05.07, available here
  13. ^ Anuario Militar de España 1908, available here
  14. ^ Anuario Militar de España 1909, available here
  15. ^ Heraldo Militar 18.07.10
  16. ^ Utrilla's wife was born in 1895; their child was born in 1920
  17. ^ her father, Rafael León Avilés (born 1870), originated from Cordoba and served as a doctor; her mother, Dolores Brezosa Tablares, was a schoolteacher and originated from Valladolid, Manolo Rodriguez Burgos, Genealogia de la Familia Burgos service, available here
  18. ^ Alejandro Utrilla Belbel entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available here
  19. ^ ABC 13.02..63, available here
  20. ^ Mediterráneo 27.05.76, available here
  21. ^ for Alejandro de Utrilla Palombi see e.g. Quien es quien en la Operación Púnica, [in:] RTVE service 02.09.19, available here, Elena de Utrilla Palombi was concejal de obras in the Madrid ayuntamiento, see El País 21.12.04, available here, and deputy to Asamblea de Madrid, see Asamblea de Madrid service, available here. For Mario de Utrilla Palombi, the alcalde of Sevilla la Nueva, see El Mundo 11.05.16, available here, for his role in Asamblea de Madrid see El Mundo 11.05.16, available here
  22. ^ BOE 31.01.02, available here
  23. ^ José Acebal Utrilla tried his hand also as author, see his El libro de paciente (1989). For Alejandro Lizaur Utrilla see e.g. Universitas Miguel Hernández service, available here
  24. ^ for Leopoldo Lizaur Utrilla, a lawyer and businessman, see e.g. Abogados de Madrid service, available here
  25. ^ La Correspondencia Militar 21.07.10, available here
  26. ^ Fernando Mogaburo López, Historia orgánica de las grandes unidades (1475-2018), Madrid 2017, p. 42
  27. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1911, available here
  28. ^ La Correspondencia de España 08.11.11, available here
  29. ^ La Correspondencia Militar 28.07.12, available here
  30. ^ Diario Oficial del Ministerio de la Guerra 29.01.13, available here
  31. ^ El Globo 18.07.13, available here
  32. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1915, available here
  33. ^ Juan Delapuerta Cano, Estructura orgánica y desarrollo histórico del Regimiento de Caballería Lustiania (1709-2010) [PhD thesis Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU], Valencia 2015, p. 87
  34. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1916, available here
  35. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1919, available here
  36. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1920, available here
  37. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1921, available here
  38. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1922, available here
  39. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1923, available here
  40. ^ e.g. in May 1923 the africanistas from Grupo de Larache discussed mutual support in terms of their promotions, Antonio Atienza Peñarrocha, ‘Africanistas’ y ‘junteros’: el ejército espanól en Africa y el oficial José Enrique Varela Iglesias [PhD thesis Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU], Valencia 2012, p. 458
  41. ^ Richard Gow, Patria and Citizenship: Miguel Primo de Rivera, Caciques and Military Delegados, 1923–1924, [in:] Susana Bayó Belenguer, Nicola Brady (eds.), Pulling Together or Pulling Apart? Perspectives on Nationhood, Identity, and Belonging in Europe, Oxford 2019, ISBN 9781789976755, pp. 147-176
  42. ^ Utrilla officially remained “Disp. y Del. Gub. de Aoiz”, Annuario Militar de España 1924, available here
  43. ^ El Sol 08.12.23, available here
  44. ^ their number was being reduced between late 1924 and 1927 from the peak of 523 to merely 79, Gow 2019, p. 176
  45. ^ Diario Oficial del Ministerio de la Guerra 13.12.24, available here
  46. ^ La Libertad 30.01.25, available here
  47. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1925, available here
  48. ^ El Liberal 07.02.26, available here
  49. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1927, available here; see also Guía Oficial de España 1927, available here
  50. ^ La Correspondencia Militar 27.07.27, available here
  51. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1929, available here
  52. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1929, available here
  53. ^ on June 4, 1929, Annuario Militar de España 1930, available here
  54. ^ Annuario Militar de España 1930, available here
  55. ^ Stanley G. Payne, Spain's First Democracy, Madison 1993, ISBN 9780299136741, pp. 91-92
  56. ^ La Libertad 31.05.31, available here
  57. ^ El Imparcial 11.07.31, available here
  58. ^ La Vanguardia 01.07.32, available here
  59. ^ premature retirement was forced also upon some other officers involved in Carlism, like Ricardo Rada Peral and Ignacio Romero Osborne
  60. ^ Heraldo de Madrid 20.08.32, available here
  61. ^ Herbert Lionel Matthews, Half of Spain Died, London 1973, ISBN 9780684130798, p. 75
  62. ^ it is not clear whether the choice was determined by his camaraderie with Varela, earlier spells and personal acquaintances made in Navarre or there were some other factors in play
  63. ^ El Siglo Futuro 12.12.35, available here, see also El Siglo Futuro 11.11.35, available here
  64. ^ on June 25, 1935, the local daily Eco de Jaén published Utrilla's piece on the 19th-century Carlist hero, Recuerdos de otras gestas. La gentes de Zumalacarregui, Melchor Ferrer, Domingo Tejera, José F. Acedo, Historia del tradicionalismo español vols. 5-8, Seville 1943, p. 298
  65. ^ according to one author, at unspecified time around the mid-1930s Utrilla with other Carlist conspirators received military training in fascist Italy, Luis Suárez Fernández, Franco, crónica de un tiempo, Madrid 1997, ISBN 9788487863783, p. 285
  66. ^ Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil española, 1936-1939, Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788499709758, p. 86
  67. ^ Diario de Burgos 13.02.63, available here
  68. ^ História contemporánea, Bilbao 1994, p. 49
  69. ^ another title in circulation was “inspector regional de la milicia”, Aróstegui 2013, p. 87. He reported to head of the military section, Antonio Lizarza, José Luis Comellas, José Andrés-Gallego, Historia general de España y América, vol. XVII, Madrid 1986, ISBN 8432121150, p. 281, see also Martin Blinkhorn, Carlism and Crisis in Spain 1931-1939, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 9780521207294, p. 222
  70. ^ Pablo Larraz Andía, Víctor Sierra-Sesumaga (eds.), Requetés. De las trincheras al olvidio, Madrid 2011, ISBN 9788499700465, pp. 466, 487, 505, 666, 829
  71. ^ Antonio de Lizarza Iribarren, Memorias de la conspiración: Cómo se preparó en Navarra la Cruzada, 1931-1936, Pamplona 1954, p. 63.
  72. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 351
  73. ^ Tercio de Pamplona entry, [in:] Requetés service, available here
  74. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 87
  75. ^ a strictly military body headed by general Muslera, it was supposed to act as general staff during the planned rising, Blinkhorn 2008, p. 237
  76. ^ Roberto Muñoz Bolaños, ‘Por Dios, pod la Patria y el Rey marchemos sobre Madrid’: el intento de sublevación carlista en la primavera de 1936, [in:] Daniel Macia Fernandez, Fernando Puell de la Villa (eds.), David contra Goliat: guerra y asimetría en la edad contemporánea, Madrid 2014, ISBN 9788461705504, p. 163
  77. ^ Gonzalo Jar Couselo, La Guardia Civil en Navarra (18-07-1936), [in:] Príncipe de Viana 52/192 (1991), p. 287
  78. ^ Utrilla and Sanz de Lerín “fueron maestros consumados en la táctica del despiste de su actuaciones en la organización. Supieron trabajar, a pesar de la vigilancia a que estuvieron sometidos”. Other author claims he “particularmente desarrolló em Navarra una labor impresionante”, ingenious, calm and patient”, Jar Couselo 1991, p. 287
  79. ^ Robert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931-1936, Barcelona 2008, ISBN 9788478260805, p. 304
  80. ^ Josep Sánchez Cervelló, El pacte de la no intervenció: La internacionalització de la Guerra Civil espanyola, Barcelona 2019, ISBN 9788484241607, p. 119
  81. ^ Javier Ugarte Tellería, La nueva Covadonga insurgente: orígenes sociales y culturales de la sublevación de 1936 en Navarra y el País Vasco, Madrid 1998, ISBN 9788470305313 , p. 103
  82. ^ “talante sobrio, firme y su dotes de mediación”, also “hombre llano, bueno, honrado, rasero, sencillo y que captó la confianza y la voluntad de todos nosotros” as described by Jaime del Burgo, Ugarte Tellería 1998, p. 103
  83. ^ Ugarte Tellería 1998, p. 102
  84. ^ for entire text of the 1936 instruction see Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español vol. XXX/2, Sevilla 1979, pp. 102-103
  85. ^ Ugarte Tellería 1998, p. 291, Blinkhorn 2008, p. 249
  86. ^ Aróstegui 2013, pp. 192, 291, Juan Carlos Peñas Bernaldo de Quirós, El Carlismo, la República y la Guerra Civil (1936-1937). De la conspiración a la unificación, Madrid 1996, ISBN 8487863523, p. 174
  87. ^ e.g. on July 22 Utrilla delivered an address to Tercio de Lacar volunteers, just prior to their departure for the Gipuzkoan front; some were led to believe that Utrilla was actually the commander of the unit, Aróstegui 2013, p. 195
  88. ^ Ugarte Tellería 1998, pp. 104-105
  89. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 405
  90. ^ e.g. at one point, when the train was blocked by technical problems, Utrilla threatened the railwaymen with execution in case they do not sort things out, Aróstegui 2013, p. 406
  91. ^ José Ángel Sánchez Asiaín, La financiación de la guerra civil española: una aproximación histórica, Madrid 2014, ISBN 9788498926613, p. 103
  92. ^ Montejurra IV/26 (1963), available here
  93. ^ some authors suggest that it was Utrilla who suggested the name for the unit; it was to honor the Carlist queen, Aróstegui 2013, p. 871. María de las Nieves thanked Utrilla in a personal letter, dated August 17, 1936, for the full text see Manuel de Santa Cruz, Apuntes y documentos para la historia del tradicionalismo español: 1939-1966, vols. 1-3, Madrid 1979, ISBN 9788474600353, pp. 63-63
  94. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 408
  95. ^ Ugarte Tellería 1998, p. 298
  96. ^ Aróstegui 2013, pp. 293-4
  97. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 301
  98. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 410
  99. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 412
  100. ^ BOE 29.03.37, available here
  101. ^ El Progreso 27.10.37, available here
  102. ^ Aróstegui 2013, p. 788
  103. ^ in November 1937 Utrilla was provisionally nominated ("habilitando para dicho empleo") coronel, Diario de Burgos 10.11.37, available here
  104. ^ Pensamiento Alaves 30.11.38, available here
  105. ^ Diario de Burgos 16.09.39, available here
  106. ^ BOE 212 (1940), available here
  107. ^ Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 02.06.41, available here
  108. ^ BOE 15.06.41, available here
  109. ^ El Avisador Numantino 29.07.42, available here
  110. ^ BOE 6 (1944), available here
  111. ^ in June 1944 it was commanded by Juan Asensio Hernández Cienfuegos, Imperio 16.06.44, available here
  112. ^ Hoja Oficial de Lunes 06.08.45, available here, see also BOE 126 (1945), available here
  113. ^ El Adelanto 09.02.46, available here
  114. ^ one source mentioned his role of “ayudante de campo del General de División”, Diario Oficial del Ministerio del Ejército 14.02.47, available here
  115. ^ Diario de Burgos 10.01.47, available here
  116. ^ Diario Oficial del Ministerio del Ejército 20.05.48, available here
  117. ^ La Vanguardia 24.11.49, available here
  118. ^ in 1950 Utrilla still served in Valladolid, see Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 23.01.50, available here; also in 1952 he was reported there, Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 31.03.52, available here
  119. ^ Diario de Burgos 20.11.52, available here
  120. ^ BOE 314 (1952), available here
  121. ^ Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 28.12.53, available here, also BOE 362 (1953), available here
  122. ^ in October 1955 the commander of the unit was general Esteban Infantes, Imperio 14.10.55, available here
  123. ^ BOE 232 (1959), available here
  124. ^ Manuel Martorell Pérez, La continuidad ideológica del carlismo tras la Guerra Civil [PhD thesis in Historia Contemporanea, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia], Valencia 2009, p. 224
  125. ^ there might be some confusion between the posts of capitán general and gobernador militar, Josep Miralles Climent, La rebeldía carlista. Memoria de una represión silenciada: Enfrentamientos, marginación y persecución durante la primera mitad del régimen franquista (1936-1955), Madrid 2018, ISBN 9788416558711, pp. 135-136
  126. ^ César Alcalá, D. Mauricio de Sivatte. Una biografía política (1901-1980), Barcelona 2001, ISBN 8493109797, pp. 51-52. Utrilla was present during the 1942 Montserrat aplec, but he did not speak, Manuel de Santa Cruz, Apuntes y documentos para la historia del tradicionalismo español: 1939-1966, p. 4-5, p. 107
  127. ^ Martorell Pérez 2009, p. 253
  128. ^ Aurora Villanueva Martínez, El carlismo navarro durante el primer franquismo, 1937-1951, Madrid 1998, ISBN 9788487863714, p. 190
  129. ^ Alcalá 2001, pp. 156-157
  130. ^ Mercedes Vázquez de Prada, El final de una ilusión. Auge y declive del tradicionalismo carlista (1957-1967), Madrid 2016, ISBN 9788416558407, p. 75
  131. ^ Alcalá 2001, p. 98
  132. ^ Alcalá 2001, pp. 98-99
  133. ^ Alcalá 2001, pp. 155-156
  134. ^ in a private letter apparently dated on the early 1960s Utrilla declared that “sí debemos invitar, y aún requerir formalmente, a cuantos – al margen de la disciplina debida – continúan honrádose con el nombre de tradicionalistas o carlistas, a que sin más tardanza imiten en ejemplo de aquellos insignes correligionarios, siguendo y obedieciendo a la Regencia de Estella, por ser hoy la única autoridad legítima carlista y del Carlismo”, Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, El naufragio de las ortodoxias. El carlismo, 1962–1977, Pamplona 1997; ISBN 9788431315641, p. 175

Further reading

Utrilla's tombstone, Granada
  • César Alcalá, D. Mauricio de Sivatte. Una biografía política (1901-1980), Barcelona 2001, ISBN 8493109797
  • Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil española, 1936-1939, Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788499709758
  • Antonio Lizarza, Memorias de la conspiracion, Pamplona 1986, ISBN 9788486169381
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