Miguel Rodrigo Martínez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rodrigo and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.

Miguel Rodrigo Martínez
Rodrigo as an officer of the Blue Division, 1941–43
Birth name	Miguel Rodrigo Martínez
Born	(1895-12-27)27 December 1895 Santa Clara, Cuba, Kingdom of Spain
Died	15 November 1968(1968-11-15) (aged 72) Madrid, Spanish State
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain (1913–1931)  Spanish Republic (1931–1936)  Nationalist Spain (1936–1968)  Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Spanish Army  German Army (Wehrmacht)
Years of service	1913–1968
Rank	Lieutenant general
Unit	Regulares Blue Division
Commands	1st Division of Navarre [es] 61st Division Armoured Division No. 1 "Brunete" I Military Region [es]
Battles / wars	Rif War Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows Grand Cross (with White Decoration) of Military Merit Grand Cross (with White Decoration) of Aeronautical Merit Grand Cross (with White Decoration) of Naval Merit
Other work	Procurator in the Spanish Cortes (1943–1968)

Miguel Rodrigo Martínez^{[n. 1]} (27 December 1895 in Santa Clara, Cuba – 15 November 1968 in Madrid) was a Spanish military officer. During the Spanish Civil War he fought for the Nationalist faction, commanding several units. He would later participate in World War II as part of the Blue Division, fighting on the Eastern Front for the Axis powers.

Biography

Rodrigo was born in the city of Santa Clara, in the Spanish colony of Cuba on 27 December 1895.^[1] He entered the Toledo Infantry Academy in 1913.^[2] As Captain of the Regulares of Melilla, during the Rif War he stood out in the defense of the position of Kudia Tahar (Beni Karrich [es]),^[3] for which he was awarded the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand.^[4]

He was part of the Nationalist faction that rose up against the government of the Second Republic in the Spanish coup of July 1936 that led to the Spanish Civil War and commanded a tabor of the Regulares.^[4] He played a prominent role throughout the conflict. In July 1937 he took part in the Battle of Brunete, commanding the second brigade of the 13th Division [es].^[5] He later went on to command the 1st Division of Navarre [es],^[6] with which he would intervene in the Levante Offensive^[7] and the Battle of the Ebro,^[8] being later replaced in command by the Moroccan colonel Mohamed Meziane.^[9] Towards the end of the war he commanded the 61st Division, part of the Urgel Army Corps.^[10]

During World War II, he was the most senior colonel in the Blue Division (Spanish: División Azul, German: Blaue Division), or the 250th Infantry Division of the German Wehrmacht, the unit of Spanish volunteers sent to fight alongside the Axis powers against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front; he was in charge of infantry.^[11] He would rise through the ranks to the rank of lieutenant general, which he reached in 1953.^[12] He was procurator in the Spanish Cortes between 1943 and 1968. In 1950 he was appointed commander of the Armoured Division No. 1 "Brunete".^[13] He later held the position of captain general of the I Military Region [es].^[14] In the context of the university skirmishes between Falangists and non-Falangists in February 1956, he made his position clear in the following way: "As long as I am captain general, not even God will move here."^[15][16] He died in Madrid on 15 November 1968.^[12]

A street sign for Calle del General Rodrigo in January 2017, before its renaming.

Between 1968 and 2017, Calle del General Rodrigo, a street in Madrid running between Calle de Julián Romea and Avenida de la Reina Victoria, was named after him.^{[17][n. 2]}

Awards

• Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand
• Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (1942)^[20]
• Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows (1961)^[21]
• Grand Cross (with White Decoration) of Military Merit (1961)^[22]
• Grand Cross (with White Decoration) of Aeronautical Merit (1962)^[23]
• Grand Cross (with White Decoration) of Naval Merit (1962)^[24]
• Adopted son of Vich (1966)^[25]

Notes

1. Also appears as Miguel Rodrigo Martín.
2. On May 4, 2017, the Governing Board of the City Council of Madrid approved, in order to comply with the Historical Memory Law and after the positive vote of the plenary session in April of that year, the change of name of the street to "Calle del Maestro Ángel Llorca [es]".^[18][19]

References

1. "Rodrigo Martín, Miguel. 57. Elecciones 16.3.1943". Archivo histórico de diputados (1810–1977) (in Spanish). Congress of Deputies.
2. Mazarrasa 1993, p. 30.
3. Marruecos (PDF) (in Spanish). Toledo: El Castellano. Diario de información. 14 October 1925.
4. "El teniente general Rodrigo" (in Spanish). Madrid: ABC. 13 January 1962. p. 33.
5. Engel 2010, p. 40.
6. Engel 2010, p. 12.
7. Engel 2010, pp. 12, 14.
8. Alonso Baquer 2004, p. 385.
9. Cardona & Losada 2004, p. 300.
10. Martínez Bande 1985, p. 323.
11. Ibáñez 1996, p. 66; Salas 1989, p. 254.
12. "Ayer falleció en Madrid el laureado teniente general Rodrigo" (in Spanish). Madrid: ABC. 16 November 1968. p. 62.
13. Jefatura del Estado: "Decreto de 8 de abril de 1950 por el que se nombra Jefe de la División Acorazada al General de División don Miguel Rodrigo Martínez" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (102): 1575. 12 April 1950. ISSN 0212-033X.
14. Preston 1995, p. 140.
15. Gil Pecharromán 2008, p. 126.
16. "La noche de los cuchillos largos" (in Spanish). El País. 3 October 1976.
17. Gea Ortigas 2012, p. 141.
18. Junta de Gobierno de la Ciudad de Madrid: "Acuerdo de 4 de mayo de 2017 de la Junta de Gobierno de la Ciudad de Madrid por el que se cambia la denominación de determinadas calles, plazas y travesías de la ciudad de Madrid en aplicación de lo dispuesto en el artículo 15 de la Ley 52/2007, de 26 de diciembre, por la que se reconocen y amplían derechos y se establecen medidas en favor de quienes padecieron persecución o violencia durante la Guerra Civil y la Dictadura" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Ayuntamiento de Madrid (in Spanish). CXXI (7900). Madrid: Ayuntamiento de Madrid: 8–9. 8 May 2017. ISSN 1989-9114.
19. Costantini, Luca (28 April 2017). "Madrid aprueba el cambio de nombre de 52 calles de referencias franquistas". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 August 2017.
20. Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores: "Decretos de 1.° de octubre de 1942 por los que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica a los Excelentísimos señores que se mencionan" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (295): 8431–8432. 22 October 1942. ISSN 0212-033X.
21. Jefatura del Estado: "Decreto 1746/1961, de 1 de octubre, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden Imperial del Yugo y las Flechas al Teniente General del Ejército don Miguel Rodrigo Martínez" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (235): 14233. 2 October 1961. ISSN 0212-033X.
22. Ministerio del Ejército: "Decreto 2648/1961, de 16 de diciembre, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Militar, con distintivo blanco, pensionada, al Teniente General don Miguel Rodrigo Martínez" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (312): 18420. 30 December 1961. ISSN 0212-033X.
23. Ministerio del Aire: "Decreto 92/1962, de 18 de enero, por el que se concede al Teniente General del Ejercito de Tierra don Miguel Rodrigo Martínez la Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Aeronáutico, con distintivo blanco" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (23): 1264. 26 January 1962. ISSN 0212-033X.
24. Ministerio de Marina: "Decreto 316/1962, de 15 de febrero, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz del Mérito Naval, con distintivo blanco, al Teniente General don Miguel Rodrigo Martínez" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (42): 2438. 17 February 1962. ISSN 0212-033X.
25. "Vich: Entrega del título de hijo adoptivo de la ciudad al teniente general Rodrigo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Vol. 30, no. 999. Barcelona. 1966-02-03. p. 22. ISSN 1133-4835.

Bibliography

• Alonso Baquer, Miguel (2004). El Ebro, la batalla decisiva de los cien días (in Spanish). La Esfera de los Libros.
• Cardona, Gabriel; Losada, Juan Carlos (2004). Aunque me tires el puente: Memoria oral de la batalla del Ebro (in Spanish). Aguilar. ISBN 9788403095786.
• Engel, Carlos (2010). Historia de las Divisiones del Ejército Nacional 1936–1939 (in Spanish). Madrid: Almena. ISBN 978-84-92714-17-9.
• Gea Ortigas, María Isabel (2012). Los nombres de las calles de Madrid. Madrid: Ediciones La Librería. ISBN 978-84-9873-182-8.
• Gil Pecharromán, Julio (2008). Con permiso de la autoridad: la España de Franco (1939–1975) (in Spanish). Madrid: Temas de Hoy. ISBN 978-8484606932.
• Ibáñez, Rafael (1996). Españoles en las trincheras. La División Azul (in Spanish). En: Stanley G. Payne y Delia Contreras (Eds.) (España y la Segunda Guerra Mundial ed.). Madrid: Editorial Complutense. pp. 55–88. ISBN 84-89365-89X.
• Martínez Bande, José Manuel (1985). El Final de la guerra civil (in Spanish). Madrid: Ed. San Martín.
• Mazarrasa, Javier de (1993). Corazón, cañones, corazas: División Acorazada Brunete no. 1 : cincuenta años de historia (in Spanish). ISBN 9788460615538.
• Preston, Paul (1995) [1990]. The Politics of Revenge: Fascism and the Military in 20th-century Spain. London and New York City: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-40037-2.
• Salas, Ramón (1989). La División Azul (PDF) (Espacio, tiempo y forma. Serie V, Historia contemporánea ed.). Madrid: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. pp. 241–269. ISSN 1130-0124.