Franco

By kshelton7

  • Born

    Francisco Franco was born in Ferrol, Spain, a northwestern port city with a long history of shipbuilding

  • Volunteers to serve in Spain’s recently acquired protectorate

    After an initial posting to El Ferrol, Franco volunteered to serve in Spain’s recently acquired protectorate Morocco, where the country’s native population was staging a resistance to occupation
  • Period: to

    Remains stationed in Morocco

    Franco distinguished himself with his fearlessness, professionalism and ruthlessness, and was frequently promoted

  • Second in command

    By 1920, he had been named second in command of the Spanish Foreign Legion

  • Took command of the Spanish Foreign Legion

  • Appointed as General

    In 1926, Franco’s role in suppressing the Moroccan rebellion earned him an appointment as general, which, at age 33, made him the youngest man in Europe to hold that post

  • Director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza

    In 1928, he was also named director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, a position he would hold until three years later when political changes in Spain would temporarily halt Franco’s steady rise.

  • Announced the Nationalist manifesto

    On July 18, 1936, Franco announced the Nationalist manifesto in a broadcast from the Canary Islands as the uprising began in the northwest of Spain.

  • Flew to Morocco

    He flew to Morocco to take control of the troops, and shortly thereafter gained the support of both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, whose planes were used to shuttle Franco and his forces to Spain. Establishing his base of operations in Seville the following month, Franco began his military campaign, advancing north toward the seat of the Republican government in Madrid

  • Nationalist forces declared Franco head of the government

    Anticipating a swift victory, on October 1, 1936, the Nationalist forces declared Franco head of the government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. However, when their initial assault on Madrid was repelled, the military coup evolved into the protracted conflict known as the Spanish Civil War.