Camilo Alonso Vega

Camilo Alonso Vega
Birth name	Camilo Alonso Vega
Nickname(s)	Don Camulo
Born	29 May 1899 Ferrol, Province of A Coruña
Died	1 July 1971 (aged 72) Madrid, Spain
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain (1904–1932)  Spanish Republic (1931–1936) Nationalist Spain
Years of service	1936–1939
Rank	General
Commands held	Brigade (1937-1938), Division (1938–9).
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War Villarreal Offensive Biscay Campaign Battle of Brunete Battle of Santander Aragon Offensive Battle of the Ebro

Camilo Alonso Vega (29 May 1889 - 1 July 1971) was a Spanish military officer and minister.

Early life

A childhood friend of Francisco Franco, he entered in the Foreign Legion and fought in the Rif War.^[1] Later he was appointed as Colonel of the Spanish Army.

Spanish Civil War

In July 1936, he supported the 17–18 July coup d’etat and aided to conquer Vitoria, the capital city of the province of Alava for the rebels.^[2] In December 1936, he led the defense of the town of Villareal against an offensive of the Basque forces.^[3] In March 1937 he was appointed as commander of the 4th Brigade of the newly organized Mola’s Navarrese division and, he led this brigade in the Biscay Campaign,^[4] in the Battle of Brunete in July 1937,^[5] in the Battle of Santander in August, and in the Aragon Offensive,^[6] and on April 15 he took the town of Vinaroz cut in a half the Republican held zone.^[7] Later, he led a division in the Battle of the Ebro.^[8]

Francoist Spain

After the war in January 1940, he became the supervisor of the concentration camps and later the head of the Civil Guard.^[9] He was the Minister of the Interior of the Francoist Spain from 1956^[10] to 1969.^[11] He led the opposition inside the francoist government against the Fraga's Press Law. In 1969 he crushed the university demonstrations, because of this, he was nicknamed by the students, Don Camulo (Mr. Ca-mule).^[10]

Notes

1. Preston, Paul. (1994). Franco. Fontana Press. London. p.29
2. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.226
3. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p..525
4. Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. p.228
5. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.691
6. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.781
7. Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. p.327
8. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.817
9. Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. p.405
10. Preston, Paul. (1994). Franco. Fontana Press. London. p.740
11. Preston, Paul. (1994). Franco. Fontana Press. London. p.746