Franco - Winning the War

Franco was an excellent field commander and strategic leader. This is demonstrated in his incredibly fast rise in ranking so early in his life. Early on, he soon gained a reputation as a good officer, and became the youngest Brigadier-General in Europe. "He was also proposed unsuccessfully for Spain's highest honor for gallantry, the coveted Cruz Laureada de San Fernando," (Holguin 5) but refused it, trading it instead for an increase in ranking. In October 1923, Franco married Carmen Polo, a member of a wealthy merchant family. Franco's growing reputation in the armed forces was recognized when the King Alfonso XIII sent a representative to the wedding. Franco gained a reputation as a

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brilliant strategist and administrator, as shown just before the Civil War when he "crushed the miner's revolt in Asturias in 1934." (Orwell 6) As comander in chief during the Civil War, Franco personally guided military operations. He commanded every move and ordered