Emilio Mola
Emilio Mola y Vidal was a Spanish military officer who played a central role in the July 1936 revolt that initiated the Spanish Civil War. Born in Cuba while it was still a Spanish province, his father served as a Civil Guard captain, while his maternal uncle was a leading revolutionary in the Cuban War of Independence. After his family moved to Girona, Mola entered the Infantry Academy of Toledo, where he graduated at the top of his class and earned the nickname 'the Prussian'. He became part of the Africanist group of officers serving in Spain’s colonial war in Morocco, receiving the Military Medal in 1909 and advancing rapidly through battlefield promotions. Wounded in the thigh during the Kert campaign in 1912, he was promoted to captain, then to major for bravery in 1914, and later to lieutenant colonel by 1921. He married in Ceuta in 1922 and participated in the Alhucemas landing that ended the Rif War. Promoted to brigadier general by 1927, his wartime merit promotions were later challenged under the Second Republic. Mola held anti-semitic views, blaming Jews and a supposed Judeo-Masonic-Communist conspiracy for Spain’s imperial decline. He served as Director-General of Security in 1930 under Alfonso XIII, a political post that made him unpopular with liberals and socialists. After the Republic was proclaimed in 1931, a mob attempted to burn his house, but socialist youth prevented it. He surrendered to Minister of War Manuel Azaña, swore loyalty to the Republic, yet was arrested and indicted for repressing Republican opposition. After imprisonment and house arrest, he was exonerated by the Supreme Court. Azaña’s military reforms reduced his seniority drastically, placing him in the Second Reserve. During this idle period, he wrote a chess manual under a pseudonym and three volumes of memoirs attacking Freemasons and Jews. An amnesty in 1934 allowed his return to active service, and by 1935 he commanded Spanish troops in Morocco. Following the death of José Sanjurjo, Mola led Nationalist forces in northern Spain while Franco operated in the south. During the attempt to capture Madrid, he praised Nationalist sympathizers inside the city as a "fifth column," likely the first use of that phrase. He died in a plane crash in bad weather, leaving Franco as the preeminent Nationalist leader; sabotage was suspected but never proven.
- field
- Military officer
- nationality
- Spanish
Lore & Background
Emilio Mola was born in Placetas, Cuba, then a Spanish province, to a Civil Guard captain father and a mother of Catalan origin. During the Second Republic, Mola was arrested and indicted for his actions as Director-General of Security, but was eventually exonerated. After being placed in the Second Reserve, he wrote a chess manual under a pseudonym and three volumes of memoirs criticizing the government. He returned to active service in 1934 and became commander of Spanish troops in Morocco by 1935. He doubted the coup's success and considered fleeing to France. After Sanjurjo's death, Mola commanded the north and praised Madrid sympathizers as a 'fifth column'. He died in a plane crash in bad weather; sabotage was suspected but never proven.
Reader's Guide
Emilio Mola's significance lies in his role as a primary architect of the military uprising that ignited the Spanish Civil War. As 'the Director' of the conspiracy, he coordinated the rebellion across Spain and developed a detailed post-coup plan for an authoritarian state. Mola is also historically notable for popularizing the term 'fifth column' to describe clandestine supporters within enemy territory. His legacy is intertwined with the brutalization of Spanish society during the war, as reflected in his writings about his African campaigns. The unresolved suspicion of sabotage surrounding his death adds a layer of intrigue to his historical narrative.
Did You Know?
- Mola coined the phrase 'fifth column' to describe Nationalist sympathizers in Madrid during the siege.
- He wrote a chess manual under the pseudonym W. Hooper despite not being a chess player, basing it on other manuals.
- His maternal uncle Leoncio Vidal was a leading revolutionary fighter in the Cuban War of Independence.
- Mola's death in a plane crash was suspected to be sabotage, though never proven.
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