Sebastián Pozas Perea

Sebastián Pozas Perea (Zaragoza, 1876 – 1946) was a Spanish military officer and civil servant.

Sebastián Pozas Perea
Birth nameSebastián Pozas Perea
Born1876
Zaragoza, Aragon
Died1946
Allegiance Spanish Republic
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1892–1939
RankGeneral
Commands heldMinister of Interior (1936), Commander of Army of the Centre (1936-1937), Commander of Army of the East(1937-1938).
Battles/warsRif War
Spanish Civil War

Early life

Trained in the cavalry, Pozas undertook extended service in Spanish Morocco, fighting in the Rif Wars and attaining the rank of general in 1926, by order of the Miguel Primo de Rivera government. In the 1930s, Pozas served the Republic as Director General of the Guardia Civil.[1]

Spanish Civil War

When the Nationalists rose against the government on June 18, 1936, leading to the Spanish Civil War, Pozas remained loyal and rallied large numbers of police and paramilitary units to the Republic.[2] In the opening days of war he reorganized the loyal elements of the Guardia Civil into the Guardia Nacional Republicana.

Pozas briefly served as Minister of the Interior[3] before being put in command of the Army of the Center,[4] in October 1936.[5] Nearly overwhelmed along the Jarama in February 1937,[6] the Army of the Centre ultimately flung back the Nationalist pincers closing around Madrid after a bloody campaign culminating in the Battle of Guadalajara. In May Pozas, who has been appointed commander of the Army of the East,[7] led a costly attack toward Huesca that cost the Republic 10,000 casualties.[8] Pozas led the Republican Army of the East at Belchite[9] and Teruel. It is said that during the war he also joined the PSUC)[10] though pro-Soviet sources reject this claim.[11]

Exile and death

In 1939, with the Republic defeated, Pozas journeyed to exile[12] in Mexico, where he died in 1946.

References
  1. Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. p.38
  2. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.234
  3. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.218
  4. Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. p.168
  5. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.424
  6. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.571-578
  7. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. pp.652-653
  8. Thomas 2001, p. 568.
  9. Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. pp.297.299
  10. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.652
  11. Landis, Arthur H. Spain! The Unfinished Revolution. 1st ed. New York: International Publishers, 1975. p. 359.
  12. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.923

Sources
  • Hugh Thomas (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Modern Library. ISBN 0-375-75515-2.
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