Talk:Emilio Mola

Removed uncited and biased claims
I removed claims that were not supported by any material and a claim by a Marxist historian, who would clearly portray a biased view of a conservative general. I support the inclusion of sources that are recognized to be fair in treatment, or if there is to be biased opinion included that it be juxtaposed by the opinion of more well-known historians.--Zulu, King Of The Dwarf People (talk) 18:36, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Rif War
The article indicates that Mola participated in the Rif War (a disambiguation page), but it does not clarify which one. Could someone please edit the link in the infobox to point to the appropriate article? Thank you, -- Black Falcon (talk) 16:11, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

Resting Place
Neither Sanjurjo nor Mola are buried in the "Valle of the Fallen" in Madrid, both are enterred in the crypt of the "Monument to the Fallen" in Pamplona. --Will (talk) 02:29, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

"military governor" of Pamplona/Navarre
this article as I found it stated that “in February 1936 Mola was made military governor of Pamplona in Navarre”. Though in loose talk this might seem acceptable, in an encyclopedic entry it is not.

Mola was not appointed “military governor”, neither of Pamplona nor of Navarra. The reason was that the post of military governor has been abolished as part of the so-called Azaña reform of 1931-1932. The decree of June 16, 1931 in its article 6 declared that “Queda suprimido el cargo de Gobernador militar” (Justo Alberto Huerta Barajas, Gobierno y administración militar en la II República Española, Madrid 2016, ISBN: 978-84-340-2303-1, pp. 241, 508).

In fact, Mola was nominated commander of the 12. Brigada de Infantería (La Rioja 04.03.1936, p. 8, Ahora 01.03.1936, p. 22). As this unit was the largest military unit of the Pamplona garrison, the nomination made him also “comandante militar de la plaza”, the commander of the Pamplona garrison, formally the highest military authority in Pamplona and informally the highest military authority in Navarre. The 12. Brigade formed part of VI. División Orgánica, with its headquarters in Burgos and commanded by general Batet, who was Mola’s immediate superior.

Yes it is true that in numerous works Mola is referred as “military governor of Pamplona” (Beevor, The Battle for Spain), at times even capitalized as “Military Governor” of Pamplona (Preston, A people betrayed); some present him as “military governor of Navarre” (Ealham, Richards, The Splintering of Spain). This is the case also in Spanish, see „gobernador militar de Pamplona” or “gobernador militar de Navarra” (these two even in one single work, Villatoro, Viana, Historia de la Guerra Civil sin mitos ni tópicos). All these references are, if taken literally, wrong. They might eventually pass as somewhat metaphorical phrase referring to Mola as the supreme military commander in both Pamplona and Navarre, but they still sound anachronistic and misleading. I am afraid in an encyclopedia this phrase has no place at all.

Sure there are many works which correctly present Mola as either commander of the 12. Brigade of commander of the Pamplona garrison (Redero San Román, de la Calle Velasco, Castilla y León en la Historia Contemporánea, Gallego, Pazos, Archivo Goma: Julio-diciembre 1936, Romero, Tres días de Julio, Mera Costas, 18 de julio de 1936: El día que empezó la Guerra Civil, Pérez Vejo, ‎Mainer, Mera Costas, La España del siglo XX en siete días).

changing “military governor of Pamplona” to “commander of the Pamplona garrison”. regards, --2A02:A317:2144:1A80:E121:A418:9430:E7D7 (talk) 08:02, 10 September 2023 (UTC)