Francisco Llano de la Encomienda (17 September 1879 – 1963) was a Spanish soldier who served in Africa and was promoted to General in 1931. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) he remained loyal to the Second Spanish Republic. He was in command of the troops in Barcelona when a military revolt was attempted on 19 July 1936. He was imprisoned by the rebels, and after the revolt was relieved of his command. He was given command of the Army of the North in November 1936 but was not able to form a unified command. He was handicapped by regional jealousies and a mixed command of regular troops and militia. He was dismissed in May 1937 shortly before the north of Spain fell to the insurgents. He took refuge in Mexico after the war.
Life
Early career
Llano de la Encomienda was born in 1879. He gained military experience in the Rif War in Morocco. He had two tours of duty in Morocco, where his performance was excellent. He was promoted to the rank of General in 1931.
Barcelona command
The Republican leaders trusted Llano de la Encomienda. They gave him command of the Barcelona division in February 1936, the 4th Division of the official army, although as a brigadier general he did not have the rank expected for that post. After General Francisco Franco launched his rebellion, Llano de la Encomienda told his officers on 18 July 1936 that he supported the Republican Union party, but given a choice between extremes would back the communists against the fascists. That day he assured the Catalan president Lluís Companys that there was no unrest among the troops in the Barcelona barracks. However, the troops began an uprising in the early hours of 19 July 1936 and captured key points in the city. There were 2,000 military rebels, but the Republicans had the support of the police and could call on 3,000 Civil Guards, 3,200 Assault Guards and 300 Mossos d'Esquadra.
Llano de la Encomienda was indecisive in his response to the crisis. He continued to give orders and make telephone calls in an effort to stop the revolt, which caused some confusion among the rebels. The Nationalist General Manuel Goded Llopis arrived in the city from Majorca and imprisoned Llano de la Encomienda. Led by the anarchists of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI) the workers organized themselves, joined by loyal troops and guards, and counterattacked the next day. After hard fighting they regained control of Barcelona. Llano de la Encomienda was dismissed from his command after the uprising. He was quarantined for a period, since after his poor performance during the revolt the Republican authorities were not completely sure of his loyalty.
Army of the North
The Army of the North covered Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country. These regions maintained considerable political and military autonomy. In the mining region of Asturias the militias were led by Belarmino Tomás, head of the Popular Front committee for that region. The armed forces in Santander (Cantabria) were led by José García Vayas, formerly a battalion commander in Santoña. The Basque militias were militarized on 26 October 1936. José Antonio Aguirre, president of the Basque Country, set up and presided over a General Staff, placed war industries under control of the military and called up reservists. By 26 November 1936 the Basque forces numbered 25,000, with an artillery regiment and support services. They tried to form a Basque army, the Eusko Gudarostea, although the constitution prohibited this.
On 15 November 1936 Llano de la Encomienda was sent to Bilbao. He replaced Captain Francisco Ciutat de Miguel. Although he was technically commander of the Republican Army of the North, he completely failed to form a unified command. He did not have clear instructions about the role he was to play, and friction soon developed with Aguirre. The commanders of the three militia forces resisted any interference. Llano de la Encomienda was even subjected to a customs inspection when crossing the "border" from Asturias to Santander at Unquera. A cheese was confiscated. In November 1936 Llano de la Encomienda launched an attempt to capture Vitoria. This was a key objective, since it would open land communications between the Basque Country and France. The attempt failed.