Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator by Geoffrey Jensen. Potomac Books, Inc. (http://www.potomacbooksinc.com), 22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, Virginia 20166, 2005, 160 pages, $19.95 (hardcover), $12.95 (softcover).

From May 1980 to June 1983, I was at an air base 10 miles northeast of Madrid, Spain. Francisco Franco had been dead for five years, and a young King Juan Carlos was trying to establish democracy after 35 years of dictatorship. I soon learned that many members of the older generation, wary of “democratic government” and its social ills, yearned for “the good ole days” under Franco. In February 1981, to punctuate the fragility of Spain’s democracy and Franco’s lingering influence, some conservative military officers seized the National Assembly in Madrid, hoping that the king and army would abolish democracy. Fortunately for Spain, the king—with the army’s support—took command, and the rebellion melted away.

In this short biography, Geoffrey Jensen—holder of the John Biggs ’30 Cincinnati Chair in Military History at the Virginia Military Institute and a leading authority on modern military history, the Spanish military, and counterinsurgency—has produced an excellent overview of the life of the modern world’s longest-sitting dictator at the time of his death. The subtitle accurately reflects the author’s framework of the book, dividing Franco’s life into three major stages. Throughout this concise and well-paced biography, Jensen consistently shows us how Franco’s military experiences influenced his political career as the Nationalist leader during the civil war and then as dictator of Spain.

Although his father was a naval officer, Franco became an army cadet. After commissioning, he steadily rose in rank, helped by assignments to Spain’s Army of Africa and its campaigns against the Rif tribesmen of Morocco. He returned to Spain as the commandant of the new military academy. He went back to Morocco and reluctantly joined the Nationalist rebellion against the government in May 1936. Within a year, Franco had become the de facto head of the rebellion. After the end of the civil war, Franco worked to establish a viable government while walking a thin line between the Allied and the Axis powers during World War II. After the war, taking advantage of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, Franco garnered acceptance and economic aid from the West. In his waning years, he coached future king Juan Carlos, hoping he would continue Franco’s rightist, conservative government. After the dictator’s death in 1975, Juan Carlos instituted a constitutional monarchy instead.

Of particular importance to Franco’s development as a military leader, to which Jensen makes regular references, were his experiences with the Spanish Army of Africa and the Spanish Foreign Legion in their campaigns against the Rif tribesmen. Jensen points out that Franco developed his ruthlessness as the Nationalist leader during the civil war and then as dictator during his tours of duty in North Africa. Faced with an enemy who often mutilated Spanish corpses, the Spanish soldiers and officers demonstrated a growing acceptance of brutality and inhumanity, likewise terrorizing their Arab opponents. Not immune to such influences, Franco practiced and condoned similar conduct during the civil war and his follow-on regime.

Jensen also emphasizes Franco’s development as an operational-level commander. Although Franco was no strategic genius, “he had grasped the importance of the operational level of war [that level between the tactical and strategic levels which serves to link the two] very early, at a time when technology made rapid advances” (p. xii). From his combat experiences in North Africa, he came to promote cooperation among all military arms and services. These experiences would serve him well in defeating the Republican armies during the civil war. For example, he ensured that his staff included officers skilled at operational planning. Jensen regularly mentions Franco’s “joint” experience during his combat tours in North Africa.

Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator is a good book for the general reader as well as the military historian. He provides an excellent critical analysis of Franco’s life but does not get bogged down in details and minutiae, although on several occasions, he digresses a bit into less-relevant issues. Overall, I highly recommend this book.

Dr. Robert B. Kane
Eglin AFB, Florida

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

Book Reviews | Home Page | Feedback? Email the Editor