Audacity, idealism, nobility of spirit, hope and faith! These are the attributes that dwell in the soul of the Spanish when they are true sons of the Church, a precious treasure inherited from centuries of struggle in defence of Christianity. And to prove this, we do not need to go back very far in history… We only need to look at one of the most dramatic events in the annals of this valiant nation: the recent Civil War.
The Alcázar of Toledo: bastion of tradition
The year was 1936. Toledo, a city located sixty-four kilometres south of Madrid, was known throughout the world for its swords, its churches and its sacred art. Tradition and good customs were still alive on the streets and in homes, despite the growing hostility against Religion that was beginning to spread throughout the country. For this reason, and because it was one of the possible gateways for the conquest of the capital, the city had become one of the greatest targets of hatred for the enemies of the Faith. It would not be possible to cover in this article all the outrages that, until the end of the conflict, they committed against the churches, priests and religious!
But if the atrocities of the wicked were great, the heroism of the good was even greater! Noteworthy, in this sense, is the resistance of a handful of men and women who took refuge in the ancient Alcázar of Toledo,1 located at one of the city’s highest points. The Alcázar had once been the residence of monarchs and had served as a military academy since 1878.
The fortress consisted of a group of buildings: a rectangular building with an internal courtyard, a hospital turned into a museum, called Santa Cruz, the government building, an old Capuchin monastery converted into cadet accommodation, the refectory and the manège, which was used as a riding school. At the beginning of the conflict, with the exception of the old hospital, the entire complex was under the control of the resistance fighters.
Now, much more than a strategic bastion, already widely used in other times, the Alcázar was a living symbol of Catholic Spain. And Colonel Moscardó, the highest-ranking active military officer at the time, knew this well.
The first signs of the storm
José Moscardó was a corpulent, calm man, a lover of horses and sports, of average intelligence and affable countenance. However, his peaceful temperament could not hide the flame of hatred he harboured against the prevailing atheism. He was perhaps the worst enemy of the infidels in the entire province!
The attempts to reconcile extremes – on the one hand, the clergy, monarchists and military; on the other, socialists, communists and anarchists – made at the time by governments led by moderates, had failed completely. In fact, the middle ground had never been a successful path in Spain… A huge explosion was about to take place, and it was not long before events precipitated a military uprising, far from there.2
Moscardó, contacted by the republicans, refused to supply them with ammunition from the arms factory in Toledo, despite realizing that, as a consequence, they would certainly descend upon the city to exact severe retaliation. In fact, there were soon rumours and some local clashes: soldiers were attacked and churches desecrated… Everything was heading towards a bloody culmination.
Toledo’s declaration of war
Meeting with some officers on July 18, 1936, the brave colonel announced to them: “Gentlemen! Today the Province of Toledo will join the uprising! You have the floor.” After everyone had acclaimed the decision with cries of “Viva España!”, some, anticipating an arduous struggle, remarked the fact that they lacked sufficient reserves of weapons and food. Moscardó, however, replied: “Do not worry. God will provide.”
Without a doubt, Moscardó was a man of faith! However, little did he know that he would have to resist a three-month siege with only 1,200 soldiers – 35 of whom deserted – 1,400 rifles, 22 machine guns and a few grenades… And this against an enemy incomparably more numerous and powerful, armed with mortars and cannons. It would be a prodigy! There also had to be considered an additional 555 non-combatants under his care, including children, women and nuns.
After a council of war, the colonel decided to publicize Toledo’s resolution to joined the rebellion. He did this with the clear intention of moving the hearts of undecided Spaniards, still asleep on the wall of mediocrity… He wanted to encourage them to defend their ideals in the region!
However, the combatants had no time to lose. On July 21, the troops presented arms before a statue of Charles V, while Captain Vela3 read out the proclamation declaring that Toledo was at war with Madrid. Due to the lack of men, Moscardó thought it prudent to gather close to the academy all the detachments hitherto scattered around the province, as they would not be able to withstand a motorized column marching from the capital towards the city. Twelve hours later the enemy troops arrived, and their commander, General Riquelme, telephoned Moscardó demanding his surrender. The request was refused.
“Why are you taking such a defiant stance?” – Riquelme asked.
“Because I love Spain! Besides, it would be dishonourable to surrender weapons made for caballeros to your red mob.”
“Then I will take them.”
“I have been informed, General.”
Within hours, the Alcázar found itself surrounded in the middle of an area that had adhered to the Republic. The drama had only just begun!
The price of glory
Moscardó’s family members were in evident danger ever since he proclaimed his adherence to the uprising. At seven o’clock on the morning of July 23, some communist militiamen led by lawyer Cándido Cabello found them hiding in an apartment. And when young Luis, Moscardó’s twenty-four-year-old son, turned up, Cabello saw him as a unique opportunity to gain entrance to the Alcázar…
It was three in the afternoon when Cabello phoned the colonel:
“You are responsible for all the crimes and everything that is happening in Toledo. I am giving you ten minutes to surrender. If you don’t, I will shoot your son Luis, who is by my side.
“I believe you,” replied Moscardó.
“And so that you know it is true, he is going to say something.”
He handed the phone to the young man.
“Papa,” said Luis.
“What’s wrong, my son?”
“Nothing. They say they will kill me if the Alcázar does not surrender. Do not worry about me.”
“If it is true, entrust your soul to God, shout ‘Long live Spain!’ and die a hero. Goodbye, my son, I send a kiss.”
“Goodbye, Papa, a big kiss.”
When Cabello got back on the phone, Moscardó said:
“You can also waive the deadline you have given me. The Alcázar will never surrender!”
It was Moscardó’s great hour: the hour of sacrifice and generosity! For some lukewarm hearts, this would be the greatest folly a man could commit. But those who analyse life with supernatural eyes know that before the great victories of history, God demands great sacrifices from his elect! Was not Abraham justified because he believed in God and was therefore prepared to sacrifice the son of promise (cf. Gn 22)? And – an incomparable example! – did God not give His own Son to die on the altar of the Cross for the salvation of the human race?
Like the Saviour, in the case of Moscardó, no Angel appeared to stop the hands of the sacrificer… Luis was shot a month after the phone call. When the siege was over, the colonel learned that his son Pepe had also been shot. Falling to his knees under the weight of such sorrow, he murmured: “Is this the price of glory?”
Yes, and as well as glory, this was the price of the perseverance of those who resisted to the end and a magnificent example of faith and audacity for the whole of Spain. Reports say that during the first days of the siege there were many discussions inside the Alcázar. But after this event, who could complain about their own situation? The commander’s sacrifice lifted the spirits of the besieged, making him a symbol of the uprising of the real Spain against the Bolshevik threat. From then on, his leadership would be undisputed in the old Toledo fortress.
The situation turns precarious…
The shortage of food was alarming: they only had a few kilos of food and a reservoir of raw wheat mixed with rat nests and rubbish… The meagre supply could feed them for a maximum of ten days.
After a few days of frugal meals, nature began to claim its toll. It was then that they thought of something inconceivable in times of peace: eating the horses! There were ninety-seven of them, and there were still twenty-three mules living there. However, in order to get the people to agree to sacrifice the precious animals, a psychological game had to be played… From the first days of the siege, Moscardó had ordered the writing of a small “newspaper”, which would circulate the external and internal news of the fortress on a regular basis. Always published on time, El Alcázar was only delayed twice because the typist-editor was wounded… When the idea of horses came up, an editorial appeared in its pages which was quite convincing for a Spaniard: “The horse is a clean and elegant animal; it only drinks and eats the best… All prejudices against it are unfounded. […] The nutritional value of horsemeat is superior to that of cattle…”
Once the attempt was successful, the academy’s menu began to change a little, with the addition of a new item: horsemeat pie, the crust for which was made from flour mixed with horse tallow… When the quadrupeds ran out, an almost miraculous deposit of wheat was discovered nearby, which would provide the besieged with a tiny loaf of bread every day, made according to each person’s ingenuity until the end of the resistance. However, food was still so scarce that when the war ended and they had their first contact with their liberators, the latter thought they were seeing walking corpses instead of human beings.
Communist militiamen fire at the Alcázar during the siege
In addition to hunger, many other deprivations made the situation in the fortress extremely precarious. The constant bombardments destroyed the electricity system; all the water they had came from a dirty pool which, once empty, served as a grave for the dead. The stench emanating from the Alcázar, caused by the rotting bodies and horse carcasses dumped in the courtyard, could be smelled through the streets of Toledo! Lice plagues produced sores on the combatants and, if the physical suffering was not enough, the psychological oppression they suffered from their enemies was much greater: insults against religion, the authorities and their own families…
Of course, the barrage accompanying these tribulations was also suffocating. As was customary, the “alcazareños” counted the projectiles launched against the fortress: 10,100 cannon shots, 2,000 mortar shots, 500 bombs, 30 air raids, as well as countless grenades and shots from rifles and machine guns… in just 70 days!
However, everyone’s spirits remained firm, rising above material contingencies.
The Virgin of the Alcázar against the infernal mines
Like good knights, the defenders would not allow women and children to take part in the battle, and would rather die than see them suffer any harm! For this reason, during the attacks, defenceless civilians remained in the cellars, as it was a safer place. One day, however, while they were hiding there, they heard noises coming from the ground below. They soon realized that an underground mine was being prepared.
For several days, detailed analyses were carried out to discover the exact location of the mine and try to mitigate the effects of the explosion. Meanwhile, going beyond practical measures, Moscardó decided to prove to the Republicans that God exists and that victory belongs to those who have faith.
The infirmary was identified as one of the areas that would surely be blown up. They evacuated the place, turned it into a chapel and placed a statue of Our Lady there, trusting that this would be a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the attackers the disparity between the powers involved: the Virgin Most Powerful against the despicable infernal hosts.
That day, El Alcázar announced: “Do not worry! The Reds have no discipline and the masses refuse to obey the officers. Trust in God and in your officers.” At around 11pm on September 17, the Republicans took to the streets shouting: “Toledo is going to be dynamited! Flee the city quickly!” Newspapers all over the world announced the explosion, and many reporters and observers flocked to the outskirts of Toledo to contemplate the supposed triumph over the obstinate resisters.
At half past six in the morning, the mines exploded. An immense black cloud rose into the Toledo sky. Towers toppled, walls were demolished and smoke was everywhere… But the miracle had happened! Almost everyone was alive and therefore the Alcázar was still standing. The survivors danced, sang and shouted long live Christ the King.
Moscardó hurried to check what had happened in the improvised chapel and found a woman praying before the Virgin. Just thirty centimetres to one side, there was a pile of shattered stone… The image of Our Lady had taken a fall, but remained intact! In the end, it had been proven to everyone that God was stronger than any atheist bomb!
The moment of the explosion of the mines
Meanwhile, the Republican media announced that their soldiers were already taking over the fortress, and that all that remained was to exterminate a few survivors…
The end of the siege
On September 27, the troops of the Spanish Army finally came to the aid of the besieged, causing the communists and anarchists to flee the city in their victorious march. When they entered the fortress, they found half-alive men, their faces pale and furrowed with pain and hunger. The “alcazareños” could not believe what was happening to them!…
Moscardó, for his part, before celebrating his well-deserved victory, went round all the guard posts to make sure there were no enemies left in the city.
In the days following the liberation, reporters from all over the world sought him out, wanting to project him as a Hollywood-type hero; but all they found was an aged and exhausted man, who answered all questions with the same response: “Everything was a miracle at the Alcázar!”
In fact, struggle and sorrow, purified by the refiner’s fire of faith, had transformed what had been considered a deranged Don Quixote into a new Cid Campeador! ◊
Notes
1 All the historical references cited in this article were taken from: EBY, Cecil D. O cerco do Alcázar de Toledo. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 1965.
2 This was the Alzamiento organized by soldiers quartered in Spanish regiments in Africa against the anti-clerical government of the Second Republic, which triggered the clashes of the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939.
3 Captain Emílio Vela Hidalgo. He was one of the combatants during the siege.
