Manuel Hedilla - Clash With Franco

Clash With Franco

Although nominally the Falangist leader in Santander, Hedilla was based in A Coruña when the northern uprising began. He thus took charge of securing this city and was responsible for the bloody repressions. Despite this Hedilla, who was on the left wing of the Falange and emphasised the proletarian and syndicalist nature of the movement soon became a critic of the indiscriminate violence being perpetrated by the Nationalists. Following the death of José Antonio Primo de Rivera Hedilla was nominated as his successor but he was soon at the centre of a power struggle between himself and the legitimistas led by Agustín Aznar and Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis. Hedilla's pro-social reform position won the support of the German ambassador General Wilhelm Faupel and, although Hedilla was not directly involved, his followers took the initiative in Salamanca on April 16th 1937 by attempting to wrest control of the Falangist headquarters from rightist leader Sancho Dávila.

In the aftermath of the event Hedilla secured his own leadership of the Falange two days later although his triumph was short-lived as Franco checked his power by immediately announcing the formation of the Spanish Traditionalist Phalanx of the Assemblies of National-Syndicalist Offensive as a grand party of all his followers, including Hedilla's followers. Problems were escalated when Hedilla's close ally José Sáinz Nothnagel sent a telegram to Falangist leaders telling them to ignore all merger orders apart from those delivered 'through proper hierarchical channels'. Whilst the message was vague as to whom the proper channels actually meant it was taken by Franco and his supporters to be a warning that only Hedilla should be obeyed and thus increased tension. Believing that his power would be increased by maintaining Falangist independence, Hedilla refused to join the council of the new movement. However he overestimated his power and was arrested on April 25th and sentenced to death the following month. However, on the advice of Ramón Serrano Súñer, who feared losing the Falange, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and ultimately Hedilla would only serve four years. Mindful of the need to keep the Falangists onside, Franco appointed another 'Old Shirt', Raimundo Fernández-Cuesta, as leader of the Movement.