Moscardo was a semi-retired army officer who sided with the Nationalists at the outset of the Spanish Civil War which broke out on in July 1936.
He became the Commandant of the Alcazar Fortress in Toledo Province after loyalist Republicans took control of the province. They lay siege on the fortress for 71 days until they were relieved by the insurgent Army of Africa led by General Francisco Franco.
Earlier during the siege, Colonel Moscardo had recieved a phone call from a Republican officer offering to bargain Moscardo's son, who had been captured, for the surrender of the fort. When his son was brought to the telephone Moscardo instructed him to commend his soul to God and die like a patriot. Moscardo then shouted:
His son Luis replied, "That I can do Papa".
After the siege and conquest of Toledo, Colonel Moscardo was appointed to serve as the military governor of Toledo Province.
After the war, he was given the title of Count of the Alcázar de Toledo and made a Grandee of Spain.
Franco gave him permission to wear a black cloak over his uniform so that every Spanish officer that he encountered would know his name.
Moscardo attained the rank of Lieutenant General before his death in April 1956, aged 77. This was posthumously elevated to Capitán General del Ejército, the highest rank in the Spanish military.
© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).
Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.
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