Franco Lands at Al Hoceima: The Legion's Moroccan Gambit
A 32-year-old colonel named Francisco Franco led Spanish forces ashore at Al Hoceima Bay in a complex amphibious assault that most military planners had called impossible. The landing, coordinated with French forces, broke the back of Abd el-Krim's Rif rebellion within a year. Franco returned to Spain a decorated national hero. That reputation — built in the dust of Morocco — would eventually carry him to something far larger and far darker than any beachhead.
September 8, 1925
101 years ago
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