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Before becoming one of the longest-ruling dictators of the twentieth century, Francisco Franco commanded troops in the kinds of wars that have since become all too familiar. He not only waged vicious counterinsurgency campaigns against Muslim warlords and rebellious tribes in Morocco, but he also led a multinational force to victory in Europe's "dress rehearsal" for World War II - the Spanish Civil War. Born into a military family in 1892, Francisco Franco first made a name for himself leading attacks against rebellious Moroccan warlords and tribesmen and by 1926 was promoted to brigadier general. His role in the ruthless suppression of the 1934 revolution by coal miners in Asturias sealed his reputation for brutality, though Franco saw it as simply carrying out an order in the most efficient manner possible. In 1936, as chief of staff for the military, Franco led a revolt against the Popular Front government of the republic and in October of that year became generalissimo of Nationalist Spain and head of state of an insurgent government, thus touching off more than two years of civil war. In November 1936, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy recognized him as Spain's legitimate ruler a

Geoffrey Jensen, Ph.D., is associate professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi and a leading authority on the Spanish military. He is the author of Irrational Triumph: Cultural Despair, Military Nationalism, and the Ideological Origins of Franco's Spain. He lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.