Emilio Esteban Infantes
| Emilio Esteban-Infantes | |
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General Esteban Infantes as an officer of the Wehrmacht, 1943
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| Birth name | Emilio Esteban-Infantes y Martín |
| Born |
May 18, 1892 Toledo, Spain |
| Died | September 6, 1962 (aged 70) Gijón, Spain |
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| Years of service |
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| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Blue Division |
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Emilio Esteban-Infantes y Martín (May 18, 1892 – September 6, 1962) was a Spanish soldier and staff officer who served during the Spanish Civil War, and later in World War II as commander of the Wehrmacht's Blue Division (Spanish División Azul, German: Blaue Division), or 250. Infanterie-Division of the German Army integrated mostly by Spanish falangist volunteers. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded by the Third Reich to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Infantes was born in Toledo on May 18, 1892. In 1907, aged 15, he entered the Toledo Military Infantry Academy where his classmates included Francisco Franco and Juan Yagüe. Graduating in 1910, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant and was sent to join the Spanish African Army in Morocco. In 1912, at only 20 years of age, he received a meritorious promotion to Captain during combat activity in the prolonged Rif War which lasted from 1909 to 1927. By 1928 he had achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and in that year, following the end of the Moroccan war, was appointed a Professor at the Zaragoza Military Academy by its new director, General Francisco Franco.
He was in Madrid on July 17, 1936, when the military insurrection against the Republican government began and had to quickly escape to Burgos where he joined the Nationalist forces under Franco. As a result, he was sentenced to death in absentia by the Republican government. During the war, he held various major military appointments including Chief of General Staff of the Castillian Army Corps during the Brunete offensive in July 1937 and the subsequent Battle of Teruel between December 1937 and February 1938. He then took over as Colonel in command of the 5th Division of Navarre and received the Military Medal for his contribution to the ultimate success and victory of the Nationalist forces. In May 1940, a year after the civil war had ended, he was promoted to Brigadier-General in command of the Army General Staff of Morocco and Military Region IV.
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