Amado Granell

Amado Granell Mesado (5 November 1898 – 12 May 1972) was a Spanish military officer. He served on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War before joining the French Foreign Legion. In France, he fought against Nazi Germany during World War II. He led a column of La Nueve of the 2nd Armoured Brigade, which consisted of Spanish combatants, and was the first Allied military unit to enter Paris after being occupied by the Wehrmacht.

Early life Amado Granell Mesado was the son of a woodsman from Burriana, Spain, and enlisted in the Spanish Legion in 1921; he reached the rank of sergeant. While in the service, his father's boat sank during a cruise and Granell returned to the family home for economic reasons. After he married his wife Aurora, the couple operated a motorcycle shop in Orihuela until the Spanish Civil War occurred in 1936.

Spanish Civil War In Orihuela, Granell joined the Comité de Enlace Antifascista and in September, the Volunteer Army, which was formed to defend the Second Spanish Republic. He was assigned to the Iron Column.

World War II The 2nd Armored Division victory parade in Paris on the Champs-Élysées, near the Arc de Triomphe on 26 August 1944.

After spending time in camps that were created by the French colonial authorities, Granell and other ex-combatants were released by Anglo-American forces at the end of the Western Desert Campaign. He then enlisted in the French Foreign Legion; he first joined the Marching Regiment of Chad, which was later integrated into the 2nd Armored Division under General Philippe Leclerc.

After the liberation of Paris, La Nueve was transferred to the German front, where Granell actively participated in taking the Eagle's Nest, the holiday retreat of Adolf Hitler in the Bavarian Alps. Of the 144 men who composed the first La Nueve that landed in Normandy, only 16 survived the war. Ninety-six of the deceased were former Spanish Republican soldiers.

An agreement was made between Don Juan and General Franco that Prince Juan was to be made the future head of state.

In 1950, he opened a restaurant in Paris, which became a meeting point for the Spanish Republicans. He later returned to Spain, where he lived in Santander, Valencia, and Alicante.

Death Granell died in a road traffic accident near the town of Valencia on 12 May 1972