José Sanjurjo y Sacanell, 1st Marquess of the Rif

José Sanjurjo y Sacanell, 1st Marquess of the Rif (1872–1936) was a Spanish Army General officer who was one of the chief conspirators in the military uprising that led to the Spanish Civil War. Sanjuro did not see the war to completion, as he was killed in a plane crash in July, 1936.

José Sanjurjo in Hitler's War
José Sanjurjo was the leader of the Nationalist faction of the Spanish Civil War. He maintained politicial tied with Germany and Italy, both of which provided aid in the form of men and arms. In turn, Sanjurjo supported German Chancellor Adolf Hitler's claims in Czechoslovakia, bringing Spain into the wider European world war.

Sanjurjo was in exile in Portugal in 1936 when the Spanish Civil War broke out. Sanjurjo immediately flew to Burgos, Spain in a small two-seater plane. Sanjurjo, a vainglorious man, had been determined to bring his entire wardrobe with him. However, the pilot, Major Juan Antonio Ansaldo, feared that the weight of the wardrobe would put them (and by extension, the Nationalist cause) at unnecessary risk. Ansaldo appealed to Sanjurjo's vanity, reminding him how important he was to the cause. Sanjurjo relented, and left his wardrobe behind. The plane safely arrived in Burgos, and Sanjurjo immediately took control of the Nationalist forces.

By 1938, Sanjurjo's forces held roughly half the country.

Even so, the knowledge that he had Sanjurjo's support helped bolster Adolf Hitler's confidence as he made demands on the Sudeten region of Czechoslovakia. When a greater European war broke out in September of 1938, Sanjurjo also declared war on Britain and France. He personally led the siege of Gibraltar, and oversaw its fall in early 1939.