 Complete the following phrase:  Born into a military family, he entered the Toledo Infantry Academy in 1909. He received the rank of lieutet in 1925 and participated in the Rif War as an officer in the Group Ceuta No 3 of the Regulares. At the time of the Spanish coup of July 1936, he held the rank of captain of the same regiment of the Regulares in Ceuta. He joined the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War and at the head of a unit of the Regulares crossed the Strait of Gibraltar aboard the destroyer , disembarking in Cádiz and securing control of the city. Promoted to commander, he moved to Jerez de la Frontera, where he headed several columns composed of right-wingers and landowners with whom he participated in various military operations in the provinces of Cádiz and Seville, capturing Arcos de la Frontera and Olvera. Later his unit also participated in the advance towards Madrid, crossing Extremadura and the Tagus River valley. During the heavy fighting with the Spanish Republican Army for control of the capital, he fought in the Casa de Campo, Carabanchel, Ciempozuelos and the 