The Chief of Defence presides over the presentation of the book ‘Al Hoceima 1925. One hundred years since the historic landing’

• The event was held at the Higher Centre for National Defence Studies

The Chief of Defence (JEMAD), Admiral Teodoro E. López Calderón, presided over the presentation of the book ‘Alhucemas 1925. One hundred years of the historic landing’, which took place on Monday 6 October at the Higher Centre for National Defence Studies (CESEDEN) in Madrid.

Also in attendance were the Chief of the Navy (AJEMA), Admiral Antonio Piñeiro; the Chief of the Air and Space Force (JEMA), Air Force General Francisco Braco; the Deputy Director General of Publications and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Defence, General José Manuel Vivas; and the Director of CESEDEN, Lieutenant General Miguel Ballenilla, as well as a group of defence attachés accredited in Spain.

The Chief of Defence congratulated the Spanish Military History Commission, part of the CESEDEN organisational structure, for ‘the excellent results of its work’ in producing this book and expressed his hope that its publication ‘will serve to raise awareness of a brilliant milestone in Spain's military history, which unfortunately remains largely unknown’.

Now that 100 years have passed since this feat, we find ourselves in a geopolitical moment that presents urgent and crucial challenges for our Armed Forces. We are facing the emergence of a new, constantly evolving operational environment, characterised by the concept of multi-domain operations, which presents us with situations that demand the same capacity for innovation and adaptation that Spain demonstrated a century ago in Al Hoceima," he said after reviewing some of the fundamental aspects related to the landing in Al Hoceima.

Analysis panel

During the event, a panel discussion was held to analyse joint and specific military, tactical and logistical aspects of the Al Hoceima landing, with the participation of three of the book's authors: Colonel (R) Jesús Albert Salueña, Captain (R) José María Blanco Núñez and General Jorge Clavero Mañueco, who discussed the most relevant aspects of the land, sea and air operations of the landing, respectively.

The moderator was the director of CESEDEN, who emphasised that the landing at Alhucemas can be considered the first major joint-combined operation in Spanish military history.