Capitan de la Mano de Plata
Antonio Ripoll Sauvalle was born in Cartagena (Region of Murcia) in January 1881 and died in combat at the age of 28, on September 30, 1909, in Zoco el Jemis de Beni-Bu-Ifrur (Melilla, Morocco). A Spanish soldier decorated with the Laureate Cross of San Ferdnando, he fought in the Philippines and in Morocco where he met his death.
The son of Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery of the Navy: Luis Ripoll y Palau and Micaela Sauvalle Gil de Aballe. Antonio entered the Infantry Academy of Toledo at the age of 14 and graduated as a Second Lieutenant, at the age of 15 in September 1896. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion of Espana Infantry Regiment No46 which garrisoned in Cartagena.
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In November 1897 he volunteered to serve overseas and was assigned to the Philippine Army, at his own request, traveling on the steamship Leon XIII, arriving in the islands` capital on December 5th. He was stationed in various locations during 1898: Bianobacto, Bulacon and Manila; where he participated in operations against the insurgents. At the begining of August of the following year, he was promoted to First Lieutenant for his Bravery and outstanding performance during the fighting in the Siege of Manila against the Yankee invaders.
On August 13th, while serving with 3rd Company of 2nd Battalion during the retreat to the city, he was shot in the legs and left wrist, fracturing his ulna and radius! He was admitted to the Old Seminary Hospital in Manila, where the severity of the wound necessitated the amputation of his left forearm halfway between the elbow and wrist. For his actions during the retreat, he was promoted to captain - he was still only 17 year old! This made him the youngest captain in the Spanish Army, he was also awarded the Red Cross Medal for Military Merit.
Due to his disability, on November 27th he boarded the buenos Aires bound for Barcelona, arriving on December 7th. He always wished to remain on active duty and not join the Invalid Corps (where with his record he would most likely have risen more quickly through the ranks). He requested an interview with the Queen Regent - Maria Cristina to whom he begged to remain on active duty, she not only granted Ripoll`s request but also ordered that an aluminium prosthetic arm be made for him and once fitted he was reassigned back to his former regiment - Espana No46 stationed in his home city of Cartagena.
In 1909, when the Second Melilla War began, at his own request, he was again assigned to Melilla, to the Figueras Battalion. The conflict pitted Spanish troops against the savage Moroccan Rif tribes between July and December 1909, in the vicinity of the city. A treaty signed with France in 1904 granted Spain free rein for colonial expansion into northern Morocco. This was a highly desired aspiration of the Spanish government and army as compensation for the loss of the remnants of its empire six years earlier. Silver-bearing lead and iron mines were discovered, which both nations, signatories to the treaty, set about exploiting. To this end, the concessions included permission to build a mining railway to transport the ore from the mines to the port of Melilla. Unfortunately the mining concessions were not to the liking of the local tribes and in October 1908, they began a rebellion harassing the Spaniards who worked in the mines, even bringing the mining train to a standstill!
The concessionary companies pressured the Spanish Government to deploy the garrison troops in Melilla so that they could continue with the operation. Construction of the railway resumed on June 7th, but two days later, a group of Spanish workers were shot working on the railway line which linked Melilla and Beni-Bu-Ifur at the Sidi Musa ravine bridge, resulting in four workers being killed, this attack triggered the Melilla War.
In July (26 – 27) General Guillermo Pintos Ledesma managed to get himself and 153 of his officers and me killed (and another 564 wounded) at Barranco del Lobo! On the 30th of the same month, a reconnaissance operation was carried out from Zeluan to the Zoco el Jemis of the Kabila of Beni- Bu-Ifrur, in the mining area on the northern slope of the Gurugu Massif. The action was carried out by a column of troops from the 1st Division under the command of General Díaz Vicario. In a fierce engagement with the enemy, they managed to halt the advance after inflicting nearly 300 casualties, including 40 dead, among them the commanding general himself. With cavalry support, the staggered withdrawal of the forces was ordered.
Capt. Ripoll who due to his metal left hand, had now earned the nickname “Capitan de la Mano de Plata” (Captain Silver Hand) – though he always wore a leather glove over the aluminium hand; had volunteered immediately for active duty as soon as he heard about possibilities of action! He was assigned to the Figueras Battalion No6 and given command of battalion`s 4th Company.
During the retreat from Zoco el Jemis, Capt. Ripoll`s company was the last to retreat, it came under heavy fire from a house situated on a hilltop. The captain knew he had to dislodge the enemy from the house, so he gathered two sections of his men and ordered them to deploy and fix bayonets! So at the head of just two sections, he attacked the entrenched, tenacious enemy, who by eye witness accounts also outnumbered the Spanish! Capt. Ripoll was seriously wounded in the chest while advancing, but this did not stop him from leading the troops. He encouraged them and led by example, at one point throwing himself alone onto a group of Moors entrenched in some prickly pear cacti, so savage was his attack, that he drove the Riffi out of their position in panic! Soon after however the brave Captain was hit again, this time in the abdomen, then a third time, in the head which killed him! His men were unable to recover thier officer`s body due to enemy fire and were forced to retreat!
A page from Juan Cámara`s comic strip
Some fifteen days later on October 14th, a search team found the Captain`s body which had been badly broken by the vengeful Berbers and his silver hand was missing, taken as a trophy by the enemy! However two days later Caid Amar of the Beni Urriaguel tribe returned the arm/hand to the Spanish as a sign of admiration for a fallen, brave enemy. Captain Ripoll`s body was buried with full military honours at Zeluán cemetery.
When he died, Captain Ripoll was only 28 years old, married to Concepción López Martínez and they had two children: Luis and Micaela.
Captain Ripoll`s commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Burguete, said of the Captain:
"The History of Spain has been made by one-armed men. One-armed Cervantes, one-armed Ripoll... We must all wish that we were missing a hand, because if we have all our arms we cannot aspire to great glories."
The “silver” hand was taken to the Infantry Museum at Toledo and put on display.
The Cartagena City Council, in its session of October 5, 1909, agreed to name a street "Ripoll-Milvaín", to honor his memory as well as that of his half-brother, Eduardo Milvaín Sauvalle, who died gloriously in 1896 in the Cuban wilderness.
Captain Ripoll was recognition of his heroic actions posthumously promoted to the rank of Commander and awarded the Laureate Cross of San Fernando 2nd Class by Royal Order (June 7, 1911).
"Having reviewed the file of the contradictory trial, initiated to determine whether Infantry Captain Antonio Ripoll y Sauvalle was entitled to the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando, for the merits acquired in the combat of September 30, 1909, in el Zoco el Jemis de Beni-bu-Ifrur (Melilla), in which he died gloriously (…) in accordance with the report of the Supreme Cpuncil of War and the Navy in Plenary, and by resolution of this date, it has been seen fit to grant Infantry Captain Antonio Ripoll Sauvalle the Cross of the second class of the Order of San Fernando with the annual pension of 1,500 pesetas, which may be received by the persons of his family to whom it corresponds according to the provisions of article 11 in law”
Also in 1911, coinciding with the awarding of the Laureate Cross of San Fernando, his graduating class commissioned the creation of a medallion for the Infantry Museum, designed by Infantry Commander José Martínez Oteiza and cast by the Duro Felguera Metallurgical Society, which offered to make it free of charge.
In August 1920, almost eleven years after his heroic death, King Alfonso XIII took an interest in the hero and ordered recovery of the remains of Commander Ripoll. These remains were transferred from Zeluán to the Purísima Concepción Cemetery in Melilla. It was ordered that he be buried in niche number 1 of the first row of the Pantheon of Heroes, where he has rested ever since!
Post script
The Cartagena City Council's restoration workshop continues its work recovering the holdings of the municipal art gallery. The workshop director, Isidro Pérez, has just completed the restoration of the portrait of Cartagena-born Commander Antonio Ripoll, painted by the artist Francisco Portela. (News report dated: Tuesday 27 September 2022)
Commander Ripoll`s son a Lieutenant of Engineers, Luis Ripoll López (born 1908) was also a recipient of the Laureate Cross of San Fernando! He died heroically leading his men during the Battle of Jarama in 1937!
Whilst trawling the internet, I found two comic strips based on the life (and death) of commander Ripoll (sample pages above). The first drawn by artist Antonio Hernandez Palacios; the second published in El Faro, written and drawn by Juan Cámara and published by the Center for Military History and Culture of Melilla.
