Category: JULY 1937

This Week in Spanish Civil War History – Week 53/54: 17 – 31 July 1937

Published on by Caroline AngusLeave a comment
July 17

The Republicans are ill, battered, without serious supplies and suffering from their massive losses. They dig in all areas in the Brunete front and prepare for the Nationalist counterattack they know is coming. Some 38,000 Nationalists are coming.

The war is one year old today. Spain is fractured and blood had spilled in every city and village. No one is safe. No end is in sight. No saviour is coming.

July 18

The Nationalists begin their counteroffensive both on the frontlines and in the air at dawn. The Republicans have dug in and hold them off, except for a small portion in the north of Quijorna and east in Boadilla. The Republicans lose many men in the hills outside Quijorna while holding their ground. The air attack is at its heaviest, with the Nationalists have 80 planes in the air, the Republicans 60. British volunteer and well-known poet Julian Bell is killed while driving an ambulance.

July 19

The Republicans launch a huge counteroffensive outside Boadilla on the Guadarrama river. Both sides struggle to fight in the intense summer weather. Losses are mounting on both sides and little is being achieved on all fronts.

July 20

Brunete is still in Republican hands while the frontlines keep changing and each side loses control and then regains it. Three large Republican brigades take 20 tanks and claim Las Rozas south of Brunete. The eastern and northern frontlines remain unchanged and the western front in Quijorna sees huge fighting.

July 24

Republican forces manage to cross the Guadarrama river towards Boadilla but the battle is not moving much in any direction and losses are still mounting in the vicious Spanish summer.  The Nationalists finally break the stalemate and make a push towards Brunete from the south. The Nationalists now have 65 artillery batteries in the south, compared to the Republicans’ 22. Air reinforcements for the Nationalists help and they break into the south of Brunete itself. The 11th Republican division have to retreat north as the Nationalists take Brunete by mid-afternoon. The Republicans in the east are under attack, and more Nationalists from southern Madrid head to the Boadilla area, leading the Republicans to lose their control of the whole area.

July 25

Líster Republican 11th division is north of Brunete near the cemetery and are forced to totally withdraw from Brunete and much of the area is now in Nationalist hands. Republicans are withdrawing on all fronts and there will be no more large battles, only sporadic fighting as the Republicans retreat.

The Republicans are suffering in many ways. The International Brigades have suffered terrible losses, and men are angry, deserting or fighting among themselves and their Spanish counterparts. The Nationalists decide to stop the battles as the men are needed in the north in Santander again.

The famous photographer Gerda Taro is near Brunete when her car is hit by a Republican tank. Taro will die a day after the accident.

Taro would die the day after this photo was taken

July 26

The Republicans have not cut off the Extremadura Road, meaning the Army for the South can still give supplies to Madrid Nationalists, but Republicans do still hold Villanueva de la Cañada, Quijorna and Villanueva del Pardillo. The Republicans have lost upwards of 25,000 men and 100 planes. The Nationalists have suffered also, with 17,000 men lost, though the German Condor Legion have only lost 23 planes in the battles. The International Brigades have lost many men, and their equipment and artillery is in tatters. The Nationalists are heading back to conquer northern Spain, leaving the Communists wounded in pride and numbers, leaving them less powerful among the Spanish government. For all their losses, the frontlines around the area have moved a mere five kilometres in the Republicans’ favour, but the north is back in the firing line after a short break.

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This is not a detailed analysis, just a highlight (lowlight?) of the week’s events. Things get lost in translation – Feel free to suggest an addition/clarification/correction below. The more the world remembers, the better. All photos and captions are auto-linked to source for credit, and to provide further information.

This Week in Spanish Civil War History – Week 51/52: 3 – 17 July 1937

Published on by Caroline AngusLeave a comment
July 6

Under the cover of pre-dawn, the Republican men (between 70-85,000 total for the battle, 22,000 for the initial attack), commanded by General Miaja, sneak deep behind the Nationalist front lines, who lack troops on the ground. Rather than having men along the front lines, the Nationalists have men stationed at a series of towns north and east of Brunete (see map), their headquarters in Navalcarnero, 15kms south of Brunete. At dawn, the Republicans bombard all the towns around Brunete by air with 100 planes brought to the well-planned battle, and heavy artillery is used on the ground, catching the Nationalists off guard. General Líster and his newly reformed 11th division manage to advance 8kms through the front lines and circle around Brunete. By midday, the Republicans have the strategic town of Brunete. While the town does not have anything particular the Republicans want, it was proof they could dig into Nationalist territory and fight their enemy. This was to convince the Soviets to send more aid, and the French to open their borders to arms shipments.

The Nationalists, still commanded by General Varela, quickly pull together reinforcements around the area, and by midday as the Republicans claimed Brunete, the Nationalist 12th, 13th and 150th divisions are ready to fight back. The Nationalists have 45,000 troops in the immediate area to fight back. The Republicans quickly are met with resistance as they seek to storm south of Brunete, but are held in the town. The Republicans, flanked by the 34th and 46th divisions, attempt to break towards Quijorna, 6kms north-west of Brunete itself, but also cannot fight the sudden onslaught of Nationalists. The advance of the Republicans on the first day surprises even themselves, and the XVIII Army Corps, another 20,000 men (the 10th, 13th and 34th divisions) are not deployed, as they were not expected to be needed.

The east-located Republicans, who planned to fight from Carabanchel, the most southern suburb of Madrid, never break through the front lines, the Nationalists close into Madrid in full control of the area. The Republicans use heavy artillery bombing and still cannot break the Nationalists around Madrid.

July 7

An overnight stalemate outside the village of Villanueva de la Cañada ends at 7am when the 15th division, with the British XV International Brigades, take the town and Nationalists flee. The villages of Villanueva del Pardillo and Villafranca del Castillo, 9kms north of Villanueva de la Cañada, are still held by Nationalists. The 15th division need to head to Boadilla, 12km east of Villanueva de la Cañada, so the 10th division attacks the Nationalists on nearby Mosquito Ridge. The Republicans force the Nationalists back to Boadilla, which is only 18kms from southern Madrid.

Fires are starting to break out in the dry landscape outside Brunete due to firepower being used. Neither side make any advancements. The Republicans are keen to fight off each small resistance as they come, rather than moving around them and onto larger targets. This gives the Nationalists time to bring in fresh men.

Republican tanks seen by Gerda Taro outside Brunete

July 8

The Republican XVIII Army Corps of 20,000 men attack under darkness to cross the Guadarrama River and head east towards Boadilla and attack the Nationalists trying to hold the front lines outside Boadilla. Fighting continues after daybreak and the Republicans win, only to be repelled later in the day.

The Republicans in Madrid again attack the front lines at Carabanchel and fail. They will not attack here again as the circle around Madrid is a Nationalist priority and will not fail. The Nationalists also still hold the village of Quijorna west of Brunete. Franco sends 31 battalions, seven batteries of artillery and the entire Condor Legion (around 70 planes) from the Basque Country to help the Nationalists, finally giving the battered Basques a break.  The Republicans still have little more than their WWI artillery and guns with the troops.

International Brigades outside Boadilla

July 9

Two Republican brigades attack Quijorna, and take the village after suffering massive losses. Republican troops headed east towards Boadilla have suffered such great losses that they are now stranded, so close to the village itself. The Republican air support, while starting strong, are now outpaced by the German Condor Legion, who are taking control of the skies.

July 10

The Republican 60th division and XII International Brigades take Villanueva del Pardillo with tanks. Around 500 Nationalists are captured along with precious ammunition. Nearby Villafranca del Castillo is surrounded by Republicans by the 10th and 45th divisions.

Taken by Gerda Taro with Republican men outside Brunete

July 11

Colonel Jurado of the XVIII Army Corps plans a huge assault on Villafranca del Castillo, but falls ill and is replaced by co-leader Colonel Casado, who cancels the assault due to morale and fatigue. They are forced to engage by Republican leader General Miaja. The Nationalists are reinforced from a division arrived from Navarre and repel the assault. The Nationalists then try to take back Villanueva del Pardillo, but fail. Overhead these villages, huge air battles are being fought, up to 30 planes flying in formation against similar numbers in retaliation, with losses on both sides.

On the ground throughout the whole area, both sides are suffering horrific losses. American communist Oliver Law, commander of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, is killed while fighting on Mosquito Hill, the ridge outside the town of Boadilla, among heavy Republican losses.

July 12

France decides to open its border with Spain (the point of the Brunete attack, to show Spain’s strength), and enormous amounts of weapons and equipment is shipped into Spain over several days, vital for the Republican cause to continue. France has violated the Non-Intervention clause, but this is retaliation for the Fascist Germans and Italians constant assistance the war on behalf of Nationalists.

July 14

The Republicans are suffering huge losses, not just from fighting. The extreme heat in the area plus lack of water has injured many men. Most Republican brigades, Spanish and International, have lost between 40 to 60 percent of their men in a week. The XIV International Brigades have lost 80 percent of the men. Total losses have not yet been tallied though between 15,000 and 20,000 Republicans are now dead, the Nationalists suffering similar.

Republicans outside Boadilla

July 16

British volunteer Major George Nathan dies while commanding the XV International Brigades when a bomb detonates at his post near Boadilla. Attacks on all fronts are now minor and General Miaja of the Republican Army wants to end the offensive. The Republicans have Brunete and have cut off the Extremadura Road. The Basque country is relieved by diverted Nationalist troops and planes. The Republicans look strong in the eyes of the French and Soviets again, and their main objectives have been achieved. However the Nationalists surrounding Madrid have not yet been totally cut off from the Army of the South.

July 17

The Republicans are ill, battered, without serious supplies and suffering from their massive losses. They dig in all areas in the Brunete front and prepare for the Nationalist counterattack they know is coming. Some 38,000 Nationalists are coming.

The war is one year old today. Spain is fractured and blood had spilled in every city and village. No one is safe. No end is in sight. No saviour is coming.

Republicans dig in outside Brunete

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This is not a detailed analysis, just a highlight (lowlight?) of the week’s events. Things get lost in translation – Feel free to suggest an addition/clarification/correction below. The more the world remembers, the better. All photos and captions are auto-linked to source for credit, and to provide further information.

This Week in Spanish Civil War History – Week 49/50: 19 June – 3 July 1937

Published on by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

June 21

Andreu Nin, the leader of the POUM is assassinated. After being held for four days in a secret Communist prison in Alcála de Henares and tortured, Soviet KNVD members kill Nin. Nin never gave the Soviets the information they interrogated him and his fellow members for, or never had the information.  The exact details of Nin’s killing will never be fully established. Nin had been the leader of the POUM (Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification) for two years, and stood against fascism and Stalinism, and in favour of workers and peasants’ rights. Nin’s death by Soviet agents marked the demise of both the POUM and its revolutionary movement. Hundreds more are killed or imprisoned after Nin’s death. While Communists and anti-Stalinists are technically both anti-fascist and against Franco’s Nationalists, the constant fighting between leftist factions is a huge contributor to the Republicans being by Franco’s men.

June 24

Bilbao is now fully in the hands of the Nationalists and hundreds of thousands have fled either over the border into France or west towards Santander and the Galician coast. The total toll of the Bilbao battle is not established, but the defeated Republican/Basque fighters had started with 50,000 troops, the winning  Nationalists with 75,000 (including 15,000 Italians, which only around 105 killed). Nationalists give out food to some of the remaining women in the Basque region, those who were unable to flee the city. The strategic production factories of the Basque country are now in Nationalist hands.

June 27

The high point of Soviet intervention in the SCW is coming to a close. The Soviet Union has been sending regular shipments of military equipment to Spain to help the Republicans, in return for Spain sending its gold to the Soviets, who get the better end of the deal, grossly overcharging the Spanish government. At this stage, there are over 1000 Soviet tank crews on the ground in Spain and the bulk of trained pilots fighting for the Republicans are Soviet. The communist faction of the Republican clause is now strongest than ever and the diplomatic relations between the Spanish and Soviets remains strong in an effort to defeat fascism in Spain. But now shipments will become sparse and Soviet men will be withdrawn from Spain as the Nationalists continue to win and the Republicans suffer massive casualties and lose ground.

June 30

The front line around the Aragon region is a huge 450 kilometres stretch from the Pyrenees down to the city of Teruel. The Republicans have far more troops in the region and the Nationalists have not made the area a priority. The Republicans have already attacked Huesca and failed, and are yet to attack Teruel. As a large Brunete battle is being mounted west of Madrid, the Republicans decide to start planning an offensive of the historical village of Albarracín, 35 kilometres west of Teruel. That way, the Nationalists will be forced to keep troops in the Aragon region instead of attacking Brunete. The front lines on the east side of Madrid around Jarama and Guadalajara still have not moved since their offensives early in the year. The Albarracín offensive is prepared for early July.

XV International Brigades outside Brunete

July 2

The preparation for the battle of Brunete is almost complete. Brunete is 30 kilometres west of Madrid, and is chosen as it is on the Extremadura Road. The Nationalists hold the region of Extremadura and use the roads to supply troops circling Madrid. By cutting off supplies, the Republicans aim to save the city of Madrid from the Nationalists. Once Brunete is taken, then the Republicans plan to march 100 kilometres southwest to Talavera de la Reina, which has been held by the Nationalists for the whole war, nearing on one year. This will cut off Nationalist troops from the southern strongholds. Republican troops at Carabanchel, the southern suburbs of Madrid, will be launched at the same time to tie up Madrid-based Nationalists.

The Communists within the Spanish government have been pressing to take Brunete for months, and are pulling Soviet aid back at the same time, as Republican ports have been taken by Nationalists. Spanish Prime Minister Juan Negrín wants France to open its borders to allow arms shipments through, but first they must prove to the French they are capable of military action. The offensive has been well planned and with large-scale reorganisation of the Republican men and equipment. Experienced commanders are put in place and will operate a surprise attack, despite being planned for three months. Upwards of 85,000 men are placed ready to take the hilly terrain with new Soviet tanks, attacking the Nationalists who have 20,000 fewer troops in the region. The attack is planned for July 6.

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This is not a detailed analysis, just a highlight (lowlight?) of the week’s events. Things get lost in translation – Feel free to suggest an addition/clarification/correction below. The more the world remembers, the better. All photos and captions are auto-linked to source for credit, and to provide further information.