October 1937 – CAROLINE ANGUS


October 10

Franco’s Navarrese Brigade are still heading west into Asturias, and reach the small town of Cangas de Onís. The town, deep in the Picos de Europa, is only 65kms from the city of Gijón, which is preparing for invasion.

A mixture of Republican fighters and International Brigades are still keen to take ground in Aragon, and after minimal gains for heavy losses in the battle of Sabiñánigo, they again plan to attack along the Ebro river in the Zaragoza area. Fighting in the rural areas is sparse and it gains little for either side scattered through the region.

October 13

The Madrid Council, representing socialist parties and workers’ unions, confronts the Spanish government (currently in Valencia) over the influence of the PCE (Partido Comunista de España, Communist party of Spain) in the Republican government. They also protest the recent expulsion of Caballeristas, socialist parliamentary supporters of former prime minister Francisco Largo Caballero.

Caballero in Madrid

October 17

Th Consejo Soberano, the Sovereign Council of Asturias and Leon, decide to evacuate, due to the large number of Nationalist soldiers entering the region from fallen Cantabria. The Consejo Soberano is based in Gijón and officials and their families are taken out of the city for their safety. Asturian villages to the west of Gijón are abandoned, as the 1934 miners revolt is still a fresh horror for those living in the mountain areas. Guerilla style groups form, to help protect rural areas from incoming Nationalists, but none have the numbers or resources to save anyone. These men will fight to the death and light houses on fire with dynamite if they flee.

Socialist Francisco Largo Caballero is arrested in Madrid while giving an anti-PCE speech at Pardina cinema. He is placed under house arrest in Madrid and held responsible for the Madrid Council’s anger.

The Condor Legion march through Gijon

October 21

The Nationalist Army of the North finally reaches Gijón. The fall of the city is as bad as expected; rape and murder goes uncontrolled for days as those still in the city are subjected to the Nationalists’ cruelty. Countless thousands are raped and murdered in the first few days of the invasion, and no official count of those tortured and killed is ever recorded. The soldiers plundering the city are so busy with killing, their jurisdiction is called ‘the machine gun’. Unlike many other Republican-held cities, Gijón cannot put up a fight; many have fled, many are already refugees from other cities, they is no international back-up and the atrocities committed are not well-documented or photographed. Wholesale slaughter brings Asturias’ largest city under control within days.

I do not post photos of women raped to death, or mass bodies lined up before firing squads. While the majority of these types of widespread depravity happened earlier in the war, Gijon managed to hold out longer than most main centres. Regardless of when it happened, I do not post such photos. You can search for yourself if you are into such perverse behaviour.

October 30

The Republican government has been safe in Valencia for a year. Valencia is far from the front line and is a base for many Republicans and Spain’s elite who do not side with Franco. Valencia does still suffer many air raids, and the government decides to leave Valencia and move north to Barcelona, despite the Catalonia region not being stable like Valencia.

Need to catch up? – SCW history : October 1936

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.

September 18

The battle of El Mazuco continues along the summits of the Peña Blancas. The German Condor Legion planes are brought in now the heavy fog has cleared, to assault the Republican hold over the Bedón river, which runs from the village of Vibaño right of the sea, only 12 kilometres away from the front line now. The Condor Legion bombed the Bedón river region in three waves from midday with both Fiat fighters and German Junkers. Sixteen battalions of Nationalists also stormed the ground with machine guns and grenades to fight the Republicans back further. The continuous onslaught will continue for four days.

September 22

The constant aerial bombardment has finally taken its toll on the El Mazuco Republicans. The crucial El Mazuco pass area is finally captured by the Nationalists and all the summits of the Peñas Blanca are in Nationalist hands. The death toll on both sides is unknown out in the inhospitable landscape. The Nationalists have been vastly slowed by the assault on El Mazuco, and had expected to be in Asturias much sooner. The Republicans west in Asturias have had precious time to regroup and prepare for the Nationalist invasion.

Those who have attempted to defend the El Mazuco pass are considered heroes after losing their honour in Santander, even though they have ultimately lost. Gijón in Asturias is the last Republican stronghold in northern Spain, and the Nationalists can now move into the area, as well as extra Nationalists being brought in from León the south.

September 22

The Battle of Sabiñánigo begins in the Aragon region. The Republicans 27th and 43th divisions go north from the Huesca region to the town of Sabiñánigo. They have around 14,000 men and heavy artillery. The Nationalists have 10,000 men in the area, the 1st Brigade and the 50th National Division. They are spread out over the region, as far north as Biescas 14 kilometres from Sabiñánigo. The battle marks the start of a slow-moving ground battle which will last seven weeks, and cost 6,000 lives for little gain for either side.

David Seymour – Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio SPAIN. Asturias region. Volunteers of the International Brigades

September 27

The Nationalist which claimed the Peñas Blancas and the El Mazuco pass are now making steady process east to take Gijón and Asturias. They take the town of coastal Ribadesella, some 30 kilometres west from the mountain battles. Combined with Nationalist forces marching both from León, the city of Gijón, 90 kilometres west of Ribadesella, is preparing for battle.

October 1

Nationalist northern troops capture the town of Covadonga, 27 kilometres inland from Ribadesella, and only 75 kilometres southeast from Gijon. No area in the Asturian region has the men to repel the invading Nationalists and there is no opposition to the men taking the area.

Rations Coupons Used During Spain Civil War Asturias 1937

The UGT Unión General de Trabajadores, worker’s trade union, expels Francisco Largo Caballero, one-time Prime Minister of Spain. Caballero has been travelling through Spain holding allies against Communists and Stalinism. Current Prime Minister Jose Negrín makes no attempted to save Caballero, and Spanish parliament fires all parliament members with close ties to Caballero. While the Communists are strong Spain, they are not well liked among the vast majority of people in Republican or Nationalist areas. But the strength of the Communists, especially in the Barcelona area, cannot be defied.

October 5

American president Roosevelt denounces fascist aggression in Spain, though he does not outright denounce Franco, or support the Republican cause and government in any way. While many nations accept that what is happening in Spain needs to end, no one is prepared to step in and help. The rise of fascism in Nationalist Spain is denounced, as the rise of the Communism for the Republicans cause, leading many nations to steer clear of the war entirely, which shall come back to do harm, as Hitler and Mussolini could have been crushed before the start of WWII.