extremadura – CAROLINE ANGUS

This Week in Spanish Civil War History – Weeks 133 – 137: 1 – 28 February 1939

Published on February 18, 2019 by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

February 1

Prime Minister Negrín, holding a meeting at Figueres Castle, suggests a surrender to Franco, on one condition – those left living would be respected and they could vote on how a new government would be formed. Franco does not accept this surrender.

February 2

The Nationalists who took Barcelona have made the 100 kilometres hike north and take Girona, which no longer has any Republican protection.

February 3

The Nationalist troops from Girona hike another 15 kilometres north, to catch up with any refugees still trying to escape to France. They are now only 50 kilometres from the border to France, and will close the border once they arrive. German planes are still bombing refugees from the air.

February 4

After a month of fighting, the Valsequillo Offensive comes to end, as Nationalist forces around Peraleda del Zaucejo on the Extremadura/Andalucia border recapture all the area the Republicans had initially captured. At one stage, the Republicans had 500 square miles of land taken, though none had any strategic benefit, and the Nationalists have quickly taken it all back. The Republicans have suffered 6000 deaths and casualties, only 2000 for the Nationalists in an utterly pointless battle.

February 7

The island of Menorca, still held by the Republicans, is captured by the Nationalists by ship, with no resistance. Mallorca has been Nationalist-held for most of the war, and now the smaller island of Menorca is simply brought into the fold. Only one person is killed, but the Republicans start planning a coup with Prime Minister Negrin.

February 8

All Republican troops are ordered to get to the border and are now also allowed to cross into France, along with the hundreds of thousands of refugees trying to reach the border. On foot, or on carts or trucks, Republican Spaniards are facing sleet and snow to try to reach France.

February 9

The Nationalist troops finally reach the border into France. Between 400,000 to 500,000 Republican refugees have survived to get into France. The Republican president Manuel Azaña, Prime Minister Juan Negrín, Republican Army chief of staff Vicente Rojo, and Catalonian president Lluís Companys and his Catalan government have all made it over the border. Most people have crossed in the region have crossed at Le Perthus, but Prime Minister Negrín crosses back into Spain.

February 10

The final Republican troops of General Modesto’s Army of the Ebro cross into France, just in time, as the border into France is totally sealed by Nationalist troops. Anyone still on the Spanish side has to side with the Nationalists, or would be killed or oppressed. With Catalonia totally in Nationalist hands, the Republicans have lost 200,000 troops and the entire Catalan war industry. But the Republicans still hold thirty percent of Spain, and their Prime Minister is back in the country and confident they can continue to resist.

Refugees heading for the brutal refugees camps in France

February 12

The 10.30am train arrives in Xàtiva Railway Station, sixty kilometres south from Valencia, carrying the 49th mixed brigade of the Republican army, to be transferred north. The station was also filled with family and friends of the troops when five Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers arrive from Mallorca and drop twenty 250kg bombs from 13,800 feet. The bombing makes a direct hit on the train, killing 129 people, 109 instantly. Most are troops, though 14 women and three children are also killed. A few surviving troops are still sent on to join other brigades, as the 49th was too decimated to continue with any plans. Another 200 people are injured in the brutal attack.

February 13

From Burgos, Franco publishes his Ley de Responsabilidades Políticas (Law of Political Responsibilities). The law states that anyone who opposed the Nationalist rebellion and coup in July 1936, and anyone a member of any Republican party from October 1934, is guilty of military rebellion (ironically). As the law is backdated to 1 October 1934, all Republican sympathisers and members can be prosecuted for aiding the Republican rebellion (again, how ironic).

The Ley de Responsabilidades Políticas punishes people with fines ranging from 1000 pesetas through to confiscations of all assets. Anyone prosecuted could also be punished with restriction of movement and activities, forced to live where appointed and possible loss of Spanish citizenship, depending on their level of Republican association. Anyone dead or disappeared (either as refugees in France or those killed and dumped in the war) will have their remaining family members prosecuted on their behalf.

Between 1939 and 1945, 500,000 people, dead or alive, will be prosecuted, some two percent of the population.

February 27

Both France and Great Britain decide to end their role in the Non-Intervention agreement and recognise Franco and his Nationalist government in Burgos. With the threat of European war, and half a million Spanish refugees in the south, France has their border with Spain blocked, with Franco’s ally Germany also causing strife. France needs to focus on itself and endorses fascism in Spain, as Germany and Italy have done throughout the war.

Britain has less reason to endorse Franco. Labour leader Clement Attlee, Leader of the Opposition, is furious with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s decision. He stated, the first voice to do so, that Britain was hypocritical after almost three years of “non-intervention,” yet their lack of intervention is instead the thing that has helped fascism spread through Europe.

This is not a detailed analysis, just a highlight (lowlight?) of the month’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 – Weeks 132 – 133: 21 – 31 January 1939: 80 Years Since the Fall of Barcelona

Published on January 27, 2019January 27, 2019 by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

Civilians line up for food in Barcelona in freezing weather

January 21

Today marks the first of four days of successive bombing in Barcelona by Nationalist aircraft, with ten flyovers bringing bombs into the streets. After almost three years of war, Barcelona is weary, despite being far from the front until now. The Nationalists are fast advancing through Catalonia, with little or no resistance.

January 22

The Nationalist counteroffensive in Valsequillo is five days old, and they have taken all 500 square kilometres the Republicans have taken over the month. The Nationalists take the strategic town of Peraleda del Zaucejo, on the Extremadura/Andalucia border. The only other town the Republicans hold falls only three days later. The Republicans have lost almost 6,000 men by this time, for no gain at all.

General Solchaga and General Yagüe’s Nationalist troops reached the Llobregat river, just a few kilometres west of Barcelona, Generals Muñoz Grandes and Garcia Valiño attacked Sabadell and Terrassa, and General Gambara advances to Badalona. Barcelona is now surrounded by the Nationalists and the three lines of defense set up around Barcelona, composed of all men aged 18 -45, with all the city’s industry militarised, cannot save the city. Prime Minister Negrín gets a call from the head of the Republican Army, General Rojo, to tell him that the frontline around Barcelona has been completely shattered.

January 23

The Republican government decides to abandon Barcelona as the capital and heads for Figueres Castle, and most of Barcelona’s political prisoners are released. Much of the population of the city is now fleeing north towards France, and the men on the frontline have either been killed or have retreated from advancing Nationalists. The aircraft overhead are still bombing Barcelona ten times per day.

January 25

One day after General Garcia Valiño’s men capture Manresa, the Nationalist vanguard takes the town of Tibidabo, the highest mountain around Barcelona, which overlooks the entire city. The Nationalists are now on the outskirts of Barcelona and all the defensive lines are gone.

Sadly, some in Barcelona felt like fascism was liberation. Talk about messed up

January 26

Nationalist troops march through the streets of Barcelona, where General Yagüe’s Regulares begin their execution spree. While Barcelona is ravaged, the Catalonia offensive is halted briefly, meaning many civilians who have fled north towards France have no advancing troops at their backs . But the German Condor Legion and and Italian Aviazione Legionaria continue their campaign from the air, bombing towns and roads on the 160 kilometre hike to the French border.

January 28

The town of Granollers, thirty kilometres north of central Barcelona is captured by the Nationalists. Just eight kilometres north of Granollers, the town of La Garriga has 10,000 people, 7,000 of them Madrid and Basque refugees, and now has the remaining Republican troops under General Lister hiding with them. With the Nationalists in Granollers, the men have to leave, while the refugees have nowhere to go but towards France, if they dare.

January 29

The Italians send ten bombers to La Garriaga, and bomb the town over two days, though Republican troops are gone, leaving 13 civilian casualties; one local, five refugees and seven children. Bombing La Garriga’s train station means getting north is much harder for Republicans.

January 31

The French government, who announced they opened the border on January 28, start receiving the first of 400,000 – 500,000 refugees into the country, those who are first to make the walk through the snow. Republican troops are not yet permitted to enter, yet the remaining men are flanking the refugees on their dangerous walk, while the German Condor Legion continues to bomb them from overhead. Once the Nationalists reach the frontier, they plan to close the border, meaning there is nothing but executions and oppression for all remaining Spaniards who opposed the rebel invasion. They have only ten more days to make the freezing, bomb-ridden march towards France, while starved and/or injured and all traumatised.

This Week in Spanish Civil War History – Week 76: The Battle of Teruel 23 – 31 December 1937

Published on January 2, 2018January 3, 2018 by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

December 23

Franco knows his planned Guadalajara offensive is futile, as Teruel needs all of the manpower in the area, despite anger from the German and Italian allies who want to take Madrid and end the war.

December 25

In the small city of Cáceres in the far western region of Extremadura, 34 men are murdered, some taken from the dinner table during quiet Christmas Day meals. A shooting range is set up at the barracks of the 27th Algiers infantry regiment, where sixty Guardia Civil men could kill the chosen victims. Among the victims was the socialist Mayor Antonio Canales and President of the Provincial Council Ramón González Cid. Others were local trade union members, teachers, UGT members and Republican sympathisers, some already under arrest for months. The province had been under Nationalist control since the beginning of the war, but false rumours of an uprising led to the deaths. No plans by Republican or Communist members were planning an uprising, only lies spread by local Nationalist leaders. The story of a fake coup led by Máximo Calvo was announced by the Falange on December 23, leading to the arrests and execution of the men. It would be the start of one month of scheduled killing around the area, leading to a total 196 dead, including 14 women, all executed for non-existent crimes.

Nationalist Colonel Domingo Rey d’Harcourt has been trying to hold out while reinforcement troops arrive in Teruel. Now two generals, Antonio Aranda and José Enrique Varela have arrived, with fresh experienced men, and the Condor Legion has arrived to attack Teruel from the air.

December 30

Nationalist men are already making gains, by getting on the La Muela (Teruel Tooth) mountain beside the town. The weather continued to close in on both sides, making defense and attack slow and dangerous.

December 31

The Republicans have continued their assault on the four strategic buildings the Nationalist held in the town -the Convent of Santa Clara and the Seminary of Santa Clara, the Bank of Spain building, and the Civil Governor’s Building. By the time the new year began, all the Nationalists inside the Convent of Santa Clara had been murdered.

The final day of 1937 saw the start of a vicious four-day blizzard, with frostbite that will claim lives and limbs while the fighting continues. But 1937’s final day also saw the Nationalists hold their position on the Teruel Tooth, and get into Teruel’s bullring and railway station, both at the lowest southern point of the town. With the temperature at minus 18C, machine guns are frozen, and the reinforcement Nationalist troops do not enough warm clothing to make many gains.

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 – November 1937: The Halfway Point

Published on November 10, 2017November 10, 2017 by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

In a war which lasted almost three full years, November 1937 is the approximate halfway point in the destruction of Spain. Spain was already a deeply divided nation, struggling with multiple inside forces and serious social and economic issues, and while civil war is tragic, Spain had come to a point where it was inevitable. The working class was deeply oppressed and dire need for salvation, which could come from nowhere but within. Franco’s initial coup in July 1936 was thwarted only by the men and women who rose up in haste, without training or preparation, in a desperate attempt to free themselves and save their country from fascism.

(Before we continue, this is a quick round-up of posts I have done throughout the war, not a detailed breakdown. Ease up on the posts saying I wasn’t specific enough. You have been warned. All links open a new tab so you don’t lose the timeline of the events).

The opening weeks of the war saw Spaniards forced to take sides, to align themselves with the military taking control of their cities and towns, often with the Guardia Civil on their side, or instead arm themselves as best they could and align themselves with the Spanish government, the Republican side, to try to hold off the rebels. Within weeks the battle lines were strong; much of southern Spain was conquered by a marching army of rebels, with massive bloodshed in cities and countryside alike. Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona were firmly Republican and fighting within themselves, while in the north, the Basques, Cantabrians, Asturians and Galicians fought to maintain their autonomy over the rebels. Slaughter occurred in Santander and Asturias as rebels initially overpowered these centres, only to be beaten back again. Much north of Madrid beneath these independent areas backed Franco and the killing continued. Click here to read Weeks 1 and 2: July 1936

August saw thousands slaughtered in the summer heat. The battle of Badajoz saw up to 4000 killed in days. Cordoba suffered massive fighting and killing as troops stormed the southern city. The famous poet Federico García Lorca was taken and murdered outside Granada. While Madrid continued to defend itself, the nearby town of Talavera de la Reina suffered mass slaughter. Click here to read all of August 1936

September saw the huge attack on the Alcazar of Toledo, as well as the formation of the International Brigades, all foreign volunteers who decided to flood into Spain in an effort to stop fascism taking hold. Major nations such as England, France and the US decided to say out while Hitler and Mussolini decided to back their fascist mate Franco.

Through October and November the killings continued, the Spanish government collapsed, and the Catalonia and Aragon regions in the northeast began life as anarchist regions, creating their social revolution where control was handed back to the people. The siege of Madrid began as Franco fought to take the capital and end the war, and the Russians provided tanks and equipment to aid the socialist/anarchist/worker unions/communist Republicans. In the north, and Asturias took heavy losses as they were bombed from the air by German planes. After leaving Barcelona, Buenaventura Durruti was killed in Madrid, a huge set-back for the social revolution in the northwest. Also in Madrid, Falange leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera is executed.

By the time the year ended, Madrid had been heavily bombed but not taken by the rebels, and the International Brigades had set up and integrated (as well as they could) into the Republican troops. The Republicans were not taking much ground but continuing to hold main centres in the east, along with Madrid. Click here to read all about December 1936

January and February held battles fought in heavy fog and rain, including much fighting outside Madrid, and Jarama, just northwest of the capital. Militias in Catalonia and Aragon held fast to their social revolution, while the Basques suffered heavy losses again as they held off the rebels. In Málaga in the south, the city was invaded when they could not defend themselves, sending thousands to flee along to the coast to relatively safe Almeria. Thousands were slaughtered as they walked the perilous road, where refugees were exposed, then bombed and shot as they fled. Click here to read about the Málaga/Almería massacre.

The bloody battles of Jarama and Guadalajara continued through March, and in April, 32,000 children started being shipped from the Basque country overseas in order to save their lives. The rebel army of the north is intensifying its efforts, with the now-infamous bombing of Durango and Guernica.

May saw the intense bombing of the new Republican capital city of Valencia, along with the fighting in the May Day fighting in Barcelona. June was an especially brutal month, with huge frontlines drawn up along the region of Aragon, battles in the Sierra de Guadarrama outside Madrid, Bilbao in the Basque Country was bombed and invaded, and in Barcelona, leader Andreu Nín was kidnapped and murdered in a Madrid prison.

Battles around Madrid, in Boadilla, Sierra de Guadarrama and Brunete saw huge fighting and casualties for both sides as the war reached its first anniversary. Legendary war photographer Gerda Taro was killed outside Brunete, and no nation except Russia comes to the Republicans’ aid as they are slaughtered by the fascists and their Moorish soldiers.

August 1937 focussed on the north. With the Basque region taken by the rebels, they turned east to take Santander in the Cantabria region. By September, the fascists again moved east again to take Gíjon in the Asturias region, with heavy mountainous battles taking place on cliffs that had kept Asturias safe from invaders for centuries. By October, Asturias was defeated by the northern army and could keep going west to claim Galicia, and Valencia is stripped of its title of capital of Spain in favour safer Barcelona. The Republican alliances of multiple militias fell apart, and many are fired from government and imprisoned, political alliances were ruined, and the dislike for the powerful communists pulled the left apart. The social revolution has suffered setbacks, including heavy battles and losses in the Aragon region, and there was breakdown of working class support in Barcelona.

By November 1937, the frontlines have moved little in some time, with the exception of the conquering of the northern regions. Madrid remains in Republican hands, along with the Valencia, Aragon, Catalonia and Almería region in the east. All regions have suffered serious losses, but little ground is gained in seriously bloody battles.The north is now under Franco’s control, along with all the south and the western Extremadura region. The strong left-wing cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are targets for the well-trained fascist brigades. The month of November saw little of major battles taking place, as both sides are exhausted from the fighting, and small breakouts of fighting yield little results for either side. The new target for the fascists is Teruel, a strong city in the Aragon region, which is about to see one of the war’s biggest fights go down in a particularly brutal winter.