Manuel Hedilla – CAROLINE ANGUS

August 2

Embattled Falange leader Manuel Hedilla, arrested for defying Franco on April 25, has his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment in the Canary Islands. Since the death of Rivera eight months earlier, Hedilla has been in a battle with Agustín Aznar and Sancho Dávila for the role of leader of the Falange, the fascist ultra-right wing conservatives loyal to Franco’s cause. Hedilla has been more moderate throughout the war and does not believe in the Nationalists’ widespread use of horrific violence to take control of Spain. Franco had the Falange party merge with the Carlist groups in April, belittling Hedilla’s leadership, and he was arrested for speaking out. Franco’s brother-in-law suggested Hedilla be spared execution to keep Falange factions happy. Hedilla will only serve four years of his life sentence before being quietly let go, but will go on to write critically about Franco in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

August 6

The tiny town of Torrelavega, 27 kilometres from Santander in the north, sees heavy fighting resulting in the death of 12 Republican troops. Franco is preparing another huge siege in the north and tensions are mounting.

August 7

Private Catholic worship is again permitted by the Republican government. The Catholic Church, heavily involved in the war and supporting Franco, has suffered since the Second Spanish Republic began in 1931. Between 50-80% of priests in many areas have been murdered, along with nuns, monks and church laity, any suffering horrific deaths. Churches and cathedrals have been destroyed and relics have been burned. The Church has been especially cruel to the population for centuries and resistance has led them to take up against the government and support Franco and his fascists.

August 10

The Consejo de Aragón (Council of Aragon) is dissolved by Prime Minister Negrín. Led by Joaquín Ascaso since December from a capital in Caspe (100 kms east of Zaragoza, 200km west from Barcelona), the council ran the huge Aragon province and its attempts at social revolution and anarchist values. Now that Catalonia and its capital Barcelona are back in Republican hands instead of independent leaders, the government now wants all pro-Republican areas under their control. About 700 anarchists are arrested and the council agrees to disband the following day. Those arrested will only be imprisoned a few weeks as mostly communists troops take over the region on the government’s behalf.

August 13

The Nationalist are ready to begin their massive new siege to take the north of Spain. The Army of the North of both sides have been assembled throughout the top half of Spain. General Fidel Dávila has 90,000 troops, 25,000 of them through three Italian divisions. They also have a massive cache of weapons, plus the German Condor Legion aircraft, plus Spanish and Italian planes. Their troops are fresh and the Nationalists are ready after the end of the battle of Brunete at the end of July. The Republicans have 80,000 in the region under General Mariano Gámir Ulíbarri. However, their planes are useless, and morale is low. The Basque soldiers included in the numbers are tired and devastated from a loss of their autonomous region and their capital Bilbao, and are already considering surrendering to Italian troops in order to survive.

August 14

The Nationalist 1st Navarrese Brigade attacks the frontlines between Valdecebollas in the Palencia region and Cuesta Labra in order to block Republican troops south of the Cantabrian mountains. This is in preparation to start capturing Republican territories in the mountain region over the coming week and capture the entire Cantabrian region and Santander city on the coast.

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.

June 6

The Basque Army fighters, fighting alongside the Republicans, lose their last planes when they are shot down. The German Condor Legion planes destroy all their remaining planes, leaving the Republican men in the trenches around Bilbao exposed to Nationalist bombers.

Republicans outside Segovia

Republican Colonel Moriones, who is heading the Republican forces towards Segovia, orders a full retreat. The three divisions and the XIV International Brigade men have been soundly beaten over a week of fighting when they headed from the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains towards Segovia. A total of 3,000 Republicans have been killed, including 1,000 international volunteers.

Republicans outside Segovia seen by Gerda Taro

June 7

Manuel Hedilla, who has been leading northern areas of the fascist Falange party, is tried through a court-martial. The Falange have been merged with other Nationalist supporter groups, and Hedilla is in the way of Franco assuming total control over all right-wing factions. After being arrested in April for not following procedure set out by Franco (read: doing as told) Hedilla is sentenced to death. He is saved by Franco’s brother-in-law Ramón Serrano Suñer, who gets Hedilla a life sentence instead, which turns to only four years in prison. Having sidelined Hedilla allows Franco more control of Falange members and their attacks. Hedilla will remain a pain in Franco’s neck until his death in 1970.

June 11

Nationalist fighters in the Basque country breach the ‘Iron Ring’, the circle built outside the city of Bilbao. A series of fences and underground tunnels, the miles of iron tunnels serve to protect Bilbao and allow safe movements of Republican/Basque fighters. With not enough men or supplies to maintain the Iron Ring, the Nationalists finally break through to start an assault on the Basque capital. Basque President Aquirre is at the front, and sees German Condor Legion planes bombing the Iron Ring at Mt. Urcullu. The three miles of dried forest is bombed and set alight, overwhelming the Basque men inside the protective ring. The Nationalists get through on foot and are only 10 miles from Bilbao itself. The Basque government has no choice but to start a retreat to Santander.

The Republicans to attack the city of Huesca, in order to draw Nationalist troops away from Bilbao, take a hit when Hungarian General Béla Fankl, aka Zalka Mate, aka Paul Lukacs, is killed while inspecting Republican lines outside Huesca. An artillery shell hits his car and Lukacs is wounded in the head and dies hours later, his driver killed instantly. (Some accounts name his death as June 12, during fighting, but killed in the same manner)

June 12

The Republican attack on Huesca begins in the hope of stalling the Nationalist attack on Bilbao. The XII International Brigade, now without their General, join Spanish Republicans under their General and storm Huesca, 300 kilometres southeast of Bilbao, and just 70 kilometres north of Zaragoza. Huesca has been held by the Nationalists through the war and while they lack the men the Republicans have, they are well dug into the area. The Republicans have 50,000 men, mostly anarchists and POUM members from Barcelona, sent after the May Days a month earlier. Thousands of Republicans men are cut down with machine guns and artillery fire in what will become a week-long offensive.