Citizendia

Battle of Madrid
Part of the Spanish Civil War
DateSiege:November 1936-March 28, 1939. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nationalist assault, November 8, 1936 - early December 1936. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
LocationMadrid, Spain
ResultRepublicans repulse assault on Madrid in 1936, but city falls to Nationalists in 1939
Belligerents
Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain
Commanders
José MiajaFrancisco Franco,
Emilio Mola
Strength
42,00020,000
Casualties and losses
~5,000 dead or wounded (including civilians)~5,000 dead or wounded
casualties refer to the November 1936 battle only

The Siege of Madrid was a three year siege of the Spanish capital Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country José Miaja Menant ( Oviedo, Asturias, 1878 - Mexico, January 14, 1958) was a Spanish Army Officer in the Second Spanish Republic Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid Emilio Mola Vidal ( June 9, 1887 &ndash June 3, 1937) was a Nationalist commander during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39 Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of Madrid was held by forces loyal to the Second Spanish Republic and was besieged by Spanish Nationalist and allied troops under Francisco Franco. The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid The Battle of Madrid in November 1936 was the most concentrated fighting in the city, when the Nationalists made their most determined attempt to take Madrid. The city, besieged from October 1936, eventually fell to the Nationalists on March 28, 1939. Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Contents

Uprising - Madrid held for the Republic (July 1936)

The Spanish Civil War began with a failed coup d'etat against the Popular Front government of the Spanish Republic by right wing Spanish Army officers led by Francisco Franco on July 18, 1936. A popular front is a broad Coalition of different political groupings often made up of leftists and centrists who are united by opposition to another group The Spanish Army ( Ejército de Tierra in Spanish; literally "Land Army" is one of oldest active armies in the world and a branch of the Spanish Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In Madrid, the Republican government was unsure of what to do. It wanted to put down the coup, but was unsure if it could trust the armed forces and did not want to arm the CNT and UGT trade unions and potentially precipitate social revolution. Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( CNT; English Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Unión General de Trabajadores ( UGT, Workers' General Union The term social revolution may have different connotations depending on the speaker On July 18, the government sent units of the Guardia Civil to Seville to put down the rebellion there. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, The Civil Guard ( Guardia Civil) is the Spanish Gendarmerie. It has both military and civilian functions However, on reaching that city the guardias defected to the insurgents. On July 19 Santiago Casares Quiroga resigned as Prime Minister, to be succeeded by Diego Martinez Barrio. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. Santiago Casares Quiroga ( A Coruña, Galicia, May 8, 1884 – Paris, February 17, 1950) was a Spanish Diego Martínez Barrio (1882 Seville —1965 Paris) was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic, and was briefly appointed He tried to arrange a truce with the insurgent general Emilio Mola by telephone, but Mola refused the offer and Martinez Barrio was ousted as Prime Minister by Jose Giral. Emilio Mola Vidal ( June 9, 1887 &ndash June 3, 1937) was a Nationalist commander during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39 José Giral Pereira ( Santiago de Cuba, 1879 - Mexico, 1962 was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic. Giral agreed to arm the trade unionists in defence of the Republic, and had 60,000 rifles delivered to the CNT and UGT headquarters (though only 5000 were in working order). In a radio broadcast on the 18th, the Communist leader Dolores Ibarruri coined the famous slogan ¡No pasarán! (they shall not pass), urging resistance against the coup. Dolores Ibárruri Gómez, also known as La Pasionaria (the Passion flower) ( December 9, 1895 &ndash November 12, " They shall not pass " ( catalan: "de ''No passaran!''" French: "fr ''Ils ne passeront pas''" German: "de ''Sie kommen The slogan was to become synonymous with the defence of Madrid and republican cause in general.

At the same time, General Fanjul, commander of the military garrison based in Montaña barracks in Madrid was preparing to launch the military rebellion in the city. However, when he tried to march out of the barracks, his 2,500 troops were forced back inside the compound by hostile crowds and armed trade unionists. On the 20th, the barracks was stormed by a mixture of workers and asaltos ("assault guards," an urban police force) loyal to the government (perhaps 10,000 fighters in total). The blue-uniformed Guardia de Asalto (Assault Guard were the urban police force of Spain, during the Spanish Second Republic. The fighting was chaotic, and on several occasions some soldiers within the barracks indicated their willingness to surrender, only for other troops to keep firing at the attackers, killing those who had advanced to take their surrender. Eventually the barracks fell when the asaltos brought up a 75mm field gun to bombard the complex and its gate was opened by a sapper sergeant sympathetic to the Republican side. A sapper is an individual engineer soldier usually in British or Commonwealth military service The sergeant was killed by one of his officers, but his action allowed the Republicans to breach the walls. A number of soldiers were massacred by the crowd, enraged by the apparent false surrenders, after the fall of Montaña barracks.

Thereafter and for the remainder of the war, Madrid was held by the Republicans. However, its population contained a significant number of right wing sympathisers. Over 20,000 right wingers sought refuge in foreign embassies in the city. The weeks that followed the July uprising, saw a number of fascists, or fascist sympathisers (as the left termed them) being killed in Madrid by Republicans. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology For example, on August 23, 70 prisoners from the Model Prison in the city were massacred in revenge for the Nationalist slaughter of over 1,500 Republicans after the storming of Badajoz. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire The Battle of Badajoz was one of the first major Nationalist victories in the Spanish Civil War. Badajoz - (IPA, formerly written Badajos in English the capital of the Spanish province of Badajoz in the autonomous community

Nationalist "Drive on Madrid" (August-October 1936)

The initial strategy of the military plot had been to assume power all over the country in the manner of a Pronunciamiento (military coup) of the nineteenth century. However, the resistance to the coup by Republicans meant that instead of this, Franco and his allies would have to conquer the country by military force if they wanted to seize power. Franco himself had landed in Algeciras in southern Spain with Moroccan troops from the Spanish Army of Africa. Algeciras - Arabic: الجزيرة الخضراء is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest urban area on the Bay of Gibraltar The Spanish Army of Africa was a Spanish field army that garrisoned Spanish Morocco from the early 20th century until Morocco 's independence in 1956 Mola, who was in command of the colonial troops as well as the Spanish Foreign Legion and Carlist and Falangist militia, raised troops in the north. The Spanish Legion ( Spanish: Legión Española or simply La Legión) formerly Spanish Foreign Legion, is an elite unit of the Spanish Carlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on This article is about the Spanish political party For the Lebanese Phalange see the Kataeb Party. Together, they planned a "Drive on Madrid" to take the Spanish capital, Franco advancing from Badajoz, which he took in August and Mola from Burgos. History Early man of Neanderthal occupied sites around Burgos as early as 800000 years ago Franco's veteran colonial troops, or regulares, under General Yague, along with air cover supplied by Nazi Germany, routed the Republican militias in their path. Regulares (Spanish for "Regulars" officially called the Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas) was the name commonly used to designate the volunteer Infantry Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Yague argued for a rapid advance on Madrid, but Franco overruled him in favour of relieving the Nationalist troops besieged in Toledo. Toledo Spain locationpng|thumb|right|200px|Location of Toledo in Spain This diversion held up their attack on Madrid by up to a month — giving the Republicans time to prepare its defence.

Meanwhile, in the city, the Republican government had reformed under the leadership of socialist leader Francisco Largo Caballero. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, commonly abbreviated by its Spanish initials PSOE ( P artido S ocialista O brero E spañol is Francisco Largo Caballero ( October 15, 1869 - March 23, 1946) was a Spanish politician and Trade unionist He was one of Caballero's government included 6 Socialist party ministers, 2 Communists, 2 from the Republican Left party, 1 from the Catalan Left party, 1 Basque nationalist and 1 Republican Union minister. The Communist Party of Spain ( Partido Comunista de España or PCE) is the third largest national Political party of Spain. The Republican Left ( Izquierda Republicana; in Catalonia it ran as Partit Republicà d'Esquerra, and in Galicia as Esquerda Republicana The Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya ERC) is a left-wing Catalan independentist political party in Spain campaigning for This is about the former political party in Spain there was also a Republican Union party in Puerto Rico Although the communists were a minority in the government, they gained in influence through their access to arms from the USSR and foreign volunteers in the International Brigades. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The International Brigades were Republican Military units in the Spanish Civil War, formed of many non-state sponsored volunteers of different countries The Republican military commander in Madrid was nominally a Spanish general, Jose Miaja, but Soviet military personnel were perhaps more important. José Miaja Menant ( Oviedo, Asturias, 1878 - Mexico, January 14, 1958) was a Spanish Army Officer in the Second Spanish Republic General Goriev was their overall commander. General Smushkevic controlled the air forces sent from Russia and General Pavlov commanded their armoured forces. In spite of Soviet aid, most of the Republican defenders of Madrid (c. 90%) were militias, raised by left-wing political parties or trade unions, who elected their own leaders. The Republican command had relatively little control over these units in the early phase of the Civil War.

On the other side, both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy supplied Franco with air cover and armoured units for his assault on Madrid, while the German Air Force units in Spain, the Condor Legion were commanded independently of Franco's officers. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Kingdom of Italy ( Italian: Regno d'Italia) was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom The Condor Legion (Legion Condor was a unit composed of "volunteers" from the German Air Force ( Luftwaffe) which served with the Nationalist The Nationalists reached Madrid in early November 1936, approaching it from the north (along the Corunna Road and west Estremadura road. The Autovía A-6 or Autopista AP-6 (also called Autovía del Noroeste) is a Spanish Autovía and Autopista route which starts in Madrid The Autovía A-5 (also called Autovia del Suroeste) is a Spanish Autovía which starts in Madrid and ends in Badajoz. On 29 October, a Republican counter attack by the 5th (communist) regiment under Enrique Líster was beaten off at Parla. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Enrique Líster Forján ( April 21 1907, Ameneiro A Coruña &mdash December 8 1995, Madrid) was a Spanish Parla is a municipality of the Madrid Metropolitan Area. On November 2, Brunete fell to the nationalists, leaving their troops at the western suburb of Madrid. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Brunete is a town outside Madrid, Spain. There was a major battle, fought there during the Spanish Civil War. Mola famously remarked to an English journalist that he would take Madrid with his four columns outside the city and his "Fifth column" - composed of right wing sympathisers within it. A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group to which it is expected to be loyal such as a Nation. The term "fifth column" became a synonym for spies or traitors on the Republican side and paranoia regarding them led to massacre of nationalist prisoners in Madrid during the ensuing battle. Believing the capital was about to fall, the Republican government under Caballero abandoned Madrid on 6 November for Valencia. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Valencia ( Valencian: València, Valencia Spanish phonology --> is the capital of the Spanish autonomous General Miaja and the political leaders who remained formed the Junta de Defensa de Madrid (Committee for the Defence of Madrid) to organise the republican defenders.

However, the Nationalist's attempt to capture Madrid had some serious tactical drawbacks. For one thing, their troops were outnumbered over two to one by the defenders (although the Nationalists were far better trained and equipped). Another disadvantage was their inability to surround Madrid and to cut if off from outside help.

Battle for Madrid (November 1936)

A Republican T-26 tank in the streets of Madrid.
A Republican T-26 tank in the streets of Madrid. The T-26 was a light tank used by the Soviet Union from the 1930s until World War II.

Preparations

The Republicans had a geographical advantage in defending Madrid - the river Manzanares separated the Nationalists from the city centre, representing a formidable physical obstacle. The Manzanares is a River in central Spain, which at one point passes through Madrid. Mola planned his assault on Madrid for November 8, 1936. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He planned to attack through the Casa de Campo park (on a front of only 1 km (0,6 miles) wide) to try to avoid street fighting, as the park was open country and lay just across the river from the city centre. The Casa de Campo is a large urban Park situated west of central Madrid, ( Spain) Mola's initial intention was to take the University City, just north of the city centre thus establishing a bridgehead across the Manzanares. He also launched a diversionary attack towards the working class suburb of Carabanchel to the southwest of the city centre. Carabanchel is a Neighbourhood in the south western suburbs of Madrid, Spain. However, on 7 November, the Republicans had captured plans of the attack on the body of a Nationalist officer and therefore were able to concentrate their troops in the Casa de Campo to meet the main attack. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat

Initial attack

Mola attacked on November 8 with 20,000 troops, mostly Moroccan regulares, supported by Italian light armour and German Panzer I tanks under German officer Wilhelm Von Thoma. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration The Panzer I is a Light tank which was produced in Germany in the 1930s Wilhelm Josef Ritter von Thoma ( September 11, 1891 – April 30, 1948) was a German officer who served in World War I The German Condor Legion also provided air support which took a heavy toll on the buildings of the quarter. The Condor Legion (Legion Condor was a unit composed of "volunteers" from the German Air Force ( Luftwaffe) which served with the Nationalist The regulares eventually broke through the lines with fixed bayonets and forced a crossing over the Manzanares towards the Model Prison, the coveted target of the offensive. [1]

The Republican had deployed 12,000 troops in Carabanchel and 30,000 more to meet the main assault at the Casa de Campo. Despite their superiority in numbers, they were very badly equipped, mostly having only small arms, with reputedly only ten rounds for each rifle. In addition, most of them had never been trained in the use of weapons, let alone experienced combat before. Nevertheless, they held off the Nationalist onslaught at Casa de Campo, but not before General Miaja himself reputedly raced to the ruined buildings where the Republican troops were starting to rout, and, pistol in hand, called upon the retreating troops to rally to him and die in the trenches with him rather than flee as cowards. [1]

Throughout the day, the city radio called upon the city's citizens to mobilise and support the front, with "No Pasarán!" ('They shall not pass!') becoming the rally cry. [1]

Late on November 8, the first International Brigade, the XI of 1900 men, arrived at the front, marching through the city in good order. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Although numerically small and with their training unfinished after being hurried to the front as relief forces, their arrival was a major morale boost for the defenders of Madrid. The foreign troops, while actually a mixture of Germans, French and various other nations, were being hailed as 'Russians' - in recognition of the large role the Soviet Union had played in organising the mostly communist volunteers. [1]

Stalling and counter-attacks

On 9 November, the Nationalists switched the focus of their offensive to the Carabanchel suburb, but this heavily built up urban area proved a very difficult obstacle. Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all The colonial Moroccan troops were pinned down in house to house fighting (in which they had little previous experience, their greatest strength being in open-country warfare) and took heavy casualties at the hands of militiamen who knew the urban terrain very well.

In the evening of November 9, General Kléber launched an assault of the XIth International Brigade on the Nationalist positions in the Casa de Campo, which lasted for the whole night and part of the next morning. Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Manfred Stern (aka Emilio Kléber Lazar Stern Moishe Stern Mark Zilbert (1896–1954 was a member of Soviet Military Intelligence ( GRU) At the end of the fight, the Nationalist troops had been forced to retreat, abandoning all hopes of a direct assault on Madrid through the Casa de Campo, while the XIth Brigade had lost a third of its men. Meanwhile, Republican troops counter attacked all along the front in Madrid, on the 9th, 10th and17 November, driving the Nationalists back at some places, but taking heavy casualties in the process. Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers

On the 10th, 4000 more Republican reinforcements arrived from the Aragon front - anarchist CNT militiamen under Buenaventura Durruti. Aragon ( Spanish: "Aragón") is an autonomous community of Spain. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( CNT; English Buenaventura Durruti Dumange ( July 14, 1896 &ndash November 20, 1936) was a central figure of Spanish anarchism during the period

On November 11, an infamous massacre occurred on the Republican side, when 1,029 [2] Nationalist prisoners held in the Model Prison were taken out and killed in the Jarama valley on November 11 by the Republican 5th regiment as potential "Fifth Columnists". Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Jarama is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south and passes east of Madrid when El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary the Lozoya Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare It has been alleged that the killings were ordered by communist leader Santiago Carrillo but this has never been proved. Santiago Carrillo Solares (born January 18, 1915) Spanish politician was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE According to Anthony Beevor, the order for the massacre came from either Jose Cazorla, Carrillo's deputy, or from the Soviet advisor, Koltsov. Antony James Beevor (born 14 December 1946) is a British Historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. [2] The atrocity was condemned by the anarchist director of prisoners, Melchor Rodriguez. Melchor Rodríguez García (also known as El Ángel Rojo - Red Angel; 1893 &mdash February 14 1972) was a Spanish politician

On the 12th, the newly arrived XII International Brigade, under General Mate "Lukacs" Zalka (German, Scandinavian, French, Belgian and Italian troops), launched an attack on Nationalist positions on the Cerro de los Ángeles hill, south of the city, to prevent the cutting off of the Valencia road. Máté Zalka ( April 23, 1896, Matolcs, Hungary - June 11, 1937, Huesca, Spain) was a Hungarian writer The Autovía A-3 (also called Autovia del Este) is a Spanish Autovía which starts in Madrid and ends in Valencia. The attack collapsed due to language and communication problems and insufficient artillery support. However the road to Valencia remained open.

Final Nationalist assault

On the 19th the Nationalists made their final frontal assault and under cover of a heavy artillery bombardment, Moroccan and Foreign Legion troops fought their way into the University City quarter of Madrid. While their advance was checked, they established a bridgehead over the river Manzanares. The Manzanares is a River in central Spain, which at one point passes through Madrid. Bitter street fighting ensued. Durruti, the anarchist leader, was killed on the 19th, reportedly by the accidental discharge of one of his own men's weapons. Despite fierce counter attacks by the XI International Brigade and Spanish Republican units, the Nationalists kept their toehold in the University City and by the end of the battle were in possession of three quarters of the complex. However, their attempt to storm Madrid had failed, in the face of unexpectedly stiff Republican resistance. Franco stopped further infantry assaults, as he could not risk losing any more of his best regulare and legionnaire troops.

Aerial bombardement

Nationalist aircraft bomb Madrid in late November 1936. Fiat CR 32's - flown by Italian pilots - provide fighter cover.
Nationalist aircraft bomb Madrid in late November 1936. Fiat CR 32's - flown by Italian pilots - provide fighter cover. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Having failed to take Madrid by assault, Franco ordered the aerial bombardment of the city's residential areas, with the exception of the upper class Salamanca district (which was assumed to contain many Nationalist supporters) with the intention of terrifying the civilian population into surrender. Franco is quoted as saying, "I will destroy Madrid rather than leave it to the Marxists". German bombers pounded the rest of the city from the 19th to 23 November.

Arguably, this tactic of Franco's was counter-productive, as the Republican population in Madrid were not cowed into surrender and the aerial bombardment of civilians (one of the first in the history of warfare) was heavily criticised by foreign journalists, among them Ernest Hemmingway. Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21 1899 — July 2 1961 was an American novelist short-story writer, and Journalist. The casualties from the aerial bombardment seem to have been relatively low however. There is no definitive figure for the civilian casualties it caused, however according to Hugh Thomas, the death toll was about 200. Hugh Thomas Baron Thomas of Swynnerton (born October 21, 1931 in Windsor) is a British Historian. From early 1937 on, fighter resistance and Republican pilot experience had also grown too strong for further bormardements to occur during daylight hours, further limiting their effectiveness. [3]

Front stabilises

The battle petered out in December, with both sides exhausted. A front line stabilised in the city, running from the Nationalist salient over the river Manzanares in the University City, through the Casa de Campo park and through the streets of the Carabanchel area. The population of Madrid was subjected to a sporadic artillery and aerial bombardment and food became short as the winter went on. The UGT union transferred some vital industries to metro tunnels under the city which were not in use. A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway Franco's final action of 1936 was to attempt to cut off the road to Corunna, north east of Madrid as first step towards surrounding the Spanish capital. A Coruña ( Spanish: La Coruña; Galician: A Coruña; also Corunna in English, and archaically The Groyne) is The battle of the Corunna Road also resulted in a stalemate. The Battle of the Corunna Road was a battle of the Spanish Civil War from 13 December 1936 to 15 January 1937, north west of

The casualties inflicted in the Battle of Madrid were never accurately counted, but British historian Hugh Thomas has estimated that they came to about 10,000 between the two sides and civilian population.

Battles around Madrid (1937)

After the Battle of Madrid, the Republican government tried to re-organise its armed forces from a collection of militias into a regular army, the "Ejército Popular" ('Popular Army'). This was achieved by integrating the militias into the structures of the elements of the pre-war army which had sided with the Republic. While in theory this reduced the power of political parties relative to the government, in practice it increased the influence of the Communist Party, who were the source of Soviet arms and foreign volunteers and advisors (both groups providing much of the practical military experience on the Republican side). The party, therefore, had a disproportionate influence in the appointment of military commanders and the setting of military policy.

The year 1937 saw two major battles in the immediate area around Madrid, the Battle of Jarama (January to February) and the Battle of Brunete in July. The Battle of Jarama (February 6-27 1937 was an indecisive Nationalist crossing of the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War The Battle of Brunete ( 6 July &ndash 25 July 1937) fought 15 miles west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the In addition, two other battles were fought further afield as part of the Nationalist's campaign to take the capital. In March, at Guadalajara and at the end of December at Teruel, both north east of Madrid. Guadalajara ( Spanish pronunciation) is a city and Municipality in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain, and in the Teruel is a city in Aragon, Spain, the capital of Teruel Province.

In the first of these battles, in early 1937 Franco tried to cross the river Jarama to cut off the road between Madrid and Valencia, where the Republicans had moved their government. Jarama is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south and passes east of Madrid when El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary the Lozoya Valencia ( Valencian: València, Valencia Spanish phonology --> is the capital of the Spanish autonomous The battle's results were inconclusive. Franco's troops managed to get onto the east bank of the Jarama but failed to sever communications between Madrid and Valencia. Casualties on both sides were heavy, estimates of their losses ranging from 6,000 to 20,000 on each side.

In March, the Battle of Guadalajara was fought about 60km to the north east of Madrid, when Republican troops routed an attempt by Italian troops to cross the Jarama, encircle Madrid's defences and launch an assault on the city. The Battle of Guadalajara ( 8 March &ndash 23 March 1937) saw the Spanish Popular Army defeat Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to With around a third of the city of Madrid heavily damaged by that time, moral was still holding up strongly amongst the populace, and Madrilenes prided themselves of doing "business as usual" under fire. [4]

In May, Republican forces under Polish communist officer Karol Swierczewski tried to break out of Madrid in an armoured assault, but were beaten back. Karol Świerczewski (callsign Walter) (born on 22 February 1897 in Warsaw, died on 28 March 1947 at Jabłonki A far more ambitious northern offensive was launched by the Republicans in July, with the intention of encircling the Nationalists. However, the ensuing Battle of Brunete again developed into a bloody stalemate. The Battle of Brunete ( 6 July &ndash 25 July 1937) fought 15 miles west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the The initial Republican attack took Brunete and pushed back the Nationalist front some 12 kilometres, but determined Nationalist counter attacks re-took this territory by the end of the battle. In this case, Republican losses were significantly higher than those of the Nationalists.

In late 1937, the Nationalists took much of northern Spain -the country's industrial heartland - and with it many arms factories that had sustained the Republican war effort up to that point. At the very end of the year, the Republican commander of the IV Corps, Cipriano Mera intercepted Nationalist plans for a fresh assault on Madrid from the direction of Zaragoza. Cipriano Mera Sanz ( November 4, 1897 - October 24, 1975) was a Spanish military and political figure during the Second Spanish Zaragoza, also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza province and of the autonomous community and former General Vicente Rojo launched a pre-emptive offensive of his own, with over 100,000 men on December 15 and took the town of Teruel. Vicente Rojo may refer to Vicente Rojo Almazán, a Spanish - Mexican artist laureated with the National Prize in Arts and Sciences Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Teruel is a city in Aragon, Spain, the capital of Teruel Province. Rojo's offensive put paid to Franco's proposed assault on Madrid, but led to one of the bloodiest battles of the war, with over 100,000 casualties on both sides. The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War in December 1937-February 1938

Infighting, Fall of Madrid (1938-March 1939)

In 1938, the siege of Madrid tightened and its population suffered increasingly from a lack of food, warm clothes and arms and ammunition. However Franco by this point had given up on the idea of another frontal assault on the city and instead was happy to gradually constrict the siege, while keeping up a bombardment of the city.

By the spring of 1939, after the collapse of the Republican forces on other fronts, it was clear that the Republican cause in Madrid was doomed. This created a bitter division within Republican ranks. On one side was the prime minister Juan Negrin, some other government ministers and the Communist Party, who wanted to fight to the end. Juan Negrín López ( 3 February 1887 - 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician They were opposed by the Republican general Segismundo Casado and others, who wanted to negotiate the surrender of Madrid to spare Republican supporters the worst of the Nationalist retribution. Segismundo Casado López (1893 Nava de la Asunción, Segovia &mdash1968 Madrid) was a Spanish Army officer in the Second Spanish Republic On 5 March, Casado's men arrested communist officers in Madrid and stripped them of their powers. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a On the 7th, the Communist leaders, Russian advisers and the socialist Prime Minister Negrin flew out of Madrid. The following day saw fighting in the streets between communist and non-communist troops, ending with the defeat of the communists and the execution of their leader Luis Barcelo.

This left Casado free to try to negotiate surrender terms with Franco. However, the Nationalist leader insisted that unconditional surrender was all that he would accept. Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions except for those provided by International law. On March 26, Franco ordered a general advance into Madrid and on the 27th, the Republican front collapsed - many of their troops surrendered or simply threw away their weapons and started for home. Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. On March 28, 1939, Madrid finally fell to Franco's forces. Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In spite of Casado's efforts at negotiation, many of the Republican defenders of Madrid were among the 200,000 or so people executed by Franco's regime between 1939 and 1943.

The Valle de los Caidos or 'Valley of the fallen', a colossal memorial built by Franco near Madrid after the war, ostensibly to commemorate from both sides, but widely seen as a monument to Nationalist dead only.
The Valle de los Caidos or 'Valley of the fallen', a colossal memorial built by Franco near Madrid after the war, ostensibly to commemorate from both sides, but widely seen as a monument to Nationalist dead only. The Valle de los Caídos (in English Valley of the Fallen) is a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, erected at Cuelgamuros Valley

References & notes

  1. ^ a b c d The International Bridgades - Colodny, Robert G. Accessed 2008-05-12.
  2. ^ a b Spanish Civil War - Beevor, Anthony; 1999, Page 133
  3. ^ "Chewed Up" - Time, Monday, 05 April 1937
  4. ^ Business & Blood - Time, Monday, 19 April 1937

External links

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