Spanish Republican Army
Spanish Republican Army | |
---|---|
Ejército de la República Española (1931–1936) Ejército Popular de la República (1936–1939) | |
Insignia | |
Army Flag of the Second Spanish Republic | |
Coat of Arms of Spain (1936–1939) |
The Spanish Republican Army (Spanish: Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939.
It became known as People's Army of the Republic (Ejército Popular de la República) after it was reorganized, following the disbandment of the voluntary militias that were formed in July 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
History
The Spanish Republican Army went through two clear phases during its existence:
- The pre-Civil War phase, before the coup of July 1936 that would fracture the Spanish military institution
- The Civil War reorganization of the forces that remained loyal to the established republican government.
Background
Following the loss of Spain's last colonies,
Following the attacks, the
The "Moroccan Question" (
The consequence of such developments was that the division between the Spanish military and the Spanish people became deeper. The liberal traditions that the Spanish Army had spearheaded in the 19th century were replaced by a defensive, reactionary outlook. The mutual suspicion led to the creation of the Juntas de Defensa (Boards of Defence) during the
The General's dictatorship, however, did not solve the problems of the Spanish Armed Forces for the support of the military institution for General Primo de Rivera's move was not unanimous. Already in 1926 there was the first serious attempt of a coup, popularly known as
The Second Spanish Republic was preceded by two pro-Republican coup attempts, the
The first years of the Republic (1931–1936)
In 1931, following the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, the armed forces of the Spanish Kingdom became the Spanish Republican Armed Forces. Admiral Aznar's casual comment: "Do you think it was a little thing what happened yesterday, that Spain went to bed as a monarchy and rose as a republic" became instantly famous, going quickly around Madrid and around Spain, making people accept the fact and setting a more relaxed mood. Republicans within the Spanish Armed forces were then a minority, but so were pro-monarchist reactionaries; the majority within the military were at first indifferent.[11]
What began to antagonize the Spanish Military against the new government were the
Later in October the same year Azaña became Prime Minister and continued the reform of the bloated and old-fashioned military the Republic had inherited. This was seen as a necessary step with the goal to modernize the Spanish Military and cut down the expenses of the state in the aftermath of the Great Depression. In order to implement its reforms the Republican Government promoted to high posts military men that it perceived as loyal. As a result, it tended to display favoritism towards the branches of the Armed Forces more amenable to its reforms, the Air Force and, in a lesser degree, the Navy.[13] Officers such as Gonzalo Queipo de Llano and Ramón Franco with a background in the pro-republican Jaca and Cuatro Vientos-Getafe uprisings during the monarchy rose to high posts for which they were not the most competent.[14] In the same manner Spanish Republican Navy officers who displayed pro-republican fervor were rewarded with political posts.[13]
On 10 August 1932 a pro-monarchist general,
In July 1936, five years after the proclamation of the republic, a section of the Spanish Republican Army in
The Civil War (1936–1939)
After the partly successful
October 1936: First wartime reorganization
The government of the areas that had not joined the rebels, known as 'Victory Government' (Gobierno de la Victoria), quickly organized a 'Regular Popular Army' (Ejército Popular Regular) (EPR). Led by all the parties composing the Popular Front (Frente Popular), and by the trade unions Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT). The militias that had been hurriedly armed in the wake of General Franco's coup had been loosely coordinated by the Popular Front coalition. The new structure sought to impose a more effective coordination of the loyalist forces, for the Republican government had lost effective control of the armed units defending it.
The changes in the structure began on 16 October 1936, doing away with the War Ministry which was replaced by the 'National Defence Ministry' (Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional), led by the president of the republic,
The restructuring of the Spanish Republican Army showed the
Based on a model that would replace the columns (columnas) and militias, the Mixed Brigade (Brigada mixta) was the basic military unit of the Republican People's Army.
Development of the war
The Spanish Republican Army units often lacked proper equipment. The situation improved somewhat by spring 1937, but a large proportion of units remained short of equipment and ammunition throughout the war.
The shortage of proper clothing, boots, weapons and ammunition was especially acute during the first months of the war, right after the reorganization. Priority, however, was given to ensure that the Republican troops received adequate food rations and that they received their salaries. Usually the latter were paid to the soldier's families in their homes.
The reorganization of the Spanish Republican Army was almost complete by mid-1937. Groups such as the Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias, , resisted what they saw as Communist-led "militarization". They distrusted the Communist leadership and perceived the move as an effort to force them to abandon their militia model, making them depend from a single central power, which was against their ideals.
The power and leadership of the Communists within the armed forces was promoted by the government of Juan Negrín and its Communist Party of Spain allies. The Soviet Union, profiting from the international isolation of the Spanish Republic imposed by the Non-intervention agreements, assisted the beleaguered Republican government chiefly by providing weapons. Despite the fact that the Soviet arms shipments were duly paid at high prices, the USSR used this opportunity to extend its power over the Spanish Republic. In April 1938 Socialist minister of defense Indalecio Prieto resigned in protest at the level of Soviet influence over the Spanish Republican Army.[22]
The influence of the
The People's Republican Army reached its highest level of organization in the Battle of the Ebro, during the last half of 1938, but it was also the battlefield where it was broken. Very young soldiers, averaging 17 and a half in age, whose unit was known as the 'Baby bottle conscription' ("quinta del biberón") would be mobilized for this last big battle of the Civil War, the last one in which the International Brigades operated. These large war operations fulfilled the Communist propaganda goals promoted by Juan Negrín and his clique, but were disastrous and wasteful for the Spanish Republican Army, whose energy and organization would have been better employed in small-scale operations.[16]
Final offensive and end of the war
Opposed by high-ranking officers such as republican Catholic general Vicente Rojo Lluch, 'Stalinist' influence only abated right at the end of the Civil War with the creation of a National Defence Council (Consejo Nacional de Defensa) by Segismundo Casado, commander of the Central Army, and Julián Besteiro. But General Franco vehemently refused any compromise and wanted only total victory and the humiliation and disbandment of the Spanish Republic.[16]
The Spanish Republican Army broke up towards the end of March 1939 when the Soldiers of the Republic surrendered their posts and weapons to the victorious Francoist armies. Many of them had to face immediately the
Battles of the Spanish Republican Army
- Siege of Madrid
- Battle of the Corunna Road
- Battle of Jarama
- Battle of Brunete
- Battle of Guadalajara
- Battle of Guadarrama
- Battle of Mérida
- Battle of Belchite
- Battle of Teruel
- Battle of Talavera
- Battle of Badajoz
- Battle of the Ebro
- Battle of the Segre
- Segovia Offensive
- Siege of the Alcázar
- Siege of Cuartel de la Montaña
- Siege of Gijón
- Aragon Offensive
- Catalonia Campaign
Organization and structure during the Spanish Civil War
Faced with a war situation the Republican Army based its organization in the mixed brigades (brigadas mixtas). Each of these was composed of four battalions. Every battalion included a number of companies. A regular brigada mixta would not exceed 3,000 men.
As the war unfolded, the Spanish Republican Army would include
May 1937
In May 1937 the Popular Army was structured in the following field armies in the territory that was still under its control:
- battles around Madrid, it had good supply lines.
- Southern Army (Ejército del Sur). Located in the Andalusian and Extremaduran front. It was somewhat poorly organized and badly lacked in equipment and weapons. After the Battle of Málaga this front lost priority, which would give its troops a respite right up to the end of the war. It had about 60,000 troops.
- Guadalajara Provinces.
- Confederal Militias belonging to FAI and CNT, fought along with Catalan Nationalists and Communist militias belonging to the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia and POUM. Their numbers were around 80,000 but they lacked coordination. George Orwell fought along the POUM Militias in this front, describing the mood of the place.[32]
- socialistbattalions, as well as against PNV soldiers. Even though the number of troops was relatively large, and despite their commitment to fight, the lack of equipment and the low quality of the available weapons hampered their effectiveness, which would lead them to be overwhelmed by the Nationalist armies before the end of the same year.
December 1937
Towards the end of 1937, after the loss of the Northern Zone, the structure of the People's Republican Army underwent some important changes, even though it kept the structure of the previous six months.
- Central Army:
- Extremaduran Army (Ejército de Extremadura):
- Andalusian Army (Ejército de Andalucía):
- Levantine Army:
- Modesto.
- Eastern Army:
July–August 1938
After the Spanish Republican territory was split in two in April 1938, there was an emergency reorganization of the military units that implied deep changes both in the structure as well as in the general distribution of the remaining battle-ready armies. Two army groups were formed:
Central Region Army Group
The
Army Corps | Divisions[33] | Sectors | |
---|---|---|---|
Central Army | |||
I Army Corps | 2nd & 69th |
Guadarrama – Somosierra | |
II Army Corps | 4th, 7th & 65th | Las Rozas – Usera – Carabanchel | |
III Army Corps | 9th, 15th & 18th | Jarama-Aranjuez
| |
IV Army Corps |
12th, 17th & 33rd | Guadalajara – Montes Universales | |
VI Army Corps | 5th, 10th & 8th | Tajo – Jarama
| |
Fourteenth Guerrilla Army Corps[34] | – | Rear guard
| |
Extremaduran Army | |||
VII Army Corps | 36th & 37th | Zújar
| |
VIII Army Corps | 38th, 63rd & 51st | Zújar – Guadalmellato | |
Andalusian Army | |||
IX Army Corps | 20th, 21st & 54th | Jaén
| |
XXIII Army Corps | 23rd & 71st | Almería
| |
Levantine Army | |||
XIII Army Corps | 28th & 65th | Montes Universales – Albarracín | |
XVI Army Corps |
39th & 48th | Levante | |
XVII Army Corps[35] | 19th, 40th & 25th | Levante | |
XIX Army Corps |
64th & 66th | Levante | |
XX Army Corps | 49th & 53rd & C | Levante | |
XXI Army Corps | 68th, 52nd & 6th | Espadán
| |
XXII Army Corps[35] | 47th, 70th & 41st | Levante |
Eastern Region Army Group
The
It was composed by the following armies:
- Eastern Army, Ejército del Este.
- Ebro Army, Ejército del Ebro. Built upon the Autonomous Group of the Ebro that had gathered all the Republican units that had become isolated north of the Ebro River when the republican territory was split in two. It fought the Battle of the Ebro[36]
The following was the order of battle of the GERO in December 1938:
Army Corps[33] | Divisions[33] | Sectors | |
---|---|---|---|
Eastern Army | |||
X Army Corps |
30th, 31st, 34th | Segre
| |
XI Army Corps |
26th, 32nd & 55th | Noguera Pallaresa | |
XVIII Army Corps | 27th, 60th & 72nd | General Reserve | |
Ebro Army | |||
V Army Corps | 11th, 46th, 45th | Lower Ebro | |
XII Army Corps |
16th, 44th & 56th | General Reserve | |
XV Army Corps | 3rd, 35th & 42nd | Lower Ebro | |
XXIV Army Corps | 43rd & 62nd | General Reserve |
Aeronáutica Militar
The Aeronáutica Militar was the aviation of the Spanish Republican Army. It had been established during the time of the monarchy through a Royal decree on 28 February 1913.[37]
Another Royal decree published in the Gaceta de Madrid on 18 March 1920 led to the establishment of the first four air bases in Spain: the Getafe Air Base near Madrid, the Zaragoza Air Base, the Tablada Aerodrome near Seville and the León Military Aerodrome.[38]
On 17 December 1913, during the war with Morocco, a Spanish expeditionary squadron of the Aeronáutica Militar led by Eduardo Barrón became the first organized military air unit to see combat during the first systematic bombing in history by dropping aerial bombs from a Lohner Flecha (Arrow) airplane on the plain of Ben Karrix in Morocco.[39][40] During the years that followed, most of the warfare activity of the Aeronáutica Militar took place in Spanish Morocco.
Shortly thereafter the
In 1930 a pro-Republican revolt in the Cuatro Vientos military aerodrome near Madrid was quashed. After the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, General Luis Lombarte Serrano replaced Kindelán as chief-commander of the Aeronáutica Militar, but he would be quickly succeeded by Commander Ramón Franco, younger brother of later dictator Francisco Franco. Captain Cipriano Rodríguez Díaz and Lieutenant Carlos de Haya González flew non-stop to Equatorial Guinea, then a Spanish colonial outpost.
Under Capitan Warlela
Following a Government decree dated 2 October 1935, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica was placed under the authority of the War Ministry, Ministerio de la Guerra, instead of under the Presidencia del Gobierno, following which in 1936 the regional units became restructured. Accordingly, the Spanish Navy-based Escuadra model was replaced by Región Militar divisions which are still operative today.[42]
The Aeronáutica Militar was merged with the air arm of the Spanish Republican Navy in September 1936, after the reorganization of the armed forces following the July 1936 coup, becoming part of the Spanish Republican Air Force.[43]
Ranks
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2021) |
In the Civil War, and following the reorganization of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, the five pointed red star became an insignia of Spanish Republican Army uniforms.
The new insignia mainly replaced the former eight-pointed and six-pointed silver stars that had been part of the Republican Army officers' uniforms between 1931 and 1936.[44]
Officers
Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spanish Republican Army (1931–1936) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General inspector | General de división | General de brigada | Coronel | Teniente coronel | Comandante | Capitán | Teniente | Alférez
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spanish Republican Army (1936–1939) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General
|
Coronel | Teniente coronel | Comandante | Capitán | Teniente | Alférez
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political commissars (1936–1939) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comisario general | Subcomisario and Secretario general |
Comisario inspector | Comisario de brigada | Comisario de batallón | Comisario de compañía
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet |
Unit commander insignia
The republican forces of the Spanish Civil War used three-pointed stars were placed below the rank insignia of officers assigned to the command of units above the size of regiment. One star was used for a brigade, two for a division, three for a corps and four for the commander of an army.
Examples:
(1936-1939) |
||||
General commander of a brigade |
Coronel commander of an army |
Teniente Coronel commander of a division |
Comandante commander of a corps |
Other ranks
Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spanish Republican Army (1931–1936) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subteniente (1931-1934) |
Subayudante (1931-1934) |
Brigada | Sargento primero | Sargento | Cabo | Soldado de primera | Soldado
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spanish Republican Army (1936–1939) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brigada | Sargento | Cabo | Soldado
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political commissars (1936–1939) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Delegado político de compañía
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted |
See also
- Abraham Lincoln Brigade
- Background of the Spanish Civil War
- Brigada mixta
- Guardias de Asalto
- Final offensive of the Spanish Civil War
- La Retirada, Spanish refugees in France
- Spanish Republican Armed Forces
- Faustino Vázquez Carril
Bibliography
- Alpert, Michael (2004) [1994]. A New International History of the Spanish Civil War. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. OCLC 155897766.
- Alpert, Michael. "The Clash of Spanish Armies: Contrasting Ways of War in Spain, 1936–1939," War in History (1999) 6#3 pp 331–351.
- Alpert, Michael. The Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939, University of Westminster, 2013, ISBN 978-84-323-0682-2)
- ISBN 0-297-84832-1.
- ISBN 978-0-521-45932-7
- Jackson, Gabriel. Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931–1939 (1987)
- Thomas, Hugh; The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London
Spanish
- Michael Alpert, The Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939, (Spanish version available, published by Siglo XXI de España, Madrid)
- ISBN 978-84-95379-09-2.
- Engel, Carlos (1999). Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular de la República. Madrid, Almena. 84-922644-7-0.
- Martínez Bande, J.M.; La lucha por la Victoria, Madrid : San Martín, 1990–1991, ISBN 84-7140-277-7.
- Martínez Bande, J.M.; Las Brigadas Internacionales, Plaza y Janés, Barcelona, 1973
- Martínez Bande, J.M.; Por qué fuimos vencidos: Testimonios clave de la derrota del Ejército Popular de la República Coleccion Los Tres dados, Prensa Espanola, 1974. ISBN 978-84-287-0332-1
- ISBN 84-344-2471-1R
- Rojo Lluch, Vicente; Así fue la defensa de Madrid. Editorial Asociación de Libreros Lance, Madrid, 2006. ISBN 84-921455-3-6
- Rojo Lluch, Vicente; España Heroica. Diez bocetos de la guerra española. Editorial Ariel, Barcelona, 1975
- ISBN 84-9734-465-0
- Suero Roca, M. Teresa; Militares republicanos de la Guerra de España. Ediciones Península Ibérica, Barcelona, 1981. ISBN 84-297-1706-4
References
- Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War (1961)
- ^ Fernando Puell de La Villa, Historia del Ejército en España, Alianza, Madrid 2000, pg. 90–91
- ^ Carlos Seco Serrano, Militarismo y Civilismo en la España contemporánea, Instituto de Estudios Económicos, Madrid 1984, pg. 22
- ^ Salvador de Madariaga, España, ensayo de historia contemporánea, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1974
- ^ Miguel de Unamuno, Ensayos, Ed. Aguilar, Madrid 1958, Vol I, pg. 791
- ^ Javier Tusell & Genoveva Queipo de Llano, Alfonso XIII, Ed. Taurus, Madrid 2001, pg. 182
- ^ Ana Isabel Alonso Ibáñez, Las Juntas de Defensa Militares (1917–1922), Ed. Ministerio de Defensa, Madrid 1998, pg. 182
- ^ Miguel Alonso Baquer, El modelo español de pronunciamiento, Ed. Rialp, Madrid 1983, pg. 182
- ^ Javier Tusell, Historia de España, Ed. Historia 16, Madrid 1994, pg. 271–272
- ^ Ignacio Hidalgo de Cisneros, Cambio de Rumbo, Ed. Ikusager, Vitoria 2001, pg. 233
- ^ Gabriel Cardona, El Problema Militar en España, Ed. Historia 16, Madrid 1990, pg. 158–159
- ^ Ignacio Hidalgo de Cisneros, Cambio de Rumbo, Ed. Ikusager, Vitoria 2001, pg. 273
- ^ a b Hermenegildo Franco Castañón, Por el camino de la revolución: La Marina española, Alfonso XIII y la República, Editorial Neptuno, Valladolid 2004, pg. 214
- ISBN 978-84-85719-45-7
- Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War, Penguin Books, London 2001. pp.95–97
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7538-2165-7.
- ^ Orden, circular, declarando que el Ministro de la Guerra asume el mando de todas las fuerzas armadas & organizadas como Jefe superior de las mismas (PDF). Vol. Año CCLXXV Tomo IV, Núm. 290. Gaceta de Madrid: diario oficial de la República. 16 October 1936. pp. 354–355.
- ISBN 84-321-2115-0.
- ^ Orden, circular, creando un Comisariado general de Guerra con la misión que se indica (PDF). Vol. Año CCLXXV Tomo IV, Núm. 290. Gaceta de Madrid: diario oficial de la República. 16 October 1936. p. 355.
- ^ las Quintas de la Guerra
- ^ Las Brigadas Mixtas en el Ejército Popular de la República Española
- ^ Barbara Colberg, The Effect of Communist Party Policies on the Outcome of the Spanish Civil War, Ohio State University
- ^ Pierre Renouvin & René Rémond, Léon Blum, chef de gouvernement. 1936–1937, Presses de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques, coll. 'Références', 1981
- ^ Stalin and the Spanish Civil War – Soviet Hardware Supplied to the Republic
- ^ "Unidades de la FARE que actuaron con I-15". Archived from the original on 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
- ^ Corazón Helado de 1939 – Los exilios republicanos Archived 2015-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 24 au 26 août 1944 Libération de Paris par les chars ... espagnols de la nueve[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Republicans deportats als camps de concentració nazis" Archived 2013-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-84-8319-381-5
- ISBN 1-85532-738-4
- ^ Image at pueblos-espana.org
- ^ George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia
- ^ a b c Carlos Engel, p.253
- ^ Michael Alpert, p. 391
- ^ a b Antony Beevor, p.486
- ISBN 84-9734-465-0, p. 1846
- ^ Historia del Ejército del Aire: 1913 Archived 2010-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ejército del Aire: Aeródromos Archived 2013-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ejército del Aire – 1913 Archived 2010-09-25 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ "Aeroplano, n. 23, 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. 1920". Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. 1936". Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "ADAR, La Gloriosa en Combate". Archived from the original on 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
- ^ "Quinto regimiento uniforms". Archived from the original on 2015-12-05. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
External links
- Rank insignia of the Spanish Republican Army
- Caps of the Spanish Republican Army
- Sections of the Spanish Republican Army 1
- Sections of the Spanish Republican Army 2
- Armada Española – Segunda República (1931–1939)
- Spanish Civil War Website Archived 2012-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Brigadas Mixtas of the People's Republican Army
- Escalilla del Arma de Infantería Ejército Popular a 1 de julio de 1938
- The Northern Front 1936 – 1937
- Alas Rojas Sobre Alcublas
- El Ejército Popular
- SIDBRINT: Sistema de Información Digital sobre las Brigadas Internacionales/Digital Information System on the International Brigades