Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe
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| Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish RepublicAir Squadron "Spain" |
Nationalist rebels | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
José Riquelme y López-Bago André Malraux |
Lt. Col. Juan Yagüe Lt. Col. Carlos Asensio Lt. Col. Antonio Castejón Lt. Col. Heliodoro Rolando de Tella | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
9,000 soldiers and militia 5–7 aircraft | 4,000 regulares | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| high | low | ||||||
The Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe (English: Guadalupe Mountains), also known as the Tagus Campaign, was a continuation of the
Tagus River
, capturing several towns and routing the Republicans in a succession of rapid advances.
Background
On August 14,
Tagus River, gleamed Madrid, the aim and object of General Franco's lightning campaign. The Army of Africa
's famous northward Marcha (or "March" - actually a fully motorized displacement), consequently, continued without pause into the hills and valleys sheltering Madrid.
To cover these southern approaches, the Republic deployed loyalist
General Riquelme with the so-called "Army of Extremadura
", a force of about 9,000 militia. Many of these troops had been redeployed in haste from the mountains of the Guadarrama front, and their condition deteriorated wretchedly in the Tagus River valley.
The battle
The government militias, while unquestionably brave, were sorely deficient in training and equipment and proved unable to face the disciplined
Spanish Foreign Legion and the feared Moroccan Regulares shock troops. Desertions bled the Republicans, who refused to dig trenches
. Consequently, the Nationalists outmarched and outflanked the defenders, forcing perpetual retreats by threatening encirclement.
Riquelme's forces included 2,000
Guadalupe fell to Major Antonio Castejón
on August 21.
According to the novel Medellín, a section of Colonel Carlos Asensio's column was surprised and savagely attacked by Republican aircraft under André Malraux, but on the whole resistance was minimal. By August 27, all three columns had concentrated at Navalmoral, where the Nationalists launched the war's first air raids on Madrid.
See also
- List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
- List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
References
Bibliography
- Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961.