Misplaced Pages

#287712

33-875: Following the success of the Aragon Offensive resulting in the Nationalist armies reaching the Mediterranean Sea , the Republic was split in two; the Spanish Republican Army was in disarray and the road to Barcelona was open for conquest by the Nationalists. Even General Vicente Rojo said that Barcelona could have been taken with "less force and in less time" than in January 1939 . The Nationalist generals and Francisco Franco 's German and Italian allies expected

66-737: A central column moving between them through the mountains (Garcia Valiño). The Nationalists found it slow going due to rainy weather in March and April that slowed the offensive, the difficult terrain that aided the defense of Republican forces being driven back before them, and the dogged determination of the Republican troops, reinforced with new weapons brought in from France: Soviet Supermosca ( I-16 Type 10) fighters with four machine-guns, 40 Grumman FF fighters, and anti-aircraft guns. On June 13, Castellón fell to Garcia Valiño's corps after several days of fighting but they were halted short of Sagunto where

99-582: A front of twenty miles wide until they were stopped by the XYZ Line fortifications running east and west from Viver into the Sierra de Espadan. Between 18 and 23 July these defenses, held by two Republican corps led by Colonels Ernesto Güemes and Carlos Romero, were successful in halting the Nationalist advance. The Nationalists tried to break the republican defenses with waves of infantry and intense bombing raids, but

132-515: A policy of shooting commanders of retreating troops. This created discussion among the Communists since Lister was a Communist and the commanders being shot were also Communists. Even as Rojo ordered the Republican concentration at Caspe , the Italians were approaching Alcañiz , and the Republican rout became absolute. Even where a Republican unit would fight effectively, it had to fall back because of

165-498: A strategic mistake, but his intelligence reports suggested that to extend the conflict further into Catalonia might draw French intervention. He directed that the attack continue towards the sea. By April 15 the Nationalists had reached the Mediterranean sea at Vinaròs and by April 19, the Nationalists held 40 miles (64 km) of the Mediterranean coastline. This series of victories that started with Teruel inspired great confidence in

198-596: A swift attack against Barcelona. Nevertheless, Franco decided to turn south against the capital of the Spanish Republic at Valencia, because he feared French intervention in Catalonia , following the Anschluss . Furthermore, he didn't want a swift end to the war, as he wanted a war of annihilation against the Republic in order to crush all opposition. Dionisio Ridruejo said that: "A long war meant total victory. Franco chose

231-720: The Republican forces, overran Aragon , and conquered parts of Catalonia and the Levante . The Battle of Teruel exhausted the material resources of the Republican Army , and wore out the veteran Republican troops. A slowdown of supplies from the Soviet Union exacerbated the difficulties of the Republican government, whose armament industry in Catalonia was already beleaguered. At the same time, however, Francisco Franco had concentrated

264-574: The Black Arrows ( Flechas Negras Division ) broke through. Everywhere the Republican forces were falling back. Many, soldiers and officers, just ran, and the retreat became a rout. In addition, the spreading anti-Communist sentiment in the Republican Army deepened the demoralization. The Communist commanders were accusing each other of various acts of wrongdoing or failure to act. André Marty and Enrique Líster attacked each other. Lister started

297-580: The Guadalajara offensive. Another error made by the Republican military leadership was assuming that the Nationalists were as tired and worn out as the Republicans. The Nationalist attack began on March 7, 1938, preceded by a heavy artillery and aerial bombardment. At 6:30 a.m., three Nationalist armies attacked the Republican line stretched between the Ebro River and Vivel del Río . The northern part of

330-508: The Nationalists that the war was almost won. In the meantime, the French had reopened the border, and military aid that had been purchased and was piling up in France because of the embargo, streamed into Spain and to the Republican forces. This slowed the Nationalists as the Republican defense stiffened. The disaster was contained for the time being, and although the Nationalists pursued other attacks in

363-453: The Nationalists, the Republicans had the six army corps (Palacio's XVI Corps, Garcia Vallejo's XVII, Vidal's XIX, Duran's XX and Ibarrola's XXII, as well as Güemes's Group A and Romero's Group B) of General Leopoldo Menéndez 's Army of the Levante. On 5 July, Garcia Valiño attacked from Castellón, but he was stopped by the Republican forces led by Colonel Gustavo Duran and General Menendez at

SECTION 10

#1732880533288

396-494: The Republican defenders through the use of well planned trenches and protected lines of communication were able to inflict heavy casualties on the Nationalists (about 20,000 casualties), suffering relatively few themselves (only 5,000 casualties). On 23 July the offensive was halting and the Republican offensive in the north on 24 July, the Battle of the Ebro , prevented any further assaults on

429-498: The Republicans, forcing them to abandon position after position and attacked the retreating columns. Both Germans and Soviets learned valuable lessons in this conflict about the use of aircraft in support of infantry. On the ground, Lleida and Gandesa fell on April. One hundred and forty American and British soldiers from the XV International Brigade became prisoners of the Nationalists. Also on this day, Aranda's troops saw

462-606: The Sierra de Espadan. The final push of the Nationalist offensive began on 13 July. To the west, Solchaga's corps moved south from Teruel with Varela's corps and the Italian CTV on their flank to the east, and the Garcia Valiño formation tried to advance down the coast. After some determined resistance at Mora de Rubielos and Sarrion , the Republican line in the Sierra del Toro crumbled. The Nationalists then advanced 60 miles along

495-535: The advantage of controlling the efficiently-run industries in the Basque Country . The attacking army was commanded by Fidel Dávila Arrondo , with Juan Vigón Suerodíaz as his second in command. José Solchaga , José Moscardó , Antonio Aranda , and Juan Yagüe would command army corps alongside the Italian General Mario Berti . A reserve commanded by García Escámez and García Valiño constituted

528-529: The assault across the River Ebro. Furthermore, the Republican forces in Catalonia had time to rearm with the weapons received across the French frontier, which reopened in March. Aragon Offensive The Aragon Offensive was an important military campaign during the Spanish Civil War , which began after the Battle of Teruel . The offensive, which ran from March 7, 1938, to April 19, 1938, smashed

561-417: The attack started again, this time in the area east of Zaragoza and Huesca . This part of the front that the Republic had held since August 1936, was lost in one day. The villages in eastern Aragon that had experienced social revolution, either by their own actions or from the anarchist columns from Catalonia, were all taken by the Nationalists, with many of the inhabitants becoming refugees. In this part of

594-539: The attack was carried out by Yagüe's elite Army of Africa , supported by the Condor Legion and forty-seven artillery batteries. The Nationalists broke the front in several places on the first day of the battle. Yagüe advanced down the right bank of the Ebro, slashing through all defences. Solchaga won back Belchite on March 10, and the XV International Brigade , with its US, Canadian and British complement,

627-536: The bulk of the Nationalist forces in the east and was preparing to drive through Aragon and into Catalonia and the Levante . The Nationalists were able to concentrate 100,000 men between Zaragoza and Teruel with the best troops in the lead. Even though the Nationalist army was numerically inferior to the Republican forces, the Nationalists were better equipped and had almost 950 airplanes, 200 tanks and thousands of trucks. In addition to his foreign aid from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy , Franco by this stage had

660-529: The collapse of neighboring units. The Italian and German airplanes controlled the skies; their bombers attacked the fleeing Republican units with aerial protection from modern fighters. Karol Świerczewski , known as General Walter, commander of the International Brigades, barely escaped capture at the fall of Alcañiz. Finally, after two days of heavy fighting, Caspe fell on March 17 to Varela's attacking army. The International Brigade performed valiantly in

693-440: The crueller option which, from his point of view, was also more effective." The Nationalist offensive started on 25 April, with General José Enrique Varela 's Army Corps of Castille, Antonio Aranda 's Galician corps, and Garcia Valiño 's formation, but the advance was halted on 27 April. On 1 May, the Nationalists continued their offensive, advancing on three fronts from Teruel (Varela), the Mediterranean sea coast (Aranda), and

SECTION 20

#1732880533288

726-402: The defense, but was driven off. After eight days, the Nationalists were 70 miles (113 km) east of the positions they had held when the battle started. This first part of the offensive punched a huge hole in the front, created a salient from Belchite to Caspe to Alcañiz and back to Montalbán . The Nationalist Army now paused before the Ebro and Guadalupe Rivers to reorganize. But on March 22,

759-422: The frontline defenders had no combat experience. The Republic could not replace its lost equipment as Soviet aid was starting to dry up. Essentially, the Republican army was surprised by the Nationalist attack. The Nationalists had redeployed their forces much faster than the Republican general staff thought possible. Although warned by spies, the Republican generals were convinced that the Nationalists would resume

792-548: The line by drawing away eight Nationalist divisions and their heavy artillery. The Nationalist offensive ended less than forty kilometres from Valencia. According to Beevor, the defense of the XYZ Line was a far greater victory for the Republic than the Guadalajara . The Nationalists occupied the province of Castellon , but failed to occupy Valencia and suffered heavy casualties. The Republican Army had time to reorganize, and to plan

825-486: The main force. José Enrique Varela with the army of Castile was to stand by, on the wings of the attack, at Teruel. The Condor Legion was also on standby. Colonel Ritter Von Thoma , its commander, convinced Franco to concentrate his tanks rather than spread them out. Because of the material losses at the Battle of Teruel, half the Republican troops lacked even rifles, and since the best troops had been withdrawn to refit,

858-403: The mountains of the Sierra de Espadán came close to the sea. With the fall of Castellón, the Nationalists had a Mediterranean harbor into which munitions and food could be brought to the Nationalists troops in this front. The Nationalists were surprised by the resistance of the Republican forces, and General Alfredo Kindelán tried to persuade Franco to abandon the operation. The Condor Legion

891-628: The north toward the Segre River and in the Valencia area , the Aragon Offensive was for all intents and purposes concluded by April 19. The Nationalist attack was spent and the resistance on the coast was much more formidable. Sarrion Sarrión is a municipality located in the province of Teruel , Aragon , Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE ), the municipality had a population of 1,049 inhabitants. This article about

924-551: The north, Republican forces pinned Solchaga down in the Pyrenees , but in the south, the Nationalists drove across the Maestrazgo. Almost everywhere, the Republicans started to fall apart. The various factions started to accuse each other of treachery. The Communists starved anarchist troops of needed munitions. André Marty , the overall commander of the International Brigades, travelled around looking for traitors, but he could not prevent

957-551: The offensive, Barbastro , Bujaraloz and Sariñena succumbed to the Nationalists. On March 25, Yagüe took Fraga and entered Catalonia. He attacked the next town, Lleida , but El Campesino held him off for a week, giving the Republicans a chance to withdraw with valuable equipment. The retreat of the Republican forces was covered by Colonel Durán 's Mountain Group in the Maestrazgo , the rugged mountainous area of southern Aragon. In

990-466: The sea for the first time. In the north, the Nationalist advance continued and by April 8, Barcelona's hydro-electric plants in the Pyrenees fell to the surging Nationalists. Barcelona's industries suffered a severe decline, and the old steam plants were restarted. The Nationalists could easily have taken Catalonia and Barcelona, but Franco made a decision to advance to the coast. This decision turned out to be

1023-432: The virtual destruction of the International Brigades. Republican troops suffered arbitrary executions with officers sometimes being shot in front of their men. In general, the campaign seemed lost, and nobody knew where the rout would end. The campaign was decided by air power. The plains of Aragon provided easy landing fields allowing rapid air support from close behind the front. Nationalist aircraft continually drove back

Levante Offensive - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-619: Was exhausted and was eventually withdrawn from the front. Nevertheless, Franco ordered the attack to be continued and Valencia be captured by July 25. By the beginning of July, the Nationalists reinforced the front with three divisions of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie (CTV), led by General Mario Berti , and four divisions of General José Solchaga 's Turia Corps. Furthermore, the Nationalists had nine hundred cannon and four hundred aircraft in this front, and had just received about 50 Italian medium bombers ( BR.20 , SM.79 , SM.81 ). Opposing

1089-467: Was the last unit out of the destroyed town. The commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion , part of the XV International Brigade, Robert Merriman , was killed during the retreat. A Soviet secret policeman had specially designed the fortifications at Belchite, but they fell easily to the advancing Nationalists. The Italians attacked at Rudilla , met some initial resistance and then, led by

#287712