Aragon Offensive
Encyclopedia
The Aragon Offensive was a Nationalist
campaign
during the Spanish Civil War
, which began after the Battle of Teruel
. The offensive began on March 7, 1938, and ended on April 19, 1938. The offensive smashed the Republican
forces and overran Aragon
and conquered parts of Catalonia
and the Levante
.
exhausted the material resources of the Republican Army
. At the same time, however, Francisco Franco
concentrated the bulk of the Nationalist forces in the east and prepared 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. The veteran Republican troops had all been involved at Teruel and were worn out. The Nationalists 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 the advantage of controlling the efficiently-run industries in the Basque Country
. A slowdown of supplies from the Soviet Union exacerbated the difficulties of the Republican government, whose armament industry in Catalonia was already affected by various difficulties.
as his second in command. José Solchaga
, José Moscardó
, Antonio Aranda
, and Juan Yagüe
would command army corps alongside the Italian General Berti. A reserve commanded by García Escámez and García Valińo constituted the main force. José Enrique Varela
with the Army of Castile
was to hold himself ready, on the wings of the attack, at Teruel. The Condor Legion
held itself in readiness. Colonel Ritter Von Thoma
, its commander, convinced Franco, to use his tanks in a concentrated form to attack rather than spread them out.
on March 10, and the XV International Brigade
, with its US, Canadian and British complement, was the last unit out of that 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 police
man 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 the Black Arrows (Flechas Negras Division
) broke through.
Everywhere the Republican forces were falling back. A large part of the army just ran, soldiers and officers, and the retreat became a rout. In addition, the spreading anti-Communist sentiment in the Republican Army helped spread 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 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.
, and the Republican rout became absolute. Even where a Republican unit would fight effectively, it had to fall back because of the collapse of neighboring units. Entire units fell apart and desertions became rife. 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 elements of Varela's attacking army. The International Brigade performed valiantly in the defense, but was driven off. After eight days, the Nationalists were seventy miles 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 then back to Montalbán.
The Nationalist Army now paused before the Ebro and Guadalupe Rivers to reorganize. But on March 22, the attack started once 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. A large part of the inhabitants became refugees. In this part of 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 the Colonel Duran
's Mountain Group in the Maestrazgo.
In the north, Republican forces pinned Solchange down in the Pyrenees
, but in the south, the Nationalists drove across the Maestrazgo, the high plains of southern Aragon. 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 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.
fell. 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 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 a strategic mistake, but Franco had intelligence reports 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 Vinaroz and by April 19, the Nationalists held forty miles of the Mediterranean coastline. This series of victories that started with Teruel inspired great confidence in 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 piling up in France because of the embargo, streamed into Spain and to the Republican forces. This slowed the Nationalists and the Republican defense stiffened. The disaster was contained for the time being, and although the Nationalists pursued other attacks in 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.
Spanish State
Francoist Spain refers to a period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975 when Spain was under the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco....
campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, which began after the Battle of Teruel
Battle of Teruel
The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War in December 1937 – February 1938. The combatants fought the battle during the worst Spanish winter in twenty years. It was one of the bloodier actions of the war. The city changed hands several times,...
. The offensive began on March 7, 1938, and ended on April 19, 1938. The offensive smashed the Republican
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
forces and overran Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
and conquered parts of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Levante
Levante, Spain
The Levante is a name used to refer to the eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. It roughly corresponds to the former Xarq Al-Andalus, but has no modern geopolitical definition...
.
Introduction
The Battle of TeruelBattle of Teruel
The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War in December 1937 – February 1938. The combatants fought the battle during the worst Spanish winter in twenty years. It was one of the bloodier actions of the war. The city changed hands several times,...
exhausted the material resources of the Republican Army
Republican Army
Republican Army can refer to:*Irish Republican Army, a military organisation descended from the Irish Volunteers*Baloch Republican Army, a Baloch nationalist guerilla army in Balochistan...
. At the same time, however, Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
concentrated the bulk of the Nationalist forces in the east and prepared to drive through Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
and into Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Levante
Levante
This is a disambiguation page. Levante may refer to*Levant, the lands in the eastern Mediterranean, covering Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq.*Levante, Spain, the eastern Iberian coastal region of Spain...
. The Nationalists were able to concentrate 100,000 men between Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
and Teruel
Teruel
Teruel is a town in Aragon, eastern Spain, and the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 34,240 in 2006 making it one of the least populated provincial capitals in the country...
with the best troops in the lead. Even though the Nationalist Army was numerically inferior to the Republican forces, the Nationalists were better equipped. The veteran Republican troops had all been involved at Teruel and were worn out. The Nationalists had almost 950 airplanes, 200 tanks and thousands of trucks. In addition to his foreign aid from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and Fascist Italy, Franco by this stage had the advantage of controlling the efficiently-run industries in the Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
. A slowdown of supplies from the Soviet Union exacerbated the difficulties of the Republican government, whose armament industry in Catalonia was already affected by various difficulties.
Nationalist army
The attacking army was commanded by Fidel Dávila Arrondo with Juan Vigón SuerodíazJuan Vigón
Juan Vigón Suerodíaz was a Spanish general who fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Nationalists. Before the war he was chosen by king Alfonso XIII to educate his sons, which he did from November 1925 to 1930. At the beginning of the Second Spanish Republic he left the army due to his...
as his second in command. José Solchaga
José Solchaga
José Solchaga Zala was a Spanish general who fought for the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War....
, José Moscardó
José Moscardó Ituarte
José Moscardó e Ituarte, 1st Count of the Alcázar of Toledo, Grandee of Spain was the military Governor of Toledo Province during the Spanish Civil War...
, Antonio Aranda
Antonio Aranda
Antonio Aranda Mata was a military officer who fought on side of the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.During the Morocco wars Aranda earned an outstanding record as an engineer and geographer. He participated in the suppression of the Asturias Revolt of 1934 and rose to the rank of Colonel...
, and Juan Yagüe
Juan Yagüe
Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe was a Spanish army officer during the Spanish Civil War, one of the most important in the National side.-Early life:...
would command army corps alongside the Italian General Berti. A reserve commanded by García Escámez and García Valińo constituted the main force. José Enrique Varela
José Enrique Varela
José Enrique Varela Iglesias was a Spanish military officer and Carlist noted for his role as a Nationalist commander in the Spanish Civil War.-Early career:...
with the Army of Castile
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
was to hold himself ready, on the wings of the attack, at Teruel. The Condor Legion
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...
held itself in readiness. Colonel Ritter Von Thoma
Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma
Wilhelm Josef Ritter von Thoma was a German officer who served in World War I, in the Spanish Civil War, and as a General der Panzertruppe in World War II.-Early life:...
, its commander, convinced Franco, to use his tanks in a concentrated form to attack rather than spread them out.
Republican army
Because of the material losses from the Battle of Terual, half the Republican troops even lacked rifles and since the best troops had been withdrawn to refit, 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 convinced themselves that the Nationalists were going to resume the Guadalajara offensive. Another mistake that the Republican military leadership made was that they assumed that the Nationalists were as tired and worn out as the Republicans.Attack begins
The attack began on March 7, 1938, preceded by a heavy artillery and aerial bombardment. At 6:30 in the morning, three Nationalist armies attacked the Republican line stretched between the Ebro River and Vivel del Rio. The northern part of the attack was the 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 defenders. Solchanga won back BelchiteBelchite
Belchite is a village in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite comarca and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the highest of which is Lobo...
on March 10, and the XV International Brigade
XV International Brigade
The XV International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the International Brigades. It was mustered at Albacete in Spain, in January 1937, comprising many English-speaking volunteers - arranged into a mostly British British Battalion and a mostly...
, with its US, Canadian and British complement, was the last unit out of that destroyed town. The commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, part of the XV International Brigade, Robert Merriman
Robert Merriman
Robert Merriman may refer to:*Robert Hale Merriman, American in the Spanish Civil War*Robert E. Merriman , American actor...
, was killed during the retreat. A Soviet secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
man 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 the Black Arrows (Flechas Negras Division
Flechas Negras Division
Flechas Negras Division was created when the Flechas Division was further strengthened with support units and renamed. It served in the that took part in the Catalonia Offensive, the final offensive of the Spanish Civil War...
) broke through.
Everywhere the Republican forces were falling back. A large part of the army just ran, soldiers and officers, and the retreat became a rout. In addition, the spreading anti-Communist sentiment in the Republican Army helped spread the demoralization. The Communist commanders were accusing each other of various acts of wrongdoing or failure to act. André Marty
André Marty
André Marty was a leading figure in the French Communist Party, the PCF, for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern from 1935 to 1944; and Political Commissar of the International Brigades during the...
and Enrique Líster
Enrique Líster
Enrique Líster Forján was a Spanish communist politician and military officer.-Early life:...
attacked each other. Lister started 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.
Republican disaster
Even as Rojo ordered the Republican concentration at Caspe, the Italians were approaching AlcañizAlcañiz
Alcañiz is a town and municipality in the province of Teruel, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. The town is located on the banks of the river Guadalope. Alcañiz is the unofficial capital of the Lower Aragon historical region...
, and the Republican rout became absolute. Even where a Republican unit would fight effectively, it had to fall back because of the collapse of neighboring units. Entire units fell apart and desertions became rife. The Italian and German airplanes controlled the skies; their bombers attacked the fleeing Republican units with aerial protection from modern fighters. Karol Świerczewski
Karol Swierczewski
Karol Wacław Świerczewski was a Pole who became a Soviet military officer and a general. He served as a general in the service of the Soviet Union, Republican Spain, and the Soviet sponsored Polish Provisional Government of National Unity after World War II.- Life :Karol Świerczewski grew up in...
, 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 elements of Varela's attacking army. The International Brigade performed valiantly in the defense, but was driven off. After eight days, the Nationalists were seventy miles 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 then back to Montalbán.
The Nationalist Army now paused before the Ebro and Guadalupe Rivers to reorganize. But on March 22, the attack started once again, this time in the area east of Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
and Huesca
Huesca
Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
. This part of the front that the Republic had held since August 1936, was lost in one day. The villages in eastern Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
that had experienced social revolution either by their own actions or from the anarchist columns from Catalonia were all taken by the Nationalists. A large part of the inhabitants became refugees. In this part of the offensive, Barbastro
Barbastro
Barbastro is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain...
, Bujaraloz and Sariñena succumbed to the Nationalists. On March 25, Yagüe took Fraga
Fraga
Fraga is the major town of the comarca of Bajo Cinca in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located by the river Cinca.King Alfonso I of Aragon died at its walls in 1134 while trying to conquer it...
and entered Catalonia. He attacked the next town, Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
, 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 the Colonel Duran
Gustavo Durán
Gustavo Durán Martínez was a Spanish composer, Lieutenant Colonel in the Spanish military, diplomat and United Nations official.-Early life:Born in Barcelona, Spain in 1906, he moved with his family to Madrid at the age of four, and studied music...
's Mountain Group in the Maestrazgo.
In the north, Republican forces pinned Solchange down in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, but in the south, the Nationalists drove across the Maestrazgo, the high plains of southern Aragon. 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
André Marty
André Marty was a leading figure in the French Communist Party, the PCF, for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern from 1935 to 1944; and Political Commissar of the International Brigades during the...
, the overall commander of the International Brigades, travelled around looking for traitors, but he could not prevent 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.
End of the campaign
Air power decided this campaign. The plains of Aragon provided easy landing fields allowing rapid air support from close behind the front. Nationalist aircraft continually drove back the Republicans, forcing them to abandon position after position and attacked the retreating columns. Both Germans and Soviets learned valuable lessons about the use of fighters in support of infantry. On the ground, on April 3, Lleida and GandesaGandesa
Gandesa is the capital of the comarca of Terra Alta, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.-History:In the place known as Coll del Moro there is an ancient Iberian archaeological site belonging to the Ilercavones tribe that lived in this area before Roman times.Gandesa has a church with...
fell. 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 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 a strategic mistake, but Franco had intelligence reports 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 Vinaroz and by April 19, the Nationalists held forty miles of the Mediterranean coastline. This series of victories that started with Teruel inspired great confidence in 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 piling up in France because of the embargo, streamed into Spain and to the Republican forces. This slowed the Nationalists and the Republican defense stiffened. The disaster was contained for the time being, and although the Nationalists pursued other attacks in the north toward the Segre River and in the Valencia area
XYZ Line
The XYZ Line, or Matallana Line, was a system of fortifications built during the Spanish Civil War in order to defend the capital of the Second Spanish Republic in Valencia, Spain...
, 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.