Campaign of Gipuzkoa
 |
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2009) |
The Campaign of Gipuzkoa was part of the Spanish Civil War, where the Nationalist Army conquered the northern province of Gipuzkoa, held by the Republic.
Contents |
[edit] Background
In late July the Mola´s troops suffered shortage of ammunition (only 26,000 rounds of ammunition). Then Francisco Franco sent him large supplies of ammunitions and weapons from Italy and Germany via Portugal (600,000 rounds). On August 13, Mola met Franco in Seville and decided to capture San Sebastian and Irun in order to cut the Basques from the French Border at the western end of the Pyrenees.[2][3]
[edit] The campaign
The campaign was initially conceived by General Emilio Mola as an advance to Irún, to cut the northern provinces off from France, and to link up with the Nationalist garrison in San Sebastian that was to have seized that city. The campaign was diverted from the advance on Irún when the direct route to the town was blocked by the demolition of the bridge at Endarlatsa. When word came that the Nationalists in San Sebastian were besieged, Alfonso Beorlegui diverted all his forces westward toward that town in an attempt to relieve the Nationalist garrison. Two other Nationalist columns advanced on the city from points further west with the intent of cutting it off from Vizcaya. Following the failure to relieve the siege of the Nationalists in San Sebastian, the forces of Beorlegui resumed their advance on Irún and cut off the northern provinces of Gipuzkoa, Biscay, Santander and Asturias, from their source of arms and support in France by taking that city. On August 11 the Nationalist take Tolosa and Beorlegi seized Picoqueta, a key ridge commanding the approach of Irún. Telesforo Monzon, a Basque Nationalist, travelled to Barcelona to seek aid, but he only got 1,000 rifles, and the basque nationalist confiscated the gold in the local branch of the Bank of Spain to buy weapons in France,[4] but on August 8 the French government closed the frontier.[5]
On August 17, the rebel battleship España, the cruiser Almirante Cervera and the destroyer Velasco arrived to San Sebastian and started to shell the city. After that Ju-52 bombers started to bomb Irun and San Sebastian. Furthermore, the Nationalist captured the republican commander in Guipuzcoa, Pérez Garmendia. On August 26, Beorlegi began the assault on Irún and after bloody combats he occupied the town on September 3, but he was wounded and died soon after. Retreating anarchists burned the city.[6] The Nationalists followed this up with the capture of San Sebastian on September 13, and an advance to the border of Vizcaya. There, the resistance of the northern provincial forces and the exhaustion of the Nationalists resulted in an end of the offensive until the War in the North began.[7]
[edit] Aftermath
The Nationalist conquered 1,000 squares miles of terrain and many factories. Furthermore, they cut loss the Basques from the friendly France.[8] Then, Indalecio Prieto, the Republican minister of defense sent the Republican fleet to the norhtern ports in ordet to prevent a rebel blockade.[9]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. p. 116
- ^ Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. London. pp. 115-116
- ^ Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. pp.363-364
- ^ Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.364
- ^ Jackson, Gabriel. (1968). The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. p.274
- ^ Jackson, Gabriel. (1968). The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. p.274
- ^ Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. pp.364-366
- ^ Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.367
- ^ Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.397
[edit] Sources
- Romero, Eladi, Itinerarios de la Guerra Civil española : guía del viajero curioso, Barcelona : Laertes, 2001 , 600 p.
- Barruso, Pedro, Verano y revolución. La guerra civil en Gipuzkoa' (julio-septiembre de 1936), Edita: Haramburu Editor. San Sebastián, 1996.
- Pedro Barruso, GIPUZKOA 1936: VERANO Y REVOLUCIÓN, LA GUERRA CIVIL EN GIPUZKOA (Spanish)
- Beevor, Antony (2006). The battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-303765-1.
- Hugh Thomas (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Modern Library. ISBN 0375755152.
- Manuel Aznar Historia Militar de la Guerra de España. 3 vols. Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1969.
- Jackson, Gabriel. (1967). The Spanish Civil War. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00757-1.
  |
This Spanish history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about a battle in Spanish history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
