La Cucaracha Spanish Civil War Diary June 1937

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- June 1937 -

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"Books and newspapers to the front"

The deadly accident of Fascist General Mola is leaving General Franco without serious rival for the leadership of the right-wing forces. Franco will use this to consolidate his power even more.

Seeing their only chance to save the Republic in the unity between the antifascist forces, the Anarchists declare to work together with the Communist Negrin government.

Stalin is discrediting and imprisoning in best Fascist manner enemy's as well as friends in the Soviet Union. The prisoners have to face concentration camps and court martial. Many Red Army generals, advisors in Spain, and even the former Soviet ambassador in Spain, Rosenberg, are condemned to death. Stalin is ruling the Soviet Union as dictatorship with terror.

This terror will spread to Spain...

03 June *Fascist General Mola dies in airplane crash

General Mola died today under mysterious circumstances in an air accident. Coming back from an inspection to the northern front his airplane crashed against a hill close to Burgos and exploded. The airplane was piloted by General Molas personal pilot, Captain Chamorro, who knew the area very well. General Mola was the initiator of the Fascist uprising and popular among the conservative parts of the Fascist troops. This leaves General Franco without any rival left.
(Till today the rumor is that General Mola's plane had a time bomb aboard)

*05-07 June Manuel Hedilla, official of the Falange, court martialed to death**
	Manuel Hedilla was leading the leftist wing of the Fascist Falange. He was opposing Franco in the direction this one led the war and the administration of the Fascist occupied zone.

*06 June Basque Army without air force anymore**
	The last of the Basque air fighters got shot down today. The pilots of the Basque air force had made a suicidal resistance against the Legion Condor. Totally outnumbered, the pilots were flying day by day to relieve the soldiers in the trenches, one after the other being destroyed by the enemy.

*11 June General Lukacs of the International Brigades died toda**y
	General Paul Lukacs, whose real name was Mate Zalka, was killed during an inspection of the Republican lines at Huesca. His car was hit by an artillery shell, the driver died immediately. General Lukacs himself was deadly wounded on the right temple of his head and dies several hours later.

12 June *The Fascist troops reach the so called "Iron Ring" around Bilbao

The "Iron Ring", el cinturon de hierro, is a vast fortification consisting of bunkers and fortified trenches in several rings, protected by artillery, a real labyrinth of trenches and tunnels. The Basque Army had hoped to resist here the permanent air raids and prevent the enemy of reaching Basque's capital city. But the plans of the Ring had been betrayed to the Fascist Army, the Legion Condor is piercing since the first days of June so accurately, that the Ring is bombed to pieces

Basque President Aquirre comes himself to the front and becomes witness of a horrible event at the Mount Urcullu: A dried out forest just behind the part of the Iron Ring is shelled with fire bombs from enemy airplanes and artillery and starts to burn immediately on a length of three kilometers, fumigating the defenders on this part of the Ring.

The attackers break through and occupy the heights near Bilbao, around 10 kilometers from the city.

Basque General Gamir and the Basque government decide to organize a slow retreat to Santander.

The "Iron Ring", el cinturon de hierro, the defense fortifications at Bilbao

*12 June Start of the Moscow lawsuits against Red Army and administration officials**
	General Tujachevski and other high officials are faced in Moscow with accusations of treason and treachery, based on implausible and constructed evidences. Stalin is establishing what will be later known as "Stalinism", a totalitarian dictatorship based on terror and misinformation.

13 June *Street fights in Bilbao, uprising of Fascist supporters

Fascist supporters start a riot in the city to take over control of strategical buildings and are defeated under heavy losses by Anarchist militias (the army is already retreating). Basque police prevents the militias afterwards of attacking the prisons in Bilbao and killing imprisoned Fascists.

The identity card of a British volunteer, serving in the International Brigades, and appointed sergeant on the 13th of June, 1937.

*16 June The POUM leaders arrested**
	The secret police arrested most of the POUM leaders, though its head, Andreu Nin, could not be found.

*17 June Andreu Nin, leader of the POUM, arrested in Barcelona**
Andreu Nin	His arrest is not announced in public and Communist agents take him secretly to a illegal prison in Alcala de Henares, near to Madrid. Nin is interrogated under torture by Alexander Orlov, agent of the secret military police of the Soviet Union (NKVD, later renamed to KGB).

*17 June Cartagena, explosion aboard Republican battle cruiser causes 300 death**
	An accident aboard the Jaime I caused a explosion in one of the ammunition chambers, resulting in the dead of around 300 seamen and the total loss of the Jaime I.
The Jaime I before the accident

*17 June Bilbao shelled by 20.000 shells today**
	Pres. Aquirre gives the secret order to send 900 Fascist prisoners over to the enemy, cause he fears for their lives in the city after the total retreat of the Basque Army. Juan Manuel Epalza leads the prisoners to the Fascists in the night to the 19th of June.

18 June *Basque government refuse the order to destroy war-important factories in Bilbao

The Republican government want to prevent that the Fascists gain control over the important industry plants in Bilbao.

The Basque government refuses and is counting on the outbreak of an European war very soon, in which the Fascists will be beaten and they can gain back the plants themselves.

19 June *The Fascist army enters Bilbao

Fascists taking down a sign in Bilbao

The Fascist Army entered without oppositions and began immediately to distribute food to thousands of women lining the streets. Around 200.000 people fled before from the city, thousands tried to reach the French coast over the sea. The Fascist navy was waiting for them in the Biscay. The Biscay was full with fugitives overcrowded boats, some sinking. The ships from the Nonintervention Committee are watching the scene (in the Biscay mostly British).

Franco has to concede his German ally two thirds of the production from the mines and steel factories of the Basque country. Hitler needs this resources for his preparations for a "big" war.

The Basque people had not to suffer the same strong personal reprisals as the Spanish population in the south and western Spain, where most of the suspected civilians (suspected of anything) were killed together with the caught republican soldiers and militias, the women suffered mass raping.

The war against the Basque people was also a war against their culture. Entering Bilbao the Fascists took away every sign of Basque identity, like signs in Basque language. The Basque folk music was forbidden, also the usage of Basque language or symbols. A special war was fought by the Fascists against the Basque Catholic church. They could never pardon that the Basque church supported the Republic. Many priest were imprisoned and executed, and only Italian intervention prevented some of them from death. For the Fascists a Basque priest was as bad as a Republican soldier.

Which way for your children, Spain?
Democracy...

or Fascism?