La Cucaracha Spanish Civil War Diary March 1937

leer esta pagina en español

- March 1937 -

Page is loading...238 KB

The Guadalajara Battle

Italy's Dictator Mussolini, keen on seeing his "glorious" army in Spain gaining fame and honor, is pressing into a new attack against Madrid and its outskirts. This time the attack is planned to isolate Madrid from the surrounding country and make the besiege of Madrid effective.

But again the newly formed International Brigades can stop an enemy much stronger and better armed then themselves.

Please visit this very detailed Spanish site about the battle:

BRIHUEGA 1937: LA BATALLA DE GUADALAJARA
Páginas realizadas por Plaza del Coso

La última tentativa rebelde de envolver Madrid se realizó en Guadalajara, en la segunda semana de marzo, dando lugar a la conocida como “Batalla de Guadalajara”.

*05 Mar First council of the PCE (Spanish Communist Party) in the war**
	The PCE makes a declaration in favor of democracy and against revolution and Trotskyism. The delegates attack sharply the government and the CNT (Anarcho Syndicalist)

*08 Mar The shipcrew of the "Mar Cantabrico" is executed by the Fascists**
	The crew of the "Mar Cantabrico", bringing weapons from Mexico and captured by the Fascist navy, is executed today in the Fascist zone.

After the stalemated battle of the Jarama, General Franco is under pressure from his allies to strike again quickly, and to win, without obliging them to constantly greater investments and international risks.
The largest mass of fresh troops is coming from Italy. Malaga is celebrated in the Fascist press as an Italian victory. Some 50.000 troops have been concentrating at Siguenza, northeast of Madrid, 30.000 of them Italians, the CTV (Corpo Truppe Volontarie).
Their plan is to advance to Madrid via Brihuega and Guadalajara. The attacking force is including 250 tanks, 180 pieces of artillery, 4 motorized machine gun companies, about 70 planes and a large number of trucks.
Altogether it is the most heavily armed and best equipped force yet to enter battle...

Italian troops advancing at Guadalajara

*08 Mar Strong Fascist attack in the Guadalajara**
	The attack started at 7am. The Italian troops are breaking the front quickly and are dominating by the end of the day the heights from which they can "roll" downhill to Madrid.
	To the left: citizens of Brihuega being evacuated by the Republican Army

09 - 11 Mar *Advance of the Fascists slowed down

International Brigades marching to the front

The Italians are moving too rapidly for their units to preserve communications and supply lines. A sudden turn in the weather is catching the Italian trucks in a snow and sleet storm, just as the Republicans are beginning to hold firm south of Brihuega and Trijueque. While the Italian planes are grounded by the weather the Republican air force, at considerable risk, is operating from airfields out of the bad weather zone. Low-flying fighters are machine-gunning the stalled truck columns while vintage 1918 Breguets, which had survived the summer air battles, run bombing missions.
The political leaders of the IB Garibaldi battalion, consisting of Italian volunteers on Republican side, Vittorio Vidal and Luigi Longo, are mounting a propaganda campaign intending to destroy the morale of the CTV. Pulling loudspeakers up to the lines and dropping leaflets from the air, exhorting the Italian soldiers not to shoot against their brother workers and to leave the Fascists.

Republican soldiers in the sierra next to Madrid

*12 Mar The IB starts a massive counterattack**
	70 Russian tanks are supporting the counterattack led by the International Brigades.

International Brigades

Republican Army and Civilians bringing artillery to the frontline

16 Mar *The International brigades take back Bruhuega

The meanwhile legendary Republican General "El Campesino" (photo: with beard) take back Brihuega.

18 Mar *The Guadalajara battle ends, the rout stops short of the bases from which the Fascist attack started

Captured Fascists

During the retreat of the Fascists, the Republicans captured large stocks of equipment, about 1.500 prisoners and a mass of documentary evidence about the Italian intervention in Spain. The government is hoping to lay this evidence before the Nonintervention committee. The so called "London Committee" will declare itself incompetent to receive this evidence from any source not represented in the Committee itself. Thereupon the Spanish Foreign Minister, Alvarez del Vayo, will exhibit the documents before the League of Nations Assembly in Geneve.
Nothing will change the bad situation for the Republic: France will maintain its border to Spain closed and the English, as always, will find the evidence inconclusive.

Ernest Hemingway is reporting for US newspapers from the battle and the war. He collected 40.000 US Dollar in the USA and bought for it Ambulances for the Republic. The public opinion in the USA tends strongly in favor of the Republic, but right-winged and anti-Communist forces in the government control the US foreign politic.

In the middle: Hemingway

31 Mar *Fascist General Mola starts a new offensive in the north with 50.000 troops

After failing in the capture of Madrid, the fascist army is concentrating in a campaign against Basque. In the morning hours the Legion Condor starts a new tactic: massive terror strikes against nonmilitary targets, the annihilation of complete villages. The small town Durango suffers the first attack, some of the first bombs fall into the church during the well visited morning measures. Fighters are flying low and machine gunning the fleeing population. The Fascists attack also a nearby cloister killing 15 nuns. Around 300 people die in this air raids, 2.500 are wounded, practically all of them civilians. A second air attack takes place during fire brigades, police and ambulances from Bilbao try to help the victims.

Above and right: Legion Condor Bombers