The 221st Mixed Brigade (),
/ref>Carlos Engel, ''Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del E. P. de la República'', 1999 was a Mixed Brigade of the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la República'' ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. It was formed in the summer of 1937 in

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ) is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. It was founded as Villa Real in 1255 as a ro ...

with four

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s, the 881, 882, 883 and 884. Data are lacking regarding the final fate of this mixed brigade in the

mountainous A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Artana sector of the Eastern Iberian System. The families of the deceased soldiers speculate that the bodies of the disappeared members of this unit may have ended up in

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

History

The 221st Mixed Brigade was established in the summer 1937 in

with conscripts of the following call-up years: 1930, 1937 and 1938. The first commander of the unit was Infantry Commander José Torralba Ordóñez, a former retired Captain. The

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...

was Antonio Romero Cebriá who belonged to the

Izquierda Republicana The Republican Left () was a Spanish republican party founded in 1934. History The party was founded in 1934 following the left's defeat in the 1933 election, by the merger of Manuel Azaña's Republican Action, part of Marcelino Domingo's ...

party.

First phase

Although it was placed under the 68th Division of the XX Army Corps the 221st Mixed Brigade could not be formed until November. Already in December 1937 the 221st Mixed Brigade was transferred to the 71st Division of the XXIII Army Corps of the

Levantine Army The Levantine Army was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that operated during the Spanish Civil War. Under its jurisdiction were the Republican forces originally deployed on the Teruel front and, later, on the Levante front. It played an import ...

''(Ejército de Levante)'' and moved to

Albuñol Albuñol is a town in the province of Granada, Spain. Located a few miles inland, it is regarded as one of the gateways to the Alpujarras mountains. The municipality includes the small beach resort of La Rabita. Demography According to the 20 ...

. In the new location the command of the 221st Mixed Brigade went to Militia Major Jesús Rubio Cerón. By 11 June 1938, as the situation in the Eastern Front grew critical, the 221st Mixed Brigade was placed under the 49th Division of the XX Army Corps and went to the combat line by the

Mijares Mijares is a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating popul ...

(Millars) river.

Unknown end of the brigade

On 4 July 1938 the 221st Mixed Brigade was defending the area of

La Vall d'Uixó La Vall d'Uixó (, also known as ''Vall-llarga'', ''Vall del Duc'' or simply as ''La Vall''; ) is a town situated in eastern Spain, in the Valencian province of Castelló. La Vall is located 25 km to the south of the province's capital C ...

and

Alfondeguilla Alfondeguilla is a municipality located in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the ...

, from where it slowly withdrew until reaching the protection afforded by the

XYZ Line The XYZ Line (), also known as the Matallana Line, was a system of fortifications built in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War to defend Valencia, the capital of the Second Spanish Republic. The XYZ Line was a simple system of trenches and bunkers ...

. Between the 7 and 10 November it took part in an unsuccessful attack against the rebel lines in

Nules Nules is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Castellón (Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of ...

and Castellón. On 4 February 1939 it joined the 15th Division of the XX Army Corps, substituting the 75th Mixed Brigade in the road from Artana to the Aigualit Creek. The final fate of this mixed brigade is still a mystery.

References

External links

Condecorados con la Medalla del Valor - CombatientesJumillanos desaparecidos y fallecidos en el año 1938
{{Mixed brigades of Spain Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939 Mixed Brigades (Spain)

History

First phase

Unknown end of the brigade

See also

References

External links