Battle of Belchite (1937)
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The Battle of Belchite refers to a series of military operations that took place between 24 August and 7 September 1937, in and around the small town of Belchite, in
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.


Prelude

After failed attempts to capture Brunete, the
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
military leadership decided to try a new series of offensives to slow down the Nationalist advance in the north. A new campaign, therefore, was planned for
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
. The decision was based on political as well as military considerations, as the government saw it as a way to decrease
Anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
and Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (
POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ( es, Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, POUM; ca, Partit Obrer d'Unificació Marxista) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil ...
) influence in the region by bringing in communist troops and incorporating three Anarchist divisions into the newly designated Army of the East under command of General Sebastián Pozas. Another objective of the planned offensive was to take
Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
, the capital of Aragon, which was only a few kilometres behind enemy lines. Capturing the regional capital offered more than symbolic significance, because it was also the communication centre of the whole Aragon front. The first year of the war in this part of Spain had emphasised that the possession of key towns was of far greater importance than the control of wide areas of open countryside. The Nationalists had only three divisions, the 51st, 52nd and 105th, spread across the three hundred kilometres of front, with the majority of their troops concentrated in towns. General Pozas and his Chief of Staff Antonio Cordon set up their headquarters in
Bujaraloz Bujaraloz is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,002 inhabitants. See also *Monegros *List of municipalities in Zaragoza This is a list ...
. Their plan was to break through at seven different points on the central one hundred-kilometre stretch between
Zuera Zuera is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2010 census,Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) the municipality has a population of 7,510 inhabitants. The name is proposed coming from the Baske ...
and Belchite. The object of splitting their attacking forces was to divide any Nationalist counter-attack and to offer fewer targets for bombing and strafing than at Brunete.


Republican offensive

The Republican Army of the East, together with the XI and XV International Brigades, started its offensive with eighty thousand men, three aviation squadrons with
Polikarpov I-16 The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ...
(''moscas''),
Polikarpov I-15 The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was ...
(''chatos'') (ninety aeroplanes in total) and one hundred and five
T-26 The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light ...
tanks in three main and five secondary directions on a one hundred-kilometre stretch between
Zuera Zuera is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2010 census,Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) the municipality has a population of 7,510 inhabitants. The name is proposed coming from the Baske ...
and Belchite. On the first two fronts (north and centre), the Republicans managed to take only vacant territories. On the southern portion of the front, the Republican Army took the village of
Mediana Mediana is an important archeological site from the late Roman period, located in the eastern suburb of the Serbian city of Niš. It represents a luxurious residence with a highly organised economy. Excavations have revealed a villa with peristyl ...
immediately and Quinto was taken on the fourth day of the offensive. In the village of Codo, there were three
Requeté The Requeté () was a Carlist organization, at times with paramilitary units, that operated between the mid-1900s and the early 1970s, though exact dates are not clear. The Requeté formula differed over the decades, and according to its chan ...
companies that tied down two Republican brigades. The fiercest resistance was encountered in Belchite, where seven thousand Nationalist defenders resisted until 7 September in the surrounded town when Republicans took it. These delays allowed the Nationalists to bring up reinforcements and the full-scale offensive on Zaragoza failed.


Nationalist counteroffensive

With five Nationalist divisions whereof two were withdrawn from the
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
front, artillery and 65 Fiat CR.32,
Heinkel He 46 The Heinkel He 46 was a German World War II-era monoplane designed in 1931 for the close reconnaissance and army co-operation roles. While it served with the ''Luftwaffe''s front-line units only briefly at the start of World War II, the He 46 serv ...
, Savoia Sm-79 and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Nationalist counter offensive started on 30 August and ended on 6 September. The only major Nationalist success was the shooting down of five I-15s, but they were unable to break Republican lines.


Aftermath

Although the Republicans gained some initial success and managed to push the front line ten kilometres deeper into Nationalist territory, both of the main objectives of the offensive failed. The Nationalists did not postpone their big offensive in the north, as they had done before the
Battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...
, and the attempt to capture Zaragoza failed.


Ruins as national monument

The whole town was destroyed. Franco ordered that the ruins be left untouched as a "living" monument of war. A new town was constructed near the former. The holes and caves in Lobo Hill south of Belchite from where the Spanish Republican artillery positions fired towards what is now Belchite Old Town have been preserved and are open to visitors.Cabezo del Lobo (Belchite)
/ref>


See also

*
List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War This is a list of military equipment of the Spanish Republicans. The Soviet Union was the main provider of Republican military equipment. Weapons * List of Spanish Civil War weapons of the Republicans Aircraft * List of aircraft of the Span ...
*
List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War {{short description, None This is a list of all military equipment used by the nationalists during the Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists ...
*
Corbera d'Ebre Corbera d'Ebre is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of la Terra Alta in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the 12 municipalities comprising the wine-growing region of the Spanish '' Denominación de Origen'' classification of the Spanish wine Terr ...
*


References

* * {{authority control 1937 in Spain Belchite Belchite 1937 Belchite Province of Zaragoza August 1937 events September 1937 events