The Battle of Bilbao, part of the War in the North in 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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, saw the Nationalist Army capture

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

and the rest of the Basque Country that was still being held by the

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

Background

Bilbao was the capital of the autonomous Basque area established by the Republic after the war began to reward

Basque nationalist Basque nationalism ( eu, eusko abertzaletasuna ; es, nacionalismo vasco; french: nationalisme basque) is a form of nationalism that asserts that Basques, an ethnic group indigenous to the western Pyrenees, are a nation and promotes the po ...

support of the Republic. The

Basque people The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

in Spain generally inhabit four provinces:

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álav ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French de ...

and

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

. The Basque nationalists were dominant in the last two provinces. Navarre and Álava had rallied to the rising against the Republic. The Spanish Nationalist troops gained

early in the war with the fall of Irún in August and

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the ...

on 13 September 1936, isolating the Basque Country and the zone held by the Northern Republicans from the French border. On 31 March, the Nationalists, led by the General Emilio Mola, launched an offensive against Biscay Province. The Basque troops had to retire, and by June, the Nationalists had reached the outskirts of Bilbao.

Battle

By 11 June 1937 the Basque forces had fallen back to the city of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, which was defended by a series of rushed fortifications called the "

Bilbao's Iron Ring Bilbao's Iron Ring" ...

". It was poorly designed for defence. It was quite an antiquated concept, akin to

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

fortifications, and so was vulnerable to modern warfare and weapons, such as aircraft and artillery, and only 30,000 troops were defending it (it was conceived to be defended by 70,000). Therefore the Iron Ring was rather easily overcome by Nationalist forces. Josu Chueca
«Burdin Gerrikoa puskatuta»
''36ko Gerra orain''. Imanol Villa

''El Correo'', 2007-02-11. The ring was breached by an infantry assault supported by heavy air and artillery bombardment (150 guns and 70 bombers). On 12 June, the Spanish Republican Army launched a diversionary attack against

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almo ...

to stop the Nationalist offensive, but the Nationalist troops continued their advance. On the night of 13 June, the defenders evacuated most of the civilian population from the city. On 18 June, General Ulibarri withdrew his remaining troops from Bilbao, and the Nationalists occupied the city on the following day. The city's bridges had been destroyed to hinder the attackers, but the city remained mostly intact.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Bilbao

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

Bilbao 1937 in Spain Conflicts in 1937

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

June 1937 events

Background

Battle

See also

References