The Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe ( en, Guadalupe Mountains), also known as the Tagus Campaign, was a continuation of the
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
Army's race north toward
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
in the early stages of 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, link ...
. In mid-late August 1936, the three
Regulares
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry ...
columns of
General Yagüe's
Army of Africa dashed through the
Sierra de Guadalupe Mountains, also known as ''Sierra de Villuercas'', in central
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and forded across the
Tagus River
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...
, capturing several towns and routing the Republicans in a succession of rapid advances.
Background
On August 14,
Badajoz
Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...
fell to the Nationalists under General Yagüe, cutting off the Republic from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Ahead of him, several hundred miles to the northeast, across the broad
Tagus River
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...
, gleamed
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, the aim and object of
General Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
's lightning campaign. The
Army of Africa's famous northward ''Marcha'' (or "March" - actually a fully motorized displacement), consequently, continued without pause into the hills and valleys sheltering Madrid.
To cover these southern approaches, the Republic deployed loyalist
General Riquelme with the so-called ''"Army of
Extremadura
Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
"'', a force of about 9,000 militia. Many of these troops had been redeployed in haste from the mountains of the Guadarrama front, and their condition deteriorated wretchedly in the Tagus River valley.
The battle
The government militias, while unquestionably brave, were sorely deficient in training and equipment and proved unable to face the disciplined
Spanish Foreign Legion
For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the pena ...
and the feared
Moroccan ''
Regulares
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry ...
''
shock troops
Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations.
"Shock troop" is a calque, a loose tra ...
. Desertions bled the Republicans, who refused to dig
trenches
A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches result from erosi ...
. Consequently, the Nationalists outmarched and outflanked the defenders, forcing perpetual retreats by threatening encirclement.
Riquelme's forces included 2,000
Anarchists
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 necessari ...
who refused to take his orders and launched useless attacks along the San Vicente hills. On August 17,
Major Heli Tella pushed through to
Trujillo and crossed the Tagus at
Almaraz.
Guadalupe fell to
Major Antonio Castejón on August 21.
According to the novel ''
L'Espoir'',
[Hugh Thomas, ''Spanish Civil War'', (1961) chapter 22] at
Medellín, a section of
Colonel Carlos Asensio's column was surprised and savagely attacked by Republican aircraft under
André Malraux
Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Culture (France), minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Go ...
, but on the whole resistance was minimal. By August 27, all three columns had concentrated at
Navalmoral, where the Nationalists launched the war's first
air raids on Madrid.
See also
*
*
References
Bibliography
* Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War''. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961.
External links
La Marcha: The Drive on Madrid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of The Sierra Guadalupe
1936 in Spain
Sierra Guadalupe
Sierra Guadalupe
Sierra Guadalupe
Spanish Civil War in Extremadura
Province of Cáceres
August 1936 events