First Battle of the Corunna Road
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The First Battle of the Corunna Road took place between 29 November and 3 December 1936 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, link ...
. The Nationalists tried to isolate Madrid from the west, cutting the Corunna Road, but the Republican army repelled the attack.


Background

After the failure to take
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 November 1936 and the failure to reduce the morale of the city's population through aerial bombing,
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
decided to encircle the city from the north-west in order to cut off water and electricity supplies from the
Sierra de Guadarrama The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de G ...
. Franco's
Nationalists 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: The ...
, led by José Varela, concentrated a force of 3,000 men supported by heavy artillery including
Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aeron ...
bombers. The defending
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 ...
army had one brigade.


The battle

The Nationalist offensive started on 29 November with heavy artillery bombing on the Pozuelo sector with 3,000 ''
Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
'' and Moroccan colonial troops backed by tanks and Ju 52 bombers. The Republican brigade was initially routed in disorder, but just a few days later a Republican counter-attack backed by
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, re-established the line on 3 December.


Aftermath

The Nationalists only occupied
Boadilla del Monte Boadilla del Monte () is a Spanish town and municipality located in the west of the Community of Madrid, inside its metropolitan area. It has the second highest level of income per capita in all of the country of Spain. In 2017, it had a popula ...
and Villanueva de la Cañada and failed to cut Madrid from the north.Boadilla by Esmond Romilly,
The Clapton Press The Clapton Press is an independent publisher based in London E5, established in 2018. Spanish Civil War Although its publication list is not restricted to any particular theme, The Clapton Press has a strong interest in Spain and Latin America. ...
Limited, London, 2018 They then decided to concentrate a huge force in order to continue the offensive which was recommenced on 13 December and continued into mid-January the following year in the
Second Battle of the Corunna Road The Second Battle of the Corunna Road ( es, Batalla de la Carretera de Coruña) was a battle of the Spanish Civil War that took place from 13 December 1936 to 15 January 1937, northwest of Madrid. In December 1936, the Nationalists launched an ...
.


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 ...


References

Corunna Road 1936 in Spain Corunna Road Corunna Road November 1936 events December 1936 events {{Spain-battle-stub