The siege of

Gandesa Gandesa () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Terra Alta, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. History In the place known as ''Coll del Moro'' there is an ancient Iberian archaeological site belonging to the Ilercavones tribe that l ...

took place between July and November 1938 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 ...

, a few months after a battle in the same town.

History

The siege of Gandesa, or second battle of Gandesa, was part of an attempt by the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the 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 Rep� ...

to recapture lost territory following the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

, when six fully equipped republican divisions were able to successfully cross the

Ebro River , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

. The republican move initially caught the rebel faction by surprise, but the latter displayed greater logistic superiority and quickly brought in a convoy of troops from Lleida, including ''

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 ...

, the

Spanish 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 Falangists as reinforcements.

The siege

The attack against the Francoist troops entrenched in the town of Gandesa was mainly led by the 35th Division of the 15th Army Corps (''XV Cuerpo del Ejército''), led by

Manuel Tagüeña Manuel Tagüeña Lacorte (1913–1971) was a Spanish military officer of the Spanish Republican Army. Before the Spanish Civil War, he was a member of the socialist youth and studied mathematics and physics at Madrid University. In July 1936 he l ...

Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939.'' Penguin Books. London. p. 350. Other divisions involved as the siege progressed were the 3d, 11th, 43d, 45th and 46th. Among the attackers the

XV International Brigade The Abraham Lincoln Brigade ( es, Brigada Abraham Lincoln), officially the XV International Brigade (''XV Brigada Internacional''), was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the Internation ...

, who had led the Battle of Gandesa a few months before, also took part in what would be its last battle in Spain. After its initial success, the ambitious republican offensive failed and the front stabilized in a line from Serra de Pàndols in the west through Gandesa and neighbouring Vilalba dels Arcs, as far east as the Serra de Cavalls range and north to Serra de la Fatarella. Defended by the Nationalist 50th Division, the republican troops launched repeated attacks against Gandesa town, the wall of the local graveyard bearing the brunt of much of the combat action.La Batalla del Ebro
/ref> Disregarding the advice of fellow generals García Valiño and Yagüe and Aranda who preferred to hold the front as it was and initiate an offensive in the North towards Barcelona, Franco wanted to regain the lost territory at any price. His plan was to keep ramming against the republican lines with repeated frontal counterattacks despite the heavy number of casualties on his own side. General Aranda compared the lack of progress at Gandesa to a fruitless fight of two rams, but Franco concentrated on the fact that he had the best of the Republican Army caught up in a 35 km long line and if he annihilated it, there would be not enough manpower on the side of the Spanish Republic to continue the war. Juan Eslava Galán, ''Una historia de la Guerra Civil que no va gustar a nadie'', Planeta, p. 142-145 After months of confrontation, on 2 November the nationalists dominated all the high points of the Pàndols and Cavalls ranges and by 10 November all republican positions south of the Ebro were abandoned in a hasty retreat. There were a very high number of casualties on both sides; the Nationalist armies could bear them, but the Republican military would not recover from the heavy losses inflicted.

References

External links

Diari de Guerra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandesa 1938, Siege of Battles of the Spanish Civil War Sieges involving Spain Gandesa 1938 1938 in Spain History of Catalonia Conflicts in 1938

History

The siege

See also

References

External links