The siege of Gijón, one of the first actions 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 Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
, saw the
anarchist militia crushing a small
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 ...
garrison in
Gijón
Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...
, between 19 July and 16 August 1936. The militia – nominally fighting in defense of the
Republic – laid siege to the Simancas barracks in the city of
Gijón
Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...
. These were defended by about 180
soldiers and ''
Guardia Civil
The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the au ...
'' officers who had risen in support of
General Franco's rebellion and seized the post for the Nationalists. The battle was remarkable for its viciousness and the stubbornness of the besieged.
Background
The Nationalist uprising of July 1936 fared poorly in
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
, a province overwhelmingly hostile to Franco and controlled almost from the outset of the war by a curious but effective council of state officials,
technician
A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles.
Specialisation
The term technician covers many different speciali ...
s, and
mine workers.
CNT and
UGT membership in Asturias totalled around 70,000, forming the backbone of a disciplined militia.
Against such opposition the
military governor
A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...
of Gijón,
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
Antonio Pinilla
Antonio Pinilla Miranda (born 25 February 1971) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played mainly as a forward.
Best known for his stints with Tenerife and Gimnàstic – he began playing professionally for Barcelona, but had vi ...
, dared not to declare his loyalty to Franco. Very few were fooled, and by late July his outpost was surrounded and cut off from
General Emilio Mola's Army of the North
The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...
by several hundred miles of enemy territory.
The Nationalist cruiser ''
Almirante Cervera'' could have supported the rebel troops with her 6in main guns from the sea, but this offered no real hope of relief.
The siege
The battle for Gijón was marked by Pinilla's unwavering resistance and by the almost total lack of weapons - excepting
dynamite - of the attackers. Until they secured Gijón's fall the Republicans could not concentrate their full numbers in their
siege against the Nationalists in Oviedo; accordingly, their attacks were unrelenting.
The defenders soon ran out of water and went mad with thirst. Pinilla refused to give in, believing, from the distorted reports of Nationalist
propaganda, that relief was imminent. As at the concurrent
siege of the Alcázar
The Siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic Nationalist victory in Toledo in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. The Alcázar of Toledo was held by a variety of military forces in favour of the Nationalist uprising. Militias of th ...
in
Toledo, the Anarchists abducted Pinilla's son and threatened to slay him if the defenders refused to surrender. Like his counterpart
José Moscardó Ituarte
José Moscardó e Ituarte, 1st Count of the Alcázar of Toledo, Grandee of Spain (26 October 1878 – 12 April 1956) was the military Governor of Toledo Province during the Spanish Civil War. He sided with the Nationalist army fighting the Republ ...
, Pinilla was unmoved.
[Thomas, p. 327.]
In mid-August the miners stormed the barracks, hurling dynamite as they charged. The barracks burned and the Nationalist defence crumbled. Rather than surrender, Pinilla sent a
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
message to the ''Almirante Cervera'', ordering it to open fire on his position, the order was obeyed and the last defenders of Simancas barracks died in the flames.
See also
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Notes
References
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Gijon
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1936 in Spain
July 1936 events
August 1936 events