14th Division (Spain)
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The 14th Division was one of the
divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...
of the
Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, 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 República'' ...
that were organized during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
on the basis of the Mixed Brigades. The division participated in the
Battle of Guadalajara The Battle of Guadalajara (March 8–23, 1937) saw the victory of the Spanish Republican Army (''Ejército Popular Republicano'', or EPR) and of the International Brigades over the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid dur ...
.


History

The unit was partly created from the Mera Column, led by
Cipriano Mera Cipriano Mera Sanz (4 November 1897 – 24 October 1975) was a Spanish military and political figure during the Second Spanish Republic. Early life He had two sons (Floreal and Sergio) with his partner Teresa Gómez. A bricklayer, he join ...
and elements from other Mixed Brigades. The new division was integrated – together with the 11th and
12th Twelfth can mean: *The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution *The Twelfth, a Protestant celebration originating in Ireland In mathematics: * 12th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order twelve places from the beginning, follo ...
divisions – in the new 4th Army Corps, under the command of
Enrique Jurado Barrio Enrique Jurado Barrio (15 September 1882 - 30 March 1965) was a Spanish military colonel who fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Second Spanish Republic. Born in a family with a strong military background, Jurado participated in the war in ...
. The 12th International Brigade — within which the
Garibaldi Battalion The Garibaldi Battalion (The Garibaldi Brigade after April 1937) was a largely-Italian volunteer unit of the International Brigades that fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War from October 1936 to 1938. It was named after Giusepp ...
was integrated – was also assigned to the 14th Division. Shortly after its creation, the 14th Division, under Vicente Rojo Lluch faced the
Battle of Guadalajara The Battle of Guadalajara (March 8–23, 1937) saw the victory of the Spanish Republican Army (''Ejército Popular Republicano'', or EPR) and of the International Brigades over the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid dur ...
. With the support of the other republican divisions, the enemy attack was stopped and a counter-attack began. On 18 March the division, operating on the right flank of the republican front, and the 11th Division of Enrique Lister, with the support of 70 Soviet
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, launched an attack and seized the town of
Brihuega Brihuega is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2007 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 2,835 inhabitants. In 1710 a hard-fought battle took place in the township between Lord Stanhope ...
; the nationalist forces fled in disarray, leaving behind prisoners and war equipment. By the end of March the front stabilized after the Republicans managed to recover a large part of the territory. In July 1937, facing the
Battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...
, the unit was initially placed in reserve. It intervened towards the end of the fighting, after the defeat of Lister's 11th Division. On 24 July it was scheduled to relieve Líster's forces from the front line, although the fighting prevented it. On the morning of 25 July units of the 14th Division launched a counterattack to the southwest of
Brunete Brunete () is a town located on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, with a population of 10,730 people. History There was no military garrison in Brunete and there was no rebel attempt to seize the city during the coup of July 1936. Brunete remai ...
, counting on the support of Republican aviation. Despite the resistance offered by the 14th Division, it failed to maintain its positions. Once the fighting in Brunete ended, the division returned to the Guadalajara front, where it remained for the following months without intervening in relevant operations. In the spring of 1938 it was sent to the Levante front as a reserve unit, acting as relief for other units broken by enemy offensives. In March 1939 some of its units participated in the Casado coup. This was the case of the 70th Mixed Brigade of
Bernabé López Calle Bernabé López Calle (30 May 1899 in Montejaque, Málaga – 30 December 1949 in Medina Sidonia), also known as ''Comandante Abril'' or Fernando Abril, was an Andalusian anarchist militant who participated in the Spanish Civil War and later i ...
, which on the morning of 6 March occupied various strategic points in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, such as the
Alameda de Osuna Alameda de Osuna is a ward (''barrio'') of Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan ar ...
, the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
and the Telefónica building. Members of the
35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...
and 50th mixed brigades also took part in support of the rebellious forces. The 14th Division dissolved itself shortly after, with the end of the war.


Command

;Commanders * Vicente Rojo Lluch; *
Cipriano Mera Cipriano Mera Sanz (4 November 1897 – 24 October 1975) was a Spanish military and political figure during the Second Spanish Republic. Early life He had two sons (Floreal and Sergio) with his partner Teresa Gómez. A bricklayer, he join ...
; * Francisco Jiménez Durán; * Rafael Gutiérrez Caro; * Joaquín Martínez Sánchez ;Commissars * Mariano Valle Soria, of the CNT; ;Chiefs of Staff * Antonio Verardini Díez de Ferreti


Battles


See also

* List of Spanish Republican divisions * Mixed Brigades * Mera Column


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Divisions of the Spanish Republic, state=expanded Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939 Divisions of Spain Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Military history of Spain Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic 1937 establishments in Spain 1937 disestablishments in Spain Militarized anarchist formations