The 5th 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
People's Army of the Republic 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. It was deployed on the
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 ...
and
Levante fronts.
History
The unit was created on 31 December 1936, within the
Madrid Army Corps. It covered the second sector of the Madrid front, from the El Pardo wall to the
Manzanares river
The Manzanares () is a river in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, which flows from the Sierra de Guadarrama, passes through Madrid, and eventually empties into the Jarama river, which in turn is a right-bank tributary to the Tagus.
In its ...
. It had its headquarters in the
Palace of El Pardo. The division was made up of the
5th,
38th and
39th mixed brigades, with 8,166 troops and nine pieces of artillery.
The 5th Division played an important role during the
Third Battle of the Corunna Road, defending the accesses to Madrid, the
San Fernando Bridge and the El Pardo mountain. Later the unit became part of the
II Army Corps, and later in the
VI Army Corps, remaining at the Madrid front.
In the spring of 1938,
José Miaja sent it to the Levante front to reinforce the republican forces that were resisting the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
offensive. The 5th Division, located between the
25th and
39th, maintained its defensive positions and managed to avoid the defeat of the republican units deployed in the Maestrazgo area. The unit maintained the resistance in this area for several weeks, suffering severe wear and tear. Subsequently, the 5th Division went to the
XIX Army Corps
The XIX Army Corps (German language, German: ''XIX. Armeekorps'') was an Panzer corps, armored corps of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 (German: ''Panzergrupp ...
, standing out in the resistance against the nationalist Army Corps de Navarra in
Campillo.
During the rest of the war, it did not take part in relevant military operations.
Command
;Commanders
*
Juan Perea Capulino (Dec. 1936 - April 1937);
*
Miguel Palacios Martínez (April 1937 - April 1938);
*
José Penido Iglesias (April 1938 - Feb. 1939).
;Commissars
*
Tomás Sanz Asensio, of the
CNT;
;Chiefs of Staff
* Joaquín Martí Sánchez;
* Francisco Garrido Romero;
* Paulino García Puente;
* Juan Miguel Mari;
Organization
References
Bibliography
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{{Divisions of the Spanish Republic, state=expanded
Military units and formations established in 1936
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
1936 establishments in Spain
1939 disestablishments in Spain