The bombing of Durango took place on 31 March 1937, 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 31 March 1937 the Nationalists started their offensive against the Republican held province of Biscay. As part of the offensive the '' Aviazione Legionaria'' and the ''

Legion Condor The Condor Legion () was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were ...

'' bombed

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, a town of 10,000 inhabitants that was also a key road and railway junction behind the frontline. Around 250 people are believed to have died in the bombing.

Background

On 31 March 1937, the Nationalist forces, led by

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...

, started the offensive against the Republican held, Vizcaya Province. Mola said that: "I have decided to terminate rapidly the war in the north: those not guilty of

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

s and who surrender their arms will have their lives and property spared. But, if submission is not immediate, I will raze all Vizcaya to the ground, beginning with the industries of war". The same day the Nationalists bombed the towns of Durango and Elorrio.

The bombing

Durango, a town of 10,000 inhabitants, was a road and railway junction between

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

and the front. By bombing the road and infrastructure in the town, the Republican forces would be prevented from sending reinforcements from Bilbao. It would also ensure that the Basque and Republican troops couldn't retreat in an orderly fashion in order to fight another day. Despite the importance of Durango as a transportation junction, the town had no air defences, and there were only a few Republican

fighter plane Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the a ...

s to be found in the Basque region. On 31 March, German and Italian transport planes modified to carry bombs (German Ju 52 and Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.81) from the ''

Condor Legion The Condor Legion () was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were ...

'' and the '' Aviazione Legionaria'' bombed the town in relays. Two churches were bombed during the celebration of mass, killing 14 nuns and the officiated priest. Furthermore,

Heinkel He 51 The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. A seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier He 49. Design and development In 1931, Heinkel recruited the tal ...

fighters strafed fleeing civilians. Altogether, around 250 civilians (Thomas: 248; Beevor: 250 and Preston: 258) died in the attack.

Aftermath

On 28 April, Durango fell to Nationalist side. While the local road junction meant that Durango was a legitimate target for an air attack and the bombing did not contravene the laws of war as they were at the time, foreign observers were shocked at the carnage. The Nationalists denied responsibility for the bombing, claiming that the priest and the nuns who died in the bombing were killed and burned by the ''reds''. Queipo de llano said that: "our planes bombed military targets in Durango, and later communists and socialists locked up the priests and nuns, shooting without pity and burning the churches". The bombing of Durango was to a certain extent overlooked historically. Instead, it was the

bombing of Guernica On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica (''Gernika'' in Basque) was aerially bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe ...

, a similar air attack that took place four weeks later, that came to symbolize the horrors of modern

aerial warfare Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking tactical bombing, enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or Strategic bombing, strategic targets; fi ...

in the public consciousness.

References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durango Explosions in 1937 Massacres in 1937 Battles of the Spanish Civil War 1937 in Spain Conflicts in 1937 Spanish Civil War massacres History of Biscay 1937 in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Airstrikes during the Spanish Civil War March 1937 in Europe Airstrikes conducted by Italy Strategic bombing conducted by Italy Italian war crimes in Spain Nazi war crimes in Spain

Background

The bombing

Aftermath

See also

References

Notes