The Central Region Army Group, es, Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Central (''GERC''), was a military formation of 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 ...

during the last phase of 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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. It gathered the most powerful section of the republican military and would endure until the 1939 surrender. The ''GERC'' was under the command of general

José Miaja Menant José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, the

Defence of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from ...

hero.

History

The Central Region Army Group was established on 16 April 1938 by means of an order of the general Staff of the Popular Republican Army. It sought to reorganize the Republican forces following the disastrous campaigns of the

Aragon Offensive The Aragon Offensive was an important military campaign during the Spanish Civil War, which began after the Battle of Teruel. The offensive, which ran from March 7, 1938, to April 19, 1938, smashed the Republican forces, overran Aragon, and conq ...

and the splitting of the Spanish Republican territory in two by the

rebel faction The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup o ...

. It was initially named "Group of Armies of the Central-Southern Zone" (''Agrupación de Ejércitos de la Zona Centro-Sur'') before being renamed as Central Region Army Group. At the time of its establishment it was composed by four armies, the

Andalusian Army The Andalusian Army ( es, Ejército de Andalucía) was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that operated during the Spanish Civil War. Under its jurisdiction were the republican forces deployed in Eastern Andalusia. History The Andalusian Ar ...

''(Ejército de Andalucía)'', the

Extremaduran Army The Extremaduran Army ( es, Ejército de Extremadura), was a military formation of the Spanish Republican Army during the last phase of the Spanish Civil War. It was part of the Central Region Army Group ''(GERC)''. The Republican forces deploy ...

''(Ejército de Extremadura)'', Central Army ''(Ejército del Centro)'' and

Levantine Army The Levantine Army was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that operated during the Spanish Civil War. Under its jurisdiction were the Republican forces originally deployed on the Teruel front and, later, on the Levante front. It played an import ...

''(Ejército de Levante)'', as well as 16 Army

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

, 49 divisions and 138

mixed brigade Mixed brigade ( es, brigada mixta) was a basic tactical military unit of the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. It was initially designed as “pocket division”, an innovative maneuverable combined-arms formation. Because of high sa ...

s. It also included a

Coastal Defence Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

brigade and the two

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

brigades of the '' Defensa Contra Aeronaves'' (DCA). In June the same year, the

Eastern Region Army Group The Eastern Region Army Group, es, Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Oriental (GERO), was a military formation of the Spanish Republican Army during the last phase of the Spanish Civil War. It was established in June 1938 as a response to the sp ...

''Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Oriental (GERO)'' would be established as well. In December 1938 the ''GERC'' was scheduled to take part in General

Vicente Rojo Lluch Vicente Rojo Lluch (8 October 1894 – 15 June 1966) was Chief of the General Staff of the Spanish Armed Forces during the Spanish Civil War. Early life He was the posthumous son of a military man who fought against the Carlists and in th ...

's " Plan P", an ambitious project of an offensive campaign in

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, ...

that would have taken place at the same time as a disembarkment within the enemy lines in

Motril Motril () is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean coast in the Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province, with a population of 60,368 as of 2016. The town is located near the Guadalfeo River and is from Granada. H ...

, along with

diversionary attack Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...

s in other places of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

and the

Madrid Front The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Oct ...

. However, in the face of the opposition of General Miaja and other Republican commanders to the implementation of the whole plan, it was not carried out to its full extent and the only action taken was the

Battle of Valsequillo The Battle of Valsequillo, also known as Battle of Peñarroya, was a diversionary Republican offensive which took place in the Sierra Morena area in southern Extremadura and the north of Andalusia between 5 January and 4 February 1939 during th ...

which resulted in failure shortly before having been initiated. Following the

fall of Catalonia The Catalonia Offensive ( ca, Ofensiva de Catalunya, es, Ofensiva de Cataluña) was part of the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist Army started the offensive on 23 December 1938 and rapidly conquered Republican-held Catalonia with Barcelona ( ...

in February, on 2 March 1939 President

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...

arranged for a reorganization of the Republican Armed Forces in the Central Zone, decreeing the disbandment of the ''GERC'', as well as a reorganization of the command structure.

Ángel Bahamonde Magro Ángel Bahamonde Magro (born 1949) is a Spanish historian. He is professor of Contemporary History at the Charles III University of Madrid (UC3M). Biography Born in Madrid in 1949, he earned a PhD in history from the Complutense University of M ...

''et al'' (2000); ''Así terminó la Guerra de España'', pág. 341 However,

Segismundo Casado Segismundo Casado López (10 October 1893 – 18 December 1968) was a Spanish Army officer; he served during the late Restoration, the Primo de Rivera dictatorship and the Second Spanish Republic. Following outbreak of the Spanish Civil Wa ...

's coup that took place a few days later would hinder the implementation of these eleventh-hour measures.

Structure

References

Bibliography

* Alpert, Michael (1989); ''El Ejército Republicano en la Guerra Civil'', Siglo XXI de España, Madrid. * Engel Masoliver, Carlos (1999); ''Historia de las Brigadas mixtas del Ejército popular de la República, 1936-1939'', Editorial Almena,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, 1999 . * * Salas Larrazábal, Ramón (2006); ''Historia del Ejército Popular de la República''. La Esfera de los Libros S.L. * Thomas, Hugh (1976); ''Historia de la Guerra Civil Española''. Círculo de Lectores, Barcelona.. {{Divisions of the Spanish Republic Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic Army groups of Spain Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939

History

Structure

See also

References

Bibliography