The Central Region Army Group, (''GERC''), was a military formation 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'' ...

during the last phase of 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 ...

. 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 very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

, the Defence of Madrid 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 con ...

and the splitting of the

Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

an territory in two by the

rebel faction A rebel faction usually refers to a rebellious group. Rebel faction may also refer to: Politics * Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War * Rebel Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution Fiction * Rebel Alliance, a fictional organ ...

. 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 () 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 Army was created on October 19, ...

''(Ejército de Andalucía)'', *the Extremaduran Army ''(Ejército de Extremadura)'', *the Central Army ''(Ejército del Centro)'' and *the

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)'', In total 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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

, 49

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 ...

and 138 mixed brigades. It also included a Coastal Defence brigade and the two

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

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

Eastern Region Army Group The Eastern Region Army Group, (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 splitting in two of the territory under the sover ...

''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. He is considered to have been one of the best commanders of the civil war. Early life He was the ...

's "

Plan P A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an Goal, objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a modal logic, temporal set (mathematics), set of intended actions through wh ...

", an ambitious project of an offensive campaign in

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

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

Motril Motril () is a town and municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The main settlement is located a few kilometers inland, separated from the Port of Motril by the Guadalfeo delta. Mo ...

, along with

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

s in other places of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

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 t ...

which resulted in failure shortly before having been initiated. Following the fall of Catalonia in February, on 2 March 1939 President

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...

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 W ...

'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 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 ...

, 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 (Republican faction) 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