The Huesca Offensive was an operation carried out 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 ...
by the
Republican Army in June 1937 in order to take the Aragonese city of
Huesca
Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...
, which since the start of the war in July 1936 had been under the control of the
Nationalist forces.
Background
In April 1937, the Nationalists
started an offensive against the Republican-held Biscay Province, and by the end of May, the Navarrese troops had reached the eastern side of
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 ...
's defenses. The Republican government then decided to launch two diversionary offensives on the
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
and
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 ...
fronts in order to divert Nationalist troops.
The Offensive
The Republican government decided to launch an attack against the Nationalist held city of
Huesca
Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...
. After the
May Days, the Republican forces in the Aragon front had been reorganized and the Republican government established a new
Army of the East. This force, under the command of General Pozas, was reinforced with the
XII International Brigade
The XII International Brigade was mustered on 7 November 1936 at Albacete, Spain. It was formerly named the Garibaldi Brigade, after the most famous and inspiring leader in the Italian Independence Wars, General Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Structure
Its ...
, led by General
Pavol Lukacs (an alias for Máté Zalka, the Brigade's Commander), and four brigades from the central front. The Republican forces outnumbered the Nationalist forces besieged in Huesca, but the Nationalist troops were well entrenched and the Republican troops had little artillery and armoured support.
The attack against Huesca started on 12 June, led by Lukács who also commanded the 45th Division of the Spanish Republican Army. The troops attacking across open ground were decimated by the machine-gun and artillery fire of the Nationalists. Furthermore, the same day, Lukács/Zalka was hit by a Nationalist shell and died. The offensive saw the
Rakosi Battalion's first action (with 288 men). The battalion became trapped by machine-gun fire and lost a quarter of its men. Their commander, Ákos Hevesi, and political commissar, Imre Tarr, were both killed as they led from the front.
On 16 June the Republican troops attacked the villages of
Alerre and
Chimillas but the assault was repelled by the Nationalist troops. On 19 June, the Nationalists entered
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 offensive was called off, after other two days of failed Republican assaults.
Aftermath
The Republican troops had heavy casualties (according to Beevor, 9,000), mainly
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
and
POUM
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War. It was formed by the fusion of the Trotskyism, Tro ...
members. The failed offensive after the recent
May Days in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, increased the defeatism and the suspicions among the Republican troops in Aragon.
[Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. p.277]
See also
*
*
References
Bibliography
*Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006.
*Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. 2001.
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Battles of the Spanish Civil War
1937 in Spain
Conflicts in 1937
Military history of Aragon
Province of Huesca
June 1937 in Europe