The National Republican Guard (, GNR) was a

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

corps which existed in the

Second 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 Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

at the commencement 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 ...

, successor of the Civil Guard within the Republican faction.

History

The GNR was created by decree of 29 August 1936, by which the Civil Guard still existing within the Republican faction was renamed the National Republican Guard.Gaceta de Madrid: Diario Oficial de la República núm. 244 (31 de agosto de 1936)
Given the important extension of the rebellion among the Civil Guard, this reorganization was due to the interest of the republican government to ensure the fidelity and reliability of the members of the Civil Guard who had remained loyal to the government during the

Spanish coup of July 1936 The Spanish coup of July 1936( or, among the rebels, ) was a military uprising that was intended to overthrow the Spanish Second Republic, but precipitated the Spanish Civil War, in which Nationalists fought against Republicans for control o ...

. General was appointed Inspector General of the GNR until 19 October 1937, when it was integrated into the new Interior Security Corps.Gaceta de la República: Diario Oficial núm. 293 (20 de octubre de 1937)
On 27 December 1936, the new Internal Security Corps was created, in which the members of the GNR should be integrated. Hugh Thomas (1976), ''Historia de la Guerra Civil Española'', p. 597 However, the integration process was slow due to the changing fortunes of the conflict and took some time. For example, during the

May Days The May Days (, ), sometimes also called May Events (, ), were a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in str ...

of 1937 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 ...

the GNR was still operative, coming to intervene with the

Guardia de Asalto The Assault Guards, officially known as the Security and Assault Corps ( Spanish; Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto), were a gendarmerie and reserve force of the blue-uniformed urban police force of Spain under the Second Spanish Republic. The Assaul ...

in the street fighting against the militants of the CNT– FAI and the

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 ...

. Hugh Thomas (1976), ''Historia de la Guerra Civil Española'', pp. 707–713 At the end of 1937 the reorganization of the last remnants of the GNR was completed, with which it disappeared definitively.

References

{{reflist Civil Guard (Spain) Defunct gendarmeries Defunct law enforcement agencies of Spain Military history of Spain Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic 1936 establishments in Spain 1937 disestablishments in Spain Military units and formations established in 1936 Military units and formations disestablished in 1937

History

See also

References