Red And Black Column

The Red and Black Column () was a column of the confederal militias that fought in the Spanish Civil War. It was initially established to participate in the Mallorca landings, but after the expedition was defeated, it became the fifth anarchist militia to be dispatched to the Aragon front. The column's position on the front was adjacent to the militia of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), but the two refused to collaborate with each other. The column participated in the establishment of the Regional Defence Council of Aragon and later merged into the Ascaso Column. In early 1937, it was militarised and transformed into the 127th Mixed Brigade of the Popular Army of the Republic. During the May Days, members of the former Red and Black Column attempted to abandon the front and go to Barcelona, but they were turned back after intervention from anarchist officials and the Republican military.

Formation

In the lead up to the July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona, on 17 July, the anarchist defence committee members Juan Yagüe and Julián Merino raided the ships in the port of Barcelona and seized the weapons on board. After the uprising was defeated in Barcelona, the Catalan revolutionaries organised a number of militia columns to fight against the Nationalists in Aragon. The first two columns, the Durruti Column and South Ebro Column, were sent by the anarchists. They were followed soon after by the anarchist Ascaso Column, then by the Del Barrio Column of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) and the Rovira-Arquer Column of Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM). In August, the anarchists sent their fourth column, the Aguiluchos Column.

During this time, Juan Yagüe put together the Red and Black Column () for the Battle of Majorca, but the expedition to take the island was ultimately unsuccessful. Antònia Fontanillas Borràs had convinced Yagüe to allow her to join the column and participate in the Mallorca landings, but her father made her stay behind. Two of her friends joined the Mallorca expedition and one went on to fight on the Aragon front. In mid-September, the Red and Black Column was sent to the Aragon front as the anarchists' fifth militia column. The column was commanded by the syndicalist José García Pradas, with Luis Jiménez Pajarero as the column's military advisor. The Column was politically led by Juan Yagüe, who died on the front lines later that month.

Aragon front

The Red and Black Column established its barracks in Azuara, approximately six kilometres behind the front line. There they established a local union of the ''Confederación Nacional del Trabajo'' (CNT) and a group of the Libertarian Youth, which fielded many of the militia's members. Members of the Red and Black Column attended town meetings, and according to Augustin Souchy, maintained a "cordial relationship" with the town's inhabitants. Near the front line in Angüés, the Red and Black Column and the militia of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) occupied opposite sides of the village. When one went into combat, the other stayed behind, rather than the two fighting together.

On 6 October 1936, the Red and Black Column participated in the establishment of the Regional Defence Council of Aragon. The Red and Black Column and Aguiluchos Column eventually merged into the Ascaso Column, which came to count 7,000 militiamen under the command of Domingo Ascaso and Gregorio Jover. In early 1937, the Red and Black Column was militarised into the 127th Mixed Brigade, which was integrated into the 28th Division of the Popular Army of the Republic.

May Days

Following the outbreak of the May Days, on 5 May 1937, between 1,500 and 2,000 militiamen of the former Red and Black Column and the POUM abandoned the front line in Uesca and attempted to go to Barcelona. They left some of their forces distributed along the front, in order to assure its defence against the Nationalists. Juan Manuel Molina was alerted to the movements when the 127th Mixed Brigade, led by , passed through Monzón carrying artillery cannons and machine guns. On their way, they were intercepted by the Spanish Republican Air Force and detained in Lleida. Franco then met with CNT members from Binéfar and was put on the phone to Molina, who assured him that the anarchists had enough forces in Barcelona to beat the communists. The meeting with the CNT officials convinced most of the Red and Black columnists to return to the front. 40 members of the column continued on to Barcelona, where they captured the Ronda de Sant Pau. But following appeals from the leadership of the CNT, they eventually abandoned the barricades.

References

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{{Portal bar, Anarchism, Spain

1936 establishments in Spain
1937 disestablishments in Spain
Confederal militias
Defunct anarchist militant groups
Military units and formations established in 1936
Military units and formations disestablished in 1937
Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction)