The XII Army Corps was a military formation belonging to 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'' ...

that fought 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 ...

. Formed by veteran units, throughout the war it took part in prominent intervention in some of the main battles of the war, such as Aragon or the Ebro.

History

The formation was created in June 1937, within the Eastern Army. At the end of

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

some of its units intervened in the Zaragoza Offensive, distinguishing the 25th Division in the Battle of Belchite. In March 1938, at the beginning 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 ...

, the XII Army Corps had established its headquarters in

Alcorisa Alcorisa is a municipality in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2018 census the municipality has a population of 3,276 inhabitants. Alcorisa is located right by the N-211 road, to the SW of Calanda. This town is part of th ...

and integrated the 24th, 30th and 44th divisions; it covered the front that ran from the Ebro river to Vivel del Río Martín. During the withdrawal from Aragon, the formation suffered significant losses and was undone. After the republican zone was cut in two, it was isolated in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. After being briefly dissolved, the XII Corps was rebuilt and assigned to

Ebro Army The Ebro Army (Spanish: ''Ejército del Ebro'') was a Spanish Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. History The army was formed in April 1938 as the Autonomous Group of the Ebro (Spanish : ''Agrupación Autónoma del Ebro''), but was rena ...

, grouping within the divisions 16th, 44th and 56th. The militia major Etelvino Vega was appointed as the new commander of the XII Army Corps. The 16th and 44th divisions came to participate in the fighting on the Ebro, supporting the forces of the V and XV army corps. The 56th Division remained on the Segre front, where it intervened in the attacks against

Vilanova de la Barca Vilanova de la Barca () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Segrià in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Segre and Corb rivers. The Urgell canal provides irrigation water for growing cereals and forage plants. The m ...

and

Seròs Seròs () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Segrià in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the right bank of the Segre river in the south-west of the ''comarca''. The Aragon and Catalonia canal provides irrigation water for growing fr ...

. At the beginning of the

Catalonia Offensive The Catalonia Offensive (, ) 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 (the Republic's capital city from October 1937). Ba ...

the XII Army Corps covered the line of the

Segre River The Segre ( ; ) is a river tributary to the Ebro (''Ebre'' in Catalan) with a basin comprising territories across three states: France, Andorra, and Spain. The river Segre, known to Romans and Greeks as Sicoris, and to the Arabs of Al-Andalus ...

. Its units, however they had a bad performance against the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

offensive; the 56th Division was practically disbanded, while the 16th Division was powerless to offer an organized defense. As a consequence, Etelvino Vega was instantly dismissed at the beginning of

January 1939 The following events occurred in January 1939: January 1, 1939 (Sunday) ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to work with Germans. *** The Youth Protection Act was passed on April 30, 1938, and the Working Hours Regulations came into effect ...

, being replaced by

Francisco Galán Francisco Galán Rodríguez (1902–1971) was a Spanish military officer. Early life He was the brother of Captain Fermin Galán and the Republican Majors José Maria and Juan Galán. Before the Spanish Civil War he was a lieutenant of the Sp ...

. The XII Army Corps, however, was unable to resist the enemy pressure and undertook the retreat towards the French border.

Controls

; Commanders * Pedro Sánchez Plaza; * Claudio Martín Barco; * Etelvino Vega; *

; ; Commissars *

Juan Moles Martínez ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

, of the ERC; * Virgilio Llanos Manteca, of the PSUC; * Saturnino Pérez Martínez, of the CNT; ; Chiefs of Staff *

Luis Fernández Ortigosa Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

; * Anastasio Santiago Rojo; * Pedro Ferrando Laura; * Ángel Calvo Herrera;

Order of battle

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Corps of the Spanish Republic, state=expanded Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1938 Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939 Corps of Spain Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Military history of Spain Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic 1937 establishments in Spain 1938 disestablishments in Spain 1938 establishments in Spain 1939 disestablishments in Spain