Gipuzkoas operation - operation of the Spanish Civil War, as a result of which the army of Spanish nationalists seized the northern province of Spain Gipuzkoa , which is in the hands of Republicans.
| Gipuzkoas operation | |||
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| Main conflict: Spanish Civil War | |||
| date | July 20 - September 26, 1936 | ||
| A place | Guipuzcoa , northern Spain. | ||
| Total | Nationalist decisive victory | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
Prerequisites
At the end of July, the Moles began to experience a shortage of military equipment (there were only 26,000 rounds of ammunition). Then, Franco organized the delivery of Italian and German (through Portugal) weapons (and 600,000 rounds) to them. On August 13, Mola met Franco in Seville and, at a meeting with him, decided to capture San Sebastian and Irún in order to cut off the Basques from France at the western tip of the Pyrenees [2] [3] .
Progress of operation
Offensive on San Sebastian
Initially, the plan of the Gipuzkoas operation was developed by Emilio Moloy with the goal of capturing Irun and thereby cutting off Republican troops north of France, as well as connecting with the nationalist garrison in San Sebastian, which would allow them to completely subjugate the city. The operation began with an attack on Irun when the bridge was destroyed in Endarlatz, making it impossible to get into the city. When it came to news that the nationalists were besieged in the Quartel de Loyola in San Sebastian, Alfonso Beorlegi deployed his troops from the west to the city in order to lift the siege of the nationalist garrison . Two other groups of troops located in the west also turned to San Sebastian, hoping thereby to cut off the Republican retreat from Vizcaya. Despite the fact that on July 27 the nationalists' garrison surrendered [4] .
Offensive on Irun
The next attempt to free the nationalists in San Sebastian from captivity also ended in failure, Beorlegg’s troops resumed the attack on Irun , cutting off the northern provinces of Gipuzkoa, Biscayu, Santander and Asturias from France, which supplied them with weapons, and eventually captured him. On August 11, the nationalists captured Tolosa , Berlugyi took Picoke, the main mountain range on the outskirts of Irun. Telesforo Monson, a Basque nationalist, made a special trip to Barcelona to ask for help, since he had only 1,000 rifles; The Basque nationalist seized all the gold from the local branch of the Bank of Spain, from which he was going to buy weapons in France [5] , but on August 8 the French government closed the border [6] .
On August 17, the battleship of the Francoists, Spain , the cruiser Admiral Servera and the destroyer Velasco approached San Sebastian and began its shelling. Soon the Ju 52 began the bombing of Irun and San Sebastian. In spite of everything else, the nationalists surrendered to the republican warlord in Gipuzkoa.
Irun and San Sebastian surrender
On August 26, Beorlegi began an assault on Irun, after stubborn fighting, on September 3, he took the city, but was wounded and soon died. The retreating anarchists set fire to the city [6] . The nationalists began persecuting the enemy, as a result of which on September 13 they captured San Sebastian and approached the border of the province of Biscay. The offensive of the nationalists ended in failure, since in the north they, already exhausted, faced strong resistance from the provincial forces, and the [7] .
Implications
As a result of the operation, the nationalists seized an area of 2,500 square kilometers, a large number of factories. The losses of the French Basque parts were insignificant [8] . Then Indalecio Prieto gave the order , according to which he was obliged to prevent his blockade by rebel forces [9] .
Notes
- ↑ Beevor, 2006 , p. 116.
- ↑ Beevor, 2006 , p. 115-116.
- ↑ Thomas, 2001 , p. 363-364.
- ↑ Thomas, 2001 , p. 312.
- ↑ Thomas, 2001 , p. 364.
- ↑ 1 2 Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939. - Princeton: Princeton University Press .. - P. 274.
- ↑ Thomas, 2001 , p. 364-266.
- ↑ Thomas, 2001 , p. 367.
- ↑ Thomas, 2001 , p. 397.
Literature
- in English
- Beevor, Antony . The battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war, 1936-1939 .. - Penguin Books, 2006. - ISBN 978-0-14-303765-1 .
- Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. - Modern Library, 2001. - ISBN 0-375-75515-2 .
- Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Civil War. - Princeton University Press, 1967. - ISBN 978-0-691-00757-1 .
- in Spanish
- Romero, Eladi. Itinerarios de la Guerra Civil española: guía del viajero curioso. - Barcelona: Laertes, 2001. - 600 p.
- Barruso, Pedro. Verano y revolución. La guerra civil en Gipuzkoa '(julio-septiembre de 1936). . - San Sebastián: R & B, 1996. - 300 p.
- Aznar, Manuel. Historia Militar de la Guerra de España. - Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1969. - Vol. III volumes.