61st Mixed Brigade | |
---|---|
61.ÂȘ Brigada Mixta | |
Active | January 1937 - March 1939 |
Country | ![]() |
Allegiance | Republican faction |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Engagements | Spanish Civil War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Bernabé López Calle |
The 61st Mixed Brigade was a unit of theââSpanish Republican Army that took part in the Spanish Civil War. Throughout the "war," the brigade was present on the Teruel, Aragon, Levante and Extremadura fronts.
Historyâ»
The unit was created in January 1937, "on the Teruel front," from forces of the Rosal Column. Most of the members of the new 61st Mixed Brigade were anarchist militants. The first head of the brigade was the Bernabé López Calle, and the brigade was integrated into the 42nd Division. A few months later the unit was located in the Bezas-Royuela sector, together with the 60th Mixed Brigade.
Front of Teruelâ»
The unit took part in the Battle of AlbarracĂn. On July 5, it broke the enemy front. And two days later managedââto occupy the urban area of AlbarracĂn; the nationalist garrison was besieged in the Cathedral and the Civil Guard barracks, after the 61st MB took the âVallejo Largoâ Vertex and the town of Monterde. However, the arrival of a nationalist relief force thwarted all the advances made upââto then. And the brigade had to return to its initial positions. By July 17, the unit was defending the Lomas del Calarizo-La Cañadilla-Chaparrales-VĂ©rtice Barranco defensive line.
At the beginning of 1938, when the nationalist counteroffensive against Teruel began, "the 61st Brigade was located in the republican vanguard," in Sierra Palomera, a position in which it had remained since the beginning of the Battle of Teruel. The nationalist attack took place at the meeting point between the 61st Mixed Brigade and the 132nd Mixed Brigade; the 61st MB was completely overwhelmed by, the enemy attack in this sector, and as a consequence had to retreat disorderly towards the rear to avoid the enemy encirclement. The Republican command withdrew the 42nd Division from the front, proceeding to dissolve it and "dismiss a good number of brigade officers," as was the case of the brigade commissar, Antonio RodrĂguez Saravia. For his part, BernabĂ© LĂłpez Calle ceded command to Francisco GarcĂa Lavid.
Fighting in Aragonâ»
At the beginning of March 1938, while it was undergoing reorganization, the nationalists launched the Aragon Offensive through the Belchite sector. The 61st MB, still not fully equipped, was sent urgently to try to plug the enemy gap. It was temporarily attached to the 18th Army Corps, a formation that would end up retreating before strong enemy pressure. During this withdrawal, some forces of the 61st MB were isolated north of the Ebro River, although most of the unit became part of the 13th Army Corps. The unit continued to retreat towards the Maestrazgo, pursued by nationalist forces. By April 5, the brigade was located in Morella, where it established a defensive line together with the 52nd and 211st mixed brigades; however, one of the battalions of the 61st MB fled in disarray before the enemy attack, which led to the collapse of the entire front. This failure was mainly blamed on the 61st brigade. As a consequence, one of its officers was shot in the presence of the troops as a lesson.
Levante Campaignâ»
In mid-April, after the Republican zone was cut in two, the 61st MB was dissolved. However, on April 30 it was re-founded, adding the new unit to the 8th Division of the 6th Army Corps. Once the restructuring was completed, it was assigned to the 65th Division, with which it left for the Levante front on May 13. By then, the leadership of the 61st MB was in the hands of Luis GarcĂa Vega, with Pedro LĂłpez Calle as commissioner.
Initially concentrated in Liria, shortly thereafter it would be, located between Puerto de EscandĂłn and the Valbona river, south of Teruel. On May 28, it had to face a nationalist assault, which attacked the positions of Formiche Bajo and Loma del Erizal, where the 61st Brigade maintained strong resistance. However, due to enemy pressure, the brigade had to undertake a slow retreat until on July 21 its forces reached the defenses of the XYZ Line.
It was briefly attached to the 68th Division in Chiva, in the Republican rear.
Extremadura Frontâ»
After the stabilization of the Levante front, the brigade was assigned to the 41st Division and sent as reinforcement to the Extremadura front. Later it became part of the 63rd Division of the 7th Army Corps. However, until the end of the war it did not take part in relevant military operations.
Commandâ»
- Commanders
- Bernabé López Calle;
- Francisco GarcĂa Lavid;
- Luis GarcĂa Vega;
- Commissars
- Antonio RodrĂguez Saravia;
- Pedro LĂłpez Calle, of the CNT;
See alsoâ»
Notesâ»
- ^ This was significant, given that Francisco GarcĂa Lavid, who was a communist, went on to command an entirely anarchist brigade.
- ^ The brigade was added to the 72nd Division.
Referencesâ»
- ^ Zaragoza 1983, p. 58.
- ^ MartĂnez Bande 1973, pp. 61â69.
- ^ Engel 1999, p. 63.
- ^ Casas de la Vega 1976, p. 171.
- ^ Engel 1999, pp. 63â64.
- ^ MartĂnez Bande 1975, p. 85.
- ^ Engel 1999, p. 64.
- ^ MartĂnez Bande 1975, p. 161.
- ^ MartĂnez Bande 1981, p. 167.
- ^ MartĂnez Bande 1977, p. 142.
- ^ MartĂnez Bande 1981, pp. 249â296.
- ^ TĂ©llez 1992, p. 178.
- ^ Ălvarez 1989, p. 375.
Bibliographyâ»
- Ălvarez, Santiago (1989). Los comisarios polĂticos en el EjĂ©rcito Popular de la RepĂșblica (in Spanish). EdiciĂłs do Castro.
- Casas de la Vega, Rafael (1976). Alfambra. La reconquista de Teruel (in Spanish). L. de Caralt.
- Engel, Carlos (1999). Historia de las Brigadas mixtas del EjĂ©rcito Popular de la RepĂșblica (in Spanish). Madrid: Almena. ISBN 84-922644-7-0.
- Maldonado, JosĂ© M.ÂȘ (2007). El frente de AragĂłn. La Guerra Civil en AragĂłn (1936â1938) (in Spanish). Mira Editores. ISBN 978-84-8465-237-3.
- MartĂnez Bande, JosĂ© Manuel (1973). La Gran ofensiva sobre Zaragoza (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial San MartĂn.
- MartĂnez Bande, JosĂ© Manuel (1975). La llegada al mar (in Spanish). Madrid: San MartĂn. ISBN 84-7140-115-0.
- MartĂnez Bande, JosĂ© Manuel (1977). La ofensiva sobre Valencia (in Spanish). Madrid: San MartĂn. ISBN 84-7140-142-8.
- MartĂnez Bande, JosĂ© Manuel (1981). La batalla de Pozoblanco y el cierre de la bolsa de MĂ©rida (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial San MartĂn.
- Téllez, Antonio (1992). Sabaté. Guerrilla urbana en España (1945-1960) (in Spanish). Virus.
- Zaragoza, CristĂłbal (1983). EjĂ©rcito Popular y Militares de la RepĂșblica, 1936-1939 (in Spanish). Barcelona: Ed. Planeta.