Fifth regiment
The 5º Regimiento de Milicias Populares , also the Fifth Regiment , was a military unit of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War . It was founded and formed by the Communist Party of Spain and the United Socialist Youth.
history
From 1934 onwards, the Spanish Communist Party began to set up paramilitary groups : the communist militia MAOC, which was formed to protect communist leaders as well as to protect local branches. The members of these paramilitary groups were mainly members of the communist youth organization JSU. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, the communist militia MAOC took part in the storming of the Madrid barracks Cuartel de la Montaña on July 20, 1936 . The communist militia MAOC also occupied the Salesianos monastery school in the Tetuán district of Madrid . After the convent school was taken over, the convent school served as the headquarters of the communist militia MAOC as well as for the military training of volunteers.
At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, in July 1936, the Fifth Regiment was formed in the monastery school. The five divisions, formed from communist militia units, gave their name to the Fifth Regiment, the 5º Regimiento de Milicias Populares . The Fifth Regiment assigned a political commissioner to each officer . The political commissar's task was to make the militiamen aware of the purpose of their struggle.
Due to the good military training of the volunteers and the solidarity of the Fifth Regiment, the unit became an elite republican militia. The regiment became famous over time and had a great influence on other militia units as well. Juan Guilloto , Enrique Castro Delgado and Vittorio Vidali were the organizers of the Fifth Regiment. The first in command of the Fifth Regiment was Enrique Castro Delgado. The number of volunteers rose rapidly due to the threat of the nationalists taking Madrid. Between August and November 1936 the number of militiamen rose from 6,000 to 20,000.
The Fifth Regiment fought in the battles of Somosierra , Sierra de Guadarrama and Talavera de la Reina . At the end of August, the regiment fought in the province of Toledo , where Republican units, under the command of Juan Leon Guillotus, tried to stop Franco's advance on Madrid. Juan Guilloto stood out especially in the fights along the road from Madrid via Talavera de la Reina to Extremadura . His interventions in Talavera de la Reina, Santa Olalla , Toledo and Illescas should also be emphasized . During the fighting in the Talavera de la Reina - Santa Olalla area, Juan Leon Guilloto coordinated the actions of the militia and the regular units. In November, he also became a key figure in Madrid's defense .
Enrique Líster was the commander of a branch of the Fifth Regiment . He commanded the Sailors of Kronstadt Battalion, the Leningrad Battalion, the Comuna de Madrid Battalion and the international Commune de Paris battalion . The Centuria Gastone Sozzi and the Centuria Dąbrowski fought with the Fifth Regiment from September 10, 1936, with the Centuria Dąbrowski in the heights of Talavera de la Reina in the Sierra de Guadarrama , 100 kilometers west of Madrid in the Battle of Talavera (1936 ) fought. The Polish unit also took part in a counterattack on Pelahustán in the Talavera de la Reina plateau and defended the Osso hill in this plateau. In addition, the Fifth Regiment fought on November 8 with the Dąbrowski battalion in the defense of Madrid in the south of the city, in Villaverde , with the Dąbrowski battalion .
The Communist Fifth Regiment became the model for building the Republican People's Army. In addition, the first mixed brigades (Brigada Mixta) were formed from the members of the Fifth Regiment . Out of the Fifth Regiment emerged alongside Juan “Modesto” outstanding leaders of the Republican People's Army, such as Valentín González “El Campesino”, Etelvino Vega and Enrique Lister , who later became the commander of the 1st Mixed Brigade of the Spanish People's Armies .
Barracks of the Fifth Regiment were in Valdepeñas , Ciudad Real , Cuenca and Almaden . In addition, there were command offices in Guadalajara and Albacete , the later base of the International Brigades .
The Fifth Regiment was dissolved on January 22nd, 1937: Vittorio Vidali , one of its commanders, announced that day: The Fifth Regiment is dead. Long live the People's Army.
Members of the Fifth Regiment
Individual evidence
- ^ Hugh Thomas : The Spanish Civil War , Ullstein Verlag, Berlin West 1962, page 193
- ↑ Sociedad Benéfica de Historiadores Aficionados y Creadores: Section Julio de 1936 a febrero de 1937 ( Memento of the original from March 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 27, 2012
- ^ Hugh Thomas : The Spanish Civil War , Ullstein Verlag, Berlin West 1962, page 253
