Guipúzcoa offensive

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Guipúzcoa offensive was an offensive at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in which the nationalists captured the province of Guipúzcoa . The nationalist offensive began in August 1936 with the aim of cutting off the Basque Country from France .

In August, Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco met in Seville and decided to conquer San Sebastian and Irun . The nationalist troops then advanced with 3,500 men from Pamplona towards San Sebastian and Irun. On August 11th, the nationalists succeeded in taking Tolosa , the old Basque capital . Furthermore, the nationalists advanced along the French border towards Irun and on August 11th captured the ridge of Picoqueta , about 15 kilometers south of Irun. By destroying the bridge at Endarlatsa , however, the Republicans succeeded in stopping the advance of the nationalists on the national road N-121a on Irun. On August 26th, Colonel Alfonso Beorlegui Canet began the attack on Irun and, after bloody fighting, captured the city on September 3rd. On September 13, the offensive was concluded with the conquest of San Sebastian. This was followed by the advance of the nationalists on the province of Bizkaia .

International militiamen

On August 28, 1936, Polish miners from France crossed the Franco-Spanish border and took part in the defense of the city of Irún . They fought with the French in the Wroblewski militia group , the German Edgar André group , the Hoffmann militia group and the Gorizia militia group . The deputy commander of the 200-man international militia unit was Leib Jampolski (Jean-Paul) and the leader of the Polish militia officers was Francis Palka .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Sebastián Herreros Agüí: The International Brigade in the Spanish War 1936 (English)