Saklatvala Battalion

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Flag of the Interbrigades
The map shows the locations of the Saklatvala battalion

The Saklatvala Battalion , (also British Battalion ), was an English-speaking battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War . It was named after Shapurji Saklatvala , an Indian-born member of the British Parliament of the Communist Party of Great Britain . The Saklatvala Battalion (Spanish El Batallón Británico or El Batallón Inglés ) was one of the four battalions of the XV. Abraham Lincoln International Brigade .

The first English militiamen

The first English volunteers came unorganized across the Pyrenees to Barcelona in the first months of the Spanish Civil War . Mainly they fought on the Aragon front . The English communist John Cornford was the first Englishman to fight on the Aragon front. He joined a socialist POUM militia unit near Leciñena on August 13, 1936 . But later the communist Centuria Commune-de-Paris .

Other volunteers joined the international Centuria of the Catalan PSUC party. One of these volunteers from the very beginning was the Englishman Sam Masters. He helped to organize the Centuria Thälmann with other communist volunteers in the PSUC training barracks Carlos Marx ( Pedralbes Monastery ) . In September 1936, a mainly English Centuria, the Centuria "Tom Mann", was formed in Barcelona. The Centuria was named after the British trade unionist Tom Mann . Members of this Centuria were Sid Avner , Nat Cohen , Ramona, Tom Wintringham , George Tioli , Jack Barry and David Marshall .

Another group from the very beginning - including Jock Cunningham - fought alongside John Cornford in the French-speaking Commune de Paris battalion . Almost 80% of the UK volunteers were ordinary workers, of whom just over half were communists . One of the volunteers was Jason Gurney .

The communist painter Felicia Browne was the first English militiaman to fall . It fell on August 25, 1936 in Aragon near Tardienta . She tried with a militia group to blow up a nationalist ammunition train.

Battle of madrid

Boadilla del Monte

In December 1936, during the Battle of Madrid, Franco's troops attempted to cut the road to A Coruña in northeast Madrid in order to further encircle Madrid. The nationalist offensive began on December 3rd and intensified on December 13th. After the capture of Boadilla del Monte on December 14th, the International Brigades were thrown into battle. The Thälmann battalion with the Dąbrowski battalion managed to recapture Boadilla del Monte. After the village was surrounded by Franco's troops, heavy fighting broke out within Boadilla del Monte with high casualties. Of the original 18 Englishmen of the Thälmann battalion , 8 had already died in the earlier battles for Madrid. Another 8 died in these fights. The two survivors were Romilly and Ovenden, a communist from Stockport . After taking Boadilla del Monte and Villanueva de la Cañada , the nationalists ended the offensive.

Andújarfront

By the end of 1936 there were enough British volunteers to form an all-British company. It numbered 145 men and was assigned to the French La Marseillaise Battalion of the new XIV International Brigade as the 1st company, which was led by the Poland General Walter (Karol Świerczewski). The commandant of the British company was George Nathan . The British company also included a group of Irish from the Connolly Column . Your guide was Frank Ryan . On December 24, 1936, the company took the train to the Andújar Front near Cordoba and fought in vain with the XIV International Brigade for the village of Lopera . The British company of the La Marseillaise battalion was hardest hit. Of the 145 brigadists, 78 died, including Political Commissioner Ralph Fox Cornford . John Cornford also fell . When the attack failed, André Marty appeared at headquarters and had the commander of the La Marseillaise battalion, Major Gaston Delasalle , tried before a court martial. He was convicted of espionage and shot.

Saklatvala Battalion

In January 1937, the Saklatvala Battalion, also called the British Battalion, was set up with other English-speaking volunteers as a battalion in Albacete . It was named N o 16 . The battalion numbered 600 men. Most of them were English. The battalion also included numerous Irish from the Connolly Column . The training of the battalion in Albacete was directed by Wilfred Macartney and on February 6, 1937, Tom Wintringham became the battalion's commanding officer . According to historian Hugh Thomas , the Scot George Aitken was appointed political commissioner . However, according to eyewitness Jason Gurney, Dave Springhill , a senior official of the British Communist Party , became political commissioner. Peter Kerrigan was appointed Political Commissioner for the battalion's English-speaking volunteers .

The battalion belonged to a French battalion, the Dimitrov battalion and the Abraham Lincoln battalion of the XV. International Brigade. The brigade consisted mainly of brigadists without combat experience. Commander of the XV. International Brigade was János Gálicz ( General Gal ). The chief of staff was the English captain George Nathan .

Battle of the Jarama

After the nationalists' frontal attack on Madrid failed, Francisco Franco ordered an attack in the south of Madrid. The nationalist offensive began on February 5 with attacks on Republican positions west of the Jarama River . On February 11th, the Saklatvala battalion and the Dimitrov battalion moved into position between San Martín de la Vega and Morata de Tajuña .

The Saklatvala battalion fought in the Battle of Jarama from February 12, 1937 . In the battle, the battalion lost 275 brigadists in 1st, 3rd and 4th companies on the first day. The Saklatvala battalion carried the brunt of the nationalist offensive by Franco's troops towards Morata de Tajuña . For seven hours, the battalion defended a hill called Suicide Hill, under heavy artillery and machine gun fire from the heights of Pingarrón . In the attack, the nationalists threw all their reserves into battle. Walter Scholarship, Christopher Caudwell, and William Briskey, among others, died in the defense of Suicide Hill. In addition, the battalion commander Tom Wintringham was injured and Jock Cunningham took over command.

On the right flank, on February 12, 1937, the nationalists pushed the Dimitrov battalion from its positions. This enabled the nationalists to bypass the Saklatvala battalion, so that many of the brigadists and their commander Fry were taken prisoner. The Saklatvala battalion then withdrew to the next ridge. Political commissioner George Aitken and the two surviving officers Ryam and Cunningham gathered the scattered people and ordered another attack on Suicide Hill. After the recapture of the suicide hill, the Saklatvala battalion fought in this position for four days. The remaining 140 brigadists of the Saklatvala battalion finally withdrew from the hill position on June 17, 1937.

On February 23, the remnants of the Saklatvala Battalion and the Lincoln Battalion took up positions in front of Suicide Hill. The Saklatvala battalion attacked again on February 27, 1937 with the Lincoln battalion positions of the nationalists. Of the 263 brigadists, only 150 survived this attack.

Battle of Brunete

Strengthened by new recruits, the battalion fought with a strength of 331 brigadists in the battle of Brunete . On July 6, 1937, the XV. International Brigade entered the villages of Romanillos and Boadilla del Monte and at midnight the village of Villanueva de la Cañada . The next day the Saklatvala battalion received orders to advance on Mosquito Ridge ( Villaviciosa de Odón ). As the battalion advanced, it was bombed by Ju-52 aircraft from the Condor Legion and fired at by nationalist artillery. The battalion suffered heavy losses in a two-hour barrage. In addition, the barrage and the tracking reinforcement of nationalist units prevented the further advance of the Saklatvala battalion on Mosquito Ridge. Only 80 brigadists of the battalion survived the battle of Brunete, whereby only 42 brigadists of the battalion were able to fight. Due to the high losses, the battalion refused to issue a new order. For this reason the battalion was withdrawn from the front and assigned to the reserve.

Aragon Front (1937)

In mid-August 1937, the XV. International Brigade subordinated to the 35th Republican Division. The 35th Division was transferred to the Aragon Front with the British battalion . At that time 150 Spaniards were serving in the Saklatvala battalion. The offensive of the nationalists in the north near Santander was to be stopped by an offensive on the Aragon Front to encircle the strategically important city of Saragossa . On August 25, 1937, the Saklatvala battalion fought in the streets of Quinto and then attacked nationalist positions on Purburrel Hill, which was repulsed by the nationalist troops. The following day the British battalion again attacked Purburrel Hill and was able to take it. The attack was carried out by an anti-tank battery of the XV. International Brigade initiated. The battalion managed to advance to Zaragoza up to 16 kilometers. Through these battles the battalion was reduced to 100 men. The reconstruction of the battalion was done by Spaniards.

In December 1937, the leaders of the British Labor Party, Clement Attlee , namesake of the 1st Company ( Major Attlee Company ), Ellen Wilkinson and Philip Noel-Baker visited the Saklatvala battalion. At the time, the battalion's commander was Lieutenant Copi, Political Commissar Dave Doran and Chief of Staff was Major Merriman.

Battle of Teruel

In 1938 the British battalion took part in the second phase of the Battle of Teruel . The Saklatvala battalion was one of the last battalions to withdraw from Teruel on February 22, 1938 .

Battle of the Ebro

At the beginning of the Battle of the Ebro , on July 25, 1938, the Saklatvala battalion crossed the Ebro at Móra d'Ebre . During the Battle of the Ebro, the Saklatvala battalion with the XV. International Brigade took part in an assault on Height 481 near Gandesa . In this attack, Lieutenant Lewis Olive and David Haden Guest, son of the British MP Lord Haden Guest, were killed.

Dissolution of the International Brigades

On September 21, 1938, Juan Negrín announced to the League of Nations that the Republican government would disband the International Brigades. The British battalion was assigned to the reserve in late September 1938. It marched through downtown Barcelona on October 17th at a farewell parade of the International Brigades . President Manuel Azaña and Prime Minister Negrín joined the crowd. It was the last major Republican celebration. The Saklatvala battalion was officially disbanded on October 23, 1937. After the disbandment of the International Brigades, 105 British brigadists returned to Great Britain. They arrived in London on December 7, 1938 . At London Victoria Rail Station , they were greeted by a crowd of supporters including Clement Attlee , Stafford Cripps , Willie Gallacher and Will Lawther .

British brigadists who were captured during the Spanish Civil War were recorded centrally with other brigadists from April 1938 in San Pedro de Cardeña near Burgos . So were z. B. The British brigadists who were captured in the Battle of Jarama were moved from Salamanca to San Pedro de Cardeña. Around 200 interned British brigadists were exchanged from January to April 1939 for members of the Corpo Troop Volontarie , with the exception of Tom Jones, who did not return to England until March 1940.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Hugh Thomas : The Spanish Civil War , Verlag Ullstein, Berlin West 1962, (a) page 192, (b) page 270, (c) page 271, (d) page 292, (e) page 420
  2. ↑ a b Sebastián Herreros Agüí: The International Brigades in the Spanish war 1936-1939: Flags and Symbols (English; PDF; 6.4 MB), accessed on September 3, 2012
  3. ^ Antony Beevor, The Spanish Civil War , 2nd edition, ISBN 978-3-442-15492-0 , page 250.
  4. ↑ La Marsellesa, Historique de la XIVeme Brigade Internationale (French), accessed on May 10, 2012
  5. ↑ Spartacus Educational, Jason Gurney [1] , English, accessed October 29, 2012