| Battle of Lopera | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Republic |
 Nationalist Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Karol Świerczewski |
Luis Redondo | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 international brigadists |
2,000 requetes 2,000 moroccan regulares and spanish cavalry | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
300 dead 600 wounded | 200 dead[1] | ||||||
The Battle of Lopera took place between 27 and 29 December 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. This battle took place during the Nationalist's Aceituna offensive. On 27 December the XIV International Brigade launched an attack in order to occupy the Nationalist held town of Lopera, but the attack failed after two days and the Brigade suffered appaling casualties.
Background[]
On December 1936, Queipo de Llano started an offensive in order to capture the olive-growing area of Andújar, province of Jaén. Then, the Republic sent to the Andújar front the, recently formed, XIV International Brigade, in order to retake the town of Lopera occupied by the Nationalists on 24 December.[2]
The Battle[]
On 27 December, the Brigade launched an attack in order to recover the town of Lopera. The XIV International Brigade (3,000 men), led by the General Walther, had no training or telephone communications. Furthermore, they had not air or artillery support. In this front the Nationalists had the Commander Redondo's column with a shock brigade of andalusian requetes (2,000 men) and 2,000 Moroccan regulares and Spanish cavalry.[3] The brigadists were decimated by the Nationalists with machine gun fire, mortars and artillery. After 36 hours the attack was called off.[4]
Aftermath[]
The Brigade had lost 800 men (300 dead),[5] among them the English poets, John Cornford and Ralph Winston Fox.[6] The English company of the 10th battalion lost 78 men out of 145.[7] After the battle, André Marty ordered to detain the commander of the French battalion of the Brigade, Gaston Delasalle. Delasalle was accused of incompetence, cowardice and of being a fascist spy, and executed by firing squad.[8][9]
References[]
- ↑ Moreno Gómez, Francisco. 1936: el genocidio franquista en Córdoba. Editoríal Crítica. 2008. Barelona.p.802.
- ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.396
- ↑ Moreno Gómez, Francisco. 1936: el genocidio franquista en Córdoba. Editoríal Crítica. 2008. Barelona.p.798.
- ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.397
- ↑ http://loperaingles.tripod.com/spanish.htm
- ↑ Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.476
- ↑ Moreno Gómez, Francisco. 1936: el genocidio franquista en Córdoba. Eidtoríal Crítica. 2008. Barelona.p.802.
- ↑ Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.397
- ↑ Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.476
External links[]
Coordinates: 37°56′N 4°12′W / 37.933°N 4.2°W
The original article can be found at Battle of Lopera and the edit history here.