Aragon Offensive facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aragon Offensive |
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| Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||
 Trenches of the Civil War in Castejón del Puente, Somontano de Barbastro, Aragón. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Republic International Brigades CNT-FAI |
 Nationalist Spain CTV Condor Legion |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Vicente Rojo Lluch Sebastián Pozas Juan Perea Enrique Líster Valentín González Karol Świerczewski Robert H. Merriman † |
Fidel Dávila Arrondo Juan Vigón Juan Yagüe Rafael García Valiño José Solchaga Antonio Aranda Camilo Alonso Vega Mario Berti |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 100,000 | Beevor: 150,000 Jackson: 100,000+ Preston: 100,000 Preston: 1,000 airplanes Jackson: 700 italian and 250 german airplanes Beevor: 600 airplanes 700 guns 150–200 tanks thousands of trucks |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Very heavy including many captured | Nationalist: moderate; Italian: 731 dead 2,481 wounded 13 missing |
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The Aragon Offensive was a major military campaign during the Spanish Civil War. It happened right after the Battle of Teruel. This attack, from March 7 to April 19, 1938, badly defeated the Republican forces. It led to the Nationalists taking over Aragon and parts of Catalonia and the Levante region.
Contents
What Led to the Attack?
The Battle of Teruel had really tired out the Republican Army. They had used up most of their supplies and their experienced soldiers were worn out. It became even harder for the Republican government to get weapons because supplies from the Soviet Union were slowing down. Also, their weapon factories in Catalonia were struggling.
At the same time, Francisco Franco, the leader of the Nationalists, had gathered most of his forces in the east. He was getting ready to push through Aragon into Catalonia and the Levante. The Nationalists had about 100,000 soldiers ready between Zaragoza and Teruel. Even though they had fewer soldiers than the Republicans, the Nationalists had better equipment. They had almost 950 airplanes, 200 tanks, and thousands of trucks. Franco also got a lot of help from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Plus, he controlled the good factories in the Basque Country.
Nationalist Army's Plan
The Nationalist attack was led by Fidel Dávila Arrondo. His second-in-command was Juan Vigón Suerodíaz. Several generals, including José Solchaga, José Moscardó, Antonio Aranda, Juan Yagüe, and Italian General Mario Berti, commanded different army groups.
A strong reserve force was led by García Escámez and García Valiño. José Enrique Varela and his army were ready to support the attack from Teruel. The Condor Legion, a German air force unit, was also prepared. Their commander, Colonel Ritter Von Thoma, convinced Franco to use all his tanks together instead of spreading them out.
Republican Army's Problems
The Republican army had lost a lot of equipment in the Battle of Teruel. About half of their soldiers didn't even have rifles. Their best troops had been pulled back to get new gear, so the soldiers on the front lines had no fighting experience. The Republic couldn't replace their lost equipment because help from the Soviet Union was starting to slow down.
The Nationalist attack surprised the Republican army. The Nationalists had moved their forces much faster than the Republican leaders thought possible. Even though spies had warned them, the Republican generals believed the Nationalists would attack somewhere else. Another mistake was thinking the Nationalists were as tired as they were.
The Attack Begins
The Nationalist attack started on March 7, 1938. It began with a huge bombing by artillery and airplanes. At 6:30 AM, three Nationalist armies attacked the Republican line. This line stretched between the Ebro River and Vivel del Río.
In the north, Yagüe's skilled Army of Africa led the attack. They were supported by the Condor Legion and many artillery guns. The Nationalists broke through the Republican lines in several places on the first day. Yagüe moved quickly along the Ebro River, breaking through all defenses.
Solchaga recaptured Belchite on March 10. The XV International Brigade, which included soldiers from the US, Canada, and Britain, was the last unit to leave the destroyed town. The commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, part of this brigade, Robert Merriman, was killed during the retreat. Even though a Soviet secret police officer had designed strong defenses for Belchite, they fell easily to the Nationalists. The Italians attacked at Rudilla, faced some resistance, and then broke through, led by the Black Arrows (Flechas Negras Division).
Everywhere, the Republican forces were falling back. Many soldiers and officers simply ran away, and the retreat turned into a complete disorganized escape. Also, growing anti-Communist feelings within the Republican Army made things worse. Communist commanders started blaming each other for mistakes. André Marty and Enrique Líster argued. Lister even started shooting commanders who ordered retreats, which caused arguments among the Communists themselves.
Republican Disaster
Even as Republican General Rojo ordered his troops to gather at Caspe, the Italians were getting close to Alcañiz. The Republican retreat became a total disaster. Even if a Republican unit fought well, it had to fall back because nearby units had collapsed.
Italian and German airplanes controlled the sky. Their bombers attacked the fleeing Republican units, protected by modern fighter planes. Karol Świerczewski, also known as General Walter, who commanded the International Brigades, barely escaped capture when Alcañiz fell.
Finally, after two days of heavy fighting, Caspe fell on March 17 to Varela's army. The International Brigade fought bravely to defend it but was forced to leave. After eight days, the Nationalists were 70 miles (113 km) east of where they started. This first part of the attack created a huge gap in the front lines.
The Nationalist Army then paused to reorganize near the Ebro and Guadalupe Rivers. But on March 22, the attack started again. This time, it was in the area east of Zaragoza and Huesca. This part of the front, which the Republic had held since August 1936, was lost in just one day.
Villages in eastern Aragon that had experienced social changes, either by their own actions or from anarchist groups, were all taken by the Nationalists. Many people from these villages became refugees. In this part of the attack, Barbastro, Bujaraloz, and Sariñena fell to the Nationalists. On March 25, Yagüe took Fraga and entered Catalonia. He then attacked the next town, Lleida. However, El Campesino held him off for a week, giving the Republicans time to withdraw valuable equipment. Colonel Durán's Mountain Group helped cover the Republican retreat in the Maestrazgo, a rugged mountain area in southern Aragon.
In the north, Republican forces managed to hold Solchaga back in the Pyrenees. But in the south, the Nationalists pushed through the Maestrazgo. Almost everywhere, the Republican forces began to fall apart. Different groups started accusing each other of betrayal. Communists sometimes held back needed weapons from anarchist troops. André Marty, the overall commander of the International Brigades, searched for traitors. However, he couldn't stop the International Brigades from being almost completely destroyed. Republican soldiers faced harsh punishments, with officers sometimes being shot in front of their men. Overall, the campaign seemed lost, and no one knew where the retreat would end.
Campaign Ends
Air power was key to deciding the campaign. The flat lands of Aragon made it easy for Nationalist planes to land and provide quick air support close to the front lines. Nationalist aircraft constantly pushed back the Republicans. They forced them to leave one position after another and attacked their retreating groups of soldiers. Both German and Soviet forces learned important lessons from this conflict about how to use airplanes to support soldiers on the ground.
On the ground, Lleida and Gandesa fell in April. One hundred and forty American and British soldiers from the XV International Brigade were captured by the Nationalists. Also on this day, Aranda's troops saw the sea for the first time. In the north, the Nationalist advance continued. By April 8, Barcelona's hydro-electric power plants in the Pyrenees fell to the advancing Nationalists. This caused Barcelona's industries to suffer greatly, and old steam plants had to be restarted.
The Nationalists could have easily taken Catalonia and Barcelona. However, Franco decided to advance to the coast instead. This turned out to be a strategic mistake. His intelligence reports suggested that pushing further into Catalonia might cause France to get involved. So, he ordered the attack to continue towards the sea. By April 15, the Nationalists reached the Mediterranean Sea at Vinaròs. By April 19, the Nationalists controlled 40 miles (64 km) of the Mediterranean coastline.
This series of victories, starting with Teruel, made the Nationalists very confident that the war was almost won. Meanwhile, France had reopened its border, allowing military aid that had been held up due to an embargo to flow into Spain to the Republican forces. This slowed down the Nationalists as the Republican defense became stronger. The disaster was stopped for a while. Although the Nationalists launched other attacks in the north towards the Segre River and in the Valencia area, the Aragon Offensive was mostly over by April 19. The Nationalist attack had lost its momentum, and the resistance on the coast was much stronger.
See Also
In Spanish: Ofensiva de Aragón para niños
- List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
- List of weapons of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie
- Condor Legion
- List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
Images for kids
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After being destroyed, the village of Belchite was not rebuilt and remained as a monument
