Battle of Brunete facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Brunete |
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| Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||
 Map of the Battle of the Brunete |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| José Miaja Vicente Rojo Lluch |
José Varela | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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Thomas: 85,000 ~130 tanks |
65,000 infantry 105 aircraft |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 10,000–15,000 dead or wounded 60-100 aircraft |
7,000 dead or wounded 23 aircraft |
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The Battle of Brunete was a major fight during the Spanish Civil War. It took place from July 6 to 25, 1937, near Madrid, Spain. The Republican side launched this attack. Their goal was to ease the pressure from the Nationalist forces. The Nationalists were pushing hard on Madrid and in northern Spain. Even though the Republicans had some early success, they had to pull back from Brunete. This happened after strong Nationalist counterattacks. Both sides suffered many losses in this battle.
Contents
Why Did the Battle Happen?
After the city of Bilbao was captured by Nationalists in June 1937, the Republicans needed a plan. They decided to attack Brunete. This attack aimed to make the Nationalists move their troops away from the north. It would give the Republican forces time to get organized again.
Brunete was also a good target because it was on an important road. If the Republicans captured it, it would be harder for Nationalists to get supplies to their troops around Madrid. This might even force them to leave Madrid. The plan was to take Brunete first. Then, after getting ready, the Republicans would push on towards Talavera de la Reina. This move would cut off the Nationalist forces near Madrid.
The attack on Brunete also had political reasons. The Republican government wanted to show their allies, like the Soviet Union, that they could still fight. They also hoped to convince France to open its border for more weapons. This was important after big losses in other battles.
The Republicans prepared well for this attack. They had new weapons, mostly from the Soviet Union. They also organized their army better. The attack was meant to be a surprise, and it worked. The Nationalists were not expecting it.
Who Fought in the Battle?
The battle took place in an area with hills and small rivers. It was mostly open land. This was good for the Republicans' new Soviet tanks. They planned to use these tanks for the first time in a big way.
The Republican Forces
General Miaja led the Republican forces. He had two main army groups.
- The Vth Army Corps was led by Colonel Juan Modesto. It had about 22,000 soldiers and 100 tanks. This group included five International Brigades.
- The 11th Division was led by Enrique Líster.
- The 35th Division was led by General Walter.
- The 46th Division was led by El Campesino.
- The XVIIIth Army Corps was first led by Colonel Enrique Jurado, then by Segismundo Casado. It had about 20,000 soldiers.
- The 10th Division was led by Major José Maria Enciso.
- The 15th Division was led by Colonel Janos "Gal" Galicz.
- The 34th Division was led by Colonel Francisco Galán.
There were also reserve forces ready to join the fight. These included Cipriano Mera's 14th Division, General Kléber's 45th Division, and Gustavo Duran's 69th Division. These reserves added about 25,000 men and 40 tanks.
The Nationalist Forces
The Nationalist forces were initially spread out in small groups in villages. This part of the front was under General Andrés Saliquet Zumeta. But soon, General José Enrique Varela Iglesias took overall command.
- The 7th Army Corps was led by General José Varela.
- The 71st Division was led by Colonel Ricardo Serrador Santés. This division had many Falangists and about 1,000 Moroccan soldiers.
- The 1st Army Corps was led by Colonel Juan Yagüe Blanco.
- The 11th Division was led by General José Iruretagoyena Solchaga.
- The 12th Division was led by General Carlos Asensio Cabanillas.
- The 13th Division was led by General Fernando Barrón y Ortiz.
- The 14th Division was led by Colonel Juan Yagüe Blanco.
Other Nationalist units were also sent to the front. These included the 150th Division, the 4th Brigade of Navarre, and the 5th Brigade of Navarre. The Condor Legion from Nazi Germany also played a big role.
The Republican Offensive Begins
July 6: Surprise Attack
The Republican attack began quietly on the night of July 5-6. Soldiers moved deep into the Nationalist lines under the cover of darkness. At dawn on July 6, the Republicans launched a heavy attack. They used artillery and planes to bomb Nationalist positions.
Right after the bombing, Líster's 11th Division moved forward about 8 kilometers (5 miles). They surrounded Brunete. The Nationalist forces were completely surprised. Brunete fell to the Republicans by noon.
General Varela took command for the Nationalists. They quickly sent all available people to the front lines. This included staff from hospitals and supply units. By noon, several Nationalist divisions and parts of the Condor Legion were on their way to help.
Later that day, Republican attacks on the sides of Líster's division faced strong resistance. This stopped Líster's advance south of Brunete. Attempts to push west were also stopped near Quijorna. The attack on Quijorna was reinforced with tanks, artillery, and air support, but it was pushed back again.
The Republican command seemed surprised by their quick success. There was some confusion, which delayed the next part of their plan.
July 7: Pushing Forward
On July 7, Republican Colonel Jurado sent the 15th Division to break the fight at Villanueva de la Cañada. The British Battalion of the XVth Brigade cleared the village by 7 am. However, Nationalists in nearby Villanueva del Pardillo and Villafranca del Castillo continued to hold out.
To help the 15th Division move towards Boadilla, the 10th Division attacked the Nationalist 12th Division. The Nationalist troops were pushed back to the hills near Boadilla.
Outside Brunete, the day saw confused fighting. The bombings in the dry, hot landscape caused many wildfires. The Republicans kept fighting small groups of resistance instead of going around them. This gave the Nationalists time to bring in more troops. In the afternoon, Nationalist planes from the Northern Front arrived and immediately joined the battle. All Nationalist attacks in the north were stopped to send ground troops to Brunete.
July 8-9: Fierce Fighting
On the night of July 7-8, General Miaja sent his reserve troops, the XVIII Army Corps, to attack towards the Guadarrama River. They attacked in the morning. After crossing the river, the 15th Division attacked Nationalist positions. All attacks were pushed back. When an attack did succeed, a counterattack quickly took back the ground. Meanwhile, the Nationalist position at Quijorna continued to hold.
The Republican attack south of Madrid was tried again but failed. Nothing more came of this part of the plan.
With the Republican attack stuck at Quijorna, the 35th Division was ordered to help the 46th Division. On the morning of July 9, two Republican brigades attacked Quijorna. After heavy losses, they finally cleared the village. On the Republican left side, attacks towards Boadilla del Monte made some progress. But even with tanks, armored cars, and planes, their losses were very high, and the attacks stopped. Fighting continued, especially around a place called Mosquito Ridge.
At first, the Spanish Republican Air Force was very active. But their planes were slower and older. This meant the German Legion Condor soon gained almost total control of the sky.
July 10-11: Trapped and Reinforced
On July 10, Villanueva del Pardillo was taken by the XIIth International Brigade, supported by tanks. About 500 defenders were captured. Villafranca del Castillo was slowly being surrounded. Colonel Jurado planned an attack for July 11, but he became ill and was replaced by Colonel Casado. Casado wanted to cancel the attack due to low morale, but General Miaja ordered it to go ahead. On this day, Oliver Law, an American commander in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, was killed while leading an attack.
The Republicans managed to trap the Nationalist soldiers in Villafranca del Castillo. General Varela had to send the 5th Brigade of Navarre to help them. When the Navarrese arrived, the Nationalists gained the upper hand. The Republicans were forced back across the Guadarrama River. A Nationalist attempt to take back Villanueva del Pardillo on July 11 failed.
There was a lot of air activity. More and more Nationalist air units joined the fight. It was common to see groups of 30 or more planes fighting in the sky.
July 12-17: Offensive Slows Down
As many Nationalist ground and air reinforcements arrived, the Republican attack began to slow down. The planned attack from south of Madrid had also failed. On July 15, General Miaja finally ordered the offensive to stop. George Nathan, a commander in the XV International Brigade, was killed by bomb fragments the next day.
At this point, the Republicans held Brunete and had cut the Extremadura road. The offensive had indeed helped ease the pressure on the Basque country in the north. It also showed that the Republican forces were getting stronger. However, the Nationalists had prevented their forces around Madrid from being cut off. With new troops, they were ready to counterattack.
The Republican forces had suffered huge losses. Many soldiers were killed, wounded, or sick. The extreme heat and lack of water also caused many problems. Some brigades lost between 40-60% of their men. One brigade is said to have lost 80% of its soldiers that week.
The exhausted Republicans dug in and waited for the Nationalist counterattack they knew was coming.
Nationalist Counterattack
General Varela, the Nationalist commander, planned to take back the lost land. He planned a three-part attack. The main force of about 20,000 men would attack from the west towards Quijorna. At the same time, another force of about 10,000 men would attack from the east, towards and over the Guadarrama River. Finally, about 8,000 men would attack from the south, directly towards Brunete.
July 18: Counteroffensive Begins
The counteroffensive started early in the morning with a long artillery bombardment. Nationalist planes also launched heavy attacks. However, the Nationalists made only small gains this day. The western group captured some hills northwest of Quijorna. The eastern force gained some ground east of the Guadarrama. Republican troops fought hard to defend their positions. The fighting west of Quijorna was especially fierce. Republican units launched several counterattacks to try and take back the lost hills. Air fighting was also very heavy. Around 80 Nationalist planes fought a huge dogfight with about 60 Republican planes. On this day, British poet Julian Bell was killed by bomb fragments while driving an ambulance.
July 19-20: Small Gains
The three-part Nationalist attack did not make much progress on July 19. But the next day, the eastern forces, with strong air support, managed to gain some ground on the east side of the battle area, near the Guadarrama.
July 21-23: Back and Forth Fighting
To stabilize the situation on the eastern side, Miaja ordered a Republican counterattack along the Guadarrama. This led to several days of intense fighting in the stifling heat. The land taken by the Nationalists on July 20 changed hands many times. At the same time, three Republican Brigades with 20 tanks pushed from Las Rozas towards the south-east.
While the battle raged on the eastern side, the Republican forces on the west held their ground. They faced heavy attacks, mainly around Quijorna. However, on July 23, the eastern Nationalist forces finally made a big breakthrough. They managed to cross the Guadarrama River.
July 24-25: Brunete Falls Again
On July 24, the Nationalists began a serious attack from the south towards Brunete. They had gathered about 65 artillery batteries there, compared to only 22 for the Republicans. With this support and air bombings, the Nationalists broke through the Republican lines south of the city. A Republican counterattack with tanks failed. In the afternoon, the attackers entered Brunete. The remaining soldiers of Líster's 11th Division pulled back to positions just north of the city, near the cemetery. At the same time, the Nationalist eastern group widened their breakthrough on the Guadarrama.
Miaja quickly sent more troops from Madrid. The Republican 14th Division, led by Cipriano Mera, launched another counterattack, but it also failed. On July 25, the defenders from the 11th Division around the cemetery, including commander Líster, withdrew. After this, there were no more large attacks in the battle. The fighting slowly stopped. Varela wanted to keep attacking, but Franco ordered him to stop. Troops were needed in the north for an attack on the important port of Santander. On July 25, German war photographer Gerda Taro was fatally wounded when her car was hit by a Republican tank during a Nationalist air attack.
During the last days of the battle, the Republican soldiers showed signs of breaking down. They were exhausted and had suffered terrible losses. Even among the volunteer International Brigades, there were complaints and some soldiers left their posts.
What Happened After the Battle?
When the battle ended, the Republicans had not cut the Extremadura road. But they still held Villanueva de la Cañada, Quijorna, and Villanueva del Pardillo from the Nationalists. From this point of view, both sides could say they won.
However, the Republicans lost many more soldiers and much more equipment than the Nationalists. The Republican army lost a lot of its important gear and many of its best soldiers from the International Brigades. Because of this, the battle is often seen as a big victory for the Nationalists in the long run.
Politically, the communists lost some respect because the attack failed to stop the Nationalist troops from taking over northern Spain.
The tough fighting at Brunete also helped Germany. Because the Condor Legion was so effective, the Nationalists gave Germany special trade deals. Spain agreed to send raw materials to Germany to pay for the help they received.
Later, the battle was remembered in the name of a Spanish army unit, the Armoured Division No. 1 "Brunete", formed in the mid-1940s.
See also
In Spanish: Batalla de Brunete para niños
- List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
- List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
