XV International Brigade Abraham Lincoln Brigade | |
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Active | 1936–1939 |
Country | United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia, France, Belgium, and Cuba |
Allegiance | Spain |
Branch | International Brigades |
Type | Mixed Brigade – Infantry |
Role | Home Defence |
Size | Four battalions: the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th (January 1937) |
Part of | 35th Division (1937–1939) |
Garrison/HQ | Albacete, Barcelona |
Nickname(s) | Brigada Abraham Lincoln |
March | Jarama Valley and Viva la XV Brigada |
Engagements | Spanish Civil War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Janos Galicz Vladimir Ćopić Robert Hale Merriman Milton Wolff Veli Dedi |
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The Abraham Lincoln Brigade (Spanish : Brigada Abraham Lincoln), officially the XV International Brigade (XV Brigada Internacional), was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the International Brigades.
The brigade mustered at Albacete in Spain, in January 1937, comprising mainly English-speaking volunteers – arranged into the mostly British Saklatvala Battalion and the mostly North American Lincoln Battalion. It also included two non-English-speaking battalions, the Balkan Dimitrov Battalion and the Franco-Belgian Sixth February Battalion. It fought at Jarama, Brunete, Boadilla, Belchite, Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel and the Ebro River.
The brigade's songs were "Jarama Valley" and "Viva la Quince Brigada". [1]
The XVth Brigade first fought at the Battle of Jarama in February 1937 and suffered many casualties. The British lost 225 men out of 600, [2] the Lincolns 120 out of 500. [3] After the battle, the brigade was seriously under-strength.[ citation needed ]
At the end of March, a Spanish battalion, Voluntario 24 (the 24th Volunteers), joined the brigade. Over the next few months, under the close supervision of Janos Galicz, the brigade was re-organised into two regiments of about 1,200 men. He appointed "the gallant major", [4] George Nathan, as brigade Chief of Staff.
The first regiment, commanded by Jock Cunningham, with Harry Haywood as political commissar, [5] was English-speaking and comprised the depleted British and Lincolns, as well as the recently formed but under-strength second battalion of American volunteers, the George Washington Battalion. The second regiment was commanded by Major "Chapaiev" (Mihaly Szalvay) [5] and consisted of the Dimitrov Battalion, the Sixth February Battalion and the Voluntario 24 Battalion.
This was the composition in July 1937 for the Battle of Brunete. As with the Battle of Jarama, the brigade suffered huge casualties; the brigade strength was reduced from six to four battalions. In particular, the two American battalions were so depleted that they merged to form the Lincoln-Washington Battalion. [6] (This name did not last: it was renamed the Lincoln Battalion in October 1937.) The 6 February, which also suffered severe casualties, was transferred after Brunete. After Belchite, the nominally Canadian Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion joined the brigade, while the Dimitrov Battalion departed.[ citation needed ]
During the fall of 1937 the units of the International Brigade were integrated into the Spanish Popular Army and the Battalions were re-numbered. The British Bn became the 57th, the Lincoln-Washington the 58th, the Spanish (formerly known as the 24th), became the 59th and the Mackenzie-Papineau the 60th. The battalion line-up remained stable through the withdrawal of the Internationals during the Ebro Campaign.[ citation needed ]
The XVth International Brigade also included volunteers from Latin America, [7] who, after incidents of bad treatment from North Americans, left the international Brigades and joined other units such as El Campesino's First Mobile Shock Brigade. [8] [9]
After an invitation from J. B. S. Haldane, [10] American singer and activist Paul Robeson traveled to Spain in 1938 because he believed in the International Brigades' cause, [11] visited the hospital of the Benicàssim, singing to the wounded soldiers. [12] Robeson also visited the battlefront [13] and provided a morale boost to the Republicans at a time when their victory was unlikely. [11]
On 13 March 2015, Dan Kaufman interviewed Del Berg, a 99-year-old veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, who he described as the last known survivor of the Brigade. [14] Berg died 28 February 2016. [15]
Date joined | Number | Battalion Name | Composition | Date left | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 Jan 1937 | 16th/57th | Saklatvala Battalion | British, Irish, Dominion | 23 Sep 1938 | Demobilized |
31 Jan 1937 | 17th/58th | Lincoln Battalion | American, Canadian, Irish, British | 23 Sep 1938 | Demobilized |
31 Jan 1937 | 18th | Dimitrov Battalion | Bulgarian, Greek and Yugoslav | 20 Sep 1937 | Moved to 45th Div. Reserve |
31 Jan 1937 | 19th | Sixth February Battalion | French and Belgian | 4 Aug 1937 | Moved to 14th Brigade |
14 Mar 1937 | 24th/59th | Voluntario 24 Battalion | Cuban | 10 Nov 1937 | Moved to a Spanish Mixed brigade |
29 Jun 1937 | 60th | Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion | American and Canadian | 23 Sep 1938 | Demobilized |
4 Jul 1937 | 20th | Washington Battalion | American | 14 Jul 1937 | Merged with Lincoln Battalion [16] |
The International Brigades were soldiers set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed for two years, from 1936 until 1938. It is estimated that during the entire war, between 40,000 and 59,000 members served in the International Brigades, including some 10,000 who died in combat. Beyond the Spanish Civil War, "International Brigades" is also sometimes used interchangeably with the term foreign legion in reference to military units comprising foreigners who volunteer to fight in the military of another state, often in times of war.
The Lincoln Battalion was the 17th battalion of the XV International Brigade, a mixed brigade of the International Brigades also known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It was organized by the Communist International and named after US President Abraham Lincoln who led the US during the American Civil War.
Oliver Law was an African-American communist and labor organizer, who fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. He was the commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion for several days and commander of its Machine Gun Company for much longer.
Samuel George Montague Nathan was an English soldier who served in the British Army during World War I, the Royal Irish Constabulary's Auxiliary Division during the Anglo-Irish War and the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. During his service in the Auxiliary Division, Nathan was suspected of being involved in the assassination of two Sinn Féin politicians, which later contributed to the alienation of Irish volunteers in the International Brigades from their British counterparts during the Spanish Civil War.
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moroccan Regulares from the Army of Africa forced back the Republican Army of the Centre, including the International Brigades, but after days of fierce fighting no breakthrough was achieved. Republican counterattacks along the captured ground likewise failed, resulting in heavy casualties to both sides.
Robert Hale Merriman was an American doctoral student who fought with the Republican forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He was killed while commanding the Abraham Lincoln Battalion of the International Brigades.
The British Battalion was the 16th battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during the Spanish Civil War. It comprised British and Dominion volunteers.
"Jarama Valley" also known as "El Valle del Jarama" is a song from the Second Spanish Republic. Referring to the Spanish Civil War Battle of Jarama, the song uses the tune of Red River Valley.
The International Brigades (IB) were volunteer military units of foreigners who fought on the side of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The number of combatant volunteers has been estimated at between 32,000–35,000, though with no more than about 20,000 active at any one time. A further 10,000 people probably participated in non-combatant roles and about 3,000–5,000 foreigners were members of CNT or POUM. They came from a claimed "53 nations" to fight against the Spanish Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and assisted by German and Italian forces.
The XI International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War.
The Dimitrov Battalion was part of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. It was the 18th battalion formed, and was named after Georgi Dimitrov, a Bulgarian communist and General Secretary of the Comintern in that period.
Joseph Wallace "Jock" Cunningham was a British volunteer in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He became a battalion and brigade commander and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He played a key role in the Battle of Jarama, one of the principal military actions of the Spanish Civil War.
Milton Wolff was an American veteran of the Spanish Civil War, the last commander of the Lincoln Battalion of XV International Brigade, and a prominent communist.
The Rákosi Battalion was a volunteer unit founded in April 1937. It was formed predominantly of Hungarians, who fought in the CL International Brigade and the XIII International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). The battalion was named after Mátyás Rákosi, then a political prisoner in Miklós Horthy's Hungary, later leader of the Hungarian People's Republic.
Stjepan Mesaros, best known as Steve Nelson, was a Croatian-born American political activist. Nelson achieved public notoriety as the political commissar of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War and as a leading functionary of the Communist Party, USA. Nelson is best remembered for having been prosecuted and convicted under the Smith Act in 1953.
The Garibaldi Battalion was a largely-Italian volunteer unit of the International Brigades that fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War from October 1936 to 1938. It was named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian military and political figure of the nineteenth century.
The First Mixed Brigade, also known as Brigada Lister, was a mixed brigade of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. It was disbanded on 9 February 1939.
Walter Thomas Leo Tapsell was a British communist activist, known as a leading figure in the British Battalion during the Spanish Civil War.
Walter Benjamin Garland was an American soldier, activist, and politician. Garland was a volunteer in the Washington Battalion of the XV International Brigade fighting for Republican Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Following the conclusion of the war, Garland joined Communist Party USA and ran for office in New York. He later worked alongside Paul Robeson as a bodyguard. Garland died in Columbus, Ohio in 1974.
Del Berg, 99, is the last known surviving veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a contingent of nearly 3,000 Americans who fought to defend the democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.