The International Brigades were military units 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 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.
The Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion or Mac-Paps were a battalion of Canadians who fought as part of the XV International Brigade on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. Except for France, no other country had a greater proportion of its population volunteer in Spain as did Canada. The XV International Brigade, made up also of volunteer battalions from the United States and Britain, was involved in the Battle of Jarama, in which nine Canadians are known to have been killed.
The Yankee Squadron was a group of mercenary American military aviators who flew for the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.
The Connolly Column was the name given to a group of Irish republican socialist volunteers who fought for the Second Spanish Republic in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. They were named after James Connolly, the executed leader of the Irish Citizen Army. They were a company-strength unit of the XV International Brigade, which also included the US, British and Latin American battalions in Spain. The name is now retroactively applied to all Irish volunteers who fought for the Spanish Republic.
Abraham Alfred "Chick" Chakin was an American volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, an athlete and educator.
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 Abraham Lincoln Brigade, officially the XV International Brigade, was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the International Brigades.
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.
Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War refers to Jews who joined International Brigades and fought in the Spanish Civil War, which erupted on July 17, 1936 and ended on April 1, 1939.
Mosess "Moe" Fishman fought with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and was wounded during the Spanish Civil War. He was general secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Veterans' Association.
The North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy was an American organization established in 1936. It was an umbrella organization for ethnic groups and trade unions that donated money, medical necessities, and food to Spain through it. These donations were sent to the Spanish Loyalists during the Spanish Civil War.
Salaria Kea O'Reilly was an American nurse and desegregation activist who volunteered in both the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. During the Spanish Civil War she was the only African American nurse working in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion.
Edward K. "Eddie" Barsky was an American surgeon and political activist. Barsky is best remembered as the head of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, a Communist Party-sponsored organization which raised funds to aid refugees from the regime of Spanish strongman Francisco Franco in the late 1930s during the Spanish Civil War. In the 1950s Barsky became a cause célèbre as a victim of McCarthyism when he was imprisoned for refusing to provide information to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
The Gómez Ulla Military Hospital, presently know officially as Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla, is a military hospital in Madrid, located in the Aluche area in the former Carabanchel quarter of the city. It is part of the Spanish Ministry of Defence.
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.
Ruth Rebecca Davidow was an American nurse, filmmaker, and political activist.
