Juan Guilloto León, usually referred to as Modesto or Juan Modesto, was a Republican army officer during the Spanish Civil War.
The Unified Socialist Youth was a youth organization formed in the spring of 1936 in Spain through the amalgamation of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Communist Party of Spain (PCE) youth groups. Its leader, Santiago Carrillo, came from the Socialist youth, but had secretly joined the Communist youth prior to the merger, and the group was soon dominated by the PCE.
Enrique Líster Forján was a Spanish communist politician and military officer.
The Siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from October 1936, fell to the Nationalist armies on 28 March 1939. The Battle of Madrid in November 1936 saw the most intense fighting in and around the city when the Nationalists made their most determined attempt to take the Republican capital.
"Las Trece Rosas" is the name given in Spain to a group of thirteen young women who were executed by a Francoist firing squad on 5 August 1939, just after the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War. Their execution was part of a massive execution campaign known as the "saca de agosto", which included 43 young men.
The Siege of the Montaña Barracks was the two-day siege which marked the initial failure of the July 1936 uprising against the Second Spanish Republic in Madrid, on 18–20 July 1936, at the start of the Spanish Civil War. The bulk of the security forces in Madrid remained loyal to the government, and supported by workers' militias, crushed the uprising.
The Battle of Guadarrama was the first battle in the Spanish Civil War involving troops loyal to the Second Spanish Republic in the Sierra de Guadarrama. The battle took place in the last week of July and in early August 1936. The Nationalist side sent by General Mola was attempting to cross the mountain passes of the Sierra de Guadarrama and reach Madrid by the North, but the Republican side, made up of militiamen and troops disbanded by the government left Madrid to stop the Nationalists. The Republican side was successful and the Nationalist troops did not manage to cross the mountain passes.
The Church of San Francisco de Sales is a church located in Madrid, Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1996.
The Spanish Republican Army was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939.
The Fifth Regiment was an elite corps loyal to the Spanish Republic at the onset of the Spanish Civil War. Made up of volunteers, the Fifth Regiment was active in the first critical phase of the war and became one of the most renowned units loyal to the Republic.
The 223rd Mixed Brigade, was a mixed brigade of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. It was formed in the summer of 1937 from Coastal Defence units and had four battalions, the 889, 890, 891 and 892. This unit lasted until the end of the war.
The 109th Mixed Brigade, was a mixed brigade of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. It was formed in the spring of 1937 in Utiel with four battalions, the 433, 434, 435 and 436.
The Madrid Defense Council was an ad-hoc governing body that ran Madrid, Spain, for about six months during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). It was formed in November 1936 after the Spanish Republican government had fled to Valencia when General Francisco Franco's forces advanced on Madrid. It was expected that the city would fall within a few days, but the arrival of the International Brigades halted the rebel advance, and the situation settled into a stalemate. The council was dominated by communists, who had superior organization and propaganda to the other groups. Their policy was to organize the militias into regular troops and focus on defeating the enemy, rather than to undertake revolutionary activity. As time passed there was growing tension between the communists and more radical groups. The council was dissolved in April 1937 and replaced by a new city council.
Federico Melchor Fernández was a Spanish journalist and communist politician. He was one of the leaders of the Communist Youth Union of Spain. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) he was general director of Propaganda in the government of Juan Negrín. He became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Spain.
José Cazorla Maure was a Spanish communist leader during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). He was one of the leaders of the Unified Socialist Youth. For several months in 1936–1937, he was a member of the Madrid Defense Council in charge of public order. He was ruthless in weeding out sabotage or subversion, and earned the hostility of the anarchists and Trotskyites. Later, he was made governor of the province of Albacete and then of the province of Guadalajara. He remained in Spain after the war, and was arrested and executed by firing squad.
Fernando Macarro Castillo, better known by his pseudonym Marcos Ana, was a Spanish poet and is considered by numerous sources Spain's longest serving political prisoner. Under the dictatorship of Francoist Spain, he was convicted of the murder of three people at the age of 19 in 1939, crimes he always denied having committed. He was released in 1961 after 23 years of imprisonment.
The 8th Mixed Brigade was a mixed brigade of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. It was formed at the beginning of the Defence of Madrid in early spring 1937 with battalions of the Carabineros corps and it remained in Madrid all along the war. Its first commander was Carabineros Lt. Colonel Enrique del Castillo Bravo who was succeeded by Carabineros Commanders Emeterio Jarillo Orgaz and José Casted Sena.
Milicianas fought in the Spanish Civil War. They came from a culture with iconic fighters, and where women had been recently empowered through direct political engagement in political organizations and labor unions. The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera saw women take more to the streets to protest and riot, though their actions were dismissed by male political leaders. The creation of the Second Spanish Republic led to an environment encouraging active political participation in broader Spanish society, and ultimately served to assist many women in their decision to head to the front, as the Government expanded rights for women, including the right to vote, divorce, go to school and stand for election.
Josep Rovira i Canals (1902–1968) was a Catalan politician, a leader of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification. During the Spanish Civil War he managed to send several militia units to the Aragon front, and was arrested by the republican authorities in the context of the repression against the POUM.
Milicia Popular was a Communist newspaper, which served as a mouthpiece for the Loyalist Fifth Regiment, published from July 26, 1936 to January 24, 1937. It was published by Benigno Rodríguez. Notable contributors include Eduardo Ugarte.
