Battle of Bielsa pocket

Last updated
Battle of Bielsa pocket
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Sobrarbe.png
Location of Bielsa in Aragon.
Date14 April – 16 June 1938
Location
Huesca, Aragon, Spain
42°38′1.000″N0°13′5.999″E / 42.63361111°N 0.21833306°E / 42.63361111; 0.21833306 Coordinates: 42°38′1.000″N0°13′5.999″E / 42.63361111°N 0.21833306°E / 42.63361111; 0.21833306
Result Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Flag of Spain 1931 1939.svg  Spanish Republic Flag of Spain (1938-1945).svg  Nationalist Spain
Commanders and leaders
Antonio Beltran José Solchaga
José Iruretagoyena
Strength
7,000 men
4 artillery guns
14,000 men
30 artillery guns
Casualties and losses
Unknown but high Unknown
Relief Map of Spain.png
Red pog.svg
Location within Spain
Europe relief laea location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Battle of Bielsa pocket (Europe)

The Battle of Bielsa pocket took place between 14 April and 15 June 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. After the fall of the Aragon front, a Republican division, in April 1938, was surrounded by the Nationalists in the Cinca River Valley. The division, despite being heavily outnumbered, managed to hold until 6 July and then crossed the French frontier.

Contents

Background

After the Battle of Teruel, the Nationalists led by the general Fidel Dávila, launched an offensive in the Aragon front in March 1938. The Nationalists broke the Republican lines, pursued them and by April, the Nationalists reached the Mediterranean sea at Vinaròs and the River Segre, occupying Aragon. One republican division was isolated by the Nationalist advance in the valley of the Alto Cinca river, near the French Frontier. By the end of March, the 43rd division of the Republican Army, led by Antonio Beltran, nicknamed El Esquinazado (The Dodger), was surrounded by the Nationalist troops in the Cinca River Valley. [1]

The Bielsa pocket

The 43rd division had around 7,000 men with four guns and no air cover. In this front the Nationalists concentrated a force of 14,000 men with 30 artillery guns and overwhelming air power. Virtually isolated, without ammunition reserves, and outnumbered, the Republican troops managed to halt the Nationalist attacks due to the difficult terrain, the bad weather, and the dogged resistance of the troops, but by the end of May it became clear that further resistance was impossible. [2] The Republican troops evacuated 4,000 civilians to France and then retreated slowly across the French frontier. On 6 June the town of Bielsa fell [3] and on the night of 15–16 June all the Republican troops crossed into France.

Aftermath

This battle had no military importance, but the resistance of the Esquinazado division, after the disaster of the Aragon retreat, was a morale boost for the Republicans. Furthermore, the French government allowed the Republican soldiers to choose between returning to the Republican held territory or the Nationalist held territory. 411 soldiers and five nurses chose the Nationalist held territory, more than 6,000 the Republican held territory. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Ebro</span>

The Battle of the Ebro was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between July and November 1938, with fighting mainly concentrated in two areas on the lower course of the Ebro River, the Terra Alta comarca of Catalonia, and the Auts area close to Fayón (Faió) in the lower Matarranya, Eastern Lower Aragon. These sparsely populated areas saw the largest array of armies in the war. The battle was disastrous for the Second Spanish Republic, with tens of thousands left dead or wounded and little effect on the advance of the Nationalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Brunete</span> 1937 battle of the Spanish Civil War

The Battle of Brunete, fought 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the Republicans were forced to retreat from Brunete after Nationalist counterattacks, and suffered devastating casualties from the battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Madrid</span> Part of the Spanish Civil War

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Teruel</span>

The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War between December 1937 and February 1938, during the worst Spanish winter in 20 years. The battle was one of the bloodiest actions of the war, with the city changing hands several times by first falling to the Republicans and eventually being retaken by the Nationalists. In the course of the fighting, Teruel was subjected to heavy artillery and aerial bombardment. In the two-month battle, both factions together took 110,000 casualties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Santander</span> 1937 battle of the Spanish Civil War

The Battle of Santander was a battle fought in the War in the North campaign of the Spanish Civil War during the summer of 1937. Santander's fall on 26 August assured the Nationalist conquest of the province of Santander, now Cantabria. The battle devastated the Republic's "Army of the North"; 60,000 soldiers were captured by the Nationalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in the North</span> 1937 Spanish Civil War campaign in northern Spain

The War in the North was the campaign of the Spanish Civil War in which the Nationalist forces defeated and occupied the parts of northern Spain that had remained loyal to the Republican government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aragon Offensive</span>

The Aragon Offensive was an important military campaign during the Spanish Civil War, which began after the Battle of Teruel. The offensive, which ran from March 7, 1938, to April 19, 1938, smashed the Republican forces, overran Aragon, and conquered parts of Catalonia and the Levante.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catalonia Offensive</span> 1938–1939 campaign in the Spanish Civil War

The Catalonia Offensive was part of the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist Army started the offensive on 23 December 1938 and rapidly conquered Republican-held Catalonia with Barcelona. Barcelona was captured on 26 January 1939. The Republican government headed for the French border. Thousands of people fleeing the Nationalists also crossed the frontier in the following month, to be placed in internment camps. Franco closed the border with France by 10 February 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Solchaga</span>

José Solchaga Zala was a Spanish general who fought for the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XYZ Line</span> Spanish Civil War fortifications protecting Valencia

The XYZ Line, or Matallana Line, was a system of fortifications built during the Spanish Civil War in order to defend the capital of the Second Spanish Republic in Valencia, Spain. Unlike the Maginot Line, or the Iron Belt of Bilbao, which were expensive systems of fortifications and bunkers made of reinforced concrete, the XYZ Line was a simpler system of defenses in depth consisting of trenches and bunkers that took advantage of some of the most difficult terrain in Spain in the Iberian System ranges to the north and northeast of Valencia. The defenses were built to withstand bombardment by either heavy artillery or 1,000-pound aerial bombs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peña Montañesa</span>

The Peña Montañesa is a conspicuous rocky mountainous outcrop of the Pre-Pyrenees. It is located east of the valley of the Cinca, in the Sobrarbe comarca, Aragon, Spain. The ridge's highest summit is 2295 m high. The village of Laspuña is located at the feet of the mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asturias Offensive</span>

The Asturias Offensive was an offensive in Asturias during the Spanish Civil War which lasted from 1 September to 21 October 1937. 45,000 men of the Spanish Republican Army met 90,000 men of the Nationalist forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Segovia Offensive</span>

The Segovia Offensive was a Republican diversionary offensive which took place between 31 May and 6 June 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The main goal of the offensive was to occupy Segovia and divert Nationalist forces from their advance on Bilbao. After a brief initial advance the offensive failed due to Nationalist air superiority.

The Huesca Offensive was an ill-fated Republican army thrust toward Huesca between 12 and 19 June 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. Hungarian writer and communist commander Máté Zalka was killed in the course of the battle.

The Battle of Alfambra took place near Alfambra from 5 to 8 February 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. This battle was a part of the Battle of Teruel. After, the conquest of Teruel by the Republican army, the Nationalists started a counteroffensive in order to reocuppy Teruel. On 5 February a huge nationalist force broke the republican lines north of Teruel towards the Alfambra river, taking 7,000 republican prisoners and threatening the Republican forces in Teruel.

The Battle of Caspe took place during the Aragon Offensive of the Spanish Civil War in 16–17 March 1938.

The Battle of Gandesa took place in April 1938 during the Spanish Civil War.

The Zaragoza Offensive took place during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. This battle involved the Spanish Republican Army. The main goal of the offensive was to occupy the city of Zaragoza. The main action of the offensive was the battle of Belchite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levante Offensive</span>

The Levante Offensive, launched near the end of March 1938, was an attempt by Nationalist forces under Francisco Franco to capture the Republican held city of Valencia during the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalists occupied the province of Castellón, but the offensive failed due to bad weather and the dogged resistance of the Republican troops at the XYZ defensive line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Region Army Group</span> Military unit

The Eastern Region Army Group, Spanish: Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Oriental (GERO), was a military formation of the Spanish Republican Army during the last phase of the Spanish Civil War. It was established in June 1938 as a response to the splitting in two of the territory under the sovereignty of the Spanish Republic after the Central Region Army Group (GERC), under the command of General Miaja, had been set up in the central-southern region of Spain.

References

  1. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.796
  2. es:Bolsa de Bielsa
  3. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. p.808
  4. es:Bolsa de Bielsa

Bibliography