| Battle of Gandesa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Republic  International Brigades |  Nationalist Spain  Corpo Truppe Volontarie Aviazione Legionaria  Condor Legion | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| XV International Brigade | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 140 prisoners | |||||||
The Battle of Gandesa took place in April 1938 during the Spanish Civil War.
After the fall of Caspe, the Nationalists troops continued their advance towards Catalonia with the support of the Legion Condor and the Aviazione Legionaria . By the end of February the nationalists had reached the outskirts of Gandesa. The XV International Brigade had been retreating since the Aragón Offensive began, and the republican lines collapsed. [1] [2]
The battle followed the decision of the XV International Brigade to dig in and hold the town of Gandesa in an effort to slow down the Francoist troops, which had been advancing steadily since the beginning of the offensive. [3]
The town of Gandesa was held by the XV International Brigade. The Nationalists attacked with troops of Mario Berti's CTV and Monasterio's Army Corps. Despite the prowess of the British troops, Gandesa fell on 3 April and 140 British and American members of the International Brigades were captured. [4] However, the resistance of the XV Brigade allowed the Republican troops to regroup and to withdraw some material across the Ebro River. [5]
This battle is mentioned in the song Jamie Foyers , where the fictional hero is killed.
The Condor Legion was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were used widely during the Second World War. The bombing of Guernica was the Condor Legion's most infamous operation. Hugo Sperrle commanded the unit's aircraft formations, and Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma commanded the ground element.
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Before this period, the Nationalists had already become dominant, yet the outcome of the war was still not certain. This progressively changed as the Nationalist forces notched up several victories.
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The Bombing of Durango took place on 31 March 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. On 31 March 1937 the Nationalists started their offensive against the Republican held province of Biscay. As part of the offensive the Aviazione Legionaria and the Legion Condor bombed Durango, a town of 10,000 inhabitants that was also a key road and railway junction behind the frontline. Around 250 people are believed to have died in the bombing.
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41°3′N0°26′E / 41.050°N 0.433°E
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