IV Army Corps (Spain)

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IV Army Corps
IV Cuerpo de Ejército
ActiveMarch 13, 1937–March 1939
CountrySpanish Republic
Allegiance Flag of Spain 1931 1939.svg Republican faction
Branch Spanish Republican Army
Type Infantry
Size Corps
Part of Central Army
Garrison/HQ Guadalajara
Engagements Spanish Civil War:
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Vicente Rojo Lluch

The IV Army Corps was a military formation of the Spanish Republican Army that fought during the Spanish Civil War. It had a relevant role during the Battle of Guadalajara and, later, during the Casado coup. Among its commanders there were prestigious military personnel such as Enrique Jurado and Cipriano Mera.

Contents

History

The unit was created on March 13, 1937, [1] in the middle of the Battle of Guadalajara. It was organized hastily, the 11th, 12th and 14th divisions were integrated into the Corps, under the command of Enrique Jurado Barrio and mainly Vicente Rojo Lluch. [2] [3] [n. 1] During the following days, the forces of the IV Army Corps managed to stop the offensive of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie , going on the counterattack. On March 18, the 11th and 14th divisions converged on Brihuega with the support of 70 Soviet T-26 tanks; the town was almost surrounded by the republicans when a disbandment of its Italian defenders took place, which left behind many prisoners and war material. [6] The operations continued until March 23. The unit established its headquarters in Guadalajara. [7]

During the rest of the war, it did not intervene in relief operations and remained covering the inactive Guadalajara front.

At the beginning of 1939 the army corps grouped the 12th, 14th, 17th and 33rd divisions into its ranks, under the command of the anarchist Cipriano Mera. [8] The IV Army Corps played a key role in the success of the Casado coup, [9] as it sent several units to Madrid to support the rebel forces in the capital. A powerful column composed of the 35th, 50th and 90th mixed brigades, and under the command of Liberino González, [10] it managed to recover several key positions for the rebels. [n. 2]

The unit dissolved itself at the end of March 1939, with the end of the civil war.

Command

Commanders
Commissars
Chiefs of Staff

Organization

DateAttached armyIntegrated divisionsBattlefront
March 1937 Central Army 11th, 12th, 14th Guadalajara
May–June 1937Central Army 12th, 17th, 14th Center
April 1938Central Army 12th, 17th, 33rd Center
February–March 1939Central Army 12th, 14th, 17th, 33rd Center

Notes

  1. ↑ As a consequence of this appointment, Víctor Lacalle —commander of the 12th Division—, angry that he had not been appointed commander of the new Army Corps, resigned from his post and was replaced by the Italian internationalist Nino Nanetti. [4] [5]
  2. ↑ After the triumph of the Casado coup, the commander of the IV Corps, Cipriano Mera, was kept in his post by the National Defence Council. [11]
  3. ↑ Otros autores sitúan al comandante Félix Muedra como jefe de Estado Mayor. [14] [15] [16]

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References

Bibliography

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