| Torres-Benedito Column | |
|---|---|
| Columna Torres-Benedito | |
| Active | 1936 - 1937 |
| Disbanded | 1937 |
| Country |  Spanish Republic |
| Branch |  Confederal militias |
| Type | Militia |
| Role | Home defense |
| Size | 4,100 |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Domingo Torres, José Benedito Lleó |
The Torres-Benedito Column was a militia column that operated at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
The column was created in Valencia shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. It was made up of soldiers from the former regiments of the region, as well as volunteers from the CNT, UGT, POUM, Syndicalist Party and Valencian Left. [1] In total, it grouped 3,180 troops, [2] of whom 842 were military and 2335 were militiamen. [1] The leadership of these forces was in the hands of the anarchist Domingo Torres and the artillery lieutenant José Benedito Lleó, a member of the Valencian Left and a war delegate in the Popular Executive Committee of Valencia; while Torres acted as a kind of "political" delegate, Benedito performed the functions of military adviser. [3] Politically, the column had a partially anarchist preponderance. [4]
The column left Castellón on August 18, crossing the province of Teruel until they reached the Francoist lines around the city of Teruel, [5] taking positions in Villalba Baja and Corbalán. [6] During its existence it operated on the Teruel Front, [7] constituting one of the most important columns operating in the sector. [8] Later it was reinforced by the Iberia Column and the CNT 13 Column, leaving all these forces under the command of Jesús Velasco Echave - who replaced Benedito in September. [3] Later the column forces reached a total of 4,100 troops. [9]
It came to have its own publication, "Victoria", a newspaper that was published in Alfambra. [10]
In the spring of 1937 it was militarized and transformed into the 81st Mixed Brigade, [3] a process that arrived after some internal opposition. [11]
The Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and for two to three years resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and, more broadly, libertarian socialist organizational principles throughout various portions of the country, primarily Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, and parts of the Valencian Community. Much of the economy of Spain was put under worker control; in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia, the figure was as high as 75%. Factories were run through worker committees, and agrarian areas became collectivized and run as libertarian socialist communes. Many small businesses, such as hotels, barber shops, and restaurants, were also collectivized and managed by their workers.
The Iron Column was a Valencian anarchist militia column formed during the Spanish Civil War to fight against the military forces of the Nationalist Faction that had rebelled against the Second Spanish Republic.
José Pellicer Gandía (1912–1942) was a Valencian anarchist revolutionary primarily known for commanding the Iron Column during the Spanish Civil War. Born into a well-off family, after the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, Pellicer became an anarchist and joined the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). He participated in a series of anarchist uprisings throughout the 1930s, establishing defence committees that set the foundation for the militias that would fight in the civil war. He co-founded the Iron Column, which pushed the Nationalists out of Valencia and into the province of Teruel, where he fought on the front lines. During the war, he came into conflict with the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), with the Servicio de Información Militar (SIM) arresting and imprisoning him. Despite this, he continued to fight in the Spanish Republican Army after the Iron Column's dissolution, as commander of the 83rd Mixed Brigade and later within the 109th Mixed Brigade. With the end of the war, he was captured and executed by the Francoist dictatorship.
The confederal militias were a movement of people's militia during the Spanish Civil War organized by the Spanish anarchist movement: the National Confederation of Labor (CNT) and the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). The CNT militias replaced clandestine defense committees instituted earlier. As the war progressed, the militias were progressively dissolved and assimilated into the Spanish Republican Army, in spite of many militiamen refusing the militarization.
The Harriers Column of the FAI, or Los Aguiluchos, was the last of the great Catalan anarcho-syndicalist columns. Later, more militias left Catalonia for the front, but they would no longer do so in the form of a column but rather as reinforcement units of the existing columns. This column was supposed to form a large unit - of around 10,000 combatants - but it ended up reinforcing the Ascaso Column as an autonomous column - with about 1,500 militiamen with 200 militiawomen. Organized in the Bakunin barracks in Barcelona, it was sent to the Huesca front on 28 August, with Juan García Oliver and Miguel García Vivancos leading the column.
The Iberia Column was a militia column that operated at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
The Popular Executive Committee of Valencia was a revolutionary autonomous entity created on July 22, to confront the Spanish coup of July 1936 which started the Spanish Civil War. It was made up of the political forces of the Popular Front and the trade union forces of the National Confederation of Labor and General Union of Workers. Based in Valencia, it covered most of Valencia province and part of Castellón and Alicante.
Gregorio Jover Cortés was an Aragonese anarcho-syndicalist and a member of the CNT during the first third of the 20th century. During the Spanish Civil War he was commander of the Ascaso Column and later the militarized 28th Division, which fought on the Aragon front.
The 25th Division was one of the divisions of the Spanish Republican Army that were organized during the Spanish Civil War on the basis of the Mixed Brigades. It participated in the battles of Huesca, Belchite, Teruel and Levante.
The 28th Division was one of the divisions of the Spanish Republican Army that were organized during the Spanish Civil War on the basis of the Mixed Brigades. It was deployed on the Aragon and Segre fronts.
The 83rd Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army created during the Spanish Civil War from the militarization of the Iron Column. It came to operate on the Teruel, Levante and Central fronts.
The 127th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army, belonging to the 28th Division, created during the Spanish Civil War. It operated on the Aragón and Extremadura fronts.
The 81st Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army created during the Spanish Civil War. It operated on the Teruel, Levante and Estremadura fronts.
The 82nd Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army created during the Spanish Civil War. It came to operate on the Teruel and Levante fronts.
The 61st Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that took part in the Spanish Civil War. Throughout the war, the brigade was present on the Teruel, Aragon, Levante and Extremadura fronts.
The 116th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army, integrated into the 25th Division, that participated in the Spanish Civil War.
The 24th Division was one of the divisions of the Spanish Republican Army that were organized during the Spanish Civil War on the basis of mixed brigades. Throughout the war, the unit was deployed on the Andalusian, Madrid, Aragon and Segre fronts, taking part in some of the main battles.
The XIX Army Corps was a military formation of the People's Army of the Republic that fought during the Spanish Civil War. Located on the Teruel Front, it took part in the Teruel and Levante campaigns.
The 41st Division was one of the divisions of the People's Army of the Republic that were organized during the Spanish Civil War on the basis of the Mixed Brigades. It took part in the battles of Teruel, Alfambra and Levante.
The 95th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that took part in the Spanish Civil War. Throughout the war, various brigades came to use the number "95", operating on various fronts.