The brigade's first combat, at the Battle of Jarama in February 1937, resulted in heavy casualties. The British lost 225 men out of 600,[2] the Lincolns 120 out of 500.[3] After the battle, the brigade was seriously undermanned.[citation needed]
At the end of March, a Spanish battalion, Voluntario 24 (the 24th Volunteers), joined the brigade. Over the next few months, under the close supervision of Janos Galicz, the XVth was re-organized into two regiments of about 1,200 men. Galicz appointed "the gallant major",[4]George Nathan, as brigade Chief of Staff.
The first regiment, commanded by Jock Cunningham, with Harry Haywood as political commissar,[5] was English-speaking and comprised the depleted British and Lincolns, as well as the recently formed but under-strength second battalion of American volunteers, known as the George Washington Battalion. The second regiment was commanded by Major "Chapaiev" (Mihaly Szalvay)[5] and consisted of the Dimitrov Battalion, the Sixth February Battalion, and the Voluntario 24 Battalion.
This was the composition of the XVth Brigade in July 1937 for the Battle of Brunete. As with the Battle of Jarama, the brigade suffered severe casualties; the brigade strength was reduced from six to four battalions. In particular, the two American battalions were so depleted that they merged to form the Lincoln-Washington Battalion.[6] (This name did not last: it was renamed the Lincoln Battalion in October 1937.) The Sixth February Battalion, which also suffered massive casualties, was transferred after Brunete. After Belchite, the nominally Canadian Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion joined the brigade, while the Dimitrov Battalion departed.[citation needed]
The XVth International Brigade included African Americans in fully integrated units, unlike what was allowed in the U.S. Army in the 1930s.[7] The brigade also included volunteers from Canada and Latin America, some of whom felt slighted and mistreated by the Americans, and left the XVth to join other units such as El Campesino's First Mobile Shock Brigade.[8][9]
During the autumn of 1937, the units of the International Brigade were consolidated into the Spanish Popular Army and the Battalions were re-numbered. The British Bn became the 57th, the Lincoln-Washington the 58th, the Spanish (formerly known as the 24th), became the 59th and the Mackenzie-Papineau the 60th. The battalion line-up remained stable through the withdrawal of the Internationals during the Ebro Campaign.[citation needed]
Flag of the 17th battalion of the brigade. It was also known as the 1st American Battalion; the 2nd American Battalion was the Washington Battalion.
Music was an important means of lifting spirits within the International Brigades. The XVth Brigade's songs were "Jarama Valley" and "Viva la Quince Brigada".[10] After an invitation from J. B. S. Haldane,[11] American singer and activist Paul Robeson traveled to Spain in 1938 to bolster the Republican cause.[12] He visited the Benicàssim hospital and sang to the wounded soldiers.[13] He also visited the battlefront[14] and provided a morale boost at a time when Republican victory seemed increasingly unlikely.[12]
On 13 March 2015, Dan Kaufman interviewed Delmer Berg, who at 99 years old was believed to be the last known survivor of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.[15] Berg died the following year on 28 February.[16]
The Lincoln Battalion, the major component of what came to be known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, was the 17th battalion of the XV International Brigade which fought in the Spanish Civil War. Named after United States President Abraham Lincoln, the battalion was organized by the Communist International. The XVth Brigade was one of many mixed brigades that comprised the International Brigades.
Oliver Law was an African-American communist and labor organizer, who fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. Having previously served in the United States Army, he traveled to Spain and became commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion for several days and commander of its Machine Gun Company for much longer.
Samuel George Montague Nathan was an English soldier who served in the British Army during World War I, the Royal Irish Constabulary's Auxiliary Division during the Anglo-Irish War and the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. During his service in the Auxiliary Division, Nathan was suspected of being involved in the assassination of two Sinn Féin politicians, which later contributed to the alienation of Irish volunteers in the International Brigades from their British counterparts during the Spanish Civil War.
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moroccan Regulares from the Army of Africa forced back the Republican Army of the Centre, including the International Brigades, but after days of fierce fighting no breakthrough was achieved. Republican counterattacks along the captured ground likewise failed, resulting in heavy casualties to both sides.
Robert Hale Merriman was an American doctoral student who fought with the Republican forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He was killed while commanding the Abraham Lincoln Battalion of the International Brigades.
The British Battalion was the 16th battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during the Spanish Civil War. It comprised British and Dominion volunteers.
"Jarama Valley" also known as "El Valle del Jarama" is a song from the Second Spanish Republic. Referring to the Spanish Civil War Battle of Jarama, the song uses the tune of Red River Valley.
The International Brigades (IB) were volunteer military units of foreigners who fought on the side of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The number of combatant volunteers has been estimated at between 32,000–35,000, though with no more than about 20,000 active at any one time. A further 10,000 people probably participated in non-combatant roles and about 3,000–5,000 foreigners were members of CNT or POUM. They came from a claimed "53 nations" to fight against the Spanish Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and assisted by German and Italian forces.
The XI International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War.
The Dimitrov Battalion was part of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. It was the 18th battalion formed, and was named after Georgi Dimitrov, a Bulgarian communist and General Secretary of the Comintern in that period.
Joseph Wallace "Jock" Cunningham was a British volunteer in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He became a battalion and brigade commander and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He played a key role in the Battle of Jarama, one of the principal military actions of the Spanish Civil War.
Milton Wolff was an American veteran of the Spanish Civil War, the last commander of the Lincoln Battalion of XV International Brigade, and a prominent communist.
The Rákosi Battalion was a volunteer unit founded in April 1937. It was formed predominantly of Hungarians, who fought in the CL International Brigade and the XIII International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). The battalion was named after Mátyás Rákosi, then a political prisoner in Miklós Horthy's Hungary, later leader of the Hungarian People's Republic.
The Garibaldi Battalion was a largely-Italian volunteer unit of the International Brigades that fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War from October 1936 to 1938. It was named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian military and political figure of the nineteenth century.
The First Mixed Brigade, also known as Brigada Lister, was a mixed brigade of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. It was disbanded on 9 February 1939.
Walter Thomas Leo Tapsell was a British communist activist, known as a leading figure in the British Battalion during the Spanish Civil War.
The CL International Brigade or 150th International Brigade, also known as "Dabrowski Brigade", was a military unit of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Its members were mostly Polish, but there was also a Spanish battalion, as well as a Hungarian section.
The CXXIX International Brigade or 129th International Brigade was a military unit of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Its members were from a number of different countries thus it was also known as "Forty Nations Brigade".
The 66th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Popular Army of the Republic that participated in the Spanish Civil War. Born in the context of the Battle of Madrid, took part in the Battle of Jarama and the fronts of Guadalajara and Extremadura.(Spanish: 42.ª División) was a division of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. This unit was involved in the Battle of Jarama —part of the Battle of Madrid, as well as in the Battle of Peñarroya, suffering grievous losses in both battles.
↑ Kaufman, Dan (13 March 2015). "The Last Volunteer". The New York Times Magazine. p.MM38. Retrieved 16 March 2015. Del Berg, 99, is the last known surviving veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a contingent of nearly 3,000 Americans who fought to defend the democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
Raeburn, Fraser (2022). "'The Surest of All Morale Barometers': Transnational Encounters in the XV International Brigade". Contemporary European History. 31 (1): 85–99. doi:10.1017/S0960777321000217. S2CID237807295.
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