No Mas Caudillo- A Spanish Civil War TL

[Napoleon IV]

Note: This is my first TL so any feedback would be appreciated.​

The Capture of General Franco

​

In late 1936 General Francisco Franco flew out to meet General Jose Varela to discuss the Madrid Offensive. The pilot of the plane revealed that he had no experience with night flying, and argued that they should leave before 5 pm. Franco stayed late talking, against the advice of his cousin Ramon Franco Salgado. They then left at 5 pm The co-pilot pointed out that since he had experience with night flying he should take over. Everyone in the plane agreed and they set off. However, the pilot was actually planning to defect to the Republicans, and thus prepared for an early landing in a nearby city. Realizing this, the original pilot and Franco Salgado attempted to seize control of the plane in mid-air. The pilot lost control of the plane, which spiraled towards the ground and crashed near a local farmer's house. When the authorities arrived they found the pilot and co-pilot were dead and the rest of the passengers were wounded, Franco Salgado fatally. Minutes later Francisco Franco, leader of the rebellion and would be Caudillo of Spain, was unceremoniously executed near the ruins of his plane.​

 

[Napoleon IV]

Reorganizing the Rebellion​

News of Franco's death was broadcast around Spain the next day. Within days the Nationalist leaders arrived at a conference in La Coruna to choose a new leader. Fierce debate erupted about who the leader would be, with the main candidates being General Emilio Mola, the fascist Falange leader Manuel Hedilla, and Franco's brother in law Ramon Serrano Suner. On December 28th it was decided that as Mola was a military man he should lead.
At the time of Franco's death there were several factions in Nationalist Spain. There were two groups of monarchists; the Alfonsists, who believed that the former King Alfonso XIII should take the throne, and the Carlists, who believed that a distant relative of Alfonso XIII named Xavier de Borbon should take the throne. There was also a fascist group called the Falange (Phalanx). The Falange was founded by Jose Antiono Primo de Rivera, the son of the late dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera. The movement modeled itself on the Fascists in Italy. They were currently in a transitonal period of leadership as Jose Antionio was imprisoned by the Republicans. (He would later be executed). In additon to these groups several generals did not like the idea of one leader of the rebellion and many ruled the areas under their control as virtual fiefs.
On the eve of Franco's death the military situation was indecisive for both sides. The Nationalists had roughly 95,000 men under arms, along with 7,000 Germans and 3,000 Italians, with more coming daily. In addition the Nationalists had the 600 strong Irish Brigade and 1,000 troops from various countries. The Republicans had roughly an equal number of people in their army with the additions of 700 Soviets, 3,450 International Brigade volunteers from various countries. The Nationalists were fighting hard to try to take Madrid, in battles such as the attack of Guadalajara and the Battle of the Corunna Road. To the north the Nationalists still had to content with the Basques and the heavily socialist/anarchist region of Austrias.​

 

[Napoleon IV]

1937 Offensives

​

After the indecisive Battle of Corunna Road the Madrid offensive stalled. Mola decided that the important thing for the Nationalists to do was to seize the Basque country and Asturias in the north and solidify their control of the south. To that end most of The Army of Africa, under the command of Miguel Cabanellas, was sent to seize the cities of Malaga and Almeria on January 8th 1937.
Nationalist troops near Malaga.

 

[Corjomc]

Assuming the Nationalists still win might Mola be more likely to side with Hitler in World War II and join the Axis? I recall fron somewhere that Canaris warned Franco not to join Hitler but a different Leader may not listen or even be told

 

[Napoleon IV]

The Southern Offensive​

Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing can be difficult.- Carl Von Clausewitz​

If Almeria continues to resist do to it what the Romans did to Carthage.- Letter from Emilio Mola to Miguel Cabanellas​

On January 8th the Southern Offensive began and on January 15th the Nationalists reached Malaga. The Republicans were not ready, with only 12,000 militias facing 15,000 Nationalists and 10,000 Italians. The battle was over almost before it began. Italian armored units easily broke the Republican lines and by January 19th the Nationalists had almost surrounded Malaga. The Republicans withdrew from the city to avoid encirclement and then the massacre began. Some 5,000 Republicans, mostly civilians, were still in the city. For days shots rang out all over the city as men were executed and the scent of blood coated the city. Those who fled were no better off. Originally the orders were to spare fleeing women so the Republicans would have to feed them, but Cabanellas decided to use the refugee women to send the message that no one was safe. The refugees were bombed, machine gunned, and shelled by the Nationalists as they tried to retreat. So many people died that the some roads became almost impassable due to the number of bodies lying around.​

Miguel Cabanellas

The next target was Almeria. It seemed like an easy victory for the Nationalists until Cabanellas made a major mistake. 20,000 men were being sent to aid him and Cabanellas figured that if he waited for them to arrive the combined force could easily overrun Almeria and then take Valencia, rather than taking Almeria and having to stop and wait for the troops before attacking Valencia. This gave the Republicans time to build up their defenses. The Republican leadership figured out that the attack would be on Almeria and thus they organized and sent 40,000 men to augment the 5,000 already there. In addition most of the civilians and refugees were given weapons and sent into the countryside as partisans. On February 2nd the Nationalists reached the Republican defenses.​

The Italians thought that the battle would be just as easy as Malaga, but they were unpleasantly surprised. They were ordered to capture the town of Gador, north of Almeria. Before they attacked they unleashed their bombers and artillery. For hours the Republican troops lay in their trenches as shells whistled past them and bombs struck near them, turning the battlefield into what one Italian soldier called “a desolate moonscape with the only sign of life being the people huddling in their trenches.” Then the Italian tanks swept through. The Republicans were ready and their anti-tank guns went to work. Shells hit several Italian tanks, turning them into flaming wrecks. Those who managed to get out were struck by dozens of bullets. The Italians and 1,500 Requetes[1] charged and managed to overwhelm the first part of the Republican lines. The Republicans managed to regroup and counterattack, driving the Italians back. For the next week the lines changed sides multiple times as men tore each other apart for a
few feet of ground. Finally 2,500 Nationalist reinforcements managed to drive the Republicans out of the town.​

The Nationalists pushed the Republicans back until they were at the gates of Almeria. On March 9th the Nationalists finally broke through the Republican lines and entered the city. The Republicans decided to fight street to street, building to building, refusing to surrender any land without a fight. The Republicans fought desperately, many only dying after taking out 4 or 5 Nationalists. By March 20th the Republican Army was running out of ammunition and food. The Republican government had organized 25,000 men to relieve Almeria, but they were too far away to stop the fall of the city. Inside the city it was decided that some men needed to break out. 15,000 men were sent to break through at Nijar and link up with the relief force. The Republicans lacked air support and artillery and their troops were ripped to pieces. The one thing they had in their favor was desperation, and they refused to give up, even as their comrades fell en mass around them. Once they broke through the people in the city routed, desperately trying to flee. Some 11,000 soldiers made it out of the city.​

Cabanellas' victory was short lived. The Republicans were still marching on the city, stopping only to integrate defenders of Almeria into the army. Partisan bands roamed in the countryside, attacking supply convoys and reinforcements. Cabanellas spent most of his time rebuilding the Republican's old defense lines and reinforcing his troops. In essence the Southern Offensive was over.

[1] The Carlist militia​

 

[Nanwe]

Interesting. But I doubt that Mola would allow Cabanellas to lead the Army of frica, he might have been the highest ranked Nationalist general, but he was a mason and a sympathizer of the PRR, so i very much doubt he'd be put at helm of the most potent force Spain had. José "Novio de la Muerte" Millán-Astray might be more likely.

 

[NKVD]

I will subscribe. I'm interested in the SCW right now (considering writing a TL, actually), so yeah.

I hope this ends in Republican victory. Franco being executed was a fun way to start.

 

[Napoleon IV]

I will subscribe. I'm interested in the SCW right now (considering writing a TL, actually), so yeah.

I hope this ends in Republican victory. Franco being executed was a fun way to start.

Thanks. I think what is really interesting is the OTL story behind this. IOTL Franco and his party really did fly a plane at night, but instead of allowing the co-pilot to fly Franco let the pilot fly the plane. The pilot was nervous so Franco set in the co-pilot's seat and gave directions to the pilot. Obviously they landed safely, but the co-pilot took another plane and flew to a Republican city a few days later. He was a Republican sympathizer/spy and had hoped to use the opportunity to kill Franco!

 

[NKVD]

Neat.

One thing -- some of your spelling and formatting is a bit off.

 

[Napoleon IV]

War in the North and Domestic Problems​

Dialogue as the first step to communication is well and good. But there is no option left but fists and guns when someone offends the precepts of justice or the fatherland.- Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera​

Every Communist must grasp the truth, power comes from the barrel of a gun.- Mao Zedong​

In the North Asturias and the Basque Country were cut off from the rest of the Republican territory. On March 20th Nationalist General Fidel Davila attacked the Republicans in the Basque Country. Lacking air power the Republicans were pushed back and would have collapsed had to Nationalists not suffered internal disputes.​

After Franco's death two factions in the Nationalists, the Carlists and the Falange, began to fall out with each other. The Carlists were a political group that sought to put Don Javier, a member of a different branch of the royal family, on the throne and establish a conservative Catholic state. The Carlists had initially been apprehensive about joining the Nationalists cause. They had wanted their political goals guaranteed but Generals Jose Sanjurjo and Francisco Franco had persuaded them to put discussion of the political future on hold. After both Sanjurjo and Franco died there was little holding the Carlists back.​

Manuel Fal Conde, the Carlist leader, met with Mola on March 22nd and gave him a list of demands. They included making Catholicism the official religion of Spain and the creation of either a monarchy with Don Javier as king or an ultraconservative dictatorship. Upon hearing of the meeting Manuel Hedilla, the new Falange leader, declared his opposition to any deal. The Falange were closely modeled on the Italian Fascists and were anti-capitalist, anti-monarchist, and believed that revolution was the only way to restore order to Spain. The Falange felt that the Carlists were the perfect example of the reactionary rule and they definitely didn't want a Carlist government.​

At first Mola simply refused to give a definitive answer, only promising that the government would be anti-communist. This allowed the tensions in the Nationalist camp to fester, which led to the massacre of April 2nd. On that date several Falangists bombed a Carlist meeting in Pamplona, killing 80 people. The Requetes responded by arresting and executing 152 Falangists. Mola moved quickly, arresting 4 of the 5 bombers (the other had been killed by the Requetes) and 10 Requetes. Naturally both Fal Conde and Hedilla denounced the decision, demanding the freedom of their men and the execution of the other's. For Mola it was an impossible situation. He had been stationed in the heavily Carlist province of Navarre and had schemed with them to overthrow the government, but they had demanded too much and Mola slowly became less and less sympathetic towards them. But, no matter what his personal feelings, without either the Falange or the Requetes the Nationalists would almost certainly lose. To further complicate things many of his generals were old school Alfonsists, and thus didn't favor either the Carlists or the Falange. For the couple days Mola spent all his time meeting the Carlists and the Falange, consulting his generals, and trying to get Hedilla and Fal Conde to meet and put aside their differences. For days Mola didn't really sleep or eat, working at a pace that would kill a man half his age. A meeting between Hedilla and Fal Conde was set up on the 8th. When the meeting started Hedilla entered late and refused to speak to Fal Conde, instead relying messages through Ramon Serrano Suner. This was too much for a hungry and sleep deprived Mola. He ordered his guards into the room and ordered them to arrest both Fal Conde and Hedilla. Serrano Suner remembered “General Mola was red in the face and barely articulate, a maelstrom of curse words and pounding fists. After Hedilla and Fal Conde were led away he took a couple of minutes to calm down. Once he was calm he seemed completely unaware of his surroundings for a couple of minutes, and some guards and I had to almost carry him to his chambers to sleep.” The explosion was almost comical, but it scared both Fal Conde and Hedilla. After Mola woke up he released both and both decided to leave the country for a bit, with Fal Conde spending a month in Portugal and Hedilla two and a half months in Italy. Mola then ordered that all those involved in bombings and massacres were to be executed. For the time being the Falangist/Carlist attacks faded away, but were not destroyed.​

The Republicans could have taken advantage of the Nationalist's problems, but they had some of their own to deal with. Prime Minister Francisco Largo Caballero and his government were criticized by the communists over the fall of Almeria and the destruction of most of the army. The final breaking point came on April 5th when the government of Catalonia attempted to take control of several anarchist run industries, including the telephone service. The anarchists and POUM members decided to take to the streets. Barricades went up and workers traded shots with the police. Assault guards arrived on April 8th and by April 15th the anarchists and POUM negotiated an end to the conflict. POUM was then banned, its leaders arrested, and its militias disbanded and incorporated into the army. For Andres Nin, leader of POUM, the terror was just beginning. He was kidnapped by the NKVD, and tortured to death. Many others in POUM met the same fate.​

Largo Caballero's government collapsed and Finance Minister Juan Negrin took over. Negrin was a socialist but he was widely seen as a communist stooge. In his government the Communists gained a large amount of power. Like their benefactor Stalin they often seemed more interested in fighting non-Stalinist parties than attacking the Nationalists.​

 

[Napoleon IV]

Madrid and the Aragon Offensive​

Based on their performance in Guadalajara and Almeria the Italians should stick to wine making and leave the business of war to other nations.- Winston Churchill​

To fall in battle for your Country is a great honor.- Enrique Lister​

After some of the domestic problems were sorted out the Nationalists decided to take Madrid. The city had resisted 3 assaults and was a symbol of Republican resistance. It was decided that the Italians would take Guadalajara, thus cutting off Madrid. Mussolini was initially reluctant, but he endorsed the Operation and on April 10th the battle started.​

The attack got off to a good start. Unprepared Republican troops were first shelled and then struck by the Italians. The Republican lines were in a full rout, and the Italians were only stopped by poor visibility. Once the Republican reinforcements arrived the tide turned. The Republican counterattack caught the Italians by surprise. The Italian troops fled past burning tanks and the dead. The failure of the offensive damaged Italian morale. Italian troops had only won one battle (Malaga) and they had been badly beaten in several battles. Mussolini worried that further losses would cause a backlash at home.​

Republican troops during the Battle of Guadalajara​

The Republicans recognized that they had been given a great opportunity. As a result of the Carlist/Falange problem the Nationalist offensive against Asturias and the Basques had slowed down. The Basques reorganized and were prepared to defend their land to the death. In Aragon the Republicans saw a chance to stop a further Nationalist offensive and reunite the north and the rest of the country. To that end they organized 25,000 men under the Hungarian communist General Lukacs to take Huesca, and another 25,000 men under General Enrique Lister to seize Zaragoza. The offensive started on May 1st. The Republican forces easily reached Huesca, but the Nationalists were dug in. Lacking artillery and armor the Republicans advanced over the open ground and a nightmare began. Shells burst all around them, striking clusters of men and leaving only scattered limbs and skulls. Many troops were cut down by machine gun fire, their bodies piling up all across the field. A shell landed near General Lukacs and a piece of shrapnel tore off his hand just above the wrist. After the Republicans called off the attack the Nationalists counterattacked and drove them back.​

The Republicans had sent less artillery to the Huesca force so that Lister's army could have a large amount. It helped that the Huesca force had a lot of POUM members and anarchists, while Lister's force was mostly socialists and communists. On April 11th one part of the Republican Army, under the foreign communist Emilio Kleber reached Fuentes del Ebro and shelled the place to the ground. When the Republicans entered the city the found complete destruction, with only a few Nationalist troops holding out. Meanwhile at Fuentetodos Republican tanks cornered and destroyed several battalions of Nationalist troops. Scenes like this were repeated all across Aragon. By April 19th the Republican Army had reached Zaragoza. The Republicans had not scouted out the Nationalist defenses and thought that they were weak. After a short bombardment Republican troops stormed the Nationalist lines. The Nationalists opened fire and the Republicans had to fight through a hail of bullets. At the first trench men shot each other from only feet away. Once they entered the trench Republican soldiers often had to stab Nationalist soldiers with bayonets or beating them to death with their rifles. They were not strong enough to hold the trench from a Nationalist counterattack and Kleber remembered seeing “a stream of troops fleeing to the safety of our lines. Their bodies were caked in blood from head to toe and some were so badly wounded that blood squirted out of their bodies as they stumbled back.” In the northern part of the city 40 Republican tanks were destroyed without any break in the defenses.​

The Nationalists were forced to call off the attack on the Basques once again. Instead they sent ,35,000 men to crush the Aragon Offensive. General Juan Yague was given command of the army. At the start of the war Yague had killed 10% of the population of Badajoz, including the wounded, just so he wouldn't have to deal with prisoners. He applied the same ruthlessness to his counteroffensive. On the attack he forced captured civilians to march in front of the army and absorb bullets, while on the retreat he destroyed anything that the Republicans might be able to use. His army first engaged the Republican troops in Muel. The Republicans were pinned down by artillery and then overwhelmed by Nationalist soldiers. Yague decided to focus on relieving Zaragoza and only sent a small number of troops to defeat the Republicans in other areas. The Republicans were barely able to hold these men off until reinforcement arrived.​

General Juan Yague​

On April 30th Yague's army struck Lister's. He fully expected Lister to stand and fight. “The Reds don't lack bravery. Once we engage them they will stand and fight and we will be able to destroy them,” Yague wrote to Mola on the 29th. However, Lister realized that if he fought at Zaragoza not only would he lose, but Yague would be able to break through to the south and encircle him. Lister ordered 10,000 men under Antonio Escobar Huerta to hold the line until all the troops were safely withdrawn. The first Nationalist assault was a bloody failure. The artillery bombardment tore holes in the Republican lines, but the Republicans quickly shifted men and machine guns to those areas and the Nationalist charges ended with a mountain of bodies. Yague ordered the area to be carpet bombed, and by March 2nd the Republicans were doomed. Their lines had been shattered and the Nationalists were in the process of taking out the survivors, they were running low on ammunition, and their machine guns were almost all destroyed. Escobar moved quickly to pull as many men as he could out; he and 4,500 men managed to get out of there. Meanwhile, Lister had pulled his army back to Quinto and Gelsa where he reorganized and waited for reinforcements.​

10,000 reinforcements arrived on May 3rd. It was decided that 8,000 of them should be sent to the south, where the situation had ground down into a stalemate. Yague was still marching the bulk of his army down to Quinto and Gelsa, chasing the decisive battle. The reinforcements joined the 6,000 Republicans already there, and they quickly overran the Nationalists. Yague had already committed the front of his force to defeating Lister in Quinto, and he was forced to pull back and accept the causalities. Yague set up a defense at Zaragoza, but the Republicans had nearly encircled him and he was forced to retreat. True to form Yague stopped parts of his army in Zaragoza and razed the city to the ground. The fall of Zaragoza spelled the end for Huesca, which fell in early June.​

 

[Unknown]

How far are you going with this?

Good updates.

Wonder how this affects World War II...

 

[Napoleon IV]

How far are you going with this?

Good updates.

Wonder how this affects World War II...

I am hoping to take this as far as I can. World War II will be very differnt for sure. Thanks for the comments.

 

[NKVD]

Me gusta. Continue.

 

[Napoleon IV]

Andalusia and the Fifth Offensive​

The General who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The General who lose makes but few beforehand.- Sun Tzu​

How are the Fascists similar to bulls?
Show them Red and they attack.
-Communist joke after the 5th Offensive​

Cabanellas's army had very little time to prepare for the defense of Almeria. On March 25th 36,000 Republicans faced 38,000 Nationalists. The morning was eerily still, then suddenly it was broken by the roar of artillery. Under a creeping artillery barrage Republican troops advanced towards the trenches. The Nationalist troops attempted to hold their ground, but they hadn't been able to repair much of their fortifications and those positions were untenable. The fighting quickly descended into street fighting. The same ruins that Republican troops had been defending just days earlier were being defended by the Nationalists. Soldiers from both sides remembered finding bodies from the previous battle. On April 1st Cabanellas withdrew with the Republicans in hot pursuit. By April 15th Cabanellas and his men managed to set up a defense at Granada. 30,000 men under Gonzalo Queipo de Llano arrived in Malaga and the Republicans could not break either.​

Almeria after Cabanellas' retreat​

Mola ordered a northern offensive launched in April. They took large parts of Asturias, but they got quickly trapped fighting a guerrilla war against the miners and peasants. In Basque Country very little land was gained. Once it became apparent that the offensive was not going to take the north Mola turned his attention to taking Madrid. There was one problem: the Italians. Mussolini was shocked at how poorly the Italian troops were doing. Despite censorship it was clear that the disaster of Guadalajara had turned the Italian population against the war. On May 15th Mola and Mussolini met in Tangiers. The meeting was a disaster. Mussolini spent several hours lecturing Mola on the nuances of strategy while Mola sat in silence. The men could not agree on anything and the meeting ended with both men angry and tired. It looked like the offensive would have to go on without the Italians, until Hitler met with Mussolini and convinced him that a far right dictatorship in Spain would be worth the trouble.​

The Fifth Offensive was massive. 60,000 Spanish and 25,000 Italian soldiers were there, as well as 108 tanks and 100 planes. Around Madrid there were 80,000 Republican soldiers. Mola divided the attack in 3 parts with him leading the direct assault from the west, General Jose Varela leading the troops from Toledo to cut the Republicans off, and General Fernando Barron leading troops from Guadalajara to Madrid and to cut Madrid off.​

On June 3rd the attack began. The shelling was intense, sending up clouds of dust and body parts. After several hours of bombardment several bombers went over, but instead of dropping bombs they dropped leaflets carrying messages like: “People of Madrid! Overthrow the Red tyrants,” “Those who continue fighting forfeit their lives,” and “Do not fight for Stalin's hordes.” The messages were the idea of Pilar Primo de Rivera. Her first major attempt at propoganda was a failure, with Republican soldiers drawing crude pictures on the backs and posting them around their trenches.​

Nationalist artillery outside of Madrid​

To the north Barron's assault went quite well. The Republicans were overwhelmed and by June 5th the Nationalists reached the town of Alcala de Henares. The Republicans abandoned the city and instead moved their troops across the Rio de Henares to the hills. As the Nationalists advanced up the hill they were met with a wall of fire and bullets. Unable to advance the Nationalist resorted to bombarding the hills with shells and bombs. For hours the Republicans were forced down as explosions went off all around them. In this inferno the Nationalists advanced again. They had damaged the Republican ranks, but not enough. Bullets and shells flew through their ranks and hundreds lay dead and wounded on the no man's land of the hills. This pattern was repeated for days on end.​

The Nationalist assault on Madrid wasn't going much better. After the propaganda assault the Nationalists launched a massive attack. At several areas the Republicans held on for dear life as waves of Nationalists stormed their trenches. One such group was the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Some 2,300 men faced 5,000 Nationalists, with only a few machine guns and light artillery to protect them. The guns went off nonstop and walls of men were cut down. Once the Nationalists reached the trenches the real bloodshed began. Men shot each other at just inches apart and if they didn't have time they resorted to beating and stabbing. One man remembers bayoneting 5 Nationalists in as many minutes. Those areas that hadn't been overrun barely kept the Nationalists at bay with machine guns. After 25 minutes the George Washington Brigade stormed the trenches and entered the fray. Their entrance turned the tide and the Nationalists were driven back. Inside the trench there was nothing but death. Bodies lay piled up all around, pools of blood soaking the trench and the feet of anyone standing there. Men were covered in blood and the cries of the wounded and dying echoed through the air. Some 1,500 Americans lay dead or wounded, along with 3,200 Nationalists. “The battalion was named after Abraham Lincoln because he too was assassinated” one soldier later said. The Abraham Lincoln and George Washington Battalions were merged together. After the June 6th Massacre (as the event became known) the Battalion was withdrawn back into Madrid; there were just too many areas where the Nationalists had broken through.​

Inside Madrid the Republicans attempted a new strategy. The new plan was for urban warfare. In the outer Madrid there were many buildings and ruins. The Republicans set up machine gun nests, snipers, and other troops in there; prepared to force the Nationalists to lose gallons of blood to take every inch of land.​

 

[Napoleon IV]

The Fifth Offensive​

No Pasaran- Dolores Ibarruri​

Blood is the price all soldiers pay for glory.- Emilio Mola​

On June 8th the first Nationalist troops entered Madrid. From the start the Republicans fought for every piece of ground. Every building contained snipers, every street had a machine gun, every house had soldiers hiding inside. Perhaps the most celebrated fight was the Battle of the Factory. For hours an automotive parts factory had been the base of some snipers. No one was able to pass through safely and several artillery attacks hadn't stopped them. About 100 Nationalists entered the building. It was dark and quiet, with the exception of 1 sniper, who was quickly taken care of. The silence was deafening and it seemed like there was nothing else in the building. Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud “Ahora” (In English “Now”) and several Republicans burst out of hiding and began shooting. Bullets flew everywhere, ricocheting off of walls and smashing into the organs of other soldiers. A couple of grenades tore into the Nationalist lines and killed several men. The Nationalist commander was struck in the throat and the ranks broke. As the men moved down the street back to the Nationalist lines snipers picked off a couple of them. 500 men were then sent in, but only a token force of Republicans stayed in the factory. Some 20 Republicans and 48 Nationalists were killed in the battle. Scenes like this were repeated several times and many more men died.

In Alcala de Henares things went quite well. The Nationalists drove the Republicans from the hill. However General Barron did have to deal with a disturbing event. A Carlist and a Falangist had a dispute (probably over a girl) and on June 14th the Carlist shot the Falangist. The other men in the Falangist's unit attacked the Carlist's unit and, with grenades and knives, killed 80 people. All were arrested and sentenced to death. Manuel Fal Conde saw an opportunity. Since the last incident he had been humiliated and sidelined, spending most of his time giving speeches in Navarre. After the shooting he declared that this was a Falangist plot and demanded that he and General Varela lead an investigation or else Varela would not move his army and the Requetes would refuse to fight. In response Hedilla declared that the shooting was actually a Carlist plot and if Fal Conde's demands were met the Falange would withdraw from the Nationalist cause. At first Mola offered a compromise: Manuel Cabanellas [1], who was a supporter of the PRR [2] and a mason so he favored neither side, would lead an investigation. Both Fal Conde and Hedilla quickly rejected this idea and for the time being both sides refused to fight.

The Republicans soon realized that the Nationalists were no longer attacking. They reorganized and prepared to just north of Alcala de Henares. This was where most of the Italians soldiers were, but more importantly the land was flat and covered with wheat fields, with the river at the back of the Italian lines was a great objective. On June 16th Republican soldiers struck and drove the Italians in to the wheat fields. The wheat fields were pure hell. By this time of year the wheat was so high and thick that men could not see more than a foot in any direction. With thousands of men in such small areas the concentration of bullets was as thick as a swarm of flies. Troops fell to invisible enemies and others came in after them, their shoes quickly covered in blood and bullet cut wheat. More than bullets men feared grenades which, although they landed only feet or inches away from a man, could not be seen thorough the wheat. They would then suddenly explode and the unfortunate man would be killed or left horribly wounded in the wheat field. The slaughter lasted for 2 days, until the Italians retreated back behind the river. A Republican assault across the river left only scores of dead.

Mola was furious when he heard the news and he called Hedilla, Varela, and Fal Conde to his headquarters. Upon reaching the headquarters building they were met with Mola, Cabanellas, Serrano Suner, and several guards. The guards seized them and Mola declared that he would execute each man. Varela and Hedilla begged for mercy, but Fal Conde looked completely serene. “You would never kill me Emilio [Mola] for if you did every Carlist in the country would fight you” Fal Conde said. Mola had to be dragged out of the room before he could kill Fal Conde. After Mola calmed down he, Cabanellas, and Serrano Suner discussed how to proceed. It was decided that the Falange could be controlled, but only if Hedilla voluntarily gave up leadership. The Carlists believed that no non-Carlist could be trusted so it was decided that Fal Conde should be left in charge. The decision was announced to the three rebellious leaders. Mola announced to Varela that “General, for your insubordination I sentence you to death.” Varela fell to the ground and begged but it was no use. Mola ordered the guards not to “waste bullets on that rat” and thus an axe was brought out and, in front of everyone, Varela was beheaded; splattering blood all over the walls. A shaken Hedilla quickly agreed when told that he must resign as leader. He gave a speech a few days later stating that he was going to Italy to receive treatment for tuberculosis. Mola ordered him to name another Falangist named Raimundo Fernandez-Cuesta as his successor and this Hedilla did. Fal Conde was offered a simple choice: either give a speech admitting his wrongdoing and condemning Varela, or join Varela on the chopping block. Fal Conde swiftly chose the former and the crisis was over.

Unfortunately the Fifth Offensive had lost momentum and was called off on June 19th. Out of a total of 125,000 Nationalists there were 61,000 casualties, and out of a total of 105,000 Republicans there were 50,000 casualties. In addition the Nationalists lost 40 tanks and 30 planes and the Republicans lost 19 tanks and 28 planes. For Mussolini the newest split was to much. He blamed Mola for the split and for the attack on the wheat fields, which had cost 10,000 Italian men. Mussolini declared that he was withdrawing Italian troops and that by the end of 1937 no more Italian aid would come in. Mola turned to Hitler for help, but Hitler was also frustrated. Heinrich Himmler had visited the battle and stated that “The Nationalist troops do not lack for bravery or skill, they are lions led by donkeys.” While Hitler didn't withdraw his support he refused to negotiate with Mussolini over the issue. The Nationalists had lost many veteran troops and much equipment, which they soon would have trouble replacing.

[1] Cabanellas was recalled in late May and the command of the Army of Africa was given to Jose Millan Astray

[2] The Radical Republican Party (Partido Radical Republicano) a center to right wing party.

 

[NKVD]

Things are looking up for the Republicans. Good update.

 

[Tanner151]

Nice. Keep it up. I'm subscribing

 

[Napoleon IV]

The Navarre Offensive ​

Remember men that Pamplona is the seed of rebellion. If we seize this city then we will have in our hands the heart of the rebellion.-Enrique Lister​

Despite the failure of the 5th Offensive there was one bit of good news for the Nationalists. The Nationalists had managed to seize Oviedo towards the tail end of the Fifth Offensive and soon had surrounded Gijon. If the Nationalists were given time to rebuild they would be able to launch another offensive in Asturias; possibly seizing the whole of Asturias and Basque Country. This made the decision to attack Navarre that much easier. The offensive would be united until the army reached Tudela when it would be divided in two with 30,000 men under Emilio Kleber going from Zaragoza to Logrono while 35,000 men under Enrique Lister would attack Pamplona and then link up with the Basque army pushing towards Pamplona from San Sebestian and Irun.​

The Republicans reached Tudela on July 2nd. A large part of Yague's army had been diverted to the Fifth Offensive and he realized that he could not hold Tudela. Based on intelligence reports Yague knew that there would attacks on Logrono and Pamplona; so he split his army to defend both places.​

Kleber made the first move. Although it was only a short distance it took a week to reach Calahorra due to the Nationalists having destroyed everything they could. About 15,000 Nationalists were in Calahorra to stop the Republicans until reinforcements could get to Logrono. During the 5th the Republicans were held down by artillery fire and they were only able to move after dark. The resistance was unexpectedly light and when the troops reached the town they found only a few abandoned artillery pieces. Thanks to the delaying action Nationalist reinforcements were able to arrive before the Republicans were even in view of Logrono.​

In Pamplona the mood was grim. Men, women, even children as young as 12 were conscripted to fight; some armed with little more than hunting rifles or old swords. General Yague had left the command of Pamplona to Emilio Esteban Infantes, an ambitious and capable commander. Infantes was also given command due to his pro-German leanings, which Yague felt might convince the Hitler to order the Condor Legion to help them. The Germans refused to make a commitment and the Condor Legion never did come to Pamplona's aid.​

Lister waited until July 9th, when Kleber's army cut off the road from Pamplona to Logrono, to make his move. The villages at the ends of the line, Tafalla and Estella, were near the mountains and with the Nationalist artillery it would be costly to seize them. Knowing this Infantes had concentrated his forces along the center of the line. Before dawn on July 9th the XII International Brigade spearheaded an assault on the village of Larraga. Bullets ripped through the air and men fell left and right. In the trenches brutality and chaos reigned. Both Nationalist and Republican troops shot, bayoneted, and beat each other to death for hours as the July heat bore down upon them. The bridges on the Rio Arga had been wired with explosives for weeks and as soon as it became clear that they couldn't hold Larraga then Nationalists pulled back as many troops as they could and blew up the bridges. About 200 Nationalist troops were stuck on the other side. As a Republican soldier later said “Many tried to swim to the other side while we shot at them. It was like hunting ducks.”​

For the next several days the Republicans pushed further, capturing Oteiza, Artajona, and Mendigorria. In the north the Basques had managed to push back the Nationalists, who were weakened by guerrilla fighting, the Basques' recent offensive, and troop withdrawals to defend Logrono and Pamplona. On July 15th the Basques seized Agurian; cutting the road from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Pamplona. This meant that the only supply line was a dangerous and difficult trek across the mountains. (Without the Condor Legion or the Italians the Nationalists didn't have enough airpower to safely organize an airlift) Cut off and facing threats from both Lister's army and the Basques Infantes decided to withdraw to the more defensible positions from Irurtzun to Salinas de Oro, from Salinas de Oro to Campanas, and from Campanas to Aoiz in a roundabout way that took a large part of the mountain west of Campanas.​

 

[mlp]

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