No Mas Caudillo- A Spanish Civil War TL

Napoleon IV

A Siege and an Offensive​


For months little progress was made in the south. Just like the Great War massive trench lines ran across the line and there were massive attacks that killed thousands with only a few inches gained. By July victories in the north convinced many in the Republican government (particularly Negrin and Ibarruri) that there was less of a threat to Madrid there and that the best way to relieve Madrid would be to make gains in the south. To that end the rest of July and the early part of August were spent organizing an offensive from Jaen to Cordoba, where there were less Nationalists than around Granada/Malaga. General Juan Modesto was given command of the Republicans in Jaen.​

The first shots were fired on August 8th. One part of the army pushed towards Castro del Rio while the other pushed Porcuna. To reach Porcuna the Republicans had to go through the a large group of hills that were covered in trenches and bunkers. The first wave of assaults was a massive failure. As the Republicans charged machine guns and artillery tore their ranks apart and hastily buried mines blew off limbs. After 4 days of horror the first Republicans managed to reach the trench lines. Armed with submachine guns and grenades the first Republican troops carved a bloody path through the trenches while others launched brutal attacks on pillboxes and bunkers. After two days the Republicans seized the hills, but the fortifications on them were destroyed.​

The assault on Castro del Rio had also been a success and the Republicans moved towards Cordoba. By August 18th they had reached the outskirts of the city. But on August 19th bombers struck Castro del Rio. The Nationalists had gathered men southeast of Castro del Rio in Lucena as the Republicans had launched their attacks. The troops left by the Republicans to guard Castro del Rio and Fernan-Nunez were unable to withstand the assault and were forced to withdraw. For the next 8 days the Nationalists pushed towards Cordoba, crushing the Republican opposition. Finally the Republicans launched a counterattack. On the night of August 26th Republican artillery began to hit positions near the hamlet of Santa Cruz. Troops surged forward, followed by tanks. In the darkness men fired at any shadow and soon the only thing that could be heard was the sound of gunfire. After several hours the Republicans were able to push the Nationalists back. Although it would take 10 days the Republicans were able to retake Castro del Rio, but the manpower losses meant that the offensive was over.​

In the north Pamplona was in dire straits. Despite the strong positions on the hills by August 5th the Nationalists were seriously outnumbered and facing dwindling supplies of artillery shells and food. The Republicans also had almost complete control of the air. On August 6th the Republicans decided to attack the hill near Campanas (later named Montanita Verde). This was the tallest hill and the most strategic since whoever controlled it would be able to fire on Pamplona as well as make it difficult to hold positions to the southeast and southwest of the city. Knowing this the Nationalists had dug in and put much of their artillery on Montanita Verde.​

The Republican advance up the hill was incredibly difficult. Nationalist artillery and machine guns tore the advancing troops to ribbons; with the hail of bullets so thick that they even cut down trees. From the air the Republicans dropped tons of bombs. This slow advance continued until the Republicans reached the top of Montanita Verde on the 10th. Veteran troops were sent to capture the most bombed out parts of the trench. They charged from tree to tree, up the hill, under heavy fire. Many of the men were cut down in the hail of bullets but many reached the trench. After the weaker areas of the trench were seized regular troops attacked the now cut off parts of the trenches. The Nationalists had prepared and the top of the hill was covered with trenches, foxholes, and improvised pillboxes; which the Nationalists realized they had to hold at all costs. Manuel Fal Conde (who had flown to Pamplona when the Navarre Offensive began) met many of the troops that were heading up the hill and told them to “die so that Spain could live.” The Nationalists fought with an unmatched ferocity. There were stories of Nationalist soldiers who continued to fight despite having been shot multiple times or had their bodies destroyed by grenades. These men were nicknamed Los Salvajes (Savages). In the end it wasn't enough and by August 14th the Republicans controlled the hill. General Infantes pulled his troops into Pamplona but realized that from the hill and from the air the Republicans could simply destroy the city. Infantes, Fal Conde, and the troops fled north to go guerrilla.​

Even before the fall of Pamplona the Germans were cutting off their aid. After Pamplona Hitler decided that Spain was lost and could only be a “graveyard for German troops.” Hitler decided to withdraw all German troops, including the Condor Legion. The loss of the German troops and many Nationalist troops (including most of the Requetes) severely damaged the Nationalist armies. Although Franco had been skeptical of foreign volunteers Mola decided that they might be the only hope the Nationalists had. Mola had the same reasoning that the Republicans had with the International Brigades as well as the example set by the nearly 8,000 Portuguese volunteers. Agents were sent to several countries to negotiate with local Fascist leaders. These Foreign Brigades (as they were dubbed) are believed by some historians to have been great help to the Nationalist cause.​
 

Napoleon IV

The Guns of Madrid​
Although the situation seems bleak we shall overcome it and gain victory-Emilio Mola​
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If I never go into another tunnel it will be to soon- Anonymous Republican soldier after the 5th Offensive​
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After the fall of Pamplona Lister shifted his army to Logrono to support Kleber. The combined force of the armies was to much for the Nationalists, who were forced to abandon Vitoria-Gasteiz and Logrono. This left the de facto Nationalist capital of Burgos under threat. On the night of August 30th a secret meeting was held in Burgos. Due to recent Republican air raids the meeting was held in a house instead of the normal government buildings, and the only lights were a couple of candles and the burning ends of the cigarettes. Mola spoke first, saying that “as of now if the Communists cut off Burgos they would be able to capture every single man in this room.” After he spoke Juan Yague said “If we give up Burgos then we admit defeat. How do you think the men will take this? I say that it is better to die standing our ground then live with our tails between our legs.” Several more people spoke and then the voting started. For 2 hours and dozens of votes it was a tied. Finally Mola declared that if they couldn't come to an agreement then he would make the decision. There were some protests but the meeting adjourned and the men headed off to Seville. Everyone flew out except for Mola, who had a severe fear of flying. Instead Mola took a car, driving at night and stopping during the day.​
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Ever since the end of the 5th Offensive Madrid had become a series of small battles with very little land changing hands. As August ended General Jose Miaja saw and opportunity. With the fall of Pamplona and the loss of their German allies the Nationalists wouldn't be able to launch an offensive (at least in the north anyway) for a while. Seeing this Miaja decided to split up Lister's army, with a quarter of the army staying in Pamplona for anti-partisan operations, half going to Madrid, and the final quarter (and Lister) going to help the Basques and Asturians retake Gijon and Oviedo. On September 9th Lister's men arrived in Madrid and the battle was on.​
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The plan was to cross the Guadarrama Mountains and size the villages of Segovia, Avila, and Villacastin.The Republicans had two ways to get through the mountains. The first would avoid some of the most prominent mountains, but would leave them vulnerable to an attack from the south. The Republicans decided to take the second option, which involved pushing through the road from Madrid to Villacastin and the south This option prevented an counterattack from the south, but involved tough mountain warfare and they had to get across the pass before winter.​
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The first Nationalist line was from the towns of Manzanares el Real to Galapagar. The Republicans started off with a massive bombing campaign. As one Nationalist soldier recounted, “For five days it was hell. I was in a bunker, but at all hours the earth shook and when I would go out to get air all I saw were craters and the bombed out ruins of trenches.” Previous attacks had taught the Republican several lessons, so instead of launching frontal assaults men would lay down covering fire while other men would flank and seize the weak points; cutting off the strong points and surrounding them. Even with these tactics it was a bloody fight. The battle for Hoyo de Manzanares became particularly infamous for horrors. In March of 1937 the Nationalists had built a series of bunkers in the hills, surrounded on three sides by barbed wire. After the 5th Offensive the commanders in the area decided to dig tunnels, designed to allow troops to reinforce bunkers without being in danger of enemy fire. The tunnels were small and narrow (only about two men wide and a little over 6 feet tall), very dark, and crawling with rats and worms. The Republicans took two days to reach the bunkers, moving across the devastated land under heavy fire. After getting up a hill and clearing out several machine gun nests the soldiers reached the first bunker and started the attack. Although the Nationalists held out for several hours and men moved through the tunnels to reinforce they were overwhelmed and were forced back with the Republicans in hot pursuit. Inside the tunnels men fired into the darkness, hitting their enemies only because there was no where to hide from the bullets in the tunnels. Men used their comrade's bodies as cover; such as one man who recounted that he “lay on the ground near another soldier. From what I could tell he had been hit by several times and was clearly not going to make it. He kept repeating 'my hand, my hand' and when I looked at it I saw a rat gnawing at his hand. I lay there for what seemed like hours and when I was finally able to move I pulled out my pistol and put the poor man out of his misery.” The Republicans were able to take the bunkers and the town from both the tunnels and above ground. The tunnels that they hadn't cleared out were blown up; burying the men inside alive.​
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After breaking the Galapagar line the offensive slowed. The Nationalists fought for every piece of land and it took until October 19th for the Republicans to reach Monte Abantos. The mountain was one of the most prominent in the Sierra Guadarrama Range and it would be a difficult fight. One part of the army would go through Tablada to San Rafael, then flank attack Monte Abantos; the other part of the army would seize the front side of the mountain and the two parts would converge on the mountain. Things started to go wrong immediately. Fog and heavy rain turned the ground into mud and lowered visibility, forcing the Republicans to cancel air raids. Heavy mud made it difficult to move troops and light artillery, and impossible to move tanks and heavy artillery. The Republican commanders decided to hold off the attack until the rain let up, which it did on October 27th. As the Republicans advanced they were met by surprisingly little resistance. The lack of resistance was due to the war in the north, where the war was being decided.​
 
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Napoleon IV

Battle for the North​
Today we fight for glory and for Spain.- Julio Mangada​
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Sometimes an odd weapon is the best weapon you could ask for- Republican soldier after the Battle of Hill 800​
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By September 2nd Emilio Kleber's army were on the move. After capturing Logrono they had taken a quick rest, so now the men were well rested and eager. But there were two problems. The first was the Sierra de Demanda mountain range: a tall, intimidating place where the Nationalists had positioned many men and guns, some of which continued to bombard Logrono. The second problem was the scale of the Nationalist army. Due to the symbolic and strategic position of Burgos the Nationalists had reinforced the armies with thousands of men, 200 tanks, and 130 aircraft. Th Republicans then decided to, in Kleber's words, “seize the heights the heights and march down.” But Kleber would not be the one to take Burgos. His success had made Stalin suspicious of him and, more importantly, despite all the PCE's talk of “world socialist unity” many thought that it would be better for propaganda purposes if a Spaniard were to take Burgos instead of a foreign communist. Due to all this Kleber was moved to a subordinate role and Julio Mangada (a successful commander in Madrid nicknamed the “People's General”).​
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One part of the army was ordered to attack from the village of Arnedo and another attacked from the village of Alberite. The Arnedo force ran into its first obstacle very early. Hill 800 (named for its height) was heavily fortified and manned by Moroccan veterans of the Battle of Toledo and the 5th Offensive. As the Republicans charged up the hill their ranks were torn to ribbons by artillery and machine gun fire. The assault slowed, with Republican troops literally crawling up the hill and hiding in shell craters. Once they reached the top several men, hiding behind rocks and trees, laid suppressing fire as their compatriots stormed the trench and engaged in brutal hand to hand combat. Waves of men entered the trench, but the Moroccans held their ground and pushed them back. As the casualties mounted the Republicans became increasingly desperate. In desperation a commander came up with a plan as brilliant as it was insane. A man living in Arnedo had an old punt gun (a massive shotgun) which he used to hunt ducks on the local river. The man was an outspoken Nationalist sympathizer so the Republicans executed him and confiscated his gun; where an artillery company made it a mascot of sorts. The commander order the men to take it up the hill, get it as near to the trench as possible, and give the enemy hell. The gun was so heavy that it took 5 men to carry it, and when it fired 2 men had to hold it in place while another fired. As soon as they reached the top the men set up and aimed the gun at a nearby machine gun emplacement. Men who fought on hill 800 later remembered a massive boom. The force of the blast pushed the punt gun back several inches and where a machine gun emplacement once was there were only dead men and a horribly damaged machine gun. The men picked up the gun and dragged almost to the mouth of the trench, while other soldiers provided covering fire (one of the gunmen was badly wounded in the process and later died). Packed into the trench the Moroccans never stood a chance. The blast tore up the ground and turned those closest to it into a pink mist. In the confusion more troops stormed the trench and within a few hours Hill 800 was under Republican control (The gun, affectionately nicknamed Trueno de Espana, was eventually sent to Valencia and featured in a military parade). Similar action occurred elsewhere and by September 10th the heights had been taken.​
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September 10th was the same day that Lister and his men arrived in the north with orders to retake Gijon and Oviedo. Moving quickly they seized the vilage of Pola de Siero on the 12th. Pola de Siero provided easy selection to both cities, so Lister decided on a bold plan. In the middle of the night on September 13th the Republicans began shelling Nationalist positions near the town of Meres. This was followed by two attacks: one on Meres and the other on a nearby hill. Before dawn a much larger force moved out of Pola de Siero. This force was made up of some veteran soldiers who had served with Lister since the Aragon Offensive and rugged Basque and Asturian troops; men whose skills had been honed by desperate battles against the Nationalists invaders. These men were under strict orders to keep quiet and operate in total darkness; not even lit cigarettes were allowed. As soon as they were near the Nationalist lines men armed with shotguns, SMGs, and grenades charged at the trench line while the rest of the men laid suppressing fire. Shaken Nationalist troops awoke and tried to get to their stations. Artillery and machine gun nests were the most fought over areas. Troops on both sides braved a hail of bullets that tore through their comrades and left a trail of bodies in their wake. With their machine guns and artillery mostly out of service the Nationalists were very vulnerable. The 15 tanks that drove into the trenches were opposed by only a small amount of artillery fire and just 1 was destroyed. After that the Republican advance seemed unstoppable and by the end of the day they were at the gates of Gijon. Lister had learned about the horrors of city fighting the hard way. So, after surrounding the city, Lister gathered his artillery and began a massive bombardment. Since Gijon had recently been captured there was a large amount of Republican sympathizers who acted as spies, acting as forward observers for artillery, smuggling weapons to the resistance, and committing acts of sabotage. With their help the Republican artillery was brutally accurate, hitting dozens of troop concentrations and artillery pieces. When, after 4 days, the Republicans attacked the Nationalists were too weak to hold Gijon. Without artillery support, cut off from supplies, and having to fight off insurgent attacks, the Nationalist collapsed and the city was liberated.​
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The Nationalists knew that the fall of Gijon meant that Oviedo was next. Fidel Davila, the Nationalist commander in Ovideo, feared that the civilians in Oviedo might constitute a fifth column. Around 4,500 men, mostly supporters of groups like the PRR and PAE, were rounded up and sent to the Plaza de Escandalera; where they were lined up and mowed down with a machine gun. While this was going on the Republicans were nearing Oviedo. After seizing the hill near Meres, the Republicans prepared to launch a pincer attack. One part of the army would seize the heights near Ovideo then move through San Claudio; the other part of the army would attack Longreo, and finally the two parts would meet up in Olloniego. Langreo had only a small garrison and was soon overwhelmed. The hill was a bigger challenge. After a short bombardment troops stormed a network of pillboxes and machine gun nests. Men were cut down in a hail of bullets and others were take cover for hours. Once they reached the pillboxes Republican soldiers had to brave gunfire to open the door and toss a grenade in. A few seconds later a massive explosion would shake the bunker and troops would break in and shoot any of the survivors. The process was so slow that it took two days to seize the hill. At this point Olloniego had been captured by the other wing and the Nationalist realized the plan. Davila decided to drive through San Claudio rather than stay in Oviedo and be surrounded. As the main Nationalist force entered San Claudio the Republicans also attacked. The Republicans had not expected to be fighting such a large force and were not driven back with heavy casualties. Lister ordered the other wing to move on San Claudio, but it appears that the order never arrived. Thus, the other wing just sat there while the Nationalists broke through and retreated towards Leon. Eventually Lister's army gave chase and, although it took several battles and many days, by October 2nd the hills near Leon were captured and the Nationalists were forced to abandon the city.​
 

The True Eurasian_Ti

I am very impressed. I am too, currently studying the SCW and have grown to like the history of it, yet not the outcome because my relatives lived through franco's horrible reign. I am loving your alternate history and I have been considering for some time now to do one of my own on the SCW but your peice has inspired me to keep going. I subscribed:)
 

Napoleon IV

The Battle of Burgos​
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I would sooner fill the streets of Burgos with blood than surrender it to the Reds.- General Juan Yague​
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Burgos, Burgos is dead.- Spanish war film "Sangre Rojo, Nieve Blanca" (1959)​
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After seizing the heights the Republicans began to advance down the slopes, conquering them by September 13th. As soon as the artillery was set up the Republicans began mercilessly shelling Burgos. For days the people of Burogs were forced underground as the shells ripped apart the landscape. But even after the shelling Burgos was still heavily protected and fortified. Juan Yague had spent the weeks since the fall of Pamplona preparing Burgos to withstand total war. Using dynamite the men had built trenches and foxholes in the city streets, which were also covered with miles of barbed wire. Almost every house contained machine gun nest or sniper positions, and mines and booby traps were scattered around the city. Every person who could fight, even children, was armed, and those who couldn't were forced out of the city. Yague had even deployed several untested Foreign Brigades, including the British Mosely Battalion, the White Russian Wrangel and Cossack Battalions, the French Charlemagne Battalion, and the Greek Sparta Battalion. In additon, a large group of reinforcements, composed mostly of Moroccan troops and commaded by Spanish-Moroccan commander Mohamed Meziane, were marching to Burgos from Salamanca. (The men in the Guadarrama mountains also marched marched to Burgos with a mission of giving more manpower).​
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Although the Republican advance towards Burgos was long and bloody (they reached the city on October 13rd) the bloodshed was a thousand times worse when they entered Burgos. The most infamous street was Calle de la Muerte (Street of Death). When the Republicans first attacked on October 17th they started by shelling the street, killing dozens. As the Republicans charged forward they were met with a hail of bullets, cutting through them like a scythe. As the days went on the Republicans threw more and more men into the meatgrinder for only a few feet of land. The worst part was the house to house fighting. Men would launch headlong charges while machine guns and snipers ripped apart their comrades, then break through the windows and doors guns blazing and grenades exploding all around. Sometimes mines and booby traps would destroy a man's body, and sometimes fighting would cause the house to catch on fire, burning the occupants alive. Once the house was siezed a counterattack was inevitable and the cycle would begin again, with some houses changing hands 5 or more times. By October 29th most of Calle de la Muerte was under Republican control, and so the Nationalists started a counterattack; led by the Cossack Battalion. This attack was similar to the Republican one. As one Nationalist soldier later wrote "Death was a familar companion in Calle de la Muerte. His work could be seen everywhere; be it a body lying in the street, a burned out house, or the screams of injured and dying men." Bodies piled up left and right; for instance, the Cossack Battalion had 5 commanders in 3 days. Eventually the Nationalist counterattack fizzled out and the Republicans pushed back and took Calle de la Muerte. It was not much of a victory. Most of Calle de la Muerte was rubble; the streets covered in shell craters, with bodies rotting out in the open. About 8,300 men were killed or wounded in the battle.​
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Despite the large number of tanks in and around Burgos they played a very minor role before October 27th. In the bloody street fighing inside Burgos tanks had difficulty manuevering and were often cornered a destroyed. Since the battle began the Republicans had tried encircle Burgos with little success, so on October 24th the Republicans began to gather up tanks (130 in all) and by the 27th they struck the town of Sotopalacios. Nationalist positions near Sotopalcios were bombed and pounded by artillery. After the bombardment ended tanks pierced the defenses in several areas; followed by infantry who finished up the job. The Nationalists were thrown back in disarry and on October 29th the Republicans were at the gates of Arroyal. Yague ordered all tanks not fighting in the city to organized a few miles away from Arroyal, and on October 30th 135 tanks attacked. Nationalist infantry flung themselves at the center of the line, while tanks, men with anti-tank rifles, and airplanes hit the left flank. Shells tore huge holes in the ground and turned tanks into twisted piles of steel. After 2 days the Nationalists broke through, and the Republicans were forced back. Reinforcements arrived for both sides and the Republicans set up defenses near Sotopalacios. A heavy rain fell, turning the ground into mud, which ensared tanks. As the fighting grew more intense men hid in mud filled shell craters or behind immobilized or destroyed tanks. Bodies and parts of bodies piled up and those to wounded to walk were forced to crawl in freezing rain and through pools of water turned red by the bodies of their comrades. Finally on November 5th the Republican army retreated. In their wake they left 2,500 dead men, 18 destroyed airplanes, 55 destroyed tanks, and 21 damaged tanks. The Nationalists didn't fare that much better; having lost 2,350 men, 25 destroyed airplanes, 50 destroyed tanks, and 19 damaged tanks. This was the largest tank battle of the war. Although the Nationalists had won but they didn't have the resources to replace the destroyed tanks and planes.​
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In Burgos thousands more men died as the Republican army pushed forward. By November 20th they had taken most of the city and the only major obstacle was the Burgos Cathedral. The Cathedral was built in the 13th century, and was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Spain. However, but the time the Republicans reached it the Cathedral had suffered horrible damage. Heavy bombing had left massive holes in the roof, destroyed most of the fascades, and reduced the upper levels of the octogonal towers to rubble. Republican artillery fire further damaged the building. But even though it was damaged the Cathedral stilll contained lots of soldiers. The towers was riddled with snipers, mortors and anti-aircraft guns were on the roof (where they had shot down several Republican planes), and machine guns peeked out from each window and every narrow hallway.​
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The drive to get in was very bloody. Even with heavy artillery and air support there was no getting around the fact that the drive was a headlong charge while artillery, machine guns, and snipers fired down on the men. One Republican soldier later wrote "I was the only one in my squad to make it to the Cathedral. All around me I could see men getting cut down like blades of grass, or having their heads blown off by snipers. As I neared the Cathedral a shell exploded, knocking me on the ground and covering me in the blood of those who had been hit." Grenades blew open the heavy doors and the men stormed in. The sounds of bullets and grenades echoed at all hours, and it took days for the Republicans to move even 20 feet. Even worse, it was the harshest winter in 20 years, and the Cathedral was freezing. Snow fell through the holes in the roof, men lost fingers and toes to frostbite, and the wounded often froze to death overnight. The horror ended on December 2nd, when the Republicans captured the ground floor. With nowhere to go and no hope of a rescue the Nationalists decided to surrender. With the loss of the Cathedral and the casulties suffered the Nationalists pulled back towards Salamanca. The Battle of Burgos was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Between 50-60,000 Republicans were killed or wounded, and between 80-95,000 Nationalists. Burgos broke the back of the Nationalist army. They were unable to replace the tanks, planes, and equipment lost during the battle; and with so many casualties the Nationalists' offenisve capabilties were pretty much destroyed. Meanwhile Burgos was a ruins, a city with almost no inhabitants; a desolate moonscape full of shell craters and ruined buildings.​
 

guinazacity

Banned
Damn, this was really well written (and bloody as hell)

I really hope this Spain doesn't end up exchanging a fascist dictatorship for a Stalinist-like one
 

Napoleon IV

Liberating Madrid​
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They fought like hell- Jose Miaja on the Battle of Noves​
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War is the father of us all, King of all. Some it makes gods, some it makes men, some it makes slaves, some it makes free- Heraclitus of Ephesus​
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While the Battle of Burgos was raging Lister's army was marching towards the Portuguese border. The Nationalists were too busy retreating to put up massive resistance. However, as the Nationalists retreated they destroyed the roads and buried explosives all around. This, combined with poor weather, slowed the Republican advance considerably and it was October 20th when they reached Benavente. At this point, worried about a possible attack on Salamanca or Valladolid Fidel Davila had decided to break up his army. A quarter of his men retreated towards Ourense, while the rest moved to Salamanca. The Republican advance was still slow, but on November 3rd they reached the border. Under the watchful eye of a brigade of Portuguese Republican Guards the men celebrated. Men kissed the dirt, wine was brought out and served, and even Lister got in on the fun; later claiming that after the celebration "I had a hangover for 2 days afterwords." Once they reorganized the Republican army marched on the now cut off Nationalists. Although on paper there were 81,000 Nationalist troops (including infantry, militias, and members of the Guardia Civil) a large number were done with the war. The men were tired, cold, and many no longer believed that a Nationalist victory was possible. Thousands simply deserted and those who didn't often decided to surrender and hope for leincency. Those who resisted often did so half-heartedly. By November 25th the Republicans had surrounded A Coruna, which was defended by diehard Falangists and the American Pope Urban II Battalion (the only action they saw in the entire war).​
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After taking Burgos the Republicans decided to rest and reorganize. The force in the Guadarrama Mountains was sent back to Madrid, and several divisions from the south were sent to Madrid. The top Republican commanders decided launch an offensive to take Caceres, but first they had to break the seige of Madrid. To that end two forces were sent out: one to take Toledo and the other to smash the Nationalist positions at Bruente. The assaults began on December 23rd. On that morning the Nationalist forces in Yuncos woke up an artillery and air bombardment. The bombardment was crushing and the Nationalists quickly retreated when the attack started, setting up a defense at Olias del Rey. Another Republican divison, from Aranjuez, attacked Nationalist positions east of Toledo; cutting through the demoralized Nationalist troops. After much debate the Nationalist commanders decided that it would be better to concentrate their forces in the defense of one area rather than spread them out to hold multiple points. Bruente was seen as more important to the assault on Madrid and several Nationalist commanders (correctly) thought that it might be a move to cut off the force in Salamanca. To that end the men in Toledo were sent to Bruente and on December 28th Republican troops entered Toledo.​
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Toledo may have been an easy victory for the Republicans but Bruente turned out to be a long and bloody assault. The weather was truly awful, with almost white out snowfall and freezing winds ripping through the air. Although the bridge had been blown up long before the Rio Guadarrama was frozen over, and the Republicans stumbled across into battle. The weather meant that all planes were out of commison and artillery essentially fired blindly, hoping that they hit something. The rest of the attack was not much better. Although the plan was to capture Villanueva de la Canada and Navalcarnero and encircle the town men got lost, leaving the men who reached the correct positions unsupported. (One battalion commander was dismissed after his unit attacked a Nationalist position in Camarena; a situation one American International Brigade member likened to "marching to take New York and ending up in Baltimore"). Without reinforcements or artillery support the Republican attacks were easily repulsed. To add insult to injury the retreating Republicans often ran into their lost comrades who, mistaking them for attacking Nationalist soldiers, opened fire. This sorry affair lasted until December 29th when the Republicans pulled back to regroup and wait for the snow to stop.​
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One New Year's Day the snow finally stopped. As the Republicans advanced they saw the bodies of their fallen comrades; frozen stiff and surrounded by bloody snow. The area around Navalcarnero saw the bloodiest fighting. The terrain was very hilly and covered in pillboxes and trenches. Machine guns and artillery shells tore through men on both side. It was so cold that many guns jammed and men were forced to resort to hand to hand combat. With so many wounded the medics had to make tough choices, such as one Republican who remembered that, "On my way to the frontlines I saw a man that I had known for years. As he crawled towards me, leaving a trail of blood in his wake, I could see the bones sticking out of his legs. He screamed my name, but I averted my eyes and kept walking. Every day I live with the knowlege that I left a man to a cold, lonely death." The heavy casualties didn't stop the Republicans and by January 3rd Navalcarnero had fallen. Villanueva de la Canada had been seized the day before and Bruente was cut off, and on January 5th the Nationalists in Bruente surrendered.​
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With both Bruente and Toledo under Republican control the Battle of Madrid was basically over. Both sides began marching on the village of Maqueda, the Republicans to seize it and encircle the Nationalists; who were marching to hold off the Republicans and evacuate the army. The Republicans reached Maqueda on January 9th, one day before the Nationalists. As the Nationalists neared the town dozens of Republican planes flew overhead and started attacking. Fighters strafed the army and cut hundreds of men down in the fields; while bombs fell all around and turned the Nationalist tanks into piles of flame and burned metal. Before the Nationalists could reorganize the Republicans attacked, with their tanks leading the way. Unfortified and with many of their tanks destroyed the Nationalists were easy targets. Men were blown to pieces and their bodies were crushed under the tanks, while others were cut off and killed by infantry. In desperation the Nationalists organized brigades of troops on a suicide mission. These troops, supported by the remaining tanks and given all of the anti-tank rifles, were ordered to attack; occupying the Republicans so the rest of the Nationalist force could break out. The armies met near the small town of Noves. Bombs and shells ripped through the Nationalists lines while Republican infantrmen advanced. The Nationalists fought like demons; launching suicidal charges (some men even ran under tanks and pulled the pins on their grenades), firing machine guns and mortors non-stop, and refusing to give up an inch of ground without a gallon of blood. While this was going on the rest of the Nationalist army attacked to the south and on January 12th they broke through the Republican lines. The Republican attempts to close the gap were halfhearted at best. They were exhausted by the fighting and were still focused on fighting the force to the north. But it was a Pythrric victory for the Nationalists. About a third of their army was dead or captured; including men in Noves, who surrendered on January 15th. The defeat at Madrid was a major strategic defeat for the Nationalists and severely damaged their morale.​
 

Napoleon IV

The Battle of Caceres: Part 1​
Viva la Muerte- Jose Millan-Astray​
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Davila, Davila give back my Legions- Emilio Mola​
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After taking Maqueda the Republicans took a couple of days to rest, reorganize, and gather reinforcements. On January 19th they began to chase the Nationalists. It was a horrible time for the Nationalists. Every town between Maqueda and Caceres was abandoned, thousands deserted, and plane and ground attacks killed thousands more. By the time the Nationalist army reached Caceres it was a shadow of its former self; a small force full of demoralized and broken men. Unfortunately Caceres was the last major city before the Portuguese border, and if the Republicans could reach the border they would cut off Yague and Davila's armies in Salamanca. To remedy this Mola sent the only man he felt could snatch victory: Jose Millan-Astray. Ever since the Shakespeare writers had used physical multilations to show personal evil and Millan-Astray was the perfect example of this. He had lost his left arm and right eye fighting in Morocco (the bullet that that took out his eye exited through his cheek) and he had a repuation for recklessness, fanaticism, and a hardened brutality that shocked even the most hardened Nationalist commanders. Before his arrival he ordered part of the army to stay in Caceres to hold up the Republicans, while the rest of the army retreated to Badajoz.​
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Once in Badajoz the army met their commanders and his forces. Millan-Astray had brought Moroccan Regulares, the Spanish Foreign Legion, veterans from the Army of Africa, and most of the Foreign Brigades; this force totaled 45,000 men in all. Millan-Astray's first order of business to was to gather up his army and give a speech. After the speech was finished he ordered 5 commandes to the stage. "These men are weaklings, cowards, and lack faith in the cause. These are traits that will not be allowed and must be punished." As he finished speaking several Legionarios marched on stage carrying wooden stakes. After setting up the stakes the Legionarios siezed the commanders and impaled them. As the audience watched in horror the Legionarios brought out containers of gasoline, pored it all over the impaled commanders, and set them on fire. This set the tone for the rest of the campaign. Millan-Astray felt that in desperate circumstances like this fear was the best motivator. Execution became the punishment for a multitude of failings including: retreating without orders from a commanding officer, lacking "fighting spirit" (which ususally meant breaking down due to fatigue or shell shock), and suffering too many failures (for commanders). After 3 days of rest and reorganization the men marched to battle. By that point Yague and Davila's army was in the town of Canaveral and the Republicans had basically captured Caceres.​
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On January 29th Yague and Davila's army crossed the Rio Tajo, blowing up the bridges behind them. In additon to Lister and Mangada's in Canaveral the Republican army in Madrid moved on Casar de Caceres to engage the Nationalists. On January 30th Millan-Astray's army intercepted them just south of the town. Despite having far less artillery and airpower the Nationalists decided to launch a charge. One Nationalists soldier described the attack; saying that "the sounds of battle were deafening. Bullets whizzed past my ears and shells exploded both far away and near me. Still, remembering what General Millan-Astray had said, I kept charging; only stopping to take cover and lay down supressing fire." While many Nationalists were killed in the charge many more made it to the Republican lines. Through sheer force of will they were able to inflict hundreds of casualties on the Republicans, but even heavier casualties on their side forced the Nationalists back. As the Nationalists pulled back the Republicans began advancing. The Nationalists ordered the retreating troops to hunker down in any cover they could get and sent fresh troops into the meatgrinder. Men fought for knoll and shell crater; often at such close ranges that, as one Republican coporal said, "I could feel the breath of some of the men I shot." To make matters worse the Nationalists would often attack and retake lost ground, starting the whole cycle back up again. On February 2nd Yague and Davila reached Navas de Madrono and Casar de Caceres was no longer a strategic point; allowing the Nationalists to abandon it.​
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After Yague, Davila, and Millan-Astray met on February 2nd it was decided that Millan-Astray's force would hold the ridge near Navas de Madrono while part of Yague and Davila's force would hold the line at the Rio Tajo; allowing the rest of their force to escape. The Republicans started their attack across the river from Alcantara. Heavy artillery fire and bombing raides allowed the Republicans to cross the river easily, despite the fact that the Nationalists were well dug in and the river was half frozen. However once across the river the Republicans had to fight through the dozens of hills which dotted the the land on both sides of the river. The Republican soldiers didn't get to far before they were pinned down by heavy machine gun and mortor fire. But the Republicans were able to give as good as they got, with one Nationalist captain recalling that "for hours all I could see was dirt, fire and blood and my ears were filled with the sounds of bombs and the screams of dying men." One of the hardest hit areas was the Hill 153, which was also the bloodiest battle around Alcantara. The land in and around the hill was covered in craters and dead bodies. The Republican commanders were confident that they could easily overrun what they thought was a poorly manned hill with only damaged fortifications on it. While the fortifications were heavily damaged and the Nationalists artillery was almost all destroyed there were still plenty of men there and they fought like hell. In the open the Republicans were cut down by the dozens, and the fighting soon became crater to crater. "The worst part was having to lay in a crater for hours with bullets flying overhead and dead bodies laying only a few inches away" one Republican soldier wrote. This delay allowed the Nationalists to set up machine guns on the hill; forcing the Republicans to fight crater to crater up the hill. Due to their superior fire and manpower the Republicans were able to push the Nationalists off the hill, but with far to many casualties.​
 
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Napoleon IV

Battle for Caceres: Part 2​
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Having broken the line at Alcantara the Republicans proceeded to steamroll the Nationalists forces. Millan-Astray's force was bogged down defending the ridge near Navas del Madrono and Yague and Davila's force was to busy retreating to put up a strong defense. Soon the Republicans were giving chase to the retreating Nationalists, catching up with them on the 10th. Republican tanks managed to flank the Nationalists and cut them off at Valencia de Alcantara. It was the Nationalist's worst nightmare. About 80% of Yague and Davila's army was trapped between the Republican army and the Portuguese border. Millan-Astray's army was forced to march on Valencia de Alcantara with another Republican army on his back. Around half of Millan-Astray's army stopped at San Vicente de Alcantara and quickly organized a defense and the other half attacked Valencia de Alcantara. Before the attack Millan-Astray declared "We leave this battle one of two ways: in victory or in coffins." On February 12th the Nationalists began their assault. One Republican soldier recalled "it was like being a fly in between a hammer and an anvil." The Nationalists smashed into the Republican lines, tearing holes in the fighting and killing all those who stood in their way. Bullets and shells screamed through the air and the bodies of the dead lay scattered all around. On both sides of the Republican lines they were pushed back, leaving in many cases just line holding back the enemy hordes. Everyone worked nonstop. Pilots had to fly several missions a day with no sleep, artillery pieces became scaldingly hot from overuse, and men fought 15 hour shift with no breaks.​
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It wasn't a picnic for the Nationalists though. As much as they attacked the thin Republican line refused to break and the hills around the Valencia de Alcantara were covered in blood and dead bodies. But this was the battle where the Foreign Brigades at least partially proved their worth. The Odin Battalion was composed of men from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and a few Germans. On the 15th the unit was thrown into battle. They charged up the hill into a hail of bullets and shells. Bullets blew men's brains out, shells tore their limbs off, and bombs blew them apart. Those who reached the trenches dove in, throwing grenades and spraying bullets everywhere. For the next 5 hours the Odin Battalion held their ground while more men came to reinforce them. But the Republicans just kept attacking and eventually the Nationalists retreated. Out of 305 men in the Odin Battalion only 58 came out. A message was smuggled out to Mola; in it Yague gave him information on the situation. The days of assaulting with little or no artillery or air support had crushed Yague and Davila's army, which now had units that only existed on paper. Yague felt that it would be best if the army surrendered, to save the men from further destruction. Mola agreeded and ordered Millan-Astray to retreat, which the latter did so grudgingly. Unbeknownst to anyone Yague had been in secret negotiations with Portugal. Fearing the rise of a Communist Spain Portugal felt that it might be best to allow the Republican's enemies to have a safe haven to continue a guerrilla war. Yague felt that it would be futile to continue a conventional fight and wanted to go guerrilla. On February 19th Yague informed Davila and their men of his deal with the Portuguese. Around 3,500 men (mostly Falangists) decided to follow Yague. This left Davila and the rest of the army the task of surrendering. This was the end for Davila, who was brought to Madrid, shot, and hung from a meathook in the Plaza Mayor; where passing civilians would spit on the body.​
 

Napoleon IV

The End of the War​
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Spanish Fascists defeated- March 7, 1938 Pravda headline​
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History has spoken, and it has spoken in our favor- Juan Negrin​
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February 19th was also the day that A Coruna surrendered. For almost 4 months the city had held out against superior numbers, endless attacks, freezing cold, and starvation but they were unable to keep going. By this point the Nationalists only controlled a few blocks of ruins and their army consisted of 5,000 Falangists and the 53 remaining members of the Pope Urban II Battalion. After the American prisoners were marched off to POW camps in Catalonia. But the Nationalists were marched to the small town of Serantes, which they reached on February 20th. Their fate had been sealed months before, when Jose Diaz had ordered the Republican commanders to "liquidate the fascist scum." Once in Serantes the prisoners were marched to a nearby field, where several trucks were waiting. Once the machine guns were set up the massacre started. "Bullets tore through The Fascist's bodies and they fell to the ground, writhing in pain. After several minutes they were still" one Republican remembered. After the prisoners were dead they were loaded into the trucks, with one member of the Servicio de Inteligencia Militar riding in the back to kill any survivors. It was a sign of things to come.​
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A Coruna was just one of the military setbacks suffered by the Nationalists towards the end of February. On February 23rd the garrison commander in Mallorca surrendered his garrison in exchange for safe passage to France. In the south Nationalists no longer had enough manpower to hold the line from Granada to Malaga and on the 24th the Republicans were able to break the line and pushed them back. For the first time the Nationalist leaders began to talk about surrender. On March 1st Mola called his top commanders to Seville to talk about what should happen next. The mood was grim. The day before the Badajoz had fallen and the Nationalist position in Cordoba was clearly untenable. For hours the men in the room debated, at points nearly coming to blows. On the side of a negotiated surrender were Queipo de Llano, Serrano Suner, Cabanellas, and Francisco Gomez-Jordana; while Millan-Astray, Raimundo Fernandez-Cuesta, and Munoz Grandes wanted to fight to the end. Finally, Mola spoke up: "We cannot win, and to continue fighting now would just be a waste. Tommorow Ramon [Serrano Suner] and Francisco [Gomez-Jordana] will go to contact our enemies and negotiate a peace with honor." After the meeting broke up Munoz Grandes was invited to meet Fernandez-Cuesta and Millan-Astray at Fernandez-Cuesta's house. All 3 had reason to hate Mola and his peace plan. As head of the Falange Fernandez-Cuesta was afraid that a defeat would mean torture and a painful execution at the hands of the Republicans, Munoz Grandes' felt that Mola had bungled several major campaigns, and Millan-Astray hated what he saw as Mola's cowardness and weak leadership. It was agreed that they would despose Mola, impose a triumvirate, and keep fighting until the bitter end.​
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March 3rd was the day of the coup. Munoz Grandes controlled the Army of Africa and was thus in charge of seizing Morocco and Cadiz, then supporting Fernandez-Cuesta and his Falangist militas as they siezed Huelva and Seville. Millan-Astray's role was much smaller; he just had to take control of his army and several other units then keep fighting (this was due in part to the fact that both Munoz Grandes and Fernandez-Cuesta felt he was insane and perhaps to dangerous to have around). Cadiz, Morocco, and Huelva were easily captured, but in Seville the morning stillness was broken by gunfire. Due to the element of suprise the Falangists had seized several areas of the city, including the armery, and disarmed a few Guardia Civil units. However the government troops quickly reorganized and began fighting. One of the biggest battles was at the Palacio de San Telmo. When the Nationalists leadership had arrived in Seville this had become their base, where Mola resided. The Falangists stormed the building, with a few captured artillery pieces softening up the defenses beforehand. The halls filled with the sounds of gunsfire and the bodies of dead men. Combat was close quarters and room to room. As one Falangist put it "Behind evey door could be your death. So when we advanced we would throw grenades into the room, then go in guns blazing." As for Mola, he managed to get out of the building and set up a base in an abandoned factory.​
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Things had not gone well for Jose Millan-Astray. He expected his army to follow him, if not out of respect then out of fear. The Moroccans and the Spanish Foreign Legion were ready to follow him but much of the rest of the army and the units that had come under his command as he retreated were not so sure. The Foreign Brigades were especially dubious; while many believed in fighting Communism few wanted to fight a hopeless war. Even Millan-Astray's legendary ruthlessness (by this point he had executed 1,900 of his own men) wasn't enough to keep the men going. Around the town of Zafra men who had once fought like hell now simply surrendered, determining that it was better to hope for mercy from the Republicans than to die or face Millan-Astray. By dusk on the 3rd Millan-Astray knew that his army would not survive. That night he gathered a force of 5,900 men, mostly Moroccans, Legionarios, and Falangists, and led a full on charge. Republican sentries saw the charge and the army sprang into action. "We threw everything at them," one Republican colonel recalled, "machine guns, artillery, and more. But they just kept coming." Even the wounded stumbled forward as best they could. Body parts lay scattered all around and the ground was saturated with blood. Few men made it to the lines but those who did were unstoppable. They took dozens of bullets but kept fighting, killing Republicans until they finally dropped dead. One of the men who made it was Millan-Astray. While charging he was shot in the stomach, chest, left shoulder, chin, and throat; as well as taking shrapnel to his side. At the line he drew his sword and began to slash and stab his way through. Quickly the sword got stuck between a man's ribs. Seeing an opportunity a Republican grabbed a submachine gun from a dead comrade and emptied the clip in Millan-Astray. After the battle a message was sent to headquarters. It simply said "El Glorioso Mutilado is dead." When Stalin visited Spain a few months later one of the gifts he recieved was Millan-Astray's sword, still covered in dried blood. Molotov recalled that Stalin "kept the sword in his study, where he would show it to visitors; stating 'the man who owned this may have been a Fascist but died with honor."​
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After taking Cadiz Agustin Munoz Grandes sent 5,000 men towards Seville. Along the way they overran several government units. Realizing what they were up to General Queipo de Llano sent 4,800 men to stop them. The two armies met near the village of Las Cabezas de San Juan. It was a very short fight (3 hours) but due to a strategy of head on charges that both sides used almost 2,000 men were killed (1,032 government, 859 from Munoz Grandes' army). This was the end of the coup. The battles between pro-government and pro-coup forces had fatally weakened the Nationalists. Millan-Astray's army basically no longer existed, the Republicans were poised to take the southern tip of Spain, and there were not enough men in Seville to survive a Republican attack. Munoz Grandes realized that his army would be unable to reach Seville without taking severe casualties and a surge of government troops was slowly retaking the parts of Seville controlled by Fernandez-Cuesta; who had been unable to take the Palacio de San Telmo. Munoz Grandes ordered his armies on the mainland to join Mola and he took a plane to Ceuta, where he organized thousands of Moroccan troops for guerrilla warfare. For his part Fernandez-Cuesta surrendered and was taken into custody.​
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While this was going on the Serrano Suner and Gomez-Jordana were negotiating with the Republicans. The Republicans demanded unconditonal surrender. Gomez-Jordana objected, asking "why shed more blood when we can negotiate an end now. Indalecio Prieto, one of the Republican negotiators, replied "we do not feel that much more blood will be shed. You rebels have 1, maybe 2 months of fighting left in you. The very fact that you are here proves that we are close to winning." With the negotiations essentially over Serrano Suner and Gomez-Jordana flew back to Seville. After they told Mola what had happened he dismissed them for the night. One of Mola's guards remembered "General Mola stayed up all night. When I went to check on him he was pacing back and forth smoking a cigarette; with several more lying put out in the ashtray. 'Surrender, peace with honor. Can I do both?' he muttered to himself, completely oblivious to my presence." At dawn Mola called Serrano Suner into his office. "Tell Mr. Prieto that we surrender unconditonally" Mola said. After Serrano Suner had left and closed the door a single shot rang out. Serrano Suner ran inside to find Mola dead on the floor, a pistol lying near him. Serrano Suner composed himself and sent a message to Cabanellas and Queipo de Llano asking them to meet him, and one to Indalecio Prieto offering surrender. As the senior military officer Cabanellas was given command and he, Serrano Suner, and Queipo de Llano drafted a statement to be read to all Nationalist troops. The statement read:​
"Nationalist men and commanders,​
For about 2 years we have fought to keep Spain free from the evils of Communism. Although we fought bravely and honorably in the end the Communists were just too strong. Now it is time to end the war and work towards healing the wounds this war has caused. As of now the armed forces of the Nationalists are disbanded and the men are ordered to surrender their weapons and are now considered prisoners of the Second Spanish Republic. All of the territory, equipment, and resources of the Nationalists are under control of the Second Spanish Republic, the legitmate government of Spain." ​
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On March 6th, 1938 at 1:35 pm Republican troops entered Seville, where the leaders of the Nationalist cause were waiting for them. Within minutes these men were being taken to Madrid in chains. The war was over.​
 

Uff Da the optimist

Donor
What an awesome TL!

Will you continue this? Because the butterflies here are massive:
* less Condor-Legion infamy
* less popularity for facism
* France's southern border is safe
* Portugal's/Salazars future less secure

Will the aftermath result in a stable republic? Probably not, the republicans were divided amongst themselves as well.
Are the anarcho-syndicalists still in control of Cataluña?
 
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