Amphibious landing of Republican forces early in the Spanish Civil War
The
Battle of Majorca
, also known as the
Majorca Landings
, was an
amphibious
landing of
Republican
forces early in the
Spanish Civil War
aimed at driving the
Nationalists
from
Majorca
and reclaiming the island for the
Republic
. After some initial tactical success, the expedition, commanded by Captain
Alberto Bayo
, ended in failure when the Nationalists counterattacked with ground troops and massively superior
air power
and drove the Republicans into the sea. So confident were the Republicans in their prediction of victory they optimistically called the operation
"la reconquista de Mallorca"
- "the reconquest of Majorca".
Background
[
edit
]
Plans for a seaborne attack on the
Balearic Islands
seem to have surfaced independently in various Republican militia groups in the days following the joining of
Ibiza
,
Formentera
, and
Majorca
to
Franco
's Nationalist military rebellion. Already, on July 23, bomber squadrons struck
Palma
and
Cabrera
, and on August 1 a Republican expeditionary force from
Menorca
landed at Cabrera and resisted all efforts to dislodge it.
However these actions, and in particular the Majorca landings, were never approved by the
Madrid
government and had from the very beginning an air of confusion, and improvisation. On August 2, Bayo assembled a column of
Barcelona
militia on Menorca; the next day, the Republican air force dropped bombs on Palma once more. By August 2 logistical preparations overseen from Barcelona by the
Government of Catalonia
and the
Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia
(
Comite Central de Milicies Antifeixistes de Catalunya
), were complete.
The Nationalist garrison of
Formentera
capitulated to
Manuel Uribarri
's
Valencian
militia on 7 August. On the 13th, 400 Catalan militia occupied
Cabrera
in an assault apparently unrelated to Bayo's expedition. Bayo tried to coordinate the two forces but the
anarchist
militias, distrustful of his
Communist
sympathies, refused to commit themselves to his operation.
The battle
[
edit
]
On 16 August, with various units of the
Spanish Republican Navy
in support, Bayo landed his force of 8,000 militia at Punta Amer and
Porto Cristo
. Despite problems unloading and deploying their six 75mm and four 105mm guns, the Republicans managed to push 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) inland against the Nationalist garrison consisting of 1,200 regular infantry, 300 members of the
Guardia Civil
, and hundreds of
Falangist
volunteers.
However, the Nationalists' fortunes improved dramatically on 27 August when supplies and air support arrived from nearby
Italy
. The Republican bomber forces ranging overhead were cut down and replaced by Italian aircraft. Consequently, the Republicans were unable to withstand the Nationalist counterattack on the ground and fell back in confusion, abandoning their guns and equipment. Their evacuation began on 5 September and the Republicans held the beaches until 12 September, when the last ship steamed off in retreat, leaving the island in Nationalist hands.
The Nationalist response was swift and, in contrast, remarkably successful. A week after the retreat from Majorca, Cabrera had once again fallen to the Nationalists. Ibiza was captured on 19 September by the Majorca garrison, and Formentera fell on the 20th.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]