Spanish Civil War uprising
The
Cartagena uprising
took place 4?7 March 1939 during the
Spanish Civil War
. The troop transport
SS
Castillo de Olite
was sunk during the revolt.
Background
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]
After the
fall of Catalonia
in February 1939, the military situation of the Republic was hopeless. The Republic still held the capital city and 30 percent of Spanish territory, but the
Spanish Republican Army
had lost 220,000 soldiers, the second city
[1]
of the country, and the Catalan war industry.
[2]
Furthermore, on 27 February
Manuel Azana
the president of the Republic resigned and the United Kingdom and France recognized the
Francoist government
. The high commanders of the Republican army believed that further military resistance was impossible, but the prime minister, backed by the
Communist Party of Spain
(PCE), wanted to continue resistance. Colonel
Segismundo Casado
, supported by generals
Matallana
and
Miaja
, the
CNT
(
Cipriano Mera
), the secret service of the republic (the
SIM
), a section of the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE) (
Julian Besteiro
) and a section of the
UGT
(
Wenceslao Carrillo
), planned a
coup d'etat
against Negrin.
[3]
The uprising
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On 3 March,
Juan Negrin
appointed
Francisco Galan
, a member of the PCE, to command the naval base of
Cartagena
. On 4 March, Francisco Galan arrived in Cartagena to take over command and the
supporters of Casado
, led by the colonel Gerardo Armentia, revolted and arrested Galan.
[4]
Then, the
fifth column
in the city, led by Colonel Arturo Espa, joined the rebellion, seized the coastal batteries of
Los Dolores
and the radio station, from where they broadcast appeals for help from the nationalists.
[5]
Rafael Barrionuevo, a retired general living in the city, proclaimed himself military governor.
[6]
The flight of the Republican Fleet and the suppression of the uprising
[
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]
On 5 March, the Nationalist air force bombed the harbour of Cartagena, sinking
Spanish Republican Navy
destroyer
Sanchez Barcaiztegui
.
[7]
As a result, Commander
Miguel Buiza
ordered the bulk of the fleet, which included cruisers
Miguel de Cervantes
,
Libertad
and
Mendez Nunez
, as well as eight destroyers, to flee from Cartagena and head to
Bizerte
.
Galan, who had been liberated by the rebels, fled on board
Libertad
. Then the
4th division
of the
Spanish Republican Army
, led by the communist officer Joaquin Rodriguez, was dispatched to Cartagena by the communist commissar-general of the army
Jesus Hernandez
in order to crush the revolt.
[8]
On 7 March, the 206th brigade arrived to Cartagena, crushed the rising and seized the radio station and the coastal batteries.
[9]
There were 61 deaths.
[10]
The sinking of
Castillo de Olite
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]
Franco had ordered troops to Cartagena in order to support the uprising, and the same day, two Nationalist transport ships arrived to support the rebellion, without knowing that the rebellion had been crushed.
[11]
The shore batteries of Cartagena fired at close range and sunk one of them,
SS
Castillo de Olite
. 1,476 soldiers died and 700 were taken prisoners.
[12]
Aftermath
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The rebellion was crushed, but the Republican fleet didn't return to Cartagena and fled to
Bizerte
. The French authorities
interned
the ships and later handed them over to the Nationalists.
[13]
Without the fleet the evacuation of Republican refugees was impossible.
[14]
See also
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]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Beevor, Antony
.
The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.
Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.391
- ^
Thomas, Hugh
.
The Spanish Civil War.
Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.854
- ^
Thomas, Hugh.
The Spanish Civil War.
Penguin Books. 2001. London. pp.876.878
- ^
Beevor, Antony.
The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.
Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.390
- ^
Beevor, Antony.
The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.
Penguin Books. 2006. London. pp.390-391
- ^
Thomas, Hugh.
The Spanish Civil War.
Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.876
- ^
Julia, Santos
; Casanova, Julian; Sole i Sabate, Josep Maria, Villarroya, Joan; and Moreno, Francisco.
Victimas de la guerra civil.
2006. Ediciones Temas de Hoy. Madrid. p.266
- ^
Thomas, Hugh.
The Spanish Civil War.
Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.877
- ^
Beevor, Antony.
The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.
Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.391
- ^
Julia, Santos
;
Casanova, Julian
; Sole i Sabate, Josep Maria, Villarroya, Joan; and Moreno, Francisco.
Victimas de la guerra civil.
2006. Ediciones Temas de Hoy. Madrid. p.267
- ^
Thomas, Hugh.
The Spanish Civil War.
Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.877
- ^
Beevor, Antony.
The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.
Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.391
- ^
Beevor, Antony.
The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.
Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.391
- ^
Graham, Helen.
The Spanish Civil War.
A Very Short Introduction
.
Oxford University Press. 2005. p. 113
References
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]
Further reading
[
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]