The 82nd Mixed Brigade was a unit of the
Spanish Republican Army created during the
Spanish Civil War. It came to operate on the
Teruel and
Levante fronts.
History
The unit was created in March 1937 in the eastern sector of the Teruel front, employing a battalion of the
POUM, anarchist militiamen of the
First Confederal Column and regular troops. For the leadership of the brigade, the infantry commander Rafael Blasco Borreguero, while Gabriel Rodríguez Cabezas was appointed chief of staff;
Melecio Álvarez Garrido was appointed as commissar. The Brigade was assigned to the
40th Division of the
13th Army Corps. On 11 July, the 82nd MB participated in the
Battle of Albarracín
The Battle of Albarracín took place in Albarracín and surrounding areas (Teruel) between 5 July and 11 August 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.
Background
The Aragon front was, from the beginning of the war, a secondary front, but also a ...
, in support of the attack undertaken by the
61st Mixed Brigade
The 61st Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that took part in the Spanish Civil War. Throughout the war, the brigade was present on the Teruel, Aragon, Levante and Extremadura fronts.
History
The unit was created in Jan ...
.
At the end of December 1937 the brigade participated in the
Battle of Teruel. On 14 December it attacked the
nationalist positions in the Port of Escandón —which it managed to cross on the 16 December—, continuing its advance towards Teruel along the Sagunto highway, occupying the towns of
Castellar and
Castralvo. On 22 December, after eliminating the nationalist resistance in El Mansueto, the brigade took the San Julián neighborhood and the
railway station by storm; On the afternoon of the same day, it also took over the
Fuente del Torico. One 1 January 1938, having abruptly withdrawn from their positions, the brigade returned to the city to continue the siege. The remains of the Teruel garrison ended up capitulating on 8 January, with which the city was definitively in Republican hands.
During the
Battle of Alfambra the unit had a highly disputed performance in the defense of Sierra Palomera, which it lost to the enemy offensive. Furthermore, in its retreat the 82nd Mixed Brigade suffered so many casualties that in the end, when it reorganized in the rear, its size had been reduced to just one
battalion.
The unit was later assigned to the
64th Division of the
14th Army Corps, and fought on the
Levante front
The Levante Offensive, launched near the end of March 1938, was an attempt by Nationalist forces under Francisco Franco to capture the Republican held city of Valencia during the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalists occupied the province of Caste ...
. At the end of operations – after the beginning of the
Battle of the Ebro — the 82nd MB became part of the
5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to:
Infantry divisions
*5th Division (Australia)
* 5th Division (People's Republic of China)
*5th Division (Colombia)
*Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War)
*5th Light Cavalry Division (France)
*5th Moto ...
, the unit with which it remained until the end of the war.
Command
;Commanders
* Rafael Blasco Borreguero;
* José García López;
* Fernando Cortacáns del Cerro
;Commissars
*
Melecio Álvarez Garrido
;Chiefs of Staff
* Gabriel Rodríguez Cabezas;
* Fernando Cortacáns del Cerro
See also
*
First Confederal Column
*
Mixed Brigades
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{Mixed brigades of Spain, state=expanded
Military units and formations established in 1937
Military units and formations disestablished in 1939
Mixed Brigades (Spain)
Militarized anarchist formations