The Battle of Almendralejo was a battle and massacre in
Almendralejo
Almendralejo () is a town in the Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It is situated 45 km south-east of Badajoz, on the main road and rail route between Mérida and Seville. , it has a population of 33,975. It was the site of a battle a ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, in August 1936, during the first stages of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.
History
On 7 August 1936, the troops of General
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
, under the command of
Gonzalo Queipo de Llano
Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra (5 February 1875 – 9 March 1951) was a Spanish military leader who rose to prominence during the July 1936 coup and then the Spanish Civil War and the White Terror.
Biography
A career army man, Queipo de Lla ...
, entered Almendralejo and took the town. Upon the entrance of the troops, the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
militiamen withdrew; forty of them holed up in the Tower of the Parish of the Purification (''Torre de la Parroquia de la Purificación''), whose profile dominates the surrounding countryside. Military staff then decided to set fire to the parish and shell the tower with a cannon installed in the Fuente La Negra, in order to force the Republicans to surrender.
Roughly 1,000 civilians were killed.
The Republicans resisted until 15 August 1936.
[Hugh Thomas, ''The Spanish Civil War,'' (Spanish edn.) p. 404]
See also
*
*
References
Mass murder in 1936
Battles of the Spanish Civil War
1936 in Spain
Conflicts in 1936
Spanish Civil War prisoner of war massacres
Battles in Extremadura
Province of Badajoz
August 1936 events
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