The Battle of Irún was the critical battle of the
Campaign of Gipuzkoa prior to the
War in the North
The War in the North was the campaign of the Spanish Civil War in which the Nationalist forces defeated and occupied the parts of northern Spain that had remained loyal to the Republican government.
The campaign included several separate battl ...
, during 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, link ...
. The
Nationalist Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
, under
Alfonso Beorlegui, captured the city of
Irún
Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town.
During the Sp ...
cutting off the northern provinces of
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
,
Biscay
Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao.
B ...
,
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
, and
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
from their source of arms and support in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Background
Irún is located on the northwestern coast of Spain, between the French border and the city of
San Sebastian.
Navarre, a
Carlist
Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...
stronghold, was taken over by the
Requetés in late July, followed by brutal mass-repression against blacklisted civilians. In early August, the Carlists Colonel
Jose Solchaga Zala and Colonel Alfonso Beorlegui under the orders of General Mola commanded large numbers of Requetés down the north of Navarre towards Irún.
[Preston, Paul, ''The Spanish Holocaust: Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth-Century Spain'', (2013), p. 430.]
Colonel Beorlegui's force was smaller, but it included 155 mm artillery, German light tanks,
Junkers Ju 52 bombers, and a 700-man bandera from the
Spanish Foreign Legion
For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the pena ...
.
[ It also included Italian aircraft. Both Germans and Italians carried out heavy air strikes over Irun and ]Hondarribia es, fuenterribense
, population_note =
, population_density_km2 = auto
, blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s)
, blank_info_sec1 = Basque, Spanish
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, ti ...
(Fuenterrabía) on a daily basis, at the same time dropping pamphlets over the towns threatening to repeat the massacres of Badajoz.[
The town was defended by 3,000 Republicans, including CNT militia, Asturian miners, Basque nationalists, and French communist volunteers. However, they were poorly armed and lacking in proper military training.][
]
The battle
The Nationalist ships '' España'' (battleship), '' Almirante Cervera'' (cruiser), and ''Velasco'' (destroyer) bombarded the town on August 11. The main fighting took place on the Puntza ridge south of the town. The peak of the battle occurred at the convent of San Marcial, which was defended by Asturian miners and militia who threw dynamite and rocks when they ran out of ammunition.[
The French had closed the border with Spain on August 8, leading to a shortage of ammunition and supplies on the Republican side. When the Republicans finally abandoned the town, anarchist forces in retreat enraged by their lack of ammunition set fire to parts of the town to destroy things that might aid the Nationalists.][
On the rebel side, colonel Beorlegui was wounded by a sniper's bullet when he entered the town. He refused to have the wound treated and soon died from gangrene.][Beevor, Antony. ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1931-1939.'' Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.117] Thousands of civilians and militias fled in panic for their lives across the Bidasoa
__NOTOC__
The Bidasoa (, ; french: Bidassoa, ) is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the p ...
border to France as the rebel far-right forces entered the town.[
The Nationalist battalions headed then west towards San Sebastián, defended halfway only by the Fort San Marcos.
]
See also
* Felix Likiniano
*
*
Notes
Sources
* Beevor, Antony, ''The Battle for Spain'', New York: Penguin Group, 1982, 526 p.
* Romero, Eladi, ''Itinerarios de la Guerra Civil española : guía del viajero curioso'', Barcelona : Laertes, 2001, 600 p.
* Barruso, Pedro, ''Verano y revolución. La guerra civil en Gipuzkoa' (julio-septiembre de 1936)'', Edita: Haramburu Editor. San Sebastián, 1996.
Pedro Barruso, GIPUZKOA 1936: VERANO Y REVOLUCIÓN, LA GUERRA CIVIL EN GIPUZKOA (Spanish)
MARCELO USABIAGA: Así fue la batalla de Irun... from RODRIGUEZ, MIKEL: Marcelo Usabiaga: Así fue la Batalla de Irun Historia 16 nº362 (junio 2006), p. 72-85
*
*
* Aznar, Manuel. ''Historia Militar de la Guerra de España''. 3 vols. Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1969.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Irun
Irún
Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town.
During the Sp ...
Irun
Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman-Vasconic town.
During the Span ...
Irun
Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman-Vasconic town.
During the Span ...
1936 in Spain
Gipuzkoa
August 1936 events
September 1936 events