The Battle of Menorca took place in the island
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
between 7 and 9 February 1939 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, lin ...
.
Background
After the
fall of Catalonia, the island of
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
, the only
Balearic island
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
held by the Republic, was isolated from other Republican-held territory by the Nationalist
naval blockade
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
.
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 ...
informed the British government that
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's Italian troops would abandon the Balearic Islands after the war and the British government agreed to arrange the surrender of the Republican garrison.
The uprising
On 8 January 1939 Admiral
Luis González de Ubieta
Luis González de Ubieta y González del Campillo (1899 – 1950) was an admiral of the Spanish Republican Navy during the Spanish Civil War. He died in exile as the captain of the Panama, Panamanian merchant vessel ''Chiriqui'', refusing to b ...
was transferred to
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
to take the command of the
Spanish Republican
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
naval base at
Puerto Mahon. He also was given the authority to command all the
Republican military forces on the island.
On 7 February, the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
arrived in Mahón harbour with a Nationalist emissary, Fernando Sartorius, on board. Sartorius said to the Republican commander, Luis González Ubieta, that the Nationalist forces would occupy the island on 8 February, but the Republican officers and supporters would abandon the island. The same day, three battalions of the Republican garrison, led by a member of the
Fifth column
A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...
, the officer Juan Thomas, occupied
Ciutadella, after killing the Republican commander Marcelino Rodríguez. One brigade of Republican troops arrived from Mahon, and defeated the rebel troops after a brief engagement and surrounded Ciutadella. Nevertheless, the Republican officers, convinced that any resistance under that circumstances was pointless, asked for safe passage to the mainland. The British eventually arranged the surrender of Minorca to the Nationalists on board of ''Devonshire''. On 8 February, Italian and Spanish Nationalist bombers attacked Mahón. The same day the ''Devonshire'' sailed to
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
with 452 Republican refugees on board. On 9 February, the 105th division of the Nationalist Army disembarked at Ciutadella and the remaining Republican troops surrendered.
Aftermath
After the surrender of Menorca, many Republican officers in the central zone believed that they would negotiate a deal with the Nationalists, and then started to plan a
''coup'' against the
Negrín government.
[ Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. 2006. London. p. 861]
See also
*
*
*
Aviazione Legionaria
The Legionary Air Force ( it, Aviazione Legionaria, es, Aviación Legionaria) was an expeditionary corps from the Regia Aeronautica, Italian Royal Air Force that was set up in 1936. It was sent to provide logistical and tactical support to the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minorca
Menorca 1939
Menorca 1939
1939 in Spain
Menorca 1939
History of Menorca
Spain–United Kingdom military relations
Menorca 1939
February 1939 events