The Henri Barbusse Battalion was a French

International Brigade The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

battalion 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 ...

. The Battalion served in the

XIV International Brigade 300px, A memorial commemorating the International Brigades The XIV International Brigade was one of several international brigades that fought for the Spanish Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War. History and structure It was raised on ...

. It was named after French communist and writer,

Henri Barbusse Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein. Life The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...

, who died in 1935.

History

The Henri Barbusse Battalion was formed in December 1936 as part of the XIV International Brigade. The first commander was Joseph Putz, who, although not a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, had served with distinction in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was thus appointed on the basis of his military experience. By February 1937 Putz was head of the XIV International Brigade, only to be wounded in the

Battle of Jarama The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moro ...

.Clifford (2020) p.17 In 1938 the Battalion was involved in the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

, suffering numerous casualties. On 25 July 1938 they had crossed the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

further downstream near

Amposta Amposta () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Montsià, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain, 190 km south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean Coast. It is located at 8 metres above sea level, on the Ebre river, not far from its mo ...

, one of only two battalions to cross the river, the other being the Commune de Paris Battalion at Campredó. The Henri Barbusse Battalion held on during the day and were able to withdraw across the river overnight.

Personnel

*Landrieu, Pierre *Landrieux, Pierre *Joseph Putz - commander

References

{{reflist Military units and formations established in 1936 Military units and formations disestablished in 1938 International Brigades Military history of France