The Huesca Offensive was an ill-fated

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 ...

army thrust toward

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almo ...

between 12 and 19 June 1937, 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 ...

. Hungarian writer and communist commander Máté Zalka was killed in the course of the battle.

Background

In April 1937, the Nationalists started an offensive against the Republican-held Biscay Province, and by the end of May, the Navarrese troops had reached the eastern side of

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's defenses. The Republican government then decided to launch two diversionary offensives on the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

fronts in order to divert Nationalist troops.

The Offensive

The Republican government decided to launch an attack against the Nationalist held city of

. After the

May Days The May Days, sometimes also called May Events, refer to a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in street battles in various parts of Catalonia, ...

, the Republican forces in the Aragon front had been reorganized and the Republican government established a new Army of the East. This force, under the command of General Pozas, was reinforced with the

XII International Brigade The XII International Brigade was mustered on 7 November 1936 at Albacete, Spain. It was formerly named the Garibaldi Brigade, after the most famous and inspiring leader in the Italian Independence Wars, General Giuseppe Garibaldi. Structure Its ...

, led by General Lukacs, and four brigades from the central front. The Republican forces outnumbered the Nationalist forces besieged in Huesca, but the Nationalist troops were well entrenched and the Republican troops had little artillery and armoured support. The attack against Huesca started on 12 June, led by Lukács. The Republican troops attacking across open ground were decimated by the machine-gun and artillery fire of the Nationalists. Furthermore, the same day, Lukács was hit by a Nationalist shell and died. The offensive saw the

Rakosi Battalion The Rákosi Battalion was a volunteer unit founded in April 1937. It was formed predominantly of Hungarians, who fought in the CL International Brigade and the XIII International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). The battalion wa ...

's first action (with 288 men). The battalion became trapped by machine-gun fire and lost a quarter of its men. Their commander, Ákos Hevesi, and political commissar, Imre Tarr, were both killed as they led from the front. On 16 June the Republican troops attacked the villages of

Alerre Alerre is a municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain. As of 2018, it has a population of 201 inhabitants. References External links

Municipalities in the Province of Huesca {{huesca-geo-stub ...

and

Chimillas

Chimillas is a municipality in the province of Huesca, S ...

but the assault was repelled by the Nationalist troops. On 19 June, the Nationalists entered

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

and the offensive was called off, after other two days of failed Republican assaults.

Aftermath

The Republican troops had heavy casualties (according to Beevor, 9,000), mainly

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

and

POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ( es, Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, POUM; ca, Partit Obrer d'Unificació Marxista) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active a ...

members. The failed offensive after the recent

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, increased the defeatism and the suspicions among the Republican troops in Aragon.Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. p.277

References

Bibliography

*Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. *Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. 2001. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Battles of the Spanish Civil War 1937 in Spain Conflicts in 1937 Battles in Aragon Province of Huesca June 1937 events

Background

The Offensive

Aftermath

See also

References

Bibliography