The Invasion of Val d'Aran, known under the code name ''Operación Reconquista de España'' ("Operation Reconquest of Spain"), was a military operation launched in October 1944 by the Unión Nacional Española (antifrancoist) ( es) (UNE). In October 1944, with 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 ...

over and the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in retreat, guerrilla fighters loyal to the Republic tried to conquer

Val d'Aran Aran (; ; ) (previously officially called in Occitan Val d'Aran, Catalan: ''Vall d'Aran'', Spanish: ''Valle de Arán'') is an administrative entity (formerly considered a comarca) in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, consisting of the Aran Valley, in ar ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

and establish a provisional

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 ...

government presided over by

Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...

in order to later overthrow the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

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 ...

. The invasion, led by communist militant and

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

member

Vicente López Tovar Vicente López Tovar (1909–1998) was a Spanish soldier, politician and Spanish maquis, anti-Franco guerrilla fighter. He fought for the Spanish Republican, Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, for the French Resistance in World War II, and led ...

, managed to overrun a number of

Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...

outposts and take over several hamlets in the high areas of Arán, but was eventually repelled by the

Francoist army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

, led by General

José Moscardó José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, the defender of the Alcázar during the civil war. Moscardó established his headquarters at

Vielha Vielha e Mijaran (; ca, Viella – Mitg-Aran ) is a municipality in Aran, Lleida, Spain. It was created in 1970 by the merger of the municipalities of Arròs e Vila, Betlan, Escunhau, Gausac, Vielha and Vilac: some of the former municipalities re ...

, the main administrative center of the valley, and, supported by heavy artillery, made impossible to the insurgents to advance through the

Port de la Bonaigua Port de la Bonaigua (el. 2072 m., 6,798 ft) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees in Catalonia, Spain. It connects Esterri d'Àneu in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Pallars Sobirà with Vielha e Mijaran in the comarca of Aran, Catalonia, Aran ...

and then into the lower lands. The guerrillas were also beaten off at

Salardú Salardú is a locality located in the municipality of Naut Aran, in Province of Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain. As of 2020, it has a population of 630. Salardú is the capital of the municipality of Naut Aran Naut Aran () is a municipality i ...

, where they suffered a number of casualties. According to historian Geneviève Dreyfus-Armand, the UNE was a "structure of a large alliance, (which) united not only Communists, but also Spaniards of different political alignments – Socialists, Republicans or Anarchists – who the dispersion of their organizations and the silence of their leaders pushed into joining the only fighting structure organised against Nazism".

Popular culture

* " The Silent War" (2019, original title: ''Sordo''), Spanish movie by Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite journal , last1=Boya-Busquet , first1=Mireia , last2=Cerarols-Ramirez , first2=Rosa , title=Women Narration: Land, Gender and Oral Memory. The Forgotten History of the Maquis at Aran Valley , journal=Journal of Alpine Research, date=13 February 2015 , issue=103–4 , doi=10.4000/rga.2650 , url=https://journals.openedition.org/rga/2650 , language=en , issn=0035-1121, doi-access=free October 1944 events Modern history of Spain History of Catalonia Coordinates not on Wikidata 1944 in Spain Francoist Spain Invasions of Spain Military operations involving Spain

Popular culture

See also

References

Bibliography