The Land and Freedom Column was a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

organized by the CNT-FAI from the regions of

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain, lying partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. Geography The northern half of Berguedà, known as Alt Berguedà (“Upper Berguedà� ...

and

Bages Bages () is a comarca (county) in the center of Catalonia, Spain. It includes a ''subcomarca'', Lluçanès. Industries include the mining of potash at Súria and Sallent, and the manufacture of textiles along the rivers Llobregat and Cardener ...

as well as from

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 ...

. The column was sent to the

Central front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during th ...

in mid-September 1936 to reinforce the

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 ...

line against a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

force. It had around 1,500 militiamen in its beginnings. The column integrated into the

Rosal Column The Rosal Column was a republican militia column created during the Spanish Civil War. They fought in the central zone The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of related language varieties Spoken across North India a ...

and later fought on the

Serra de Montsant Serra de Montsant is a mountain chain in Catalonia, Spain. The main populated area in the range is La Morera de Montsant. Description It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The main peaks are Roca Corbatera (1,163 m), Piló dels Senyalets ( ...

front. After the militarization that occurred in the spring of 1937, the column became the 153rd Mixed Brigade.

History

The column first named itself the "''Red and Black''" however when they arrived in Barcelona they found that there was already another column with the same name. So they changed it to " Land and Freedom", a classic motto of

Spanish anarchism Anarchism in Spain has historically gained some support and influence, especially before Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, when it played an active political role and is considered the end of the golden age of cl ...

. In Barcelona several more centuries were added to the column, which received military training in the barracks controlled by the ''CNT-FAI''. On September 7 they departed for

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 ...

by train. Flores, Pedro. Memòries, p. 161 They were sent as

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

aid to the

central front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during th ...

, the ''Freedom'' column of the

PSUC The Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia ( ca, Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya, PSUC) was a communist political party active in Catalonia between 1936 and 1997. It was the Catalan branch of the Communist Party of Spain and the only party n ...

and the UGT was also sent in October and the

Durruti Column The Durruti Column (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Columna Durruti''), with about 6,000 people, was the largest anarchist column (or military unit) formed during the Spanish Civil War. During the first months of the war, it became the most recogniz ...

in November. In Madrid the column had about 1,500 militiamen, since several centuries with local militiamen had also attached to it. The column had an artillery battery with two 105mm guns, named

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

, in honor of two Italian-American anarchists executed in 1927. Flores, Pedro. Memòries, p. 161

Militarization

The militarization took place in June 1937. The Land and Freedom Column became the 153rd Mixed Brigade, commanded by Antonio Sabas Amorós and commissioned by Francisco Señer Martínz, both from the CNT. Battalions 609, 610, 611 and 612 were commanded respectively by Antonio Ferrándiz García, Feliciano Llach Bou, Francisco Fausto Nitti and Víctor Gómez Goiri. Their journal was called "New Era". The brigade was attached to the 24th Division. One of the column's soldiers, Pedro Flores, said this on the militarization: During the militarization process they were stationed in

Binéfar Binéfar (, ca, Binèfar) is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2008 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 9,288 inhabitants. It is the home of the children's theatre group "''Los Titir ...

and

Monzón Monzón is a small city and municipality in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. Its population was 17,176 as of 2014. It is in the northeast (specifically the Cinca Medio district of the province of Huesca) and adjoins the rivers Cinca and ...

. There they were caught up in the

Barcelona 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, ...

, participating in the events by taking the revolutionary side, in favor of going to Barcelona to take control. Because of this, the Ulysses battalion (610) joined the 127th Brigade, led by the CNT militant Máximo Franco, and they went to

Lérida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

, where they stayed to avoid a breakdown of the Republican side and an eventual "civil war within of the civil war ".

Military history of the 153rd Mixed Brigade

During the collapse of the

Aragon front The Aragon Offensive was an important military campaign during the Spanish Civil War, which began after the Battle of Teruel. The offensive, which ran from March 7, 1938, to April 19, 1938, smashed the Republican forces, overran Aragon, and conque ...

in the spring of 1938, the 153rd Mixed Brigade was caught right in the middle of the Francoist assault and was defeated, retreating to the

Segre river The Segre ( or ; french: Sègre) is a river tributary to the Ebro (''Ebre'' in Catalan) with a basin comprising territories across three states: France, Andorra and Spain. The river Segre, known to Romans and Greeks as Sicoris, and to the Arabs ...

. The remains regrouped in Valdomá and on 19 April the brigade was attached to the 30th Division, under

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 ...

command, which carried out political maneuvers within the brigade to assassinate and detain libertarian or socialist commanders. Àngels Casanovas described the brigade's military operations from 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 ...

to the end of 1938, narrating the circumstances surrounding Miquel Carreras Costajussà's death. Historian

José Peirats José Peirats Valls (1908–1989) was a Spanish anarchist, activist, journalist and historian. Biography Peirats was born on March 15, 1908, in La Vall d'Uixo, Province of Castellón. He was the second child of Jose Peirats Dupla and Teresa Val ...

describes the fate of the Land and Freedom Column: Finally, during the

Catalonia Offensive The Catalonia Offensive ( ca, Ofensiva de Catalunya, es, Ofensiva de Cataluña) was part of the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist Army started the offensive on 23 December 1938 and rapidly conquered Republican-held Catalonia with Barcelona ( ...

, the brigade defended

Juncosa Juncosa is a village in the province of Lleida and autonomous community of Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by it ...

first, then the

, then afterwards in

Igualada Igualada () is a municipality in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of the ...

and finally in

Santa Coloma de Queralt Santa Coloma de Queralt is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Conca de Barberà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the north-east of the ''comarca'' about from the city of Tarragona. The town is linked to the rest of the ''comarca'' a ...

. The last news from the brigade was received during the defense of

Vic Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

h on 26 January 1939 Afterwards, most of its fighters ended up in internment camps in southern France. While the majority of republican units dissolved in the last minute chaos, the battalion made up of the former Land and Freedom Column arrived in France united with some 400 fighters.

Tribute

In 2001, a cultural association called '' Columna Terra i Llibertat '' was founded in

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga derives its name from ...

, which took over the Center for Libertarian Studies from Josep Ester i Borrás, a member of the column. An annex on the premises of the Study Center was opened to the association, which received the name '' Ateneu Columna Terra i Llibertat ''.Inauguració del local del Centre d’Estudis Josep Ester Borràs i l’Associació Cultural Columna Terra i Llibertat
B Llibertari, 2001-11-30. Retrieved 2021-05-31.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* Flores, Pedro. '' Memoirs of Pedro Flores ''. Bages Study Center. Manresa, 2003. * Casanovas y Romeo, Angels. '' Miquel Carreras Costajussà (1905–1938) ''. Abbey of Montserrat Publications, S.A., 2011. * Peirats, Josep. "Anarchists in the Spanish political crisis." Libertarian Utopia, Buenos Aires 2006 * Peirats, Josep. "The CNT in the Spanish Revolution." Mother Earth Editions. Madrid, 1988. Defunct anarchist militant groups Military units and formations of the Spanish Civil War Confederal militias Military units and formations established in 1936 Military units and formations disestablished in 1937

History

Militarization

Military history of the 153rd Mixed Brigade

Tribute

See also

References

Bibliography