The Maroto 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. ...

that operated at the beginning of 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 ...

History

The column was founded in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, in the summer of 1936, by the Granadin

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 ...

leader Francisco Maroto del Ojo. At first it was made up of 270 anarchist militiamen. After being formed, on August 6 the column left

and headed for the Granada front; they managed to reach the town of Guadix, where they established their headquarters. In this area they managed to recruit more volunteers, until the column reached a thousand troops. Their military actions, however, were null. The Maroto column took part in the attack against the

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 ...

position at Güéjar Sierra, but it was never in a position to retake the city of

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. At the end of 1936, the attempts to militarize this militia met with the opposition of their commander, Maroto del Ojo. After its militarization the unit disappeared and its troops integrated into the 89th and 147th mixed brigades, on the Andalusian front.

References

Bibliography

* * * * 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 {{Anarchism-stub