The Fifth Regiment ( es, Quinto Regimiento, the full name ''Quinto Regimiento de Milicias Populares)'', was an elite corps loyal to the

Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

at the onset of the Spanish Civil War. Made up of volunteers, the Fifth Regiment was active in the first critical phase of the war and became one of the most renowned units loyal to the Republic.Comín Colomer, Eduardo (1973); El 5º Regimiento de Milicias Populares. Madrid. The number of soldiers in the Fifth Regiment quickly rose from about 6,000 in August to over 20,000 in November 1936. This loyalist elite corps lasted only until the Spanish Republican Army was reorganized in the second year of the civil war, but in barely half a year it had managed to become one of the most famous units of the whole conflict. The Fifth Regiment used the desecrated building of the Church of San Francisco de Sales in Madrid as its headquarters. The mouthpiece of this military unit was the ''

Milicia Popular ''Milicia Popular'' ( ) was a Communist newspaper, which served as a mouthpiece for the Loyalist Fifth Regiment The Fifth Regiment ( es, Quinto Regimiento, the full name ''Quinto Regimiento de Milicias Populares)'', was an elite corps loyal to ...

'' newspaper and its anthem the '' El quinto regimiento'' song.

History

Shortly after the Spanish coup of the 17 July 1936, the Republican Government took the radical decision of dissolving the Spanish Republican Armed Forces by granting unlimited leave to all military personnel and arming the trade unions. The measure was taken in order to ward off further rebellions of officers by depriving them of troops at their command. In the face of the void thus created, the Communist Party of Spain led the implementation of a policy that sought to replace the spontaneous and disorganized bands fighting for the Spanish Republic with loyal, disciplined and militarized units. Finally, the Communist-led

Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias {{anti-fascism sidebar, Interwar anti-fascism The Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias ( es, Milicias Antifascistas Obreras y Campesinas, MAOC) were a militia group founded in the Second Spanish Republic in 1934. Their purpose was to protect l ...

(MAOC) formed five battalions that took an active part in the

Siege of Cuartel de la Montaña A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

on 20 July 1936. One of these battalions became the "Fifth Regiment" (''5º Regimiento de Milicias Populares''), a military unit intended as a model for other military units to follow in the initial chaotic period of the civil war. Its first commander was

Enrique Castro Delgado Enrique () is the Spanish variant of the given name Heinrich of Germanic origin. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Enric (Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Henrik (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian), Heinrich (German), Hendrik, Henk (Dut ...

. Later the Fifth Regiment would take an active part in the battles of Somosierra and Guadarrama, as well as in the Battle of Talavera and the

Siege of the Alcázar The Siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic Nationalist victory in Toledo in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. The Alcázar of Toledo was held by a variety of military forces in favour of the Nationalist uprising. Militias of th ...

, ending up becoming one of the crucial military units engaged in the

Defence of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Oct ...

. Most of the initial Fifth Regiment members belonged to the MAOC. However, it soon attracted members from other ideologies owing to its efficiency and capacity for organization in a critical time for the Republic, as compared to the chaotic militia groups that operated at the onset of the war. In the Fifth Regiment soldiers were not allowed to discuss the orders given by their superiors, a common practice in most of the spontaneous militia units that sprung up when weapons were issued to the trade unions. This fact alone made the Fifth Regiment much more effective against the first attacks of the rebel forces.De Miguel, Jesús y Sánchez, Antonio: ''Batalla de Madrid,'' in his ''Historia Ilustrada de la Guerra Civil Española.'' Alcobendas, Editorial LIBSA, 2006, pp. 189-221. On 22 January 1937 the Fifth Regiment was integrated into the Popular Army of the Republic, the reorganized Spanish Republican Army, for which it had provided a basic pattern. Most of its members ended up in the

First Mixed Brigade The First Mixed Brigade ( es, 1.ª Brigada Mixta), also known as Brigada Lister, was a mixed brigade of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. It was disbanded on 9 February 1939. History The First Mixed Brigade was established fro ...

and in the 11th Division led by Enrique Líster while others joined the different units of the Republican Army and this famous regiment became extinct. Besides Enrique Líster, other important leaders of the Spanish Republican Army such as

Juan Guilloto León Juan Guilloto León, usually referred to as Modesto or Juan Modesto (24 September 1906 – 16 April 1969), was a Republican army officer during the Spanish Civil War. Biography Early life Born at El Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz, Juan Gu ...

"Modesto",

Valentín González Valentín González González (4 November 1904 – 20 October 1983), popularly known as ''El Campesino'' (the Peasant), was a Spanish Republican military commander during the Spanish Civil War. Life Spanish Civil War Born in Malcoc ...

"El Campesino" and

Etelvino Vega Martínez Etelvino Vega Martínez (1906–1939) was a Spanish politician and military officer. Life In 1931, he was a member of the central committee of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). In 1932, after the failed ''coup'' of Sanjurjo, he supported the ...

, were formed in the ranks of the Fifth Regiment.

Model unit

The Fifth Regiment was more than a military unit, for its activities reached into the social and cultural fields. Its members contributed to the development of education, imparting basic skills and knowledge to the poor and the less favoured members of Spanish society, vowing to eradicate illiteracy and social ills. Quinto Regimiento propaganda posters and murals became ubiquitous and well known in Madrid at the time, as well as its mobile libraries and its "Theatre Guerrillas" ''("guerrillas teatrales)'', both in the city streets and in the front lines. Quite a number of notable people were either members of the Fifth regiment or became associated with it. Among these the following deserve mention: Poets and writers such as Rafael Alberti,

César Arconada Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...

Pedro Garfias Pedro Garfias Zurita (May 27, 1901 – August 9, 1967) was a Spanish poet. Garfias was born in Salamanca, Spain, but spent his childhood and youth in the Andalusian cities of Seville and Córdoba. In 1918 he moved to Madrid in order to study La ...

Miguel Hernández Miguel Hernández Gilabert (30 October 1910 – 28 March 1942 ) was a 20th-century Spanish-language poet and playwright associated with the Generation of '27 and the Generation of '36 movements. Born and raised in a family of low resources, h ...

, José Herrera Petere, María Teresa León and

Juan Rejano ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, teachers such as Josep Renau,

Wenceslao Roces Wenceslao Roces Suárez (3 February 1897 – 29 March 1992) was a Spanish professor of Roman law, a prolific translator and undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Fine Arts. He was a committed Marxist, and had to leave Spain after the Span ...

and Alberto Sánchez, and artists such as

Alberto Sánchez Pérez Alberto Sánchez Pérez (1895, Toledo, Spain–1962, Moscow) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. He fought with the Republican Fifth Regiment in the Spanish Civil War. His painting, 'Toros ibéricos'' is in the Museo Arte Público de Madrid ...

, as well as engineers and architects, such as

Luis Lacasa Navarro Luis Lacasa Navarro (1899 – 30 March 1966) was a Spanish architect. His work in Spain and Paris before and during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) was rationalist and functional. He is best known as co-designer of the Spanish Pavilion at the 19 ...

and

Manuel Sánchez Arcas Manuel Sánchez Arcas (1897–1970) was a Spanish Modernist architect. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) he served in the Republican government as Undersecretary for Propaganda. After the Republican defeat he went into exile in Moscow, Wa ...

, and physicians such as

Juan Planelles Ripoll ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

In literature

The Fifth Regiment became an almost mythical unit that was the subject of poems and songs during the Spanish Civil War; one of these was ''¡Soy del Quinto Regimiento!'' by Rafael Alberti:

Books

References

External links