The Red and Black Column was the fifth militia column organized by the CNT-FAI in

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 ...

to send to 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 ...

. Its incorporation took place in mid-September, in the

Province of Huesca Huesca ( an, Uesca, ca, Osca), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca. Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France and the French Departments of Haute-Ga ...

as a reinforcement to the anarchist '' Ascaso'' and '' Harriers'' columns. According to

Alberto Bayo Alberto Bayo y Giroud (27 March 1892 – 4 August 1967) was a Cubans, Cuban military commander of the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican faction during the Spanish Civil War. His most significant action during the war was the att ...

, the contingent formed with "militiamen from the

Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia 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 ...

, a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

of foreigners, young people from

Estat Català Estat Català (, literally "Catalan State") is a pro-independence nationalist historical political party of Catalonia (Spain). History Estat Català is a historical pro-independence political party in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded by France ...

, from the

National Confederation of Labor National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, from the

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a Catalan independence movement, pro-Catalan independence, social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Catalonia, p ...

Acció Catalana Catalan Action ( ca, Acció Catalana, AC) was a Catalanist political movement in the first third of the 20th century. History AC was created in 1922 around the Catalan National Conference, which brought together elements of the Joventut Naciona ...

and the

Iberian Anarchist Federation Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to: *Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...

".Bayo, '' My landing in Mallorca '', p. 66

References

Bibliography

* Torralba Coronas, Pedro. '' From Ayerbe to Red and Black. 127 Mixed Brigade ''. Barcelona, 1980. * Rodrigo, Antonina. "María Lejárraga: a woman in the shade". Barcelona, 2005 * Josep Massot i Muntaner. '' 'Of war and exile: Mallorca, Montserrat, France, Mexico, 1936-1975' ''. Barcelona, 2000 * Pedreira, Josep. '' Catalan soldiers in the Red and Black (1936-1939) ''. Barcelona, 2003 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