The XI International Brigade fought for the

Spanish Second 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 ...

in 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 ...

. It would become especially renowned for providing desperately needed support in the darkest hours of the Republican defense of Madrid on 8 November 1936, when, with great losses, it helped repulse a major assault by veteran Nationalist troops, buying time for more Republican troops to be brought into the city.
The International Brigades
'' - Colodny, Robert G. Accessed 2008-05-12.

Order of battle

It was originally mustered from international volunteers at

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the ...

, Spain, in mid-October 1936 as the ''IX Brigada Movíl'', with four battalions: *Franco-Belgian Battalion (14 Oct 1936) *Austro-German Battalion (14 Oct 1936) *Italo-Spanish Battalion (14 Oct 1936) *Polish-Balkan Battalion (17 Oct 1936) It was redesignated the 'XI "Hans Beimler" International Brigade' on 22 October 1936, with General "Kléber" (

Manfred Stern Manfred (Moses) Stern (also known as Emilio Kléber, Lazar Stern, Moishe Stern, Mark Zilbert) (1896–1954) was a member of the GRU, Soviet military intelligence. He served as a spy in the United States, as a military advisor in China, and gained ...

) commanding. The original battalions were renamed as follows: *The Franco-Belgian battalion, led by Jules Dumont, became the Commune de Paris Battalion *The Austro-German battalion, led by

Hans Kahle Hans Kahle (22 April 1899 – 1 September 1947) was a German journalist, communist, and head of the Volkspolizei in Mecklenburg. Education and career Kahle was born in Berlin-Charlottenburg, the son of a senior official. He attended high school ...

, became the Edgar André Battalion, (after Edgar André). *The Italo-Spanish battalion became the

Garibaldi Battalion The Garibaldi Battalion (Garibaldi Brigade after April 1937) was a largely- Italian volunteer unit of the International Brigades that fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War from October 1936 to 1938. It was named after Giuseppe G ...

, (after

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

). *The Polish-Balkan battalion, led by Boleslav Ulanovski, became the Dabrowski Battalion (pronounced "Dombrowski"), (after

Jarosław Dąbrowski Jarosław Żądło-Dąbrowski (; 13 November 1836 – 23 May 1871), also known as Jaroslav Dombrowski, was a Polish nobleman and military officer in the Imperial Russian Army, a left-wing independence activist and radical republican for Polan ...

). Shortly after the formation of

XII International Brigade The XII International Brigade was mustered on 7 November 1936 at Albacete, Spain. It was formerly named the Garibaldi Brigade, after the most famous and inspiring leader in the Italian Independence Wars, General Giuseppe Garibaldi. Structure Its ...

in November, 1936, its

Thälmann Battalion The Thälmann Battalion was a battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. It was named after the imprisoned German communist leader Ernst Thälmann (born 16 April 1886, executed 18 August 1944) and included approximately 1,50 ...

and the Garibaldi Battalion (which had no rifles) swapped places. Other units that formed part of XI International Brigade at other times were: *Asturias-Heredia Battalion *Hans Beimler Battalion *Madrid Battalion *Pacifico Battalion *Pasionaria Battalion *Zwölfter Februar Battalion The brigade fought in the battles of

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 ...

, the Corunna Road,

Jarama Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jara ...

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

Brunete Brunete () is a town located on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain with a population of 10,730 people. History There was no military garrison in Brunete and there was no rebel attempt to seize the city during the coup of July 1936. Brunete remain ...

, Belchite,

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...

, and the Ebro. After the death of Hans Beimler the energetic Giuseppe Di Vittorio became the political

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Ea ...

Commemoration

On 18 July 1956, the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

issued the Hans Beimler Medal to veterans of the XI International Brigade, and other volunteer units in Spain. At the time, there were 632 surviving veterans alive. On the 20th anniversary of the end of the war, in September 1959, a further 112 were awarded.Details
/ref> The medal is silver with a relief portrait of Hans Beimler on one side, and the three-pointed star of the International Brigades on the reverse, with the inscription "KAMPFER FVR SPANIENS FREIHEIT 1936-1939", ''Fighters for Spanish Liberty (1936–1939)''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xi International Brigade Military units and formations established in 1936 International Brigades Mixed Brigades (Spain) Military units and formations disestablished in 1939

Order of battle

Commemoration

See also

References