The Battle of Seseña was a Republican-

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

assault on the Nationalist stronghold of Seseña, near Toledo, 30 km south of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in October 1936 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. After the fall of

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipalit ...

and Toledo in September 1936, the Nationalist troops pushed towards Madrid and in October they were 30 km from the city. The Republican government which had received new Soviet weapons decided to launch a counteroffensive in order to stop the Nationalist offensive at Seseña. The attack failed and the Nationalists resumed their advance towards Madrid. The battle is notable for being the first time that massive tank warfare was seen in the Spanish War and for the use by Nationalist troops of

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

s against

T-26 The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light ...

tanks.

Background

The professional troops of the Spanish Army of Africa had started their drive to Madrid in August 1936. Equipped with modern weapons they had received from Germany and Italy ( Ju 52 and Savoia SM-81 planes, and Italian L3/35 tankettes), the Nationalist troops, had defeated the government militias in the battles of Mérida,

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

, Sierra de Guadalupe and

, and had occupied Toledo on September 27, 1936. In late October 1936 the Nationalists took several towns near Madrid ( Torrejon de Velasco, Seseña, Torrejón de la Calzada and Griñon), breaking the first defensive line of Madrid.Beevor, Antony. (2001). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. London. p.169 Meanwhile, the Republican government had requested aid and weapons from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in order to defeat the Nationalist forces and the president of the French Republic,

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...

, initially decided to send help because a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

victory could damage the international position of France. Nevertheless, on July 25, 1936 Blum decided not to send weapons to the Republic, because the opposition of the British government and the French right., and on August 8, 1936 decided to close the frontier, Then, the Spanish government decided to buy weapons from the Soviet Union. The first Soviet ship with weapons reached Cartagena on October 15, 1936. On 28 October 1936, the Republican prime minister

Largo Caballero Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist who served as the prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. He was one of the historic leaders of the Spa ...

decided to launch a counter-offensive with the recently arrived Soviet weapons in order to detain the Nationalists advance towards Madrid.

The battle

On October 29, 1936, the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la República'' ...

launched an attack against the Nationalist-held town of Seseña. The Republicans attacked with a force of 15 T-26 tanks, armed with a 45mm cannon, led by a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n tank specialist, Captain Pols Armāns, and driven by Soviets with Spanish gunners, and the 1st Mixed Brigade, a newly established mixed brigade led by Enrique Líster. Opposing them, the Nationalists had a force of cavalry led by colonel Monasterio, Moroccan ''

regulares The ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the (Regulars), are infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Historically, the force, which has also included mounted divisions, has consisted ...

'' and some Italian tankettes. The Soviet tanks were massed together for a shock attack and entered in Seseña. Arman claimed that the Soviet tanks destroyed two infantry battalions, two cavalry squadrons, ten 75 mm guns, two tankettes and 20-30 trucks. The tanks crossed Seseña and reached Esquivias, nevertheless, the Mixed Brigade of Lister never entered into the town and the tank force had to retreat.Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The ''Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. p.454 Mikhail Koltsov, a Russian journalist at Seseña said: "Lister...explained, a grimace upon his face, that his units, had been moving well at first, but after 1,500 metres, they had felt tired and sat down...".Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. London. p.169 Furthermore, the Nationalists managed to destroy three Russian tanks and damage three more with Molotov cocktails and artillery fire. Four Soviet and four Republican Spanish tankers were killed in action, and other six wounded. The same day, the Republican army, led by Colonel Ildefonso Puigdendolas, launched another assault against the nearby town of Illescas, but the attack was beaten off. Puigdendolas was killed by his own men when trying to prevent desertion.

Aftermath

The attack failed, because the Spanish Republican infantry had no training to operate with tanks, but the Soviet tanks were shown to be effective. According to Thomas, one Soviet tank destroyed 11 Italian tankettes. The same day a squadron of Russian '' Katiuska'' bombers attacked

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. Because the arrival of the Soviet weapons

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

decided to increase their aid to the Nationalists and to organize the ''

Legion Condor The Condor Legion () was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were ...

''. The Nationalists resumed their offensive,

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(13 km south of Madrid) fell on November 4 and on November 8 the Nationalists started their frontal assault on

. Nevertheless, Mola decided to retire a part of their troops from the assault on Madrid, in order to reinforce the flanks, because the fear of another tank attack.Jackson, Gabriel. (1967). ''The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939.'' Princeton University Press. Princeton. p.320

Notes

Bibliography

*Beevor, Antony. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war, 1936–1939.'' Penguin Books. London. . *Jackson, Gabriel. (1967). ''The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931–1939.'' Princeton University Press. Princeton. *Preston, Paul. (2006). ''The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, revolution & revenge.'' Harper Perennial. London. *Thomas, Hugh. (2001) ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London.

External links