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Invasion of Val d'Aran

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Military operation
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Invasion of Val d'Aran
Part of Aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and Spain during World War II

Grave of the soldiers of the Francoist army killed during the invasion, cemetery of Vielha.
Date19–24 October 1944
LocationVal d'Aran, Catalonia, Spain
Result Francoist victory
Belligerents
Francoist Spain Spanish State

Second Spanish Republic Unión Nacional Española (sp)

Commanders and leaders
José Moscardó
Rafael García Valiño
Juan Yagüe		 Vicente López Tovar
Strength
50,000 men 4,000 to 7,000 men
Casualties and losses
248 dead 588 dead
800 captured

The Invasion of Val d'Aran, known under the code name Operación Reconquista de España ("Operation Reconquest of Spain"), was a military operation launched in October 1944 by the Unión Nacional Española (antifrancoist) [es] (UNE). In October 1944, with the Spanish Civil War over and the Axis powers in World War II in retreat, guerrilla fighters loyal to the Republic tried to conquer Val d'Aran in Catalonia and establish a provisional Republican government presided over by Juan Negrín in order to later overthrow the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The invasion, led by communist militant and French resistance member Vicente López Tovar, managed to overrun a number of Civil Guard outposts and take over several hamlets in the high areas of Arán, but was eventually repelled by the Francoist army, led by General José Moscardó, the defender of the Alcázar during the civil war.

Moscardó established his headquarters at Vielha, the main administrative center of the valley, and, supported by heavy artillery, made it impossible for the insurgents to advance through the Port de la Bonaigua pass and onto the lowlands beyond. The guerrillas were also beaten off at Salardú, where they suffered a number of casualties.

According to historian Geneviève Dreyfus-Armand, the UNE was a "structure of a large alliance, (which) united not only Communists, but also Spaniards of different political alignments – Socialists, Republicans or Anarchists – who the dispersion of their organizations and the silence of their leaders pushed into joining the only fighting structure organised against Nazism".

Popular culture

  • "The Silent War" (2019, original title: Sordo), Spanish movie by Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas.

See also

References

  1. ^ (Juliá 2005: 373)
  2. Heine, Hartmut (1983). La oposición política al franquismo : de 1939 a 1952 (in Spanish). Barcelona: Editorial Crítica. pp. 213–14. ISBN 84-7423-198-1. OCLC 11846069.
  3. Dreyfus-Armand, Geneviève (1999). L'exil des Républicains espagnols en France (in French). Albin-Michel.

Bibliography

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