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| {{Short description|Part of the Spanish Civil War (1937)}} | |||
| {{Infobox |
{{Infobox military conflict | ||
| |conflict=Battle of Bilbao | | conflict = Battle of Bilbao | ||
| |image= | |||
| | partof = the ] | |||
| |caption= | |||
| | |
| image = Frente del Norte - Spanish Civil War (March-Sept 1937).svg | ||
| | image_size = 300 | |||
| |date= | |||
| | caption = The Northern Front. Bilbao is on the right of the red area. | |||
| ⚫ | |place= Northern ] | ||
| | date = 12–19 June 1937 | |||
| ⚫ | |result= |
||
| ⚫ | | place = Biscay, Northern ] | ||
| |combatant1={{flagicon|Spain|1931}} ] | |||
| | territory = Nationalists capture Biscay from Republicans | |||
| |combatant2={{flagicon|Spain|1939}} ] | |||
| ⚫ | | result = Nationalist victory | ||
| |commander1= | |||
| | combatant1 = {{flag|Spanish Republic}}<br>{{flagdeco|Basque Country}} ] | |||
| |commander2= | |||
| | combatant2 = {{flag|Nationalist Spain|1936}}<br>{{flagicon|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}} ]<br>{{flagdeco|Nazi Germany}} ] | |||
| |strength1=? | |||
| | commander1 = {{flagicon|Spanish Republic}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Spanish Republic}} ]{{Surrendered}}<br>{{flagicon|Spanish Republic}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Spanish Republic}} Joseph Putz<br>{{flagicon|Spanish Republic}} ]{{KIA}} <br> {{flagdeco|Basque Country}} ]<br> {{flagdeco|Basque Country}} ] | |||
| |strength2=? | |||
| | commander2 = {{flagicon|Nationalist Spain|1936}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Nationalist Spain|1936}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Nationalist Spain|1936}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Nationalist Spain|1936}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} ] | |||
| ⚫ | |casualties1= |
||
| | strength1 = 50,000 troops and militia | |||
| |casualties2=~? | |||
| | strength2 = 60,000 Nationalist troops<br>15,000 Italian troops | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | | casualties1 = Unknown | ||
| ⚫ | {{Campaignbox Spanish Civil War}} | ||
| | casualties2 = '''Nationalist Spain:''' Unknown<br>'''Italy:''' 105 dead<br>427 wounded<br>3 missing | |||
| ⚫ | }} | ||
| The '''Battle of Bilbao''' |
The '''Battle of Bilbao''', part of the ] in the ], saw the ] capture ] and the rest of the ] that was still being held by the ]. | ||
| ==Background== | |||
| Bilbao was the capital of the autonomous Basque area established by the Republic after the war began. This establishment was in payment for Basque Nationalist support of the Republic. Not all Basques supported the Basque Nationalists, however. | |||
| ] light tank passes several armoured vehicles.]] | |||
| Bilbao was the capital of the ], which had been established by the ] after the war began to reward ] support of the Republic. The ] in Spain generally inhabit four provinces: ], ], ] and ]. The Basque nationalists were dominant in the last two provinces. Navarre and Álava had rallied to the rising against the Republic.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Gabriel Jackson (hispanist) |first=Gabriel |last=Jackson |title=The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931–1939 |year=1965 |page=384 }}</ref> | |||
| The Spanish Nationalist troops gained ] early in the war with the fall of ] in August and ] on 13 September 1936,<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Hugh Thomas (writer) |first=Hugh |last=Thomas |title=The Spanish Civil War |year=2001 |edition=Rev. |location=New York |publisher=Modern Library |page= |isbn=0375755152 |url=https://archive.org/details/spanishcivilwar00thom_0/page/397}}</ref> isolating the Basque Country and the zone held by the Northern Republicans from the French border. On 31 March, the Nationalists, led by the General ], ] against Biscay Province. The Basque troops had to retire, and by June, the Nationalists had reached the outskirts of Bilbao. | |||
| The Basque people generally inhabit four provinces, ], ], ] and ]. The Basque Nationalists were only dominant in the latter two provinces. | |||
| ==Battle== | |||
| Navarre and Alava had rallied to the rising against the Republic.<ref>Gabriel Jackson, ''The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939 (1965), p. 384 </ref> | |||
| By 11 June 1937. the Basque forces had fallen back to the city of ], which was defended by a series of rushed fortifications called the "]". It was poorly designed for defence.<ref>Gabriel Jackson, pp. 380–384.</ref> It was quite an antiquated concept, akin to ] fortifications, and so was vulnerable to modern warfare and weapons, such as aircraft and artillery. Also, only 30,000 troops defended it although it had been conceived to be defended by 70,000. Therefore. the Iron Ring was rather easily overcome by Nationalist forces.<ref name=Chueca>{{in lang|eu}} Josu Chueca: , ''36ko Gerra orain''.</ref><ref name=ImanolVilla>{{in lang|es}} Imanol Villa: , ''El Correo'', 2007-02-11.</ref> | |||
| The ring was breached by an infantry assault supported by heavy air and artillery bombardment (150 guns and 70 bombers). On 12 June, the Spanish Republican Army launched a diversionary attack against ] to stop the Nationalist offensive, but the Nationalist troops continued their advance. On the night of 13 June, the defenders evacuated most of the civilian population from the city. On 18 June, General Ulibarri withdrew his remaining troops from Bilbao, and the Nationalists occupied the city on the following day. The city's bridges had been destroyed to hinder the attackers, but the city remained mostly intact.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beevor |first=Antony |year=2006 |title=The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |page= |isbn=014303765X |url=https://archive.org/details/battleforspainsp00anto/page/236 }}</ref> | |||
| The Nationalists gained Guipuzcoa early in the war with the fall of ], ], ].<ref>], ''The Spanish Civil War'', (2001), p. 397</ref> | |||
| == See also == | |||
| By ] The Basque forces had fallen back to the city of ], which was defended by a series of fortifications called the "Iron Ring." Unfortunately, the Iron Ring was poorly designed for defense<ref>Gabriel Jackson, pp. 380-384.</ref> and the designer of the Ring, engineer Goicoechea, defected to the Nationalists and brought them the plans of the defenses, so that they could strike at the weakest point <ref>Manuel Montero García, History of Biscay (1980).</ref>. The ring was breeched by an infantry assault supported by heavy artillery bombardment. On the night of ] the defenders evacuated most of the civilian population from the city. On ] General Ulibarri withdrew his remaining troops from Bilbao and the Nationalists occupied the city on the following day. The city's bridges had been destroyed to hinder the invaders but the city remained mostly intact. | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| {{Coord|43|15|N|2|55|W|source:euwiki_region:ES|display=title}} | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| <div class="references-small"> | |||
| <references /> | |||
| </div> | |||
| ⚫ | {{Campaignbox Spanish Civil War}} | ||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}} | |||
| {{Authority control}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Bilbao}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| {{spain-hist-stub}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 16:08, 16 October 2024
Part of the Spanish Civil War (1937)| Battle of Bilbao | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||||
.svg) The Northern Front. Bilbao is on the right of the red area. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Spanish Republic Basque Army |
 Nationalist Spain CTV Condor Legion | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Mariano Gámir Ulíbarri Juan Cueto Ibáñez  Pablo Belderráin Joseph Putz Nino Nanetti † José Antonio Aguirre Alberto Montaud |
Fidel Dávila Arrondo José Solchaga Zala Rafael García Valiño Juan Bautista Sánchez Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 50,000 troops and militia |
60,000 Nationalist troops 15,000 Italian troops | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown |
Nationalist Spain: Unknown Italy: 105 dead 427 wounded 3 missing | ||||||||
The Battle of Bilbao, part of the War in the North in the Spanish Civil War, saw the Nationalist Army capture Bilbao and the rest of the Basque Country that was still being held by the Spanish Republic.
Background
.jpg)
Bilbao was the capital of the autonomous Basque area, which had been established by the Spanish Republic after the war began to reward Basque nationalist support of the Republic. The Basque people in Spain generally inhabit four provinces: Navarre, Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay. The Basque nationalists were dominant in the last two provinces. Navarre and Álava had rallied to the rising against the Republic.
The Spanish Nationalist troops gained Gipuzkoa early in the war with the fall of Irún in August and San Sebastián on 13 September 1936, isolating the Basque Country and the zone held by the Northern Republicans from the French border. On 31 March, the Nationalists, led by the General Emilio Mola, launched an offensive against Biscay Province. The Basque troops had to retire, and by June, the Nationalists had reached the outskirts of Bilbao.
Battle
By 11 June 1937. the Basque forces had fallen back to the city of Bilbao, which was defended by a series of rushed fortifications called the "Bilbao's Iron Ring". It was poorly designed for defence. It was quite an antiquated concept, akin to First World War fortifications, and so was vulnerable to modern warfare and weapons, such as aircraft and artillery. Also, only 30,000 troops defended it although it had been conceived to be defended by 70,000. Therefore. the Iron Ring was rather easily overcome by Nationalist forces.
The ring was breached by an infantry assault supported by heavy air and artillery bombardment (150 guns and 70 bombers). On 12 June, the Spanish Republican Army launched a diversionary attack against Huesca to stop the Nationalist offensive, but the Nationalist troops continued their advance. On the night of 13 June, the defenders evacuated most of the civilian population from the city. On 18 June, General Ulibarri withdrew his remaining troops from Bilbao, and the Nationalists occupied the city on the following day. The city's bridges had been destroyed to hinder the attackers, but the city remained mostly intact.
See also
- List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
- List of weapons of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie
- List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War
References
- Jackson, Gabriel (1965). The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931–1939. p. 384.
- Thomas, Hugh (2001). The Spanish Civil War (Rev. ed.). New York: Modern Library. p. 397. ISBN 0375755152.
- Gabriel Jackson, pp. 380–384.
- (in Basque) Josu Chueca: «Burdin Gerrikoa puskatuta», 36ko Gerra orain.
- (in Spanish) Imanol Villa: «El Cinturón de Hierro», El Correo, 2007-02-11.
- Beevor, Antony (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. London: Penguin Books. p. 236. ISBN 014303765X.
43°15′N 2°55′W / 43.250°N 2.917°W / 43.250; -2.917
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