Battle of the Ebro
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Map of Spain in November 1938, after the end of the Battle of the Ebro. Republican territory is in red, and Nationalist territory is blue. Please click on map to enlarge the image.
Date July 25 - November 16, 1938 Location Ebro, Spain Result Decisive Republican defeat
Combatants
Spanish Republic	Nationalist Spain
Commanders
Juan Modesto Enrique Lister	Queipo de Llano Francisco Franco
Strength
100,000	90,000
Casualties
30,000 dead 20,000 wounded 19,563 captured 200 aircraft	6,500 dead 30,000 wounded 5,000 captured

The Battle of the Ebro (Spanish: Batalla del Ebro, Catalan: Batalla de l'Ebre) was the last great Republican offensive in the Spanish Civil War. This article is about the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Ebro (Greek: Έβρος, Latin: Iberus, Spanish: Ebro, Catalan: Ebre) is Spains most voluminous and second longest river. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Second_Spanish_Republic. ... Anthem: El Himno de Riego The situation near the beginning of the Spanish Civil War Capital Madrid Language(s) Spanish Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic President of the Government  - April 14, 1931-October 14, 1931 Niceto Alcalá-Zamora  - May 17 1937-January 30 1939 Juan Negrín Legislature Congress of... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Spain_Under_Franco. ... The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma; Galician: Reino de España; Asturian: Reinu dEspaña) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. ... Juan Modesto Guilloto León (Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, 1906-Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1968) was a Republican army officer during the Spanish Civil War. ... Enrique Líster (1907, Ameneiro (A Coruña) - 1994, Madrid) was a Spanish communist politician and army official. ... Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra (Tordesillas, Spain, February 5, 1875 - Seville, March 9, 1951) was a Spanish Army Officer during the Spanish Civil War. ... Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892–20th (or possibly 19th) November[1] 1975), commonly abbreviated to Francisco Franco (pron. ... This article is about the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Cándido Cabello José Moscardó Ituarte Strength 8,000 militia 1,028 regulars and militia Casualties Unknown 65 dead 438 wounded 22 missing The Siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic battle in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Manuel Otero Antonio Pinilla † Strength Unknown 180 regulars and militia Casualties Unknown 180 dead or wounded The Siege of Gijón took place in the Spanish Civil War between July 19 and August 16, 1936. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Popular Front militia units CNT-FAI UGT Nationalist Spain Commanders UGT miner, Otero CNT Steelworker, Higinio Carrocera Colonel Antonio Aranda Mata Strength Unknown 3000 Casualties Over 5,000 2,500 // A memorable event in the Spanish Civil War, the siege lasted from July 19, 1936, until... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Unknown Carlos Asensio Heli Rolando de Tella Strength 2,600 militia 1,000 regulars Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Mérida was contested early in the Spanish Civil War when Republican militia twice attempted to halt the Army of Africa near the... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Alberto Bayo Manuel Uribarri García Ruiz Strength 8,000 militia 10 guns 3,500 regulars and militia Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Mallorca, known as the Mallorca Landings in Spanish (optimistically called the Reconquest of Mallorca by the Republicans) was a... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Ildefonso Puigdendolas Juan Yagüe Carlos Asensio Antonio Castejón Strength 5,000 militia 2,250 regulars 750 Moroccan regulares 30 guns Casualties 4,500 dead, wounded, or captured 2,000 dead or wounded The Battle of Badajoz was one of the first... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Manuel Riquelme André Malraux Juan Yagüe Carlos Asensio Antonio Castejón Heli Rolando de Tella Strength 9,000 regulars and militia 4,000 regulars Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe (English: Guadalupe Mountains), also the Tagus Campaign, was a... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Mario Angeloni † Unknown Strength Unknown 500 regulars Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Monte Pelato (Bald Mountain) was an engagement of the Spanish Civil War fought on 28 August 1936. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Manuel Riquelme Juan Yagüe Strength 10,000 regulars and militia 3,500 regulars Casualties 500 dead 1,000 captured 1,000 dead or wounded The Battle of Talavera de la Reina was fought on September 3, 1936 in the Spanish Civil War. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Unknown Francisco Moreno Strength 3 destroyers 2 heavy cruisers Casualties 1 ship sunk 1 ship damaged Unknown The Battle of Cape Espartel was a naval battle of the Spanish Civil War that broke the Republican blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, securing the... The Siege of Madrid was a three year siege of the Spanish capital Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. ... The Battle of the Corunna Road was a battle of the Spanish Civil War from 13 December 1936 to 15 January 1937, north west of Madrid. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders José Villalba Lacorte Queipo de Llano Mario Roatta Strength 40,000 militia 10,000 Moors 5,000 Requetés 5,000 Italians Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Málaga was the culmination of an offensive in early 1937 by the combined Nationalist... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders José Miaja Sebastián Pozas Perea Enrique Líster Valentín González Robert Merriman Enrique Varela García Escámez Carlos Asensio Strength ~30,000 infantry (June 15)[1] ~20,000 infantry ~40 guns[2] (June 6) Casualties 25,000 dead, wounded... The Guadalajara Offensive (8 March – 23 March 1937) was an engagement in the Spanish Civil War. ... Destruction in Guernica following the raid. ... Combatants Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Strength  ?  ? Casualties ~? ~? The Battle of Bilbao was part of the War in the North, in the Spanish Civil War where the Nationalist Army conquered Bilbao and the part of the Basque Country still held by the Republic. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Mariano Gamir Ulibarri Fidel Dávila Arrondo Strength 80,000 infantry 90,000 infantry 126 guns 220 aircraft Casualties 60,000 dead, wounded, or captured Unknown The Battle of Santander was fought over the summer of 1937 in the Spanish Civil War. ... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Enrique Líster Alfonso Trallero † Strength 80,000 infantry 105 tanks 90 aircraft 7,000 infantry Casualties Unknown Unknown Battle of Belchite was a group of military operations that took place in the Spanish Civil War between august 24 and september 7, 1937... Combatants Asturian popular army (Second Spanish Republic) Army of the North (Nationalist Spain) Commanders Colonel Juan Ibarrola Orueta Colonel Francisco Galán Rodríguez General José Solchaga Zala Strength under 5,000 33,000, plus elements of the Legión Cóndor and Corpo Truppe Volontarie Casualties Unknown Unknown The... Combatants Second Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Unknown Unknown Strength 2 cruisers 4 destroyers 1 heavy cruiser Casualties Unknown 1 ship damaged The Battle of Cape Cherchell was a sea battle between the Nationalist heavy cruiser Baleares and the Republican light cruisers Libertad and Méndez Núñez in the... A Republican soldier seeks cover on the Plaza de Toros in Teruel, north-east of Madrid The battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel in the Spanish Civil War in December 1937-February 1938. ... The Battle of Cape Palos, also known as the Second Battle of Cape Palos, was the biggest naval battle of the Spanish Civil War, fought on the night of March 5 - 6 1938, 70 miles east of Cape Palos near Cartagena, Spain. ... The outbreak of war can be seen to be the uprising in Morocco on July 17 triggered by events in Madrid. ... This article covers the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) during 1937. ... This article covers the Spanish Civil War in the period from the start of 1938 to the end of 1939. ... Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Land of Valencia (under the name of Valencian) and the Balearic Islands in Spain, and in the city of LAlguer in the Italian... Anthem: El Himno de Riego The situation near the beginning of the Spanish Civil War Capital Madrid Language(s) Spanish Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic President of the Government  - April 14, 1931-October 14, 1931 Niceto Alcalá-Zamora  - May 17 1937-January 30 1939 Juan Negrín Legislature Congress of... This article is about the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. ...

By 1938, the Second Spanish Republic was in dire straits. The Basque Country had fallen, the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) had been destroyed by intra-Republican fighting, and many foreign governments felt it was only a matter of time before the question of who would rule Spain would be settled in favour of the Nationalists. Anthem: El Himno de Riego The situation near the beginning of the Spanish Civil War Capital Madrid Language(s) Spanish Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic President of the Government  - April 14, 1931-October 14, 1931 Niceto Alcalá-Zamora  - May 17 1937-January 30 1939 Juan Negrín Legislature Congress of... For the traditional overall Basque domain, see Basque Country (historical territory). ... A POUM poster urges Workers: to victory! A POUM poster appeals to peasants: Peasants: the land is yours The Workers Party of Marxist Unification (POUM, Spanish: Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista; Catalan: Partit Obrer dUnificació Marxista) was a Spanish communist political party formed during the Second Republic, and...

In response to the situation, Spanish premier Juan Negrín approved a plan by Vicente Rojo Lluch to launch attacks against the main Nationalist forces advancing through Valencia. The purpose of the attacks was to relieve the pressure on Valencia and Catalonia. Another purpose of these actions was to show European governments that the Republican government was still a viable alternative. League of Nations. ... Vicente Rojo Lluch (1894, Fuente la Higuera, in Valencia–June 15, 1966 Madrid) was a prominent Republican army officer during the Spanish Civil War. ... Capital Valencia Official language(s) Valencian and Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 8th  23,255 km²  4. ... Anthem: Els Segadors Capital Barcelona Official language(s) Spanish, Catalan and Aranese Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 6th  32,114 km²  6. ...

Critics (such as Antony Beevor) have argued that Negrín's "active war policy" – attacking rather than adopting strong defences and hoping for a wider European conflict or harrying the nationalist forces – was primarily driven by the PCE's desire for propaganda victories, and, as at the Ebro, destroyed the Republican army for no great purpose. Antony Beevor (born on December 14, 1946) is a British historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. ... PCE may stand for: Parametric cost estimation Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (New Zealand) Partial chemical equilibrium Partial Compliance Evaluation (EPA) Partido Comunista de España, the Communist Party of Spain Partido Comunista del Ecuador, the Communist Party of Ecuador Patrol escort (US Navy hull classification symbol) Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene) Porsche... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One U.S. propaganda poster, which warns against civilians sharing information on troop movements (National Archives) The much-imitated 1914 Lord Kitchener Wants You! poster Swedish Anti-Euro propaganda for the referendum of 2003. ...

Battle

The Battle of the Ebro opened on July 25, 1938. Republican forces under Colonel Juan Modesto launched attacks across the Ebro river. The Republican forces were initially successful, but the Nationalist forces, who had superior air cover, eventually beat them back. The battle lasted until November 16, 1938. July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Juan Modesto Guilloto León (Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, 1906-Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1968) was a Republican army officer during the Spanish Civil War. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ...

Map of the Battle of the Ebro.

The Nationalist army had, by this point, greater numbers and near total air superiority. As the republicans were attacking over open ground the role of air support as mobile artillery was decisive. In addition the republicans had no great strategic objective and, according to Beevor, were unwilling to apply the theory of the deep operation to their attacks - meaning their forces spent a long time clearing nationalist secondary defensive positions, allowing the highly mechanised nationalist forces to quickly deploy in strong defensive positions. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The battle was fought by both sides as a World War I Western Front battle, with each side launching bloody frontal assaults on enemy positions. The attacks by both sides tended to fail, but not without inflicting severe losses on each of them. Combatants Belgium, British Empire, France, United States, other Western Allies of WWI Germany Commanders No unified command until 1918, then General Ferdinand Foch Kaiser Wilhelm II Casualties ~4,800,000 Unknown though considerably higher Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the German army opened the Western...

But nationalist superiority in numbers and armaments meant they were better able to withstand the losses. Essentially the Ebro saw the republican forces destroyed as a capable force as republican commanders were unable or unwilling to withdraw even after it was obvious that the battle was lost, so leading to massive losses.

The Battle was also the last action of the International Brigades, who were withdrawn midway through it. Blason of the International Brigades The International Brigade was the name given to the band of volunteers and mercenaries who travelled to Spain to fight against the Nationalist forces led by General Franco and helped by Nazi German and Mussolini Italian forces, and defend the legitimate Spanish Republic government in...

Aftermath

This defeat destroyed the Republican Army as a fighting force. After this battle, the Republicans would continue to lose ground until April 1, 1939 when Franco declared the war over. April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892–20th (or possibly 19th) November[1] 1975), commonly abbreviated to Francisco Franco (pron. ...

A well-known Republican song, El Paso de Ebro, commemorates the battle. Anthem: El Himno de Riego The situation near the beginning of the Spanish Civil War Capital Madrid Language(s) Spanish Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic President of the Government  - April 14, 1931-October 14, 1931 Niceto Alcalá-Zamora  - May 17 1937-January 30 1939 Juan Negrín Legislature Congress of... This song, which is also known as El Paso del Ebro, is one of two Spanish Civil War songs using the same melody, which dates back to the early 19th century. ...

Sources

Spartacus Schoolnet- Battle of the Ebro -- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SPebro.htm The Spanish Civil War by Gabriele Ranzato