Battle of Badajoz (1936)

Battle of Badajoz
Part of Spanish Civil War
Date August 14, 1936 Location Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain Result Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Spanish Republic	Nationalist Faction
Commanders and leaders
Colonel Ildefonso Puigdendolas	Juan Yagüe Carlos Asensio Antonio Castejón
Units involved
3rd Infantry Regiment Castile	Madrid Column
Strength
6,000 4,000 2,000 militiamen, 500 soldiers up 2,000 some bombers	3,000 regulars 30 guns at least four bombers
Casualties and losses
750 dead 3,500 wounded, captured or missing	185 casualties: 44 dead, 141 wounded

The Battle of Badajoz was one of the first major Nationalist victories in the Spanish Civil War. A series of costly assaults won the Nationalists the fortified border city of Badajoz on August 14, 1936, cutting off the Spanish Republic from neighbouring Portugal and linking the northern and southern zones of Nationalist control (although actual contact with General Emilio Mola's northern troops was not established until September 8).

In the summer of 1936, German and Italian airlifts, and later the Nationalist fleet, transported almost 10,000 regular troops of the Spanish Army of Africa to southern Spain across the Straits of Gibraltar. The Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco, assembled at Seville and on August 1, General Franco ordered a sweep north to link up with General Mola's distant forces.

Led in the field by Colonel Carlos Asensio and Major Antonio Castejón, the Nationalist Army dashed north in motorized detachments, pausing to bombard and capture walled frontier towns. By August 10, when Lieutenant Colonel Juan Yagüe arrived to take command near Mérida, the Nationalists had secured 300 km of the Portuguese frontier. Mérida fell after a stiff fight on the banks of the Guadiana River, leaving the neighbouring city of Badajoz, now the last remaining Republican outpost on the Portuguese border, isolated from the Republic. Franco personally supervised the operation against Mérida and on the evening of August 10, received Yagüe in his headquarters to discuss the capture of Badajoz and the next objectives. He wanted to knock out the city to unify the two sections of the rebel zone and leave the left flank of the advancing columns covered by the Portuguese border. It was a strategic error, contributing to the delay which allowed the government to organize its defenses.

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