Battle of Brunete

Battle of Brunete
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Map of the Battle of the Brunete
Date July 6–25, 1937 Location Brunete, Spain Result Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Second Spanish Republic	Nationalist Spain
Commanders and leaders
José Miaja	José Varela
Strength
Thomas: 85,000 Beevor: 70,000 Jackson: 50,000 infantry Thomas: 300 aircraft Beevor: 50 bombers,90 fighters (only 50 serviceable) Jackson: 100 aircraft 100 tanks ~130 tanks	65,000 infantry 105 aircraft
Casualties and losses
20,000-25,000 dead or wounded 100 aircraft	17,000 dead or wounded 23 aircraft

Thomas: 85,000
Beevor: 70,000
Jackson: 50,000 infantry
Thomas: 300 aircraft
Beevor: 50 bombers,90 fighters (only 50 serviceable)
Jackson: 100 aircraft

The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the Republicans were forced to retreat from Brunete and suffered devastating casualties from the battle.

After the capture of Bilbao on June 19, the Republicans devised the attack on Brunete to divert Nationalist forces from the north and allow the fleeing Republicans time to reorganize. In addition, Brunete was also chosen because it was situated on the Extremadura road and its capture would make it harder for the Nationalists to resupply their forces besieging Madrid, perhaps even forcing them to withdraw. Once Brunete had been taken, and after some reorganization, the plan was that the offensive would then in a second phase continue in the direction of Talavera de la Reina, a move that would eventually cut off the Nationalist forces outside Madrid. At the same times as the offensive on Brunete started an enveloping attack would be launched from the Carabanchel area just south of Madrid.

From a political standpoint, the offensive was chosen for Brunete to satisfy communist demands and to prove to the Russians that the Spanish possessed military initiative. In fact, Russian advisors had been pressing for an attack on Brunete since the spring of 1937. Furthermore, assistance from the Soviet Union had decreased due to the successful blockade of Republican ports by the Nationalists. Prime Minister Juan Negrín needed to convince the French Premier Camille Chautemps that the Spanish Republic was still capable of military action after the disastrous losses of Málaga and Bilbao. It was expected by the Republicans that a show of force at Brunete would persuade France to open its border for arms shipments.

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Wikipedia