Battle of Teruel

Battle of Teruel
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Spain in 1937 just before the Battle of Teruel. Note the Teruel salient south of Zaragoza. Blue is Nationalist Spain and Red is Republican Spain.
Date December 15, 1937 – February 22, 1938 Location Teruel, Aragon, Spain Result Decisive Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Spanish Republic	Nationalist Spain
Commanders and leaders
Juan Hernández Saravia Enrique Fernández Heredia Juan Ibarrola Enrique Líster El Campesino Karol Świerczewski	Francisco Franco Antonio Aranda José Enrique Varela Juan Yagüe Domingo Rey d'Harcourt
Strength
40,000 100,000	Teruel garrison: 4,000-less than 10,000 reinforcements: 100,000
Casualties and losses
60,000-~85,000	~57,000

40,000

Teruel garrison: 4,000-less than 10,000

The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War. The combatants fought the battle between December 1937 and February 1938, during the worst Spanish winter in twenty years. The battle was one of the bloodier actions of the war with the city changing hands several times, first falling to the Republicans and eventually being re-taken by the Nationalists. In the course of the fighting, Teruel was subjected to heavy artillery and aerial bombardment. The two sides suffered over 140,000 casualties between them in the two-month battle. It was a decisive battle of the war, as Francisco Franco's use of his superiority in men and material in regaining Teruel made it the military turning point of the war.

The Republic's decision to move against Teruel was motivated by several strategic priorities. Republican military leaders thought that Teruel was not strongly held and sought to regain the initiative through its capture. By 1937, the Teruel salient was similar to the fingernail on a fat finger of Nationalist territory inserted into Republican Spain, and its capture would shorten the lines of communication between central Republican Spain and Valencia on the coast. Teruel was surrounded on three sides by Republican Spain. In addition, Teruel was a symbol of Nationalist power on the Aragon Front.Indalecio Prieto, Republican Minister of War, wanted a spectacular victory to reflect well on his tenure in the war department and to show how the army could function under his reorganization. A victory at Teruel would also aid the government of Prime Minister Juan Negrín in its quest to take over the industries of Catalonia from their workers. Lastly, Republican intelligence learned that Franco intended to start a major offensive against Madrid in the Guadalajara sector on 18 December, leading the Republicans to want to divert the Nationalists away from the Madrid area. The Republic therefore started the battle on 15 December.

...
Wikipedia