Battle of Valsequillo

Buildings of former mining operations in Peñarroya

Date	5 January-4 February 1939
Location	Extremadura, Spain
Result	Republican failure

Belligerents

Spanish Republic

Nationalist Spain

Commanders and leaders

Antonio Escobar Huertas

Juan Ibarrola

Manuel Matallana

Gonzalo Queipo de Llano

Strength

90,000 men
200 guns
40 tanks

80,000 men
100 guns

Casualties and losses

6,000

2,000

The Battle of Valsequillo, also known as Battle of Peñarroya, was a diversionary Republican offensive which took place in the Sierra Morena area in southern Extremadura and the north of Andalusia between 5 January and 4 February 1939 during the Spanish Civil War. The main goal of the offensive was to distract forces from the Nationalist offensive against Catalonia, but after having occupied 500 square kilometers the Republican advance was stopped and all the territorial gains were lost to a Nationalist counteroffensive.

After the defeat of the Battle of Ebro, the Republican Army was broken and would never recover. The Republicans had lost most of their armament and experienced units. At the beginning of December, the Nationalists concentrated an army of 300,000-340,000 men led by General Davila in order to conquer Catalonia. Then, Vicente Rojo, Commander in chief of the Republican army, decided to launch a diversionary offensive in the central zone in order to divert Nationalists forces from the Nationalist offensive against Catalonia.

In 1937 Vicente Rojo had planned an offensive through Extremadura towards the Portuguese frontier in order to cut in a half the Nationalist held zone; the plan for this offense was code named Plan P. However, the Republican government rejected the plan. In December 1938, Rojo decided to launch the offensive anyway. One Republican army would attack through Extremadura towards Cordoba while one brigade would land at Motril, advance towards Málaga and start an uprising in Andalusia against the Nationalists. The offensive was intended to start on 8 December, but the amphibious assault at Motril was called off just as the troops were ready to leave and the Generals Miaja and Matallana rejected the plan. The Republican offensive on Extremadura did not start until 5 January, after the start of the Nationalist offensive against Catalonia.

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