In 1931, Republicans won elections in a number of large cities in Spain, they got into city councils. This was the reason "to avoid a fratricidal war" to emigrate to King Alfonso XIII.
The newborn republic began its short life with the actions of the left forces and extreme left forces: there were strikes, seizures of factories, pogroms of churches, murders of the rich and clergy. In early January 1933, an uprising of anarchists and syndicalists began in Barcelona. The troops who remained loyal to the government, who supported the workers' squads, suppressed this uprising, this event was called the "Barcelona meat grinder". It killed at least 700 people, more than 8 thousand were injured. In the country, for more than three years, there was a real undeclared civil war between revolutionary radicals and the right opposition, which had grown stronger by that time. In 1933, the Spanish Phalanx was created. On April 10, 1936, the Spanish Parliament stripped President N. Alcala Zamora of the powers of head of state. A month later, he was replaced by Spanish Prime Minister Manuel Azaña, leader of the Republican Left party. Santiago Casares Quiroga, close to Azaña, became the head of the government. In fact, the left received the supreme power in the country, Asanya and Casares Quiroga legalized the seizure of landlord lands by the peasants, and reacted positively to the demands of the striking workers. The government pardoned all prisoners, and a number of right-wing leaders like General Ochoa, who led the suppression of the Asturian uprising, or the leader of the Spanish phalanx, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, were arrested. As a result, the right began to prepare for an armed insurrection.
The spark that finally blew up the situation was the murder on July 13 of the lawyer José Calvo Sotelo, the leader of the monarchists, a deputy of the Cortes, he made a denunciation in parliament directed against the republican government. He was killed by state police officers who were also members of leftist organizations. Soon General A. Balmes, deputy chief of the military commandant's office, was killed in the Canary Islands under unknown circumstances. Supporters of President Asanya were blamed for the death of both of them. This overflowed the patience of the right-wing opposition. Under these conditions, the military decides to seize power in the country in order to establish a dictatorship and rid Spain of the so-called. "Red threat". The right-wing conspiracy was officially headed by Sanjurjo, who lived in Portugal, but the main organizer was General Emilio Mola, who was exiled to the remote province of Navarre by the Popular Front for unreliability. Mole managed in a short time to coordinate the actions of a significant part of the Spanish officers, Spanish royalists (both Carlists and Alphoncists), members of the Spanish Phalanx and other opponents of the left government and left workers' organizations and movements. The rebellious generals also managed to obtain financial support from many large Spanish magnates, industrialists and farmers, such as Juan March and Luca de Tena, who suffered colossal losses after the victory of the left Popular Front, and the church also provided material and moral support to the right forces.
On the evening of July 17, 1936, garrisons rose up against the republican government in Spanish Morocco, the military quickly established control over the Canary Islands, the Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara), Spanish Guinea (now Equatorial Guinea). After a while, General Francisco Franco assumed command of the rebels. On the same day, July 17, in the suburb of Madrid, Cuatro Caminos, five volunteer battalions of the Spanish Communist Party began to form. The forces were distributed, and the country collapsed into the arms of the war, a long bloody hush began.
Russians on both sides of the front
The Spanish Civil War attracted almost the entire Western and not only the world. Everyone had a reason to intervene or to support any side with their "non-interference". "Whites" in Spain were supported by monarchists, fascists, Nazis, "red" left forces from many countries. Part of the Russian emigration also intervened, their aspirations were expressed by the war veteran General A. V. Fock, he wrote the following: "Those of us who will fight for national Spain, against the Third International, and also, in other words, against the Bolsheviks, will thus fulfill their duty to white Russia." Although, for example: the French authorities prevented the Russians from moving into the army of General Franco. And the Guards Cossack Division in Yugoslavia wanted to fight on the side of the Francoists, but the Cossacks did not receive guarantees of material support for the families of those who died or were disabled and did not take part in the war. But still, it is known about several dozen Russian volunteers who made their way to Spain at their own peril and risk and fought for Franco.
Of these, 34 people died, including Major General A. V. Fock, and many of the survivors were injured. During the battle in the Quinto de Ebro area, his detachment was surrounded and almost completely destroyed. Having spent all the opportunities for resistance, A. V. Fock shot himself so as not to fall into the hands of the "red". In the same battle, Captain Ya. T. Polukhin. He was wounded in the neck, he was taken to the local church for bandaging and where he was buried - the shelling destroyed it. They were posthumously awarded Spain's highest military award - the collective laureate. At different times in the Spanish battles were killed: Prince Laursov-Magalov, Z. Kompelsky, S. Tekhli (V. Chizh), I. Bonch-Bruevich, N. Ivanov and others. Kutsenko, who was wounded at Teruel, was captured and tortured to death. It is known that the naval pilot, senior lieutenant V. M. Marchenko. September 14, 1937 Marchenko flew to the night bombardment of the enemy airfield. Having already completed the task, the plane of the senior lieutenant was attacked by several enemy fighters. In an air battle, Marchenko's plane was shot down, and the crew of the car (pilot, machine gunner and mechanic) jumped out with parachutes. Having landed safely, Marchenko began to go out to his positions, but on the way he ran into the "Reds" and was killed in a firefight. According to the "Marine Journal" of those years, the body of Marchenko, at the request of the pilots from the USSR, who took part in this air battle, was buried in the city cemetery.
Russian detachment in the army of General Franco.
As for the air enemy V. M. Marchenko, apparently, it was a volunteer from the Soviet Union, Captain I. T. Eremenko, he commanded the I-15 squadron, which operated near Zaragoza. Eremenko fought in the skies of Spain from May 1937 to February 6, 1938 and he was twice nominated for the Order of the Red Banner and awarded the Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the Soviet pilot received his last award for the battles near Zaragoza.
On June 30, 1939 (by April 1, 1939, Franco controlled the entire country) Russian volunteers were officially dismissed from the ranks of the Spanish national army. All of them received the rank of sergeant (except for those who already had the rank of officer), the Russian volunteers received leave for two months with the preservation of pay and military awards of Spain - "Military Cross" and "Cross for Military Valor." In addition, all Russian volunteers had the opportunity to become Spanish citizens, which many of them took advantage of.
A group of Russian Kornilov officers from the Russian detachment of the army of General Franco. From left to right: V. Gurko, V. V. Boyarunas, M. A. Salnikov, A. P. Yaremchuk.
A significant number of emigrants from Russia fought on the side of the republican government - according to the emigrants themselves, about 40 officers; according to Soviet sources - from several hundred to a thousand people. Russian volunteers fought in several units: in the Canadian battalion. Mackenzie-Palino, Balkan battalion. Dimitrov, battalion them. Dombrowski, the Franco-Belgian brigade (later the 14th International Brigade) and others. Several Ukrainians fought in a battalion under the long name "Chapaev Battalion of twenty one nationalities."
In many subdivisions of the republic, due to their experience and skills, Russian emigrants occupied command positions. For example: a company commander in the battalion named after Dombrovsky was a former lieutenant I. I. Ostapchenko, former colonel of the White Army V. K. Glinoetsky (Colonel Hymens) commanded the artillery of the Aragon Front, the commandant of the headquarters of the 14th Interbrigade was a former Petliura officer, Captain Korenevsky. The captain of the republican army was the son of the famous "Russian terrorist" B. V. Savinkova - Lev Savinkov.
It is interesting to note that the transfer to the Spanish front of several hundred Russian volunteer internationalists from Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, France, together with the Spaniards, was organized by Soviet intelligence agencies, which received the personal sanction of I. V. Stalin of January 19, 1937. And the "Unions for Homecoming" were engaged in the primary selection of candidates, their verification, training and briefing. An active participant in this movement for returning home (in the USSR) was V. A. Guchkova-Trail, daughter of the famous Octobrist leader A. I. Guchkov, who was in the first military and naval composition of the Provisional Government. In 1932, Guchkova-Trail began to cooperate with the organs of the OGPU and in 1936 was a member of a special organization that recruited volunteers in Spain.
Intervention by the USSR
Although it should be noted that Moscow did not immediately get involved in the Spanish war, the USSR did not have any special interests there - political, strategic, economic. They were not going to fight on anyone's side, this could cause serious international complications, the USSR was already accused of wanting to “ignite the fire of the world revolution”. Only under the pressure of the fact that the republican government was supported by all sorts of leftist organizations, and among them the growth of the authority of Trotsky's supporters, forced the USSR to intervene, and then in an incomplete force.
Therefore, after hesitations and doubts, only on September 29 was approved the action plan for "X" (Spain), developed by the head of the foreign department of the NKVD A. Slutsky. This plan provided for the creation of special companies abroad for the purchase and delivery of weapons, equipment and other military equipment to Spain. Various Soviet people's commissariats and departments received instructions to organize military supplies directly from the Soviet Union. The issue put forward by Stalin and Voroshilov, about sending regular units of the Red Army to the Iberian Peninsula, was also discussed, but this rather adventurous proposal (which could lead to a serious conflict with Italy and Germany, and Paris and London would not have remained on the sidelines) was rejected Soviet military leadership. An alternative decision was made - to send a staff of military advisers and military experts to Spain to provide "international assistance" in creating a full-fledged regular republican army, training it, developing operational plans, etc.
The system of the military advisory apparatus of the USSR in republican Spain consisted of several stages: the Chief Military Adviser stood at the highest level - he was visited by J. K. Berzin (1936-1937), G. G. Stern (1937-1938) and K. M. Kachanov (1938-1939).; at the next level were advisers in various services of the General Staff of the Republican Army, so under General Rojo, five Soviet advisers were replaced, including K. A. Meretskov (so-called volunteer Petrovich). The General Military Commissariat of the Republicans served two advisers - divisional commissars of the Red Army. At the headquarters of the Republican Air Force, nine Soviet advisers were replaced. Four advisers each visited the artillery headquarters and the naval headquarters. Two advisers were at the headquarters of the republican air defense and at the military medical service. Another level consisted of Soviet advisers at the front commanders - 19 people passed this level.
At the same level, but only at the headquarters of various republican fronts, eight more advisers served, as well as Soviet instructor commanders, advisers to Spanish commanders of divisions, regiments and other military units. Among them was A. I. Rodimtsev was a later famous colonel-general who distinguished himself in the battle of Stalingrad. We should also recall the group of Soviet armament engineers who helped establish the Spanish military industry in large republican cities - Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Murcia, Sabadela, Sagunto, Cartagena. Soviet engineers were included in the staff of Spanish factories that produced weapons and assembled fighters under Soviet licenses.
Military adviser A. I. Rodimtsev.
The fourth, main level, consisted of volunteer military experts: pilots, tankmen, sailors, scouts, artillerymen, etc. those who were directly involved in hostilities.
Soviet pilots were the first to arrive on the Spanish front in September 1936, who soon took part in air battles in the Madrid direction as part of the 1st International Bomber Squadron. On October 27, 1936, 1st Squadron made its first sortie to the Talavera airfield, 160 km from Madrid. In October of the same year, 30 SB high-speed bombers were brought to Spain from the USSR. A bomber group consisting of 3 squadrons was formed from them. In addition, a fighter group was created (three squadrons on the I-15 and three on the I-16, 10 combat units in each squadron) and an assault group (30 vehicles). By this time, 300 Soviet falcons had already fought in this war.
Quite a lot of evidence of the heroic fulfillment of military duty by Soviet pilots in the skies of Spain has survived. S. Chernykh, a fighter pilot, was the first to shoot down the German Messerschmitt-109 in the skies of Spain. P. Putivko, flight commander, rammed in an air battle near Madrid - he became the first in the history of Soviet aviation! Having received the Order of the Red Banner. Lieutenant E. Stepanov made the first night ram in the history of Russian aviation, he sent his I-15 to the Italian plane "Savoy". On October 15, 1937, according to the recollections of the military translator of the squadron A. Gusev V. Alexandrovskaya, our pilots carried out a unique operation to destroy enemy aircraft at the Garapinillos airfield, near Zaragoza. It was attended by pilots of a fighter group under the command of E. Ptukhin (chief of staff F. Arzhanukhin) - in about half an hour, Stalin's falcons burned more than 40 Italian aircraft, warehouses, hangars with spare parts, ammunition, and fuel.
Distinguished in hostilities on the side of the Spanish Republicans and tankers from the Soviet Union. Before the start of the civil war, the Spanish armed forces had only two tank regiments, one of them (it was armed with old French Renault tanks from the end of the First World War) remained on the side of the Republicans. At the beginning, Soviet tankers served as teachers at a training center in Archena (Murcia province), but already on October 26, 1936, when a critical situation arose in Madrid, they were brought into a company of 15 tanks - Spanish cadets became loaders. The company commander was the Soviet captain P. Arman, who later became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Later in the republican army, they were able to create larger tank units. Soviet tank crews became the backbone of these. So, the Spanish Republican 1st Armored Brigade, which was actually created on the basis of the brigade (T-26 tanks) of the Belarusian Military District, consisted of two-thirds of Soviet military experts. The brigade commander was brigade commander D. G. Pavlov (future Hero of the Soviet Union), and the chief of staff - A. Shukhardin.
On October 13, 1937, the International Tank Regiment was baptized by fire (based on the BT-5 wheeled-tracked tanks). The regiment commander was Colonel S. Kondratyev (he acted under the pseudonym Antonio Llanos), the deputy regiment commander was Majors P. Fotchenkov and A. Vetrov (Valentin Rubio), the chief of staff of the regiment was Major V. Kolnov. The commanders of the three tank companies were Soviet captains P. Sirotin, N. Shatrov and I. Gubanov. All the tank drivers of the regiment were also Soviet soldiers. Soviet volunteers were assigned to fight on the most dangerous sectors of the front. Tank companies and regiment platoons often attacked the enemy without infantry, took part in street battles, fought in difficult conditions of mountains and frost, for which this fast and lightly armored BT-5 tank was not intended.
For example: on February 19, 1937, in one of the battles, three direct hits knocked out the tank of the junior commander V. Novikov. The loader was killed and the driver was mortally wounded. Novikov himself was seriously wounded, did not allow the enemy to approach for more than a day, firing back from a wrecked car, and waited for the help of his comrades. On October 29, 1936, during the battle near Sesinya, the commander of the T-26 tank S. Osadchiy and his driver-mechanic I. Yegorenko were able to carry out the first tank ram and destroyed the Italian Ansaldo tank. In March 1938, our BT-5 tank, commanded by Lieutenant A. Razgulyaev and the driver, was the first to ram the German PzKpfw I machine-gun tank.
The high fighting qualities of Soviet tankers were also noted by some foreign researchers, for example, the British scientist R. Carr noted in his book "The Spanish Tragedy" that "throughout the war, Soviet tankers had superiority over German and Italian tankers." And this, apparently, is really so. Their high fighting qualities are also confirmed by the fact that 21 Soviet tankers who fought in Spain were given the knowledge of a Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition to pilots and tankers, Soviet sailors (submariners, boatmen), artillerymen, military intelligence officers, technicians, and engineers fought in the ranks of the republicans in the war.
In total, approximately 772 Soviet pilots, 351 tankers, 100 artillerymen, 77 sailors, 166 signalmen (radio operators and cipher officers), 141 engineers and technicians, 204 translators fought in Spain. More than two hundred of them died. Many advisers and military experts who fought in the ranks of the republican army later became prominent Soviet commanders, military leaders, of whom 59 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
