Content deleted Content added
FarSouthNavy (talk | contribs) Rm unsourced statement from infobox |
No edit summary |
||
(46 intermediate revisions by 12 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Siege during the Spanish Civil War}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Siege of Oviedo
Line 8 ⟶ 9:
| place = [[Oviedo]], [[Asturias]], Spain
| result = Nationalist victory
*Siege lifted
| combatant2 = {{flagicon|Nationalist Spain|1936}} [[
| commander1 = {{flagicon|Spain|1931}} Col. José Franco Mussió<br>{{flagicon|Spain|1931}} Lt. Col. Alfonso Ros Hernández{{exec}}<br>{{flagicon|Spain|1931}} Lt. Col. Javier Linares Aranzabe<br>{{flagicon image|Red_star.svg}} Francisco Martínez Dutor<br>{{flagicon image|Bandera CNT-FAI.svg}} [[Higinio Carrocera]]
| commander2 = Col. [[Antonio Aranda
| strength1 =
| strength2 = 3,000<br/>3 light tanks
| casualties1 = 5,000+ 1 light tank
| casualties2 = 2,500+ 1 light tank
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Spanish Civil War}}
}}
The '''
==The uprising==
Line 25 ⟶ 26:
The Nationalists did not consider [[Oviedo]], capital of the province of [[Asturias]], as a likely place for a successful revolt, and initially, it was considered a lost cause for the uprising. The town was the center of the [[Asturian miners' strike of 1934|Asturian October Revolution of 1934]], and became an ongoing hive of revolutionary activity since the election of the [[Popular Front (Spain)|Popular Front]] government earlier in the year.<ref>Hugh Thomas, ''The Spanish Civil War'' (1961), p. 148</ref>
Aranda was reputed to be a [[freemason]] and a Republican, and got along well with the local Republican officials; in addition, the [[Falangism|Falange]] distrusted him.<ref>Gabriel Jackson, ''The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939'' (1965), p. 240</ref> Aranda declared that he would be loyal to the [[the Second Spanish Republic|Republic]] when the rebellion started on 17 July, and he convinced the civil governor and the union leaders that all was calm. So satisfied were the authorities that 4,000 miners left by train for other parts of Asturias and Spain to fight in the growing conflict. Aranda secretly called in [[Guardia Civil|Civil Guard]] and [[Guardia de Asalto|Assault Guard]] personnel from all Asturias to concentrate at Oviedo. He had gained a reputation in [[Spanish Morocco|Africa]] of being a top strategist, and after the miners left, he declared for the rebellion on 19 July. The Falange, Civil Guard, and Assault Guard immediately rallied to his side.<ref name="Hugh Thomas, 1961, p. 148">Hugh Thomas, (1961), p. 148</ref> Aranda easily took over Oviedo as the republicans panicked, and the rest of Asturias became hostile toward him.<ref name="Hugh Thomas, 1961, p. 148"/> Between the two large zones, east and west of Oviedo, Aranda was landlocked and surrounded in the town.<ref>Ronald Fraser, ''Blood of Spain, An Oral History of the Spanish Civil War'' (1979) p. 238-239.</ref>
==Aranda's plan==
[[File:Oviedo.png|thumb|right|500px|The map shows the Province of Asturias. Oviedo is the dark area in the center.]]
Aranda
==The siege begins==
Line 37 ⟶ 38:
Since the siege had no regular Republican ground forces, their "army" consisted almost solely of militia from the Popular Front parties and the allied Anarchists, and they began besieging Oviedo on 20 July but at the same time had to conduct the [[Siege of Gijón]], also in Asturias. The Nationalists at Gijón's Simancas Barracks held out until 16 August. Thereafter, the Popular Front forces could start to concentrate on Oviedo.<ref>Hugh Thomas, (1961), p. 254.</ref> The final Nationalist resistance ended in Gijón on 21 August, and the Republican Gijón militia could now join the siege of Oviedo. The fact was, however, that about two hundred defenders had tied down the entire militia of that area for a month. Valuable time had been gained by the Nationalists and lost by the Republicans.<ref>Ronald Fraser, p. 241</ref>
After the end of the conflict in Gijón, the Popular Front forces were able to
==The attackers tighten the siege==
Line 53 ⟶ 54:
| language = Spanish}}</ref> After a 12-hour battle, the attackers were driven off.<ref>Ronald Fraser, p. 248</ref>
The heavy shelling had killed a large number of civilians, but more died due to the lack of water for sanitation. Many people who were sympathetic to the Popular Front joined the forces defending Oviedo because a family member was killed or injured by the attackers' explosives. There was a constant danger of in-town fighting between those loyal to the Republic and the defenders of the siege, but those fears quickly evaporated as the attackers intensified the bombardment and caused more civilian casualties. One advantage to the defenders was that a large portion of the population was politically neutral.<ref>Ronald Fraser, p. 249</ref> A bomb from a Popular Front airstrike killed at least 120 civilians, most of them children and the elderly, on 10 September.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fernández|first=Aroa|date=21 September 2010|title=Los huérfanos de la casa del Chorín|url=https://www.lne.es/oviedo/2010/09/21/huerfanos-casa-chorin-21261340.html
The attackers tightened the siege even further as September wore on. Because of the lack of water for sanitation, typhoid broke out and claimed many lives, especially the physically weak, the old, and the very young. As an aside, Oviedo was remarkable during the siege in that the defenders executed none of the political prisoners whom they held in captivity, which was unique at this time on both sides early in the war.<ref>Ronald Fraser, p. 250</ref>
Line 59 ⟶ 60:
==The final assault begins==
On 4 October, the day before the second anniversary of the beginning of the Asturias Revolution of 1934, Popular Front militias
==Aranda's last stand==
Line 67 ⟶ 68:
==Relief and end of siege==
The Nationalists won a narrow corridor into the city and held it until the end of the [[War in the North]] a year later. The Popular Front militias abandoned the town and retreated to their positions occupied at the start of the siege. Oviedo, however, was no longer in danger.<ref>Ronald Fraser, pp. 252-254, inclusive.</ref>
The final all-out offensive of the Republican army on Oviedo took place on 21 February 1937, when a mechanized force of four [[T-26]] tanks, ten Renault FTs
== See also ==
Line 92 ⟶ 93:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oviedo, Siege Of}}
[[Category:Battles of the Spanish Civil War|Oviedo]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Conflicts in 1936|Oviedo]]
[[Category:Sieges involving Spain|Oviedo]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1936|Oviedo]]
[[Category:1936 in Spain|Oviedo]]
[[Category:July 1936 events|Oviedo]]
[[Category:August 1936 events|Oviedo]]
[[Category:September 1936 events|Oviedo]]
[[Category:October 1936 events|Oviedo]]
[[Category:Tank battles involving Spain]]
|