43rd Mixed Brigade

The 43rd Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that took part in the Spanish Civil War. During the war it came to operate on the fronts of the center, Levante and Extremadura.

43rd Mixed Brigade
43.ª Brigada Mixta
Active	December 31, 1936–March 1939
Country	Spain
Allegiance	Republican faction
Branch	Spanish Republican Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Brigade
Engagements	Spanish Civil War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Juan Arce Mayora

History

The unit was created on November 26, 1936 from the forces commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Juan Arce Mayora on the Madrid front, in addition to troops from the Escobar Column — which was composed in turn by the old Land and Freedom Column and by civil guards from the 19th Tercio of Barcelona.[1][2] Later, militia forces were added from the Toledo sector. Initially, the unit was called mixed brigade "A".[1]

On December 31, 1936, the 43rd Mixed Brigade was added to the 6th Division of the Madrid Army Corps. For more than a year the unit remained located on the Madrid front, without taking part in relevant military operations. In mid-1938, before the nationalist offensive on the Levante front, it was sent as reinforcement to this sector. Incorporated to the 52nd Division, it operated in the Catarroja sector. In August, the brigade was sent to the Extremadura front, being placed as a reserve unit in Hinojosa del Duque.[n. 1] It remained situated on this front until the end of the war. The unit ceased to exist at the end of March 1939.

During its existence, the 43rd Mixed Brigade published a newspaper called "Frente de Extremadura".[5]

Controls

• Lieutenant Colonel Juan Arce Mayora;
• Militia major Victoriano González Marcos;
• Militia major Antolín Serrano García;[6]
• Militia major Miguel Torrús Palomo;

Commissioners

• Rafael Sobrado Cossío;
• Alberto Barral López;[7]

Chiefs of Staff

• Commander of the General Staff Federico de la Iglesia Navarro;
• Militia captain José Vallejo González;[6]

Notes

1. At the end of 1938 it was added to the «F» column commanded by the militia major Bartolomé Fernández Sánchez.[3] According to Francisco Moreno Gómez the brigade took part in the Battle of Valsequillo, in January 1939, advancing towards Monterrubio de la Serena.[4]

References

1. Aróstegui 1988, p. 318.
2. Engel 1999, p. 52.
3. Moreno Gómez 1985, p. 658.
4. Moreno Gómez 1985, p. 665.
5. Ramos-Gascón 1978, p. 43.
6. Alpert 1989, p. 354.
7. Álvarez 1989, p. 373.

Bibliography

• Alpert, Michael (1989). El Ejército republicano en la guerra civil (in Spanish). Siglo XXI Editores.
• Álvarez, Santiago (1989). Los comisarios políticos en el Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Ediciós do Castro.
• Aróstegui, Julio (1988). Historia y memoria de la Guerra Civil. Encuentro en Castilla y León: Salamanca, 24-27 de septiembre de 1986 (in Spanish). Junta de Castilla y León.
• Engel, Carlos (1999). Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Madrid: Almena. 84-922644-7-0.
• Moreno Gómez, Francisco (1985). La Guerra civil en Córdoba (1936-1939) (in Spanish). Córdoba: Alpuerto.
• Ramos-Gascón, Antonio (1978). El Romancero del Ejército Popular (in Spanish). Editorial Nuestra Cultura.