XI Army Corps (Spain)

The XI Army Corps was a military formation belonging to the Spanish Republican Army that fought during the Spanish Civil War. During the war it was deployed on the fronts of Aragon, Segre and Catalonia.

XI Army Corps
XI Cuerpo de Ejército (Bando republicano)
ActiveJune 1937–February 1939
Country Spain
Allegiance Republican faction
Branch Spanish Republican Army
TypeInfantry
SizeArmy Corps
Garrison/HQSariñena
EngagementsSpanish Civil War:

History

The unit was created in June 1937, within the Eastern Army. It was made up of the divisions 26th, 27th and 32nd,[1] having its headquarters in Sariñena.[2] It covered the front line that ran from the south of Huesca —in union with the X Army Corps - to the Ebro river — where, in turn, it united with the XII Army Corps. During the following months some of its forces intervened in the Zaragoza and Belchite offensives, which, however, did not bear the desired results.

In the spring of 1938, during the Aragon campaign, the forces of the XI Army Corps were unable to cope with the pressure of the nationalist units. By early April, the remnants of the army corps had established their positions along the defensive line of the Segre river. During the following months it did not take part in relevant military operations, reorganizing its battered forces after the withdrawal in Aragon. After the beginning of the Catalonia campaign, they maintained resistance in their defensive positions, some units managing to offer strong opposition —as was the case with the 26th Division.[3] Despite this, the enemy pressure did not subside and at the beginning of 1939 the XI Army Corps was forced to withdraw towards the French border along with the rest of the Eastern Army.

Command
Commanders
  • Alfonso Reyes González-Cárdenas;[n. 1]
  • Antonio Gil Otero;[5][6]
  • Bartolomé Muntané Cirici;[7]
  • Francisco Galán Rodríguez;[8]
  • Manuel Márquez Sánchez de Movellán;
Commissars
Chiefs of Staff
  • Ricardo Clavería Iglesias;
  • Mariano Fernández Berbiela;[7]
  • Antonio Muñoz Lizcano;

Order of Battle
Date
Attached Army
Integrated divisions
Battlefront
June 1937Eastern Army26th, 27th and 32nd Aragon
October 1937Eastern Army26th, 32nd, 44th and 45thAragon
December 1937Eastern Army26th and 32ndAragon
April 19, 1938Eastern Army26th, 30th and 32nd Segre
September 3, 1938Eastern Army26th and 34thSegre
December 1938Eastern Army26th, 30th and 32ndSegre
January 2, 1939Eastern Army30th and 31stSegre

Notes
  1. Previously, Alfonso Reyes had served as chief of the Spanish Republican Air Force at the Aragon front.[4]

References
  1. Maldonado 2007, p. 171.
  2. Martínez Bande 1973, p. 87.
  3. Martínez Bande 1979, p. 62.
  4. Thomas 1976, p. 711.
  5. Engel 1999, p. 173.
  6. Maldonado 2007, p. 240.
  7. Martínez Bande 1975, p. 84.
  8. Martínez Bande 1975, p. 133.
  9. Álvarez 1989, p. 179.
  10. Álvarez 1989, p. 187.
  11. Martínez Bande 1979, p. 30.

Bibliography
  • Álvarez, Santiago (1989). Los comisarios políticos en el Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Ediciós do Castro.
  • Alpert, Michael (2013). The Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Cambridge University Press.
  • Engel, Carlos (1999). Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Madrid: Almena. ISBN 84-922644-7-0.
  • Maldonado, José María (2007). El frente de Aragón. La Guerra Civil en Aragón (1936-1938) (in Spanish). Mira Ediciones. ISBN 978-84-8465-237-3.
  • Martínez Bande, José Manuel (1973). La Gran ofensiva sobre Zaragoza (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial San Martín.
  • Martínez Bande, José Manuel (1975). La llegada al mar (in Spanish). Madrid: San Martín. ISBN 84-7140-115-0.
  • Martínez Bande, José Manuel (1979). La Campaña de Cataluña (in Spanish). Madrid: San Martín.
  • Thomas, Hugh (1976). Historia de la Guerra Civil Española (in Spanish). Barcelona: Círculo de Lectores. ISBN 84-226-0874-X.
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