International Brigades
Men and women from across the world travelled to fight against the Nationalist rebellion
Although it was an internal conflict, the Spanish Civil War was a cauldron for global politics. Split down highly complex ideological lines, the war was never a straightforward clash between Franco’s right-wing Nationalists and the left-wing government of the Second Spanish Republic. The tense politics of the 1930s meant that the Nationalists received substantial military support from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Official foreign support for the Republic was far more subdued but the state was bolstered by the informal assistance of often inexperienced volunteers: the International Brigades.
Ragtag battalions
From September 1936, the Soviet-controlled Communist International (Comintern) set up a system of recruiting foreign volunteers to fight for the Republic. While the Soviet Union did not fully commit to supporting the Republicans, what became known as the International Brigades took on a life of their own. Volunteers were known as ‘brigaders’ and came from dozens of countries. The largest foreign group were French but there were substantial numbers from the United States, Britain, Poland, Germany and Italy. Some of the smaller contingents came from as far afield as China and South America, and the brigaders’ political leanings were just as varied.
Approximately half were communists but they fought alongside liberal-minded democrats, socialists and anarchists. One in ten were also Jewish, with anti-fascism loosely uniting these different political groups. Formed into seven brigades under Comintern commanders, the volunteers were divided into battalions based on nationality. For example, there was the French-belgian Commune de Paris Battalion, the Lincoln Battalion for Americans, Mickiewicz Battalion for Poles and the British Battalion for volunteers from the UK, Irish Free State and Commonwealth.
Although they were frequently badly equipped and given little training, the brigaders were often able to fight effectively. Deployed as shock troops, they fought in important engagements such as the Siege of Madrid and the Battles of Jarama and Guadalajara. They were often highly regarded for their determination and courage, but brigaders were also known for desertion. Nevertheless, many fought at Guadalajara in March 1937, which was arguably the Republicans’ greatest victory.
The Republican force of 20,000 soldiers fought against 45,000 Italian and colonial Moroccan troops at Guadalajara and managed to win a strategic victory. The Italians lost thousands of men and their defeat prevented the Nationalist encirclement of Madrid. Aiding the Republicans in this success was XII International ‘Garibaldi’ Brigade, which mostly consisted of Italian volunteers. In this regard, the battle was a civil war engagement of a different kind, where Italian anti-fascists fought their own countrymen who had been deployed to Spain by Benito Mussolini.
As the war progressed, heavy casualties took a toll on the International Brigades: 7,000 were killed (including one-fifth of the British volunteers) and their ranks were slowly replaced with Spanish communists. Internal political divisions also hampered their cause. Some foreign volunteers chose not to serve with the International Brigades and instead joined other anti-fascist militia groups such as the Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista (POUM) and CNT-FAI. The POUM’S ideology was Trotskyist and had international links with the British Independent Labour Party, while the CNT-FAI were anarchists. Because the International Brigades had links to the Soviet Union through the Comintern, separate anti-fascist militias like the POUM were repressed by Stalinists.
This high level of political division greatly hindered the military struggle against the Nationalists and Franco’s forces were able to make significant gains. 1938 was a turning point, with Franco winning decisive victories at the Battles of Teruel and the Ebro. The International Brigades continued to fight despite a severe lack of resources but they were disbanded by the Republican Prime Minister Juan Negrín on 21 September 1938. Negrín believed that disbanding the brigades would compel Italian and German forces to withdraw their own troops from Spain under international pressure, but this was a false assumption.
Heroes and villains
Surviving brigaders continued to make an impact in the fight against fascism during
WWII. The British Battalion’s commander,
Tom Wintringham, was a keen exponent of the UK’S Home Guard and trained volunteers in street fighting and guerrilla warfare. Italian brigaders often led partisan forces in Italy with one of them, Aldo Lampredi, being one of the executioners of Mussolini in April 1945.
Former communist brigaders also played significant roles in the post-war Eastern Bloc. Ferenc Münnich and Mehmet Shehu became prime ministers of Hungary and Albania, while others dominated the armed ministries of East Germany. Perhaps the most notorious brigader was Erich Mielke who ran the Stasi during 1957-89. Known as the ‘master of fear’ for his state surveillance, Mielke was eventually jailed for murder in 1993.
The actions of former brigaders who served communist tyranny after fighting fascism complicated the legacy of the International Brigades. However, most regard the foreign volunteers as heroic defenders of freedom, with Spaniards being particularly grateful.
Their idealistic spirit endures with the Spanish government even toying with the idea of offering citizenship to the descendants of volunteers in September 2020. Although the idea was shelved, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias was moved to write: “It is about time we said to those heroes and heroines of democracy: thank you for coming.”