Central Region Army Group

Central Region Army Group
Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Central (GERC)

Military flag of the Popular Army
Active 22 April 1938 – 29 March 1939
Country Spain
Branch Spanish Republican Army
Type Army group
Role Home Defence
Engagements
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 General José Miaja Menant
Map of Spain in November 1938. In pink the two regions under Republican control.

The Central Region Army Group, Spanish: Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Central (GERC), was a military formation of the Spanish Republican Army during the last phase of the Spanish Civil War. It gathered the most powerful section of the republican military and would endure until the 1939 surrender. The GERC was under the command of general José Miaja Menant, the Defence of Madrid hero.

History

TheCentral Region Army Group was established on 16 April 1938 by means of an order of the general Staff of the Popular Republican Army. It sought to reorganize the Republican forces following the disastrous campaigns of the Aragon Offensive and the splitting of the Spanish Republican territory in two by the rebel faction. It was initially named "Group of Armies of the Central-Southern Zone" (Agrupación de Ejércitos de la Zona Centro-Sur) before being renamed as Central Region Army Group.[1] At the time of its establishment it was composed by four armies, the Andalusian Army (Ejército de Andalucía), the Extremaduran Army (Ejército de Extremadura), Central Army (Ejército del Centro) and Levantine Army (Ejército de Levante), as well as 16 Army corps, 49 divisions and 138 mixed brigades.[2] It also included a Coastal Defence brigade and the two anti-aircraft artillery brigades of the Defensa Contra Aeronaves (DCA).[3]

In June the same year, the Eastern Region Army Group Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Oriental (GERO) would be established as well. In December 1938 the GERC was scheduled to take part in General Vicente Rojo Lluch's "Plan P", an ambitious project of an offensive campaign in Extremadura that would have taken place at the same time as a disembarkment within the enemy lines in Motril, along with diversionary attacks in other places of Andalusia and the Madrid Front. However, in the face of the opposition of General Miaja and other Republican commanders to the implementation of the whole plan, it was not carried out to its full extent and the only action taken was the Battle of Valsequillo which resulted in failure shortly before having been initiated.[4]

Following the fall of Catalonia in February, on 2 March 1939 President Juan Negrín arranged for a reorganization of the Republican Armed Forces in the Central Zone, decreeing the disbandment of the GERC, as well as a reorganization of the command structure.[5] However, Segismundo Casado's coup that took place a few days later would hinder the implementation of these eleventh-hour measures.

Structure

Army Corps
Divisions[6]
Sectors
Central Army
I Army Corps 1st, 2nd & 69th Guadarrama - Somosierra
II Army Corps 4th, 7th & 65th Las Rozas - Usera - Carabanchel
III Army Corps 9th, 15th & 18th Jarama-Aranjuez
IV Army Corps 12th, 17th & 33rd Guadalajara - Montes Universales
VI Army Corps 5th, 10th & 8th Tajo - Jarama
Fourteenth Guerrilla Army Corps[7] - Rear guard
Extremaduran Army
VII Army Corps 36th & 37th Algodor - Zújar
VIII Army Corps 38th, 63rd & 51st Zújar - Guadalmellato
Andalusian Army
IX Army Corps 20th, 21st & 54th Córdoba - Jaén
XXIII Army Corps 23rd & 71st Granada - Almería
Levantine Army
XIII Army Corps 28th & 65th Montes Universales - Albarracín
XVI Army Corps 39th & 48th Levante
XVII Army Corps[8] 19th, 40th & 25th Levante
XIX Army Corps 64th & 66th Levante
XX Army Corps 49th & 53rd & C Levante
XXI Army Corps 68th, 52nd & 6th Espadán
XXII Army Corps[8] 47th, 70th & 41st Levante

See also

References

  1. ↑ Octavio Ruiz Manjón-Cabeza (1990); La Segunda República y la guerra, pág. 588
  2. ↑ Octavio Ruiz Manjón-Cabeza (1990); La Segunda República y la guerra, pág. 598
  3. ↑ J. V. de Leito Aparici (2000); Defensa antiaérea republicana, 1936-1939: artillería y refugios, pág. 89
  4. ↑ Hugh Thomas (1976); La Guerra Civil Española, pp. 932-935
  5. ↑ Angel Bahamonde Magro et al (2000); Así terminó la Guerra de España, pág. 341
  6. ↑ Carlos Engel, p.253
  7. ↑ Michael Alpert, p. 391
  8. 1 2 Antony Beevor, p.486

Bibliography

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