Originally published by the International Federation of Resistance Fighters – https://fir.at/en/
In our newsletter we mostly commemorate the successes of the international anti-fascist struggle. But we also have reason to remember heroic battles, even if they were not ultimately victorious. In most cases they helped to significantly shorten fascist rule in the respective countries or sent a signal that fascism could be defeated. However, neither of these things applies to the event whose 80th anniversary we experienced in the past few days, namely the “Operación Reconquista de España” of October 1944. Nevertheless, we remember this action because it showed the unbroken fighting spirit of the fighters of the Spanish Republic who had to leave their homeland in 1939.
The successes of the anti-Hitler coalition in the autumn of 1944 on all fronts and – supported by the national resistance movements – in the areas occupied by fascism led the Spanish Republican militiamen to believe that it was possible to not only liberate parts of Spanish territory through an armed advance across the French border, but also to trigger a popular uprising against Franco’s rule.
The operation was planned at the French headquarters of the “Group of Spanish Guerrillas” (Agrupación de Guerrilleros Españoles/AGE) supported by the PCE. Division 204 was formed for the invasion and consisted of 12 brigades. Its commander was Vicente López Tovar. There are different statements about the number of fighters who took part in the operation. Different sources speak of 4,000 to 7,000 guerrillas who crossed the border into Spain in October 1944. However, there is a unanimous statement that these were militarily experienced fighters, some of whom had heavy weapons. The integration of the Republican fighters into the structures of the French Resistance and the respective Maquis units had also created good conditions here.
After small advances had already taken place in various border areas at the beginning of October 1944 to distract the Francoist military forces, a massive attack began on the Valle de Arán, a valley in the southern Pyrenees on the Catalan side, on October 19, 1944. The aim of this offensive was to occupy a corridor between the Cinca and Segre rivers and the French border. The area was then to be declared conquered by the “Government of the Republic”, which was then in exile in Paris. This symbolic action was intended to trigger a general uprising against Franco throughout the country. It was hoped that this uprising would then lead to an intervention by the Anglo-American allies to liberate Spain, just as the rest of Europe was liberated from fascism.
The guerrilla armies did indeed succeed in conquering various villages and small towns, raising the republican flag and holding anti-Franco meetings in the village squares. Part of the border was controlled by the guerrilla forces for days. Trucks with material and reinforcements arrived. Despite initial successes, the conquest of Viella, the main target of the operation, failed. The reasons for the defeat are still being debated in Spain today.
It is undisputed that the Maquis units were outnumbered and poorly equipped compared to the Francoist forces. In fact, after the first advances by the partisans, the regime had moved strong forces to the Pyrenees border. At least as problematic was the lack of support for this military action by a popular uprising in Spain. It is clear that the five years of Francoist terror had meant that organized resistance forces in Spain could not become effective. In addition, there was a total “information blackout,” so that the attack over the Pyrenees was only known in the immediate area.
Despite heroic battles in which almost 130 fighters were killed and almost 600 injured, the anti-fascist fighters had to retreat across the French border on October 24, 1944. The retreat was completed on October 28.
As a result, the Spanish anti-fascists changed their strategy. Instead of putting the regime under military pressure from outside, they began to build up “urban guerrilla” groups in various parts of the country. Such armed resistance has been documented in Barcelona, Bilbao, Leon, Madrid, and Valencia. The best known group was the Levante Aragon Guerrilla Group (Agrupación Guerillera de Levante y Aragón – AGLA), which carried out operations between southern Teruel, the center of Castellón and the north of Cuenca.
