The International Brigades – Meet the Anti-Fascist Foreign Volunteers of the Spanish Civil War

An American machine gun crew from the Lincoln Battalion, Jamara, Spain, 1937. Volunteers from at least 40 different countries fought for the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

“The popular image of the International Brigades being full of writers, poets and intellectuals – such as George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway – is in fact a misconception.”

By Alexander Clifford

THE SPANISH CIVIL War is best remembered in the English-speaking world for the international intervention that decisively shaped the conflict.

Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy supplied the Rebel forces of General Francisco Franco with military equipment and fighting men, while Stalin dispatched large stockpiles of arms to support the Republican government of Spain. The Soviet Union did not however send ground troops, unlike their fascist opponents. Instead, the Comintern (Communist International) opted in September 1936 to found an International Brigade of 5,000 volunteers that would symbolize class solidarity.

In all likelihood, this token force amounted to a propaganda stunt by the Comintern, which was well aware of grassroots support for the Republican cause among the global left, and of the efforts of hundreds, possibly thousands, of volunteers who had already made their way to Spain of their own accord and joined one of the myriad militias.

The concept of an International Brigade would soon capture the imagination of communists, socialists and other leftists in countless nations and inspire over 32,000 men and women from at least 52 countries to travel to Spain and serve in a foreign civil war. This figure is startling when one considers the fact that recent studies have revealed only 120,000 Spaniards volunteered to fight for the Republicans, and 100,000 for Franco.

Who answered the Comintern’s call to fight for Spain? The popular image of the International Brigades being full of writers, poets and intellectuals – such as George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway – is in fact a misconception. Neither men actually fought in the IBs. Orwell served briefly in an independent militia on a quiet front; Hemingway merely covered the war as a journalist. In fact, 80 per cent of International Brigaders were working class, with the most common occupations being manufacturers, miners, shippers and the tradesmen. Although it varied by nationality, as many as 75 per cent of volunteers were Communist party members in their respective nations, with most of the remainder belonging to other left-wing parties or trade unions. Around 2,500 came from Britain and Ireland, and 3,000 from North America. Additionally, up to a fifth of volunteers were Jewish, for whom the anti-fascist cause had special significance.

The picture of the average International Brigader was therefore not a writer but a working-class activist in a communist or socialist movement – a dedicated anti-fascist prepared to leave home and employment for what they believed was a just cause. Most Brigaders, both at the time and later, said they volunteered primarily to fight the rise of fascism, which appeared to be engulfing Europe unchecked. Many also expressed the hope that defeat in Spain would thwart the expansionist ambitions of Hitler and Mussolini. The governments of Western democracies, following the policy of appeasement at that time, did not share this sentiment and took up a policy of non-intervention in the conflict.

Polish volunteers. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

Recruitment was carried out by the Communist party of each respective nation. British volunteers for instance had to go to the CPGB offices on King Street, London to be interviewed. They were informed of the dangers involved and those without previous military service were at first turned away (contemporary ‘scare stories’ about volunteers being tricked with the promise of well-paid jobs were exactly that). If accepted, a group of volunteers were given tickets for a weekend trip to Paris, which did not require a passport at that time. Once there, and if they evaded the British authorities who had declared fighting in Spain illegal, large groups of volunteers were put up by the French Communist Party before being taken by train to the Pyrenees and then snuck across the border at night.

The Comintern and national Communist parties were therefore vital in the recruitment and transport of volunteers, although to label the International Brigades a Comintern legion ignores the fact that a significant portion of the men were not communists. For volunteers from Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, Yugoslavia and many other nations living under right-wing authoritarian regimes, the journey to Spain was a one-way trip. For political dissidents and exiles, the Republican cause offered an opportunity to take up arms against fascism in a way that was impossible in their home countries; the senior German volunteer Gustav Regler wrote of his countrymen in the IBs:

“My volunteers displayed an indifference to danger which I find it hard to explain. Most of them were emigres who for three years had suffered humiliation at the hands of the Paris, Prague and Swiss police. Some had been obliged to report daily. . . and apply for another day’s asylum. Now they had arms in their hands and a city to defend. The constant threat of death had restored their dignity. Many were Jews, and their bullets in the darkness were aimed at Hitler.”

There is a perception, perhaps brought about by the writings of Orwell, Hemingway and even the Oscar-winning film Pan’s Labyrinth that the Spanish Civil War was one of guerrilla forces and militia bands. This was simply not the case, especially after the first six months of the war. In fact, the conflict was fought on remarkably conventional lines with both sides building regular armies and fighting in a style that bore considerable resemblance to World War One.

Soldiers of the Spanish Republican People’s Army. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

In the autumn of 1936, the Republican government established the People’s Army, a centralized fighting force that was to replace the disorganized militias. The International Brigades followed closely the structure and organization of the People’s Army, being made up of semi-independent mixed brigades. Their strength stood at between 2,000 and 3,000 men each. A total of seven brigades were founded during the war. Each battalion was organized along national or linguistic lines and battalions were then grouped into vaguely homogenous brigades, for example the German and Austrian battalions served in the 11th International Brigade, while the British, Canadian and American battalions were in the 15th International Brigade.

The training and equipment the International Brigades were generally very poor, although historians often miss the fact that this was the case in the entire People’s Army, and in fact the Internationals often had more training, better equipment and more experienced leaders than most Spanish Republican units. As the war went on, the situation generally improved, although throughout the winter of 1936-37, with the Republicans in a tenuous military position, any and all manpower was rushed to the front with little meaningful instruction. The American Abraham Lincoln battalion for instance only fired live ammunition for the first time on the day they moved up to the front. However, by mid-1937 a Brigade volunteer could expect up to 12 weeks training and equipment was more standardized, with Soviet weapons such as the Mosin Nagant rifle and Maxim M1910 heavy and Tokarev light machine guns predominating. However, the IBs were never supplied with sufficient heavy weaponry, and International units were almost entirely lacking in artillery, making offensive actions murderously difficult. Uniforms were never consistent and steel helmets were far from ubiquitous, although the French Adrian and Spanish M1926 models were seen.

A Soviet-made Mosin Nagant rifle.  (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

In combat, the International Brigades were deployed by Republican commanders as shock troops, often given the toughest assignments in both defence and attack. They played an important role in the defence of Madrid in late 1936, holding the University campus against elite Francoist forces, albeit suffering huge casualties. This initial triumph was a huge propaganda coup and possibly the IBs’ finest hour. The Brigades also helped halt Rebel offensives at the Jarama and Guadalajara in February and March 1937.

In the summer of 1937, the People’s Army switched to the offensive and the Internationals were deployed at the tip of the spear. At the Battle of Brunete in July, something of a Somme experience for the Republicans, the People’s Army tried and failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough near Madrid. The Internationals were thrown time and again at strong Rebel positions and, lacking artillery or air support, suffered massive losses. In the aftermath of the battle, demoralization and desertion became serious issues, although according to confidential Comintern reports, the Internationals still represented 25 per cent of the People’s Army’s shock troops, forces the Republicans simply could not do without.

The role of the British battalion at the Battle of Belchite is instructive of the wider International Brigade experience. The battalion was tasked with assaulting Purburrel Hill, a formidable position held by up to 500 Francoists, well dug-in with bunkers and trenches. They were incorrectly informed the height was lightly held. Charging straight up the steep sides of Purburrel, the British soon ran in to difficulties:

“The Fascist trenches near the summit became one line of continuous crackling machine-gun fire,” recalled one eyewitness. “Not an inch could we advance in face of such a rain of steel. It was evident that our scouts had been misled. Purburrel Hill was strongly held. Peter Daly, the gallant Irish soldier who had just been appointed to lead the battalion, was almost the first casualty.”

Paddy O’Daire, a former IRA fighter, took over and was ordered by his Brigade commander Vladimir Ćopić to continue the assault. O’Daire refused, ordering the men to stay flat in the hot summer sun until nightfall when they could withdraw safely.

Troops from the International Brigade drive into battle aboard a T-26 tank, Belchite, Spain, 1937. (Image source: WikiMedia Commons)

The following day they had to attack again, despite the discovery that the garrison had no water supply and thus would soon be compelled to surrender. This time, they received fire support from the Brigade anti-tank battery, whose guns “gave them hell,” suppressing MG nests and allowing the British to storm the hill. Had the Republican forces possessed a battery of good howitzers, such a formidable obstacle as Purburrel could have been neutralized with ease.

The paucity of People’s Army meant that time and again Internationals found themselves charging enemy positions without proper support. Even basic tactics such as the creeping barrage appear to have been beyond the Republican military, with the IBs suffering murderous casualties as a result. The volunteers would go on fighting in this manner right up to their withdrawal in September 1938.

The fighting experience of the Brigades was thus one marked by both idealism and incompetence. The volunteers were ideologically committed to the Republican cause, far more so than most of the People’s Army, which was predominantly a conscript force. This meant they fought tooth-and-nail in both offensive and defensive actions. But given their paucity of both training and heavy equipment, their determination cost them unsustainable losses.

By 1938, the Brigades were a shadow of their former selves; heavy losses had necessitated the integration of significant numbers of Spanish conscripts into the ranks and they became more foreign-led than a foreign legion. The poor combat performance of the International Brigades must be seen in the context of the People’s Army, an army that was desperately short of equipment, training and experience. The fact that such a large proportion of the volunteers were “commissar material,” left-wing activists and organizers, meant that they represented a dedicated elite in an otherwise lacklustre military, even if they lacked the tactical expertise or military hardware to change the course of the civil war.

Alexander Clifford is the author of Fighting for Spain, a new, comprehensive and highly-illustrated guide to the International Brigades and their military history. 

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