41st Division (Spain)

The 41st Division was one of the divisions of the People's Army of the Republic that were organized during the Spanish Civil War on the basis of the Mixed Brigades. It took part in the battles of Teruel, Alfambra and Levante.

41st Division
41.ª División
ActiveApril 14, 1937–March 1939
Country Spanish Republic
AllegianceSecond Spanish Republic Republican faction
Branch Spanish Civil War
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsSpanish Civil War:

History

The unit was formed in April 1937, on the Teruel front. It was made up of the 57th, 58th and 83rd mixed brigades.[1] The division was initially assigned to the "Teruel Operations Army".[n. 1] It was subsequently attached to the XIII Army Corps. The 41st Division, attached to the XIX Army Corps, was present during the Battle of Teruel.[3]

In the face of the nationalist offensive on the Levante front, the division was added to the so-called "Army Corps of the Coast", defending the coastal sector;[4][5] later, it was attached to the XXII Army Corps.[4] In June the 41st Division was located at the height of Castellón de la Plana, which was lost on June 14.[6] Later, the unit went to act as a reserve in the region of Sagunto-Almenara, undergoing a reorganization process.[7]

Some time later it was sent as reinforcement to the Extremadura front,[8] to fight in the Battle of Merida pocket. During the fighting that followed, the unit was severely broken, having to undergo a profound reorganization.[n. 2] The unit was assigned to the VII Army Corps.[10]

Command
Commanders
  • Manuel Eixea Vilar;[11]
  • Luis Menéndez Maseras;
  • Antonio Cortina Pascual;[12]
  • Damián Fernández Calderón;[13]
Commissars
  • Marcos García Callejo, of the CNT;[14]
  • Félix Navarro Serrano, of the PCE;[15]
  • Germán Clemente de la Cruz;
Chiefs of Staff
  • Agustín Fuster Picó;
  • José Rodríguez Pérez;
  • Manuel Farra Cerdán;

Organization
DateAttached Army CorpsIntegrated Mixed BrigadesBattle front
April-May 1937XIII Army Corps57th, 58th, 83rdTeruel
December 1937XIX Army Corps57th, 58th, 97thTeruel
April 30, 1938Coast Army Corps57th, 58th, 83rdLevante
August 1938VII Army Corps4th, 81st, 193rdEstremadura
December 1938VII Army Corps81st, 91st, 193rdEstremadura

Notes
  1. This unit had been created on April 14, 1937, under the command of Jesús Velasco Echave, and was made up of the 39th, 40th, 41st and 42nd divisions.[2]
  2. According to Carlos Engel the division was dissolved in July 1938, reorganized and recreated again on August 15, 1938, with the 81st, 91st and 193rd mixed brigades.[9]

References
  1. Maldonado 2007, p. 172.
  2. Zaragoza 1983, p. 58.
  3. Maldonado 2007, p. 270.
  4. Martínez Bande 1977, p. 94.
  5. VV.AA. 1990, p. 593.
  6. Martínez Bande 1977, pp. 130–132.
  7. Martínez Bande 1977, p. 153.
  8. Martínez Bande 1981, p. 248.
  9. Engel 1999, p. 217.
  10. Martínez Bande 1981, p. 249.
  11. Engel 1999, p. 218.
  12. Maldonado 2007, p. 245.
  13. Martínez Bande 1981, pp. 249, 296.
  14. Álvarez Gómez 1989, p. 180.
  15. Álvarez Gómez 1989, p. 188.

Bibliography
  • Álvarez Gómez, Santiago (1989). Los comisarios políticos en el Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Ediciós do Castro.
  • Engel, Carlos (1999). Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Madrid: Almena. 84-922644-7-0.
  • Maldonado, José M.ª (2007). El frente de Aragón. La Guerra Civil en Aragón (1936–1938) (in Spanish). Mira Editores. ISBN 978-84-8465-237-3.
  • Martínez Bande, José Manuel (1977). La ofensiva sobre Valencia (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial San Martín.
  • Martínez Bande, José Manuel (1981). La batalla de Pozoblanco y el cierre de la bolsa de Mérida (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial San Martín.
  • VV.AA. (1990). Historia general de España y América XVII. La segunda república y la guerra civil (in Spanish). Madrid: Ediciones Rialp.
  • Zaragoza, Cristóbal (1983). Ejército Popular y Militares de la República, 1936-1939 (in Spanish). Barcelona: Ed. Planeta.
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