Ascaso Column

The Ascaso Column was the third column organized in Barcelona at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. It fought on the Aragon front, in Huesca, where it was joined by a battalion of Italian anti-fascists. During the militarisation of the confederal militias, it was reorganised into the 28th Division.

Ascaso Column
Columna Ascaso
The Ascaso Column on the day they left for the front in Aragon
Active25 July 1936 - 28 April 1937
Country Spanish Republic
Allegiance CNT
Branch Confederal militias
TypeMilitia
RoleHome defense
Size2,000
Garrison/HQHuesca
EngagementsSpanish Civil War:
Aragon front
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Cristóbal Alvaldetrecu,
Gregorio Jover,
Domingo Ascaso

History

The column was named after Francisco Ascaso, who died fighting the July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona, and was led by his surviving brother Domingo Ascaso, along with Cristóbal Alvaldetrecu. It left for the Aragon front in mid-August, with fewer than the expected number of fighters.[1] The column was stationed south of Huesca, positioned between the Lenin Column and the Harriers Column.[2] There it put out its own newspaper, Mas Alla (English: Beyond).[3]

Shortly after the outbreak of the war, on 17 August 1936, Italian anarchists (led by Camillo Berneri) and socialists (led by Carlo Rosselli) together established an Italian Column in Barcelona.[4] The Italian anti-fascists joined up with the Ascaso Column on the Aragon front, where they faced their first engagement on 28 August 1936, at the Battle of Monte Pelado.[5] By December 1936, the Italians of the Ascaso column had reorganized themselves into two battalions: the anarchists joined the International Battalion, while the socialists joined the Matteotti Battalion; both remaining affiliated with the Ascaso column.[6]

Command of the column was later taken by Gregorio Jover,[7] who also commanded its successor, the 28th Division of the Spanish Republican Army.[8] Domingo Ascaso himself abandoned the unit after its militarisation. He and fellow Ascaso column fighter Camilo Berneri were found dead following the May Days.[9]

References
  1. Casanova 2004, p. 109.
  2. Alexander 1999, p. 163.
  3. Alexander 1999, p. 178.
  4. Alexander 1999, p. 1136.
  5. Alexander 1999, p. 1135.
  6. Alexander 1999, pp. 1135–1136.
  7. Alexander 1999, p. 163; Casanova 2004, p. 110.
  8. Casanova 2004, p. 110.
  9. Casanova 2004, p. 147.

Bibliography
  • Alexander, Robert J. (1999). Anarchists in the Spanish Civil War. Janus Publishing. ISBN 1-85756-400-6.
  • Casanova, Julian (2004) [1997]. Anarchism, the Republic and Civil War in Spain: 1931–1939. Routledge. ISBN 0-203-02280-7.

Further reading
  • Giménez, Antoine Of Love (2009). Del Amor, la Guerra y la Revolucion: Recuerdos de la guerra de España del 19 de julio de 1936 al 9 de febrero de 1939 (in Spanish). Logroño: Pepitas de Calabaza. ISBN 849604453X. OCLC 493122431.
  • Guarner, Vicente (1975). Cataluña en la Guerra de España (in Spanish). Madrid: Ed. G. del Toro. ISBN 9788431201944. OCLC 801941126.
  • Martínez de Sas, María Teresa; Pagès, Pelai (eds.). Diccionari biogràfic del moviment obrer als països catalans (in Catalan). Publicacions de L'Abadia de Montserrat. ISBN 9788484152439. OCLC 48397685.
  • Minning, Albert (2005). Por el bien de la revolución: crónica de un anarquista suizo en el frente de Aragón (in Spanish). Barcelona: Alikornio. ISBN 84-933205-1-X. OCLC 433876302.
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