29th Division (Spain)

The 29th Division was a military formation belonging to the Spanish Republican Army that fought during the Spanish Civil War. Originally created in 1937 from the militarization of the POUM militia column, it was dissolved and recreated again in early 1938, operating on the Extremadura front.

29th Division
29.ª División
ActiveApril 1937–August 1938
Country Spain
Allegiance Republican faction
Branch Spanish Republican Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsSpanish Civil War:
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Josep Rovira i Canals
Miguel García Vivancos

History

The division was created in April 1937, on the Aragon front, after the militarization of the former militia of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (Spanish: Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, POUM) - the so-called Lenin Division.[1][2] The unit, which was under the command of Josep Rovira i Canals, was composed of the 128th and 129th mixed brigades, coming from the former POUM columns.[1][3] In mid-June, in the context of government repression against the POUM, Rovira was detained by the republican authorities.[4] The command of the unit was assumed by the anarchist Miguel García Vivancos.[5][n. 1] The 29th Division participated in the Huesca Offensive,[7] although it had a mediocre performance. In August, the division ended up being dissolved and reorganized,[8] distributing its former members to other units.

In February 1938, the 29th Division was recreated, under the command of the infantry commander Antonio Rúbert de la Iglesia.[9] The division was integrated into the VII Army Corps, on the Extremadura front.[10] During the month of July, it intervened in the Battle of Merida pocket, of which it would come out bankrupt. As a consequence, it was subjected to a profound reorganization. As of August, it was incorporated into the VI Army Corps.[11]

Command
Commanders
Commissars
Chiefs of Staff

Order of battle
DateAttached Army CorpsIntegrated Mixed BrigadesBattle front
May 1937X Army Corps[16]128th and 129thAragon
February 1938VII Army Corps46th, 62nd and 109thEstremadura
March 1938VII Army Corps46th, 104th and 109thEstremadura
April 30, 1938VII Army Corps46th, 109th and 210thEstremadura
July 1938VII Army Corps25th, 46th and 109thEstremadura
July 18, 1938VII Army Corps25th and 109thEstremadura
August 1938VI Army Corps44th, 46th and 109thEstremadura
October 23, 1938VI Army Corps46th, 148th and 192ndEstremadura
November 1938VI Army Corps46th, 109th and 194thEstremadura

Notes
  1. Other sources also point to the commander Sebastián Zamora Medina as head of the unit, based in Lleida.[6]
  2. He assumed command accidentally, between March 30 and April 10, 1938.[12]

References
  1. Casanova 1985, p. 114.
  2. Thomas 1976, p. 594.
  3. Maldonado 2007, p. 170.
  4. Thomas 1976, p. 759.
  5. M. Lorenzo 1972, p. 248.
  6. Maldonado 2007, p. 240.
  7. Maldonado 2007, p. 180.
  8. Casanova 1985, p. 248.
  9. Alpert 1989, p. 385.
  10. Martínez Bande 1981, p. 167.
  11. Martínez Bande 1981, p. 249.
  12. Engel 1999.
  13. Martínez Bande 1981, p. 296.
  14. Álvarez 1989, p. 180.
  15. Álvarez 1989, p. 188.
  16. Maldonado 2007, p. 171.

Bibliography
  • Alpert, Michael (1989). El ejército republicano en la guerra civil (in Spanish). Siglo XXI Editores.
  • Álvarez, Santiago (1989). Los comisarios políticos en el Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Ediciós do Castro.
  • Casanova, Julián (1985). Anarquismo y revolución en la sociedad rural aragonesa, 1936-1938 (in Spanish). Siglo XXI Editores.
  • Engel, Carlos (1999). Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular de la República (in Spanish). Madrid: Almena. ISBN 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 (1981). La batalla de Pozoblanco y el cierre de la bolsa de Mérida (in Spanish). Madrid: San Martín.
  • M. Lorenzo, César (1972). Los Anarquistas españoles y el poder 1868-1969 (in Spanish). Ruedo Ibérico.
  • Thomas, Hugh (1976). Historia de la Guerra Civil Española (in Spanish). Barcelona: Círculo de Lectores. ISBN 9788497598323.
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