Harriers Column

The Harriers column was another militia column organized by the Barcelona Libertarian Movement; the National Confederation of Labor (CNT), the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI) and Libertarian Youth (JL). It took shape in August 1936, one month after the military uprising in Barcelona. Other militia columns had already left, such as one of the PSUC, the Karl Marx column; another from POUM, the Lenin column; and three anarchist columns, the Durruti, the South Ebro and the Ascaso columns. But these columns stagnated throughout the month of August. This made it clear that they needed reinforcements, both in arms and in new militiamen. For this reason the Central Committee of Antifascist Militias, which was the body that was in charge of the war in Catalonia at that time, began to organize a new column.

In the first weeks of August the republican government of José Giral approved the military mobilization of the reservists. However, they could not enforce this measure because the republican state was totally disarticulated at the time. The republican state did not have the means to enforce its own laws, since the army had revolted and the forces of order that remained under its command were suspicious in the eyes of the people. The republican mobilization was instead channeled by the trade union organizations and the parties of the Popular Front.

Miguel García Vivancos was an anarchist militant who belonged to the Nosotros group, of the FAI. He had been involved in the fighting on 19 July and also took part in the plans for the Aragon Offensive during the 20th and 21st, when members of the CNT and the FAI elaborated a strategy to liberate Aragon through the action of militia columns. Later, once the Central Committee of Antifascist Militias had been created, it was under the influence of another member of the Nosotros group, Juan García Oliver.

Meanwhile columns were leaving for Zaragoza and Huesca, led by other members of the Nosotros group, García Vivancos was sent to Valencia at the head of a group of 60 CNT militants carrying a shipment of weapons for their Valencian comrades. At that time in Valencia, the military garrison had not opted to revolt or adhere to the Republic. The workers were unarmed. When arms arrived from Barcelona, the situation began to become clear as soon as the workers demonstrated that they were ready to fight a possible army uprising.

In mid-August, García Oliver, Gregorio Jover and himself began making plans to create a force of between 10,000 and 15,000 anarchists to launch an offensive against the nationalist line on the Aragon front.[2][3] García Oliver wanted to take advantage of the call to arms made by the Government, to organize an anarchist army.[4] However, the CNT unions did not agree to a massive mobilization for the front. García Vivancos and García Oliver were frustrated by the refusal of the unions. But they decided to go ahead with the column, thinking of creating a reinforcement to some column already present in the front. They believed that with the departure of so many troops to the front, the war industry and the then recent collectivizations of companies would be in danger. The CNT's own structure would also be in danger. Thus, they organized the new column outside the Committee of Antifascist Militias.[5]

On 19 August the CNT newspaper in Catalonia, "Solidaridad Obrera", called for volunteers to start joining a new anarchist column that was being organized at the Bakunin barracks. This column would be called the FAI Harriers. "Harriers" in the anarchist terminology of the time symbolized young anarchists like the Libertarian Youth. Only young men between the ages of 16 and 18 were recruited to join this column. On 28 August the formation of the column was completed, it left the Bakunin barracks and went to parade to Via Laietana, where the CNT-FAI headquarters was located.[6] The column started with about 1,500 militiamen, including more than 200 women.[7] These were young women, predominantly between the ages of 16 and 20. Later the column would receive some reinforcements until reaching 2,000 troops.[4] The column was armed with rifles and a few machine guns. Their armored vehicles were made at the Hispano-Suiza factory.

The column went by train to Grañén and then by cars and trucks to Vicién, closer to the front. The column was received by Domingo Ascaso and Cristobal Albadaltrecu, from the Ascaso Column and they coordinated to divide the front. They Harriers settled in the castle of Vicién, which served as their base.

The lack of progress, the nationalist bombardments and the lack of coordination between the columns caused republican morale to be low as of September. Juan García Oliver left the front in the command of Vivancos and Gregorio Jover.

In September, García Vivancos started to ask for militarization, having some problems of indiscipline and confrontations with those opposed to it. Starting in December, the libertarian columns of Aragon were militarized, joining the People's Army of Catalonia, promoted by the Generalitat. Divisions began to form from the various columns at the front, among them was the Ascaso Division. The divisions of that brief Catalan-Aragonese army were subdivided into regiments. The Harriers Column was the base for the first regiment of the new division and it was called the Durruti Regiment, with García Vivancos in command and Juan Tenaguillos Cano as commissar.

After the May Days of 1937, the Government of the Republic dissolved the Catalan-Aragonese army and integrated it into the People's Army of the Republic. The Ascaso Division was then renamed the 28th Division, and the Durruti Regiment was thereafter known as the 125th Mixed Brigade. Throughout 1937, the Brigade contributed to the Huesca Offensive, including an attempt to recover the Alerce station between 12 and 16 June, an important battle that the Republicans lost. They also participated in the Battle of Belchite and the Battle of the Ebro.

From that summer on, García Vivancos replaced Antonio Ortiz in command of the 25th Division. In turn, his post was occupied by Antonio Aguilá Collantes, followed by Juan Mayordomo Moreno.[8]

The famous anarchist maquis Quico Sabaté took part in the Harriers Column, and joined the column with his brother José. They participated in the column and later in the 126th Mixed Brigade of the 28th Division.[9]

• Juan García Oliver. The echo of the steps. FELLA, La Rosa de Foc, CNT-Cataluña, Barcelona 2008. ISBN 978-84-612-5003-5
• Francisco Javier Navarro Navarro. To the revolution for culture: cultural practices and sociability. University of Valencia, 2004.
• Vicente Guarner. Catalonia in the Spanish War (Ed. G. del Toro)
• Martínez de Sas, María Teresa et al .: Biographical Dictionary of the Movement to Work in Catalan Countries , Ed. Publicacions de L'Abadia de Montserrat. ISBN 9788484152439
• Julián Casanova, "Anarchism and revolution in rural Aragonese society, 1936-1938". 2006, Review. 978-84-8432-842-1

• Libertarias , 2004, Spain. Feature film by Vicente Aranda
• Harriers of the FAI for the lands of Aragon (Report No. 3). Another original title: La Toma de Siétamo . 1936, Spain

• Spanish Civil War
• Spanish Revolution of 1936
• Battle of Teruel