Battle of Irún Part of the Spanish Civil War Date August 19 - September 5, 1936 Location Guipúzcoa, Spain Result Decisive Nationalist victory Belligerents Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Commanders Antonio Ortega, Manuel Margarida Valdes Lt. Colonel Alfonso Beorlegui Canet Strength  ?  ? Casualties and losses  ?  ? v • d • e Spanish Civil War Alcázar – Gijón – Oviedo – Guipúzcoa - Mérida – Badajoz – Mallorca – Sierra Guadalupe – Irún - Monte Pelato – Talavera – Cape Espartel – Madrid – Corunna Road – Málaga – Jarama - War in the North – Guadalajara – Guernica – Bilbao – Brunete – Santander – Belchite – El Mazuco – Cape Cherchell – Teruel – Cape Palos - Aragon Offensive - XYZ Line – Ebro - Catalonia Chronology: 1936 1937 1938-39

The Battle of Irún was the critical battle of the Campaign of Guipúzcoa prior to the War in the North, during the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist Army under Alfonso Beorlegui captured the city of Irún cutting off the northern provinces of Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya, Santander and Asturias from their source of arms and support in France.

[edit] Background

Irún is located on the northeastern coast of Spain, between the French border and the city of San Sebastian. The town was defended by 3,000 Republicans, including CNT militia, Asturians, Basque nationalists, and French communist volunteers. Major Beorlegui's force was smaller, but it included 155mm artillery, German light tanks and Ju 52 bombers, and a 700 man bandera from the Foreign Legion.

[edit] The battle

The Nationalist ships España (battleship), Almirante Cervera (cruiser), and Velasco (destroyer) bombarded the town on August 11. The main fighting took place on the Puntza ridge south of the town. The peak of the battle occurred at the convent of San Marcial, which was defended by Asturian miners and militia who threw dynamite and rocks when they ran out of ammunition.

The French had closed the border with Spain on August 8, leading to a shortage of ammunition and supplies on the Republican side. When the Republicans finally abandoned the town, they first set it on fire to destroy anything that might aid the Nationalist war effort. During the rest of the war, when the Nationalists would ruin a town with bombardment, then occupy it, they would announce that the Republicans had destroyed the town, citing the example of Irún. Major Beorlegui was wounded by a sniper when he entered the town. He refused to have the wound treated and died from gangrene.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Sources

• Beevor, Anthony, The Battle for Spain, New York : Penquin Group, 1982 , 526 p.
• Romero, Eladi, Itinerarios de la Guerra Civil española : guía del viajero curioso, Barcelona : Laertes, 2001 , 600 p.
• Barruso, Pedro, Verano y revolución. La guerra civil en Gipuzkoa' (julio-septiembre de 1936), Edita: Haramburu Editor. San Sebastián, 1996.
  • Pedro Barruso, GIPUZKOA 1936: VERANO Y REVOLUCIÓN, LA GUERRA CIVIL EN GIPUZKOA (Spanish)
• MARCELO USABIAGA: Así fue la batalla de Irun... from RODRIGUEZ, MIKEL: Marcelo Usabiaga: Así fue la Batalla de Irun Historia 16 nº362 (junio 2006), p. 72-85
• Hugh Thomas (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Modern Library. ISBN 0375755152. 
• Aznar, Manuel. Historia Militar de la Guerra de España. 3 vols. Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1969.

Coordinates: 43°20′N 1°47′W / 43.333°N 1.783°W / 43.333; -1.783

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