Durruti on Aragon's front

From: "Miguel A. Estrugo" <artieroo@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 19:26:14 PDT

Durruti on Aragon's front

Situation

In July 22, 1936, four days after the general sublevation of the military against the republic, the situation in Spain was a real war, instead of a simple rebelion and a resistence against it.

Zaragoza was one of the cities that joined the rebelion after July 18, unlike Barcelona, where the first attempts of it were smashed by the popular masses, allowing the CNT to literally take the city, in spite of the republican government, who was forced to 'negotiate' with the CNT leaders to get some credits.

The general Mola, leader of the subleved Northern Army, knowing how imporant was Zaragoza, sent 1,200 'carlists' (Basque and Navarrian monarchists) to reforce it against a possible attack from Barcelona. Its presence allowed to the nationalists to organize some punitive expeditions against nearby Aragonian towns. uriously, they never think about a general offensive against Barcelona. On the other front, there were various republican expeditions to free Zaragoza. On the early days of the war, more than 20,000 men left Barcelona to the front, most of them used the railroad to go there, because it was under the workers' control.

The first column, leaded by Durruti, was composed by 2,500 men, who was confident in the victory, because of the success of the revolution in Barcelona. This column left Barcelona in July 24, so excited they were that they didn't realized that they didn't realized they forgot the most essential equipments untill two hours after they left the city. That was how 'the Free Man engadged into a fight against the fascist hien of Zaragoza', as readed from a propaganda flyer said.

Some of the military assesors of Durruti were famous anarchists of the last twenty years: all the older components of the 'los solidarios' group were in charge of columns, or were the training of the militiamen in Barcelona.

The first days of August, the front was established: from Tardienta (PSUC) and Si;eacute;tamo (loyal army), both close from Huesca, to the Ebro river, Osera and Pina, (Durruti and the anarchists) passing by Lecireña (POUM).

The Durruti column, now composed by 6,000 men, were the most dreadful of these forces, and advanced untill a very close distance from Zaragoza. The Colonel Villalba, who had the theoretical command of all this republican front, convinced Durruti to stop his advance, because he had the risk of stay isolated, and he stay there, very close from Zaragoza, during more than 18 months, as the lights of the city were visible for the exasperated militiamen.

Probably, Villalba's asessors were wrong, because the nationalist army could have placed only 10,000 men, and the anarchist and republican doubled'em in number. ELse, the arms on the revolutionary side were superior, due the strategic importance of Catalonia for the earlier governments.

Organization

The front was established in advanced positions, partially fortified, and 300 men served as guarnition in any village behind it. These groups, usually armed with 6 pieces of light artillery, had no contact with the groups at their sides. Since they didn't know nothing about battles, discipline nor even geography, they rejected the idea of for winning battles it was necessary the organization. So there was confussion everywhere. Anyway, they helped to the revolution in every village they passed. For instance, Lerida anarchists decided to save their cathedral from the fire. Though as soon as Durruti arrived, he finished that mild behavior, and the cathedral was burnt. Durruti's violence made him unpopular among Pina's peasants, though there are monarchists who, after the war, declared about his tolerance.

Durruti showed his revolutionary expectances. He declared, "It's possible that nor even a hundred of militiamen will survive, though these militiamen will enter in Zaragoza, smashing the fascism, raising the anarch-syndicalysm flag and claiming the libertary communism (...) I'll be the first in entering in Zaragoza. I'll claim there the free commune. We won't subordinate to nobody: not Madrid, nor Barcelona, nor Azaña nor Giral, nor Companys nor Casanova. If they want, they'll live in peace with us. If they don't, we'll go to Madrid. (...) We'll show you, Russian and Spanish bolcheviks (the interview was with a Russian journalist), how the revolution shall be done".

The aviation had a very humble role in this battle: from time to time, a republican Nieuport, Fokker or Breguet engadged a similar Nationalist plane, it never affected the fight, but it was enough to alarm the militiamen.

The presence of Durruti and their anarchists in Aragon's front made possible the establishment of a purely libertary society. Durruti never lost his idealism. "I don't expect help form any government in the world", he said to the journalist Pierre Van Paasen. The Canadian replied, "If you win, you'll be sit over lots of debris". Durruti answered, "We always lived in shacks and dens. We'll know how to deal with it for some time. (...) Also, we know how to build. We build palaces and cities in Spain and America, and all around the world. We, the workers, can build cities to replace'em, and they'll be even better. No, we don't have any fear to the ruins. We'll inherit the land. The burguesy can blow and destroy their world before abandoning their age in the history. But we have a new world in our hearts."

Unfortunadely, the main purpose of Durruti wasn't accomplished. Zaragoza didn't falled to his forces. He was requested to defend Madrid in November, 1936, where a 'lost bullet' killed him. The Aragon front was static during 18 months, and it wouldn't be reactived untill the winter of 1938, when the republican forces attacked the nationalists trying to break its lines to re-join Cataloniawith south-eastern Spain (Valencia and eastern Andalusia), isolated after the Nationalist advances. Zaragoza wasn't in the plans of that offensive.