Dabrowski Battalion
Encyclopedia
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. It was initially formed entirely of volunteers, "chiefly composed of Polish miners recently living and working in France and Belgium". Because of the relatively short travelling distances, these men were amongst the first to arrive in Spain. The battalion had a strong Polish flavour and even when, towards the end of the war, Poles were heavily outnumbered by Spanish troops, the officers and non-commissioned officers were still predominantly Polish. It fought from 1936-1939.
It fought with great honour and took appalling casualties.
The battalion was raised in Albacete
Albacete
Albacete is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of c. 169,700 in 2009....
(the headquarters depot of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
) in mid-October 1937.
Formation
This battalion was originally part of XI Brigada Movil ("11th Mobile Brigade") which was formed 14–17 October 1936. The volunteers were grouped by language into four battalions to make communication easier. On 22 October 1936, the IX Brigada Movil was renamed the XI International BrigadeXI International Brigade
The XI International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War.It would become especially renowned for providing desperately needed support in the darkest hours of the Republican defense of Madrid on 8 November 1936, when, with great losses, it helped repulse a major...
(also known as the 13th Hans Beimler
Hans Beimler (Communist)
Hans Beimler was an active member of the German Communist Party and a deputy in the Reichstag.Beimler was born in Munich and served in the Kaiserliche Marine during the First World War...
Brigade), with General "Kléber" (Manfred Stern) commanding. The four component battalions were renamed as follows:
- 1st Bn Franco-Belge became Commune de Paris Battalion.
- 2nd Bn Austro-German became Edgar André Battalion
- 3rd Bn Italo-Espanol became Garibaldi BattalionGaribaldi BattalionThe Garibaldi Battalion was a group of mostly Italian volunteers that fought in the Spanish Civil War from October 1936 to 1938...
- 4th Bn Polish-Balkan became Jaroslaw Dabrowsky Battalion, commanded by Major Tadeusz Oppman.
- An entirely Spanish volunteer unit - the Asturias-Heredia Battalion - was added after the Battle of Madrid to bring the brigade up to strength.
Soldiers
About 5,000 Poles fought in that unit. The Brigade was named after the 19th century Polish general Jarosław Dąbrowski. The unit was formed as Dąbrowski's battalionBattalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
in October 1936; in June 1937 it was reorganised into the 150th Brigade, which in addition to two Polish battalions (Dąbrowski's and Palefox's) included also a Hungarian (Rakosy's) and a Belgian-French (Marty's) one. In August it was renamed again to the 13th Dąbrowski's International Brigade. The brigade was demobilized in 1938 but volunteered back to service in 1939. On 9 January it crossed the French border and was finally dissolved; most of its soldiers were interned.
Most of Dąbrowszczacy were pro-Stalinist Polish communists. For their pro-Stalinist orientation they were condemned by the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, which cancelled the citizenship of many of them (in spite of the fact, that Poland was second biggest arms supplier to the Republic, just after USSR). On the other hand, they were portrayed as heroes in the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
; many of them served in the Berling Army, Armia Ludowa
Armia Ludowa
Armia Ludowa was a communist partisan force set up by the Polish Workers' Party during World War II. Its aims were to support the military of the Soviet Union against German forces and aid the creation of a pro-Soviet communist government in Poland...
and Gwardia Ludowa
Gwardia Ludowa
Gwardia Ludowa or GL was a communist armed organisation in Poland, organised by the Soviet created Polish Workers Party. It was the largest military organization which refused to join the structures of the Polish Underground State. It was created in 1942 and in 1944 it was incorporated by the...
during the Second World War.http://www.ipn.gov.pl/portal/pl/398/4906/
Siege of Madrid
By early November, the Siege of Madrid was underway and the need for men was great. The 600-man strong Dabrowski Battalion, along with the rest of XI International BrigadeXI International Brigade
The XI International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War.It would become especially renowned for providing desperately needed support in the darkest hours of the Republican defense of Madrid on 8 November 1936, when, with great losses, it helped repulse a major...
were the first units of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
to go into action.
The Dabrowski Battalion was in the thick of the action - at University City
University City
University City is the name of the following locations in the United States:*University City, Missouri*University City, Charlotte, North Carolina*University City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*University City, San Diego, California...
and Casa de Campo
Casa de Campo
The Casa de Campo is the largest urban park situated west of central Madrid, . It was formerly a royal hunting estate. Its area is more than ....
- losing two thirds of its men. It was subsequently reinforced by new volunteers arriving from Albacete
Albacete
Albacete is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of c. 169,700 in 2009....
and by Spanish volunteers, and regorganised into three Polish/Balkan companies and one Spanish company.
Battle of Jarama
The Dabrowski Battalion, as part of the XII brigade, was sent to Jarama, a few kilometres from Madrid, to block a Nationalist attack. The Nationalist aim was to take the main Madrid to Valencia highway and thus cut Madrid off from Andalusia, where the Republican government was based. The fighting was ferocious with all five International BrigadesInternational Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
engaged along a continuous front.
At Jarama, the battalion was commanded by Jozef Strzelczyk. During the course of the battle, the Battalion lost a third of their effectives. (6–27 February 1937)
Order of battle
The Dabrowski Battalion served in several brigades. As its numbers were reduced by casualties, it absorbed various other reduced international battalions, supplemented by Spanish conscript companies, but it never again reached full strength. It was demobilised in September 1938.| Date joined | Date left | Brigade | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Oct 1936 | 28 Nov 1936 | XI International Brigade XI International Brigade The XI International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War.It would become especially renowned for providing desperately needed support in the darkest hours of the Republican defense of Madrid on 8 November 1936, when, with great losses, it helped repulse a major... |
11th Hans Beimler Hans Beimler (Communist) Hans Beimler was an active member of the German Communist Party and a deputy in the Reichstag.Beimler was born in Munich and served in the Kaiserliche Marine during the First World War... Brigade |
|
| 28 Nov 1936 | 30 Apr 1937 | XII International Brigade XII International Brigade The XII International Brigade was mustered on 7 November 1936 at Albacete, Spain. It was formally named the Garibaldi Brigade, after the most famous and inspiring leader in the Italian Independence Wars, General Giuseppe Garibaldi. Its first commanding officer was a soviet advisor of Hungarian... |
12th Garibaldi Brigade | |
| 1 May 1937 | 4 Aug 1937 | 150th International Brigade | ||
| 4 Aug 1937 | 23 Sep 1938 | XIII International Brigade XIII International Brigade This article is about the 13th International Brigade - often known as the XIII Dabrowski Brigade - which fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. The brigade was dissolved and then reformed on four occasions.-1st Formation :The brigade was first... |
13th Dabrowski Brigade | Dissolved |