Guardia de Asalto
Encyclopedia
The Guardia de Asalto usually shortened to Los Asaltos or just Asaltos, were the blue-uniformed urban police
force of Spain
during the Spanish Second Republic. It was the urban analogue to the green-uniformed Guardia Civil which patrolled the countryside. The Assault Guards were special police units created by the Spanish Republic in 1931 to deal with urban violence. At the start of the Spanish Civil War
there were 18,000 Assault Guards. About 12,000 stayed loyal to the Popular Front government, while another 5,000 joined the Nationalists.
reorganized the former police force as peace force in the cities, leaving the countryside to the Guardia Civil. Due to the reorganization were created the Compañías de Vanguardia or Vanguard Squads (later called Sección de guardias de Asalto). As a part of the reformed Cuerpo de Seguridad they served as control force for masses of people, like the modern anti-riot squads. In 1932, the Cuerpo de Seguridad changed into Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto.
and through their contributions to the defense of Madrid
, where they did a disproportionate share of both the fighting and the dying. As noted by a Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
) militant who also participated in the Siege of Madrid,
Guardia de Asalto personnel were drawn from ex-Army of Africa
and Spanish Legion
personnel and were therefore considered better trained and equipped for street fighting than the army conscripts they often found themselves engaging.
Perhaps because of the prominence of Assault Guards' interventions on behalf of the left-leaning republicans in the first days and weeks of the conflict, in concert with the perception among many on the left that the Guardia Civil historically tended to support — often violently — the interests of the bourgeois state and its status quo, there seems to be a widespread, but mistaken, view that Guardia Civil units overwhelmingly supported the right-wing insurgent Nationalists, while most of the Assault Guards stayed loyal to the Second Republic. In reality, though somewhat more Civil Guards went over to the insurgents than continued serving the Republic, and although more Assault Guards remained loyal than fought for the nationalists, large numbers of personnel from both organizations could be found on either side of the conflict.
Municipal police
.Municipal police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government, including the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive pay from the city budget, and usually have fewer rights than the "state paid" police...
force of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
during the Spanish Second Republic. It was the urban analogue to the green-uniformed Guardia Civil which patrolled the countryside. The Assault Guards were special police units created by the Spanish Republic in 1931 to deal with urban violence. At the start of 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...
there were 18,000 Assault Guards. About 12,000 stayed loyal to the Popular Front government, while another 5,000 joined the Nationalists.
Origins
Unlike the Guardia Civil, which was preserved from its origin under the monarchy because of a relatively apolitical stance during the formation of the Second Republic, the Cuerpo de Seguridad wasn't well seen by the new Government. The Ministro de la Gobernación Miguel MauraMiguel Maura
Miguel Maura Gamazo was a Spanish politician of the first third of the twentieth century.He was a son of the leading Conservative politician of the Restoration monarchy, Antonio Maura...
reorganized the former police force as peace force in the cities, leaving the countryside to the Guardia Civil. Due to the reorganization were created the Compañías de Vanguardia or Vanguard Squads (later called Sección de guardias de Asalto). As a part of the reformed Cuerpo de Seguridad they served as control force for masses of people, like the modern anti-riot squads. In 1932, the Cuerpo de Seguridad changed into Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto.
The Civil War
Assault Guards played a critical role in preserving the republic during the early stages of the military insurgency that opened the Spanish Civil War, most notably by helping to crush the army uprising in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and through their contributions to the defense of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, where they did a disproportionate share of both the fighting and the dying. As noted by a Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
Poum
Poum is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The town of Poum is located in the far northwest, located on the southern part of Banare Bay, with Mouac Island just offshore....
) militant who also participated in the Siege of Madrid,
Guardia de Asalto personnel were drawn from ex-Army of Africa
Spanish Army of Africa
The Army of Africa was a Spanish field army that garrisoned Spanish Morocco from the early 20th century until Morocco's independence in 1956....
and Spanish Legion
Spanish Legion
The Spanish Legion , formerly Spanish Foreign Legion, is an elite unit of the Spanish Army and Spain's Rapid Reaction Force. Founded as the Tercio de Extranjeros , it was originally intended as a Spanish equivalent of the French Foreign Legion, but in practice it recruited almost exclusively...
personnel and were therefore considered better trained and equipped for street fighting than the army conscripts they often found themselves engaging.
Perhaps because of the prominence of Assault Guards' interventions on behalf of the left-leaning republicans in the first days and weeks of the conflict, in concert with the perception among many on the left that the Guardia Civil historically tended to support — often violently — the interests of the bourgeois state and its status quo, there seems to be a widespread, but mistaken, view that Guardia Civil units overwhelmingly supported the right-wing insurgent Nationalists, while most of the Assault Guards stayed loyal to the Second Republic. In reality, though somewhat more Civil Guards went over to the insurgents than continued serving the Republic, and although more Assault Guards remained loyal than fought for the nationalists, large numbers of personnel from both organizations could be found on either side of the conflict.
External links
- Guardia de Asalto at Spartacus Educational
- La guardia de asalto. Policía de la República, por Alejandro Vargas González, Cuadernos Republicanos, nº 53, Otoño 2003.
- Sección de historia de la página personal del Subinspector Cartujo