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

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...

 in 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....

. The brigade was dissolved and then reformed on four occasions.

1st Formation

The brigade was first mustered at the International Brigade headquarters 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....

 in December 1936. The custom was to name Brigades on formation after inspirational "heroes of the Left".
The 13th Brigade was named after Jarosław Dąbrowski, a Polish general who - famously - died on foreign soil, fighting in the defence of the Paris Commune

Paris Commune

The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...

 in 1871. It consisted of three battalions, and three artillery batteries.

• Louise Michel (1) Battalion
  Louise Michel Battalions
  Two battalions of French-speaking volunteers in the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War were named after Louise Michel, a heroine of the 1871 Paris Commune. They mustered in November/December 1936....
  
  
• Chapaiev Battalion / Czapajew Battalion
• Vuillemin Battalion
• 1st Battery "Ernst Thaelmann"
• 2nd Battery "Karl Liebknecht
  Karl Liebknecht
  was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
  
  "
• 3rd Battery "Antoni Gramsci"

This brigade mutinied after receiving heavy casualties the Battle of Brunete

Battle of Brunete

The Battle of Brunete , fought 15 miles west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War...

 in July 1937 . Its battalions were dissolved, the men were sent to other units, and its equipment was re-distributed.

2nd Formation

The brigade was reformed on 4 August 1937, from Central European battalions. It again used Jarosław Dąbrowski as its exemplar.

• Dabrowski Battalion
  Dabrowski Battalion
  The Dabrowski Battalion, also known as Dąbrowszczacy was a battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. 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...
  
   - Polish and Spanish
• Palafox Battalion
  Palafox Battalion
  The Palafox Battalion was a volunteer unit of largely Polish and Spanish composition in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. It was named after José de Palafox, a Spanish general who successfully fought French Napoleonic forces during the Peninsular War.The Palafox Battalion was...
  
   - Polish, Spanish, Balkan.
• Rakosi Battalion
  Rakosi Battalion
  The Rakosi Battalion was a volunteer unit, formed predominantly of Hungarians, who fought in the XIII International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War .-Prominent veterans:...
  
   - Hungarian, Spanish.

It was dissolved on 23 September 1938, along with the other International Brigades, when the Negrin Government took the decision to send foreign volunteers home. This decision was taken after pressure from the Non-Intervention Committee

Non-Intervention Committee

During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention, which would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936 and the setting up of the Non-Intervention Committee, which first met in September...

 to remove all foreign volunteers from both sides of the conflict in an endeavour to de-internationalise it. Negrin acquiesced because he believed the Nationalists would send their foreigners home too.

3rd formation

The brigade was again reformed (in Monredón) on 1 October 1938 from exclusively Spanish conscript battalions.

4th formation

In mid-January 1939, in Palafrugell

Palafrugell

Palafrugell is a municipality in the Mediterranean Costa Brava, located near Palamós in the comarca of Baix Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. With 22,365 inhabitants it is the largest city of its comarca...

, Cataluña, a group of Polish and Balkan volunteers requested permission of André Marty

André Marty

André Marty was a leading figure in the French Communist Party, the PCF, for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern from 1935 to 1944; and Political Commissar of the International Brigades during the...

 to return to fight the Nationalists' Catalonia Offensive

Catalonia Offensive

The Catalonia Offensive was part of the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist Army started the offensive on December 23, 1938, and rapidly conquered Republican-held Catalonia with its capital city from October 1937, Barcelona. Barcelona was captured on January 26, 1939. The Republican government...

. On 23 January, they were formed into the XIII International Brigade. It was placed in charge of a young second lieutenant. The unit soon fell apart.

Brigade Staff

Brigade Commanders: Gen Wilhelm Zaisser Wilhelm Zaisser Wilhelm Zaisser was a German communist politician and the first Minister for State Security of the German Democratic Republic .- Life :...  "Gomez" (German) Chiefs of Staff: Albert Schreiner "Schindler" (German)

Brigade Commissars: Ferry (Italian)

Sources and references

• http://www.ogqn.com/odb_gce/epr/brigadas/xiii_bi.htm
• Hugh Thomas
  Hugh Thomas
  Hugh Thomas , is a British historian and life peer.Hugh Thomas may also refer to:* Hugh Thomas , American choral conductor, pianist and educator* Hugh Thomas , Australian rules football coach...
  
  , The Spanish Civil War
• Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 2006.