Capture of Barcelona by the Nationalist faction (1939)
Spanish Civil War
Part of Catalonia Offensive
art: Nationalist troops approaching Barcelona
Date
January 26, 1939; 85 years ago (1939-01-26)
Location
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Result
Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Spanish Republic
Nationalist Spain
Commanders and leaders
Vicente Rojo Juan Hernández Saravia Juan Modesto José Riquelme Manuel Tagüeña
Francisco Franco Fidel Dávila Arrondo Luis Orgaz Yoldi Gastone Gambara José Solchaga Juan Yagüe
Strength
30,000?[1]
120,000?[2]
Casualties and losses
unclear
unclear
The fall of Barcelona was the capture of Barcelona, until then in the Republican zone, by the Nationalists; it took place on January 26, 1939, during final phases of the Spanish Civil War. The event was part of the Catalan Offensive, which wiped out the Catalan enclave of the Republic. The offensive unfolded since late December 1938; the Republicans were offering some resistance, but they were not in position to mount any larger counter-offensive and there was no major battle fought either in western Catalonia or on approaches to Barcelona.
Initially Republican leaders intended to defend Barcelona, and the ultimate line of resistance was planned along the Llobregat. However, on January 20 and as contingency option the prime minister Juan Negrín ordered preparations to would-be evacuation. On January 23, when the supreme Republican military commander general Rojo informed the government that effective defence of the Llobregat was unlikely, the evacuation began. The central and the autonomous Catalan governments left Barcelona on January 23–24 and power vacuum started to emerge. Eventually Barcelona was declared an open city and apart from isolated skirmishes, there was no combat on the streets.
The fall of Barcelona preceded the fall of entire Catalonia, which took place in early February 1939. For the Republicans it marked the loss of vital industrial production and some 200,000 of troops; also, it enhanced the spirit of defeatism, already ruling among most segments of the population. However, the fall of Barcelona and the fall of Catalonia did not mark the end of the Republic. The government moved to the central-southern zone, initially to Madrid, and the war continued until April 1, 1939.
^when the Nationalists commenced the Catalonia offensive, the overall Republican troops in the enclave were some 220,000. This force dwindled significantly. On January 22 the Nationalists claimed 39,000 POWs from the beginning of the campaign (Heraldo de Aragon 24.01.1939), apart from desertions, WIAs and KIAs. Also, only some of surviving Republican units were tasked with defending Barcelona. The French government in mid-1939 estimated the number of Spanish military internees at 200,000, see Campos de refugiados, [in:] Cultura service of the Spanish government. It is likely that 90% of these internees were soldiers who crossed from Catalonia in January–February 1939, so arithmetic leaves only few tens of thousands as possible defenders of Barcelona
^on December 23, 1938, the Nationalists commenced the Catalonia offensive with 320,000 troops. They suffered rather minor losses. One month later, around January 23, Barcelona was approached by 3 corps: Cuerpo de Ejército del CTV (originally 55,000), Cuerpo de Ejército de Navarra (39,000) and Cuerpo de Ejército Marroquí (40,000), Carles López Rovira, La conquesta de Catalunya: diari d'operacions de l'exércit del nord (desembre de 1938 – febrer 1939) [PhD thesis UAB], Barcelona 2010, p. 229. One propagandistic text claims that "el 26 de enero de 1939 unos 90.000 soldados del ejército franquista entraban en Barcelona", see Barcelona 1939. La oscura noche del franquismo, [in:] FemTurismeCat service, but it is not clear where the figure comes from
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Gastone Gambara