“Operation Horse Leg”: Nationalist air raids against republican fugitives in Sierra Morena during the Spanish Civil War

Authors

  • Miguel Ángel Collado Aguilar Universidad de Huelva

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/brhbrf11

Keywords:

Spanish Civil War, fugitives, Sierra Morena, Francoist repression, Aviation

Abstract

The fall of the province of Huelva into Nationalist hands did not mean the end of war operations, given that the concentration of refugees in the northern mountain ranges became a serious nuisance for the State of Burgos. A state of war was thus declared in the area in August 1937, followed by the deployment of a wide array of repressive measures including air force to identify fugitive gathering points.

Using the file on "Operation Horse Leg" kept in the Archivo Histórico del Ejército del Aire (Air Force Historical Archive) as a starting point, this article will analyze the significance of the Republican fugitives' presence in Sierra Morena, describing the use of aviation against people gatherings in mountainous areas of the Spanish south-west and establishing the aforementioned operation as the tipping point marking the beginning of the end of the Huelva guerrilla. To this end, the appearance of fugitive gatherings will be described in the first place; then their activities during the first year of war ― emphasizing their possible connections with guerrilla centers in Extremadura and Cordoba ― will be analyzed. The "Operation Horse Leg", as well as some of the repressive actions resulting in the end of the guerrilla phenomenon in the first months of 1938, will be equally discussed.

Furthermore, "Operation Horse Leg" will be described as a sui generis tactic employed against people gatherings in Spanish mountain ranges in parallel to the advance of nationalist troops even after the Spanish civil war was over. In other words, the possibility that air raids against the Huelva refugees served as a precedent for subsequent tactics aimed at eradicating the Maquis resistance from other Spanish mountain ranges in the following years will be explored. Finally, the importance of the "Operation Horse Leg" in relation to the phenomenon of the Huelva mountain fugitives will be evidenced.

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Published

2024-07-23

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 26 (2024): Servicio Militar: memoria, movilización y nación

Section

Estudios

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Copyright (c) 2024 Miguel Ángel Collado Aguilar

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How to Cite

“Operation Horse Leg”: Nationalist air raids against republican fugitives in Sierra Morena during the Spanish Civil War. (2024). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 13(26). https://doi.org/10.53351/brhbrf11

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