Battle of the Ebro

For the battle in the Second Punic War, see Battle of Ebro River.
Battle of the Ebro
Part of the Spanish Civil War

Republican antiaircraft artillery in the Battle of the Ebro
Date25 July – 16 November 1938
Location
Terres de l'Ebre and Lower Matarranya, Spain
41°09′50″N 0°28′30″E / 41.16389°N 0.47500°E / 41.16389; 0.47500
Result

Nationalist victory

  • Initial Republican victory, crossing of the Ebro
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
80,000[1][2]
Thomas:
70–80 field batteries[1]
27 anti-aircraft guns[1]
Beevor:
22 tanks (T-26)[3]
150 guns[2]		 90,000
July:
100 fighters
140 bombers[4]
31 August:
100 tanks[4]
300 guns[4]
500 aircraft[4]
Casualties and losses
Thomas:
10,000–15,000 killed[5]
Jackson:
10,000[6]
Preston:
7,150 killed[7]
20,000 wounded
19,563 captured
80 aircraft destroyed		 Thomas:
6,500 killed[5]
Preston:
6,100 killed[7]
Jackson:
5,000 killed[6]
30,000 wounded
5,000 captured

The Battle of the Ebro (Spanish: Batalla del Ebro, Catalan: Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between July and November 1938, with fighting mainly concentrated in two areas on the lower course of the Ebro River, the Terra Alta comarca of Catalonia, and the Auts area close to Fayón (Faió) in the lower Matarranya, Eastern Lower Aragon. These sparsely populated areas saw the largest array of armies in the war. The battle was disastrous for the Second Spanish Republic, with tens of thousands left dead or wounded and little effect on the advance of the Nationalists.

  1. ^ a b c Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.813
  2. ^ a b Beevor, Antony. The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. p.350
  3. ^ Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.816
  4. ^ a b c d Beevor, Antony. The battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939. Penguin Books. London. 2006. p.357
  5. ^ a b Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.833
  6. ^ a b Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931–1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967. p. 528
  7. ^ a b Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, Revolution & Revenge. Harper Perennial. London. 2006. p.291