Those of you with an interest in the Spanish Civil War will no doubt be aware of the epic siege of the Alcazar, in which 1100 defenders, mostly Civil Guard along with some 100 Falangists and a handful of military cadets withdrew to the confines of a huge fortress along with their families and withstocd ten long weeks of continuous artillery and aerial bombardment, infantry and tank assaults, under the most horrific conditions, until relieved by Franco's advancing Army of Africa.

The relief of the beleaguered defenders was a huge propaganda coup for Franco, but in diverting his advance towards Toledo and Alcazar instead of driving straight for Madrid, some 40 miles north, he gave the Republicans time to prepare a defence and in doing so, undoubtedly prolonged the civil war by nearly three years.

It has long been an ambition of mine to wargame the siege, but having delved deeply into the subject, I soon realised it would be a mammoth task just to build the Alcazar itself, never mind the environs. Undeterred, I began to research smaller sieges of the period and discovered another smaller, but no less herioc, episode in the tragedy of Spain's war.

Mobilization

At the time of the Nationalist uprising, 18th July 1936, the province of Jaen had no military units to speak of. However, as with every other province of Spain, there was a large contingent of 'La Benemerita' or to give them their more usual name, the Guardia Civil. Visitors to Spains' sunspots have no doubt seen members of this para-military police force in their dark green uniforns and distinctive black patent leather tricorns.

Formed in 1844, it was the duty of the Civil Guard to police primarily rural districts, enforcing law and order and quelling civil unrest. Individual 'Civiles' never served in the province of their origin and were not encouraged to fraternize with the local population. Many were an object of fear and hatred by the peasantry and regarded as symbols of oppression, safe guarding the interests of the 'Caciques' or large landowners.

The Guardia Civil of Jaen was approximately 800 strong and organised into six companies under the overall command of a Lieutenant-Colonel. When news reached the Government in Madrid of the uprising, urgent messages went out to all military and police units, reminding them of their oath of allegiance to the Republic and ordering them either to actively quash the rebellion or to confine themselves to barracks and hand over their arms to the local Popular Front committee.

As with nearly all the other Civil Guard units in Spain at that time, the fiercely nationalistic Guardia of Jaen rejected the idea of aiding or arming the masses out of hand, to a man. Those who could, gathered their families and fled south towards the insurgent lines to escape the wrath of an incensed local population. Those Guardia who could not flee decided to take their dependents out into the countryside and seek some kind of relative safety.

A Lieutenant Ruano Beltran received orders to take the garrison of Andujar, some 65 men, and their families to a nearby estate called 'Luger Nuevo' and to fortify it against attack. By the 5th of August, the operation was complete. Beltran, his men and 316 dependents were firmly ensconced within the confines of the property.

Three miles north, on the other side of the river Jandula, on an isolated hill, lies 'La Santuario de la Virgen de la Cabeza', a 14th century retreat built of solid red granite. At the time of the siege a number of small outbuildings included a hostelry were under construction and a few hundred yards away lay a 'Palacio' or mansion house. Bordered in part by the river Jandula, on a steep hillside with little or no vegetation and only one track leading up to it, La Santuario was a very imposing sight. It was to this location that a Major Nofuentes led 270 Civil Guards, some 100 Falangists (members of the right wing Spanish Nationalist Party), and 1100 dependents, mostly women and children.

Meanwnile, in nearby Montoro, militiamen of every left wing persuasion and local units of the Guardia de Asalto began to gather, to put themselves at the disposal of the Popular Front committee. The Guardia de Asalto was a kind of 'shock police' formed by the Republican Government partly because of the doubtful loyalty of the Civil Guard. Fully trained in riot control, well armed and motivated, they were undoubtedly among the best troops available to the government at the start of the insurrection.

A strange, almost comical Mexican stand or followed. The Popular Front committee was well aware of the two groups of Civil Guard and their location. What they did not know, nor were they in any particular hurry to ascertain, was the political persuasion or intentions cf these two isolated units. Taking full advantage of the lull, Nofuentes and Beltran improved their positions and built up supplies and provisions. Major Nofuentes began to have his doubts about the position he and his men were in. He ordered his officers to surrender the Santuario to the Popular Front and was duly relieved of his command and put under arrest.

A Captain Cortes assumed command and in a most comical manner, had a letter delivered by hand to the Popular Front forces in Montoro declaring war on the almost 4000 strong Republicans.

Furious at the temerity of the vastly outnumbered Civil Guard, truckloads of Guardia de Asalto and militiamen raced up to the Santuario and to Lugar Nuevo, surrounded the two positions and began to lay siege to them. Forty pieces of light and heavy artillery of every imaginable calibre, ten 81mm mortars, and four 110mm mine launchers were hauled into place. Government planes began to fly over on the 3rd of September dropping messages exhorting the Civil Guard to kill their superiors and surrender. The silence of the defenders condemned them to 8 and 1/2 months of hardship and misery as the Republican government sought to make an example of these rebellious 'Civiles'.

Daily Bombardments

Daily artillery barrages and aerial bombardments ensued. Within a short space of time, the Santuario was reduced to little more than rubble, the defenders forced down into the labyrinth of cellars and catacombes underneath the retreat, only coming out to repulse the totally uncoordinated attacks of the inexperienced militiamen. In three separate assaults on the 1st, 5th and 9th of November the militias lost 300 dead and 450 wounded for the loss of 30 dead and wounded defenders. Lugar Nuevo fared a little better as the forces surrounding them seemed quite content to sit back and let them sweat it out, spending most of their time loosing off poorly aimed small arms fire in the general direction of their opponents.

Rumours of these gallant Civil Guard besieged by the Red hordes gradually filtered through to Nationalist lines. A very famous pilot named Haya was sent in a Douglas DC-2 to ascertain the situation. Once the reports were verified, Haya began a series of mercy missions in his DC-2, later in an 5M-81, always with a fighter escort of Fiat CR32s, dropping food and much needed supplies to the desperate defenders. Carrier pigeons were also dropped to allow communications to be opened with General Quiepo de Ilano in Seville.

The hopes of relief for the Civil Guard were dashed when the Nationalist offensive was halted at a line on Montoro, Lopera and Porouna Much needed manpower and munitions were diverted for a big offensive at Guadalajara, north of Madrid, and so the siege carried on into 1937.

Part Two: Trapdoor in the Sun