The Spanish Civil War
The Guadalahara Offensive

Tactical Organizations

by Pat Condray
photos by the author

The basic tactical formations were battalions. The Spanish pre-war army was based on tactical regiments. Each normally had two battalions or, for cavalry, four saber and one machinegun squadrons. But very quickly both sides went to what I think of as the English system. The “regiment” became a training base for battalions. Thus in the Marzo Brigade of the Soria Division we find high numbered battalions of several permanent infantry regiments. And instead of cavalry regiments we have squadron groups. Likewise the “5th Regiment” fielded two Brigata Mixta in this campaign, and 27 battalions in the course of the war.

My own rules use a three figure base to the company or squadron, one model to the tank company or air squadron. Light mortar sections and LMG organic to the rifle companies are represented by two figure bases with a weapon. However, both RAPID FIRE and COMMAND DECISION tend to bury the LMG in the rifle companies. Both of these popular rule sets also tend to over represent vehicles as compared to figures. Since I make figures but have to buy trucks I disapprove of that practice. But both Russian and Italian vehicles are made for 15mm, 20mm, and to some extent 28mm. Of that more later.

The building block of the CTV is, essentially, the Blackshirt or Littorio battalion. As we have seen, these were supposed to comprised of four platoons to the company, 120 to 130 men with possibly a staff element. Three companies were composed of platoons of 33 riflemen and 3 armed with Breda 6.5mm LMG. The fourth company was to have 10 MMG. I believe that this would be 3 x 6 man companies, 2-3 MMG with 3 crew each, and possibly 3 command in ROMPAN EL FUEGO. Greg Novak [11] , in CPQ 8, gives the organization for COMMAND DECISION as follows:

Blackshirt Cohort (Battalion):

    HQ 1 command infantry stand, 1 recon infantry stand, 1 45mm mortar stand,* 1 support stand. 3 Infantry Companies each with 3 infantry stands. Machinegun company with 2 MMG stands.

Littorio Battalion:

    HQ 1 command infantry stand, 1 recon motorcycle infantry stand, 1 engineer stand, 1 support stand 1 medium truck. 3 Infantry companies each with 3 infantry stands. Machinegun company with 2 MMG stands 2 45mm mortar stands.*

After much international e-mail traffic with Michele Armellini (who uses CDII with 6mm figures) and Jack Radey, I think the conclusion is that a mortar platoon with 9-11 45mm mortars was actually a regimental asset, even though its range (around 500 yards maximum) made it more suitable for lower level deployment. I use sections representing 2-3 mortars detached to battalions. They have reduced hit effect compared to a similar number of heavier tubes served by more crewmen. This 45mm mortars were assigned to both Army and Blackshirt units.

The 65mmL17 infantry guns were also located at regimental level. They were used for both ordinary infantry support and, by default, anti-tank defense. The Russian T-26b was, surprisingly armored about the same as the CV 33. Zaloga (2) cites Pzkw 1s around Madrid using armor piercing light machineguns against them at ranges under 200 meters. No such role is reported for the CV 33 MG. The Russian 45mm gun was effective against light armor, and accurate out to perhaps 1,000 meters, which was apparently twice the accurate direct armor piercing range of the 65L17. Thus they had the advantage if the Italian weapons were not well dug in or concealed.

ROMPAN EL FUEGO, the SCW version of RAPID FIRE, usually goes with 8 figure rifle companies, 3 gun MG companies, and 3 figure staff elements. I think this would hold true for both Republican and CTV elements at full strength. But the Republican units in the Guadalajara campaign were by no means standardized. Nominally the Spanish MG companies, for example were claimed to have 9 MMG (Willoughby, op.cit.) That was roughly equal to the C.T.V. 10 weapons. But Jack Radey has been sending out specific data by brigade based on 1940 Russian sources. The Brihuega units were as in the table below:

From the table it is clear that in March of 1937 many “Brigata Mixta” were pure infantry, and that automatic weapons were on a catch as catch can basis. Movil de Choque, which was about as politically correct and well equipped as one could hope, though at Brihuega it may have fought with its headquarters and a battalion reinforced by miscellaneous battalions had only 17 LMG. The Anarchists and Carabineros none. A C.T.V. “Legion,” or more properly regiment, would have 3 battalions (Cohorts) of 650 men, probably a bit over 2,000 men altogether. They were supposed to have 30 MMG, 36 LMG, and 4 x 65L17 guns, not to mention 9-11 45mm mortars.

For ROMPAN EL FUEGO the sharp shooting 65th, and the inept 70th, which had probably not sighted in its new rifles for the campaign, would count as different militia grades due to the lack of LMG. ROMPAN EL FUEGO gives Moorish Regulares, also good shots without much in the way of LMG a rating of elite militia, so I suppose that would be true of the 65th as well.

In ABANDERADO IV/3/4 Michele Armellini gives various iterations of the strengths of the Garibaldini for CD. The organization for Guadalajara is as follows: HQ 1 command infantry stand (Pacciardi) 1 support stand, 1 general supply car, 1 infantry stand (assault platoon, Elite, Morale 9) 4 infantry companies each with 2-3 infantry stands, MG company with 3 MMG stands. Michelle notes elsewhere in that issue of ABANDERADO that several types of MMG were employed including both the Russian Maxim and pre-war Spanish Hotchkiss. I note that since density of MMG per battalion is about the same (3 battalions, 30 MMG) as for the CTV, and the latter, per Greg Novak in CPQ 8 rate only 2 MMG stands, some adjustment may be in order.

The Spanish Civil War The Guadalahara Offensive

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