Battle of Badajoz (1936) - The Battle

The Battle

Before the attack, Badajoz was continuously bombarded by Nationalist artillery and bombers for a period of three days. The city had been flooded with refugees and the atmosphere in the city was one of doom-laden anticipation. The rebels launched their attack on the morning of August 14, after shelling the town for most of the day. A unit of the Spanish Foreign Legion, the IV Bandera, stormed the Puerta de la Trinidad (Trinity Gate). The defenders' most reliable force, the Carabineros, had been placed there in anticipation of the action. Determined resistance by Republican machine gunners and riflemen checked the assault, shredding several waves of Nationalist troops.

Ignoring their losses, the Legionnaires pressed on. A charge led by armoured cars won the gate, and the Nationalists overtook the defenders, pouring through the breach and killing them in hand to hand combat. But, the cost was appalling: the attacking 16th Company had lost 76 out of 90 officers and men(other sources cite 20 dead, 22 wounded and 2 missing). All of the unit's officers fell in the attack excepting the captain and one corporal (other sources: two officials dead out of five). Meanwhile, Asensio's men had entered in the city by a breach in the city walls; the storming of the Puerta de la Trinidad was later seen as useless.

On the south side of the city, Nationalist units stormed the walls with less difficulty. The Moroccan Tetuán regulares pushed through the Puerta de Los Carros (Car Gate), and the Legionnaires and Moroccans swept the Republicans from the barracks. Meanwhile, many soldiers inside the city defected to the rebels, easily allowing the entrance of the attackers into the city. Once inside the ramparts they drove the Republican militia before them, knifing and bayoneting their way toward the city centre, including killing those who had thrown down their weapons and had their hands up. Street fighting raged past nightfall. The Legionnaires later captured 43 wounded milicianos in the military hospital, and afterward, killed them.

Colonel Puigdendolas, along with the Mayor and other members of the defence committee, had slipped out of the city at about 9:00 am and fled to Portugal.