The International Brigades (Spanish: Brigadas Internacionales) were military units, made up of volunteers from different countries, who travelled to Spain in order to fight for the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War, between 1936 and 1939.
The number of combatant volunteers has been estimated at between 32,000–35,000, though with no more than about 20,000 active at any one time. A further 10,000 people probably participated in non-combatant roles and about 3,000–5,000 foreigners were members of CNT or POUM. They came from a claimed "53 nations" to fight against the Spanish Falangist forces led by General Francisco Franco, who was assisted by German and Italian forces.
Yugoslav Fighters In Spanish Civil War
Yugoslavs, who fought as volunteers in the Spanish Civil War on the Republican side, are called “Spanish fighters” or “Yugoslav Spaniards.”
Belgrade Association of Spanish troops is in possession of information that there were 1.755 volunteers from Yugoslavia in international brigades and other units of the Spanish Republican Army, of which 595 were killed in Spain, and 116 were killed later in the National Liberation Struggle.
National identity was not important, but the available data suggest that the majority of the Yugoslav fighters were Croats (48 %), followed by Slovenians (23%), Serbs (18%), Montenegrins (3.2%) and Macedonians (1.5%). German and Jewish names were also on the list of fighters. The same incomplete data says that the according to political affiliation there were communists (561), social democrats (10 %), members of the Croatian Peasant Party (8 %), anarchists (4 %) and almost a third of the total number (457) were undecided.
They fought in Karobanji, at Brunete, Zaragoza, Aragon, Teruel, Marbella, San Mateo, on the barricades of Madrid and many other fronts.
Sending volunteers to Spain
The KPY (Communist Party of Yugoslavia) was the main and could be said the only organizer in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia when it comes to helping the Republican Spain in the fight against rebels and fascism. The anti-fascist volunteers were leaving for Spain only illegally, and those intentions were very often thwarted.
For the purpose of carrying out one such action of transporting volunteers, a ship called “Corsica” has been rented in Marseille in the greatest secrecy. In February 1937, a ship “La Corse” commanded by Adolf Muk and Anton Franovićsailed off from Corsica to gather volunteers from Yugoslavia. Only the CPY Politburo knew about this. However, the Belgrade police found it all out.
“The struggle of the heroic Spanish nation is not only a struggle which will result in victory or defeat of democracy only in Spain, but this is the beginning of the armed conflict, fascism, and democracy around the world.”
– Proclamation of Central Committee of KPY on October 23, 1936 th