The fall of Barcelona was the capture of Barcelona, until then in the Republican zone, by the Nationalists; it took place on 26 January 1939, during the final phases of the Spanish Civil War. The event was part of the Catalan Offensive, which took the Catalan enclave of the Republic. The offensive unfolded from late December 1938; the Republicans offered some resistance, but they were not in a position to mount any larger counter-offensive and there was no major battle fought either in western Catalonia or on the approaches to Barcelona.
Initially, Republican leaders intended to defend Barcelona, and the ultimate line of resistance was planned along the Llobregat. However, on 20 January, as a contingency option prime minister Juan Negrín ordered preparations for a would-be evacuation. On 23 January, when the supreme Republican military commander General Rojo informed the government that effective defence of the Llobregat was unlikely, the evacuation began. The central and the autonomous Catalan governments left Barcelona on 23–24 January and a power vacuum started to emerge. Eventually Barcelona was declared an open city and apart from isolated skirmishes, there was no combat on the streets.
The fall of Barcelona preceded the fall of all of Catalonia, which took place in early February 1939. For the Republicans, it marked the loss of vital industrial production and some 200,000 troops; also, it enhanced the spirit of defeatism, already ruling among most segments of the population. However, the fall of Barcelona and the fall of Catalonia did not mark the end of the Republic. The government moved to the central-southern zone, initially to Madrid, and the war continued until 1 April 1939.
Catalonia offensive
Following 30 months of the civil war, in late 1938 the Republican-held part of Spain (one-third of national territory) was inhabited by almost 9 million population, compared to almost 15 million in the Nationalist-held zone. The Republican part was divided into 2 separated zones. The larger one, some 130,000 km2 and almost 6.5m people, comprised the southern part of the Mediterranean coast, part of New Castile, La Mancha and eastern Andalusia, with 10 provincial capitals. The smaller one, Catalonia except its western belt, already controlled by the Nationalists, was some 25,000 km2. Nominally it hosted some 2.5 million people, yet including refugees the figure was probably higher; the area comprised 3 provincial capitals, Barcelona, Tarragona and Girona. Since October 1937 Barcelona had hosted key Republican state structures, including the government, the president and the rump parliament; besides, it was home to the autonomous Catalan government and the exiled autonomous Basque government. Also, the supreme Republican military command was based in Barcelona.
In early November 1938 the Battle of the Ebro terminated with Nationalist troops regaining all territory lost since July. Though at that point there was some lack of clarity in their high command as to the direction of the future offensive,„había bastante desacuerdo entre "Terminus" [codename for Franco headquarters] y "Escala" [codename for general staff headquarters], en lo reference a la orientación futura de la guerra", López Rovira 2010, p. 1 later that month it was already agreed that the next target should be Catalonia, with the objective of overrunning the entire enclave.López Rovira 2010, pp. 1-3 Before December the first sketchy plan of the campaign was already in place,López Rovira 2010, p. 10 worked out the details during the following weeks. The Nationalists were organized in 2 armies, North (commander Fidel Dávila, 19 divisions) and Levante (Luis Orgaz, 9 divisions), 28 divisions in total;López Rovira 2010, p. 27 the overall command was with Francisco Franco. Official intendancy data listed 332,000 troops, including reserve units.López Rovira 2010, p. 219 Initial plans envisioned the start of the offensive around 15 December, yet it was postponed a few times. It is not clear when the Nationalist general staff envisioned the seizure of Barcelona or the end of the campaign.the entire campaign was to consist of 5 phases: 1) frontline battle; 2) breakout into operational space; 3) advance and consolidation to final offensives; 4) envelopment and seizure of Barcelona; 5) envelopment and seizure of Girona and province, López Rovira 2010, p. 200
Republican troops in Catalonia were organized in Grupo de Ejércitos de la Region Oriental (GERO) under the command of Juan Hernández Saravia; however, its operations were under direct supervision of the overall commander of Republican army, general Vicente Rojo, who also resided in Barcelona. GERO was composed of 2 armies, East (Juan Perea Capulino, 9 divisions) and Ebro (Juan Modesto, 11 divisions), 20 divisions in total. Nationalist intelligence estimated that GERO numbered some 150,000 soldiers in 65 mixed brigades (comparable to regiment) or 260 battalions;López Rovira 2010, p. 5 present-day historian offers similar estimates, with the overall strength of 220,000 troops and 140,000 in frontline combat units.Xavier Hernàndez, Francesc Riart, Pere Català, Història militar de Catalunya. Aproximació didàctica, vol. IV, Barcelona 2004, , p 258 The Nationalists enjoyed a great advantage in terms of armour and aviation, but it was massive especially in the case of firepower: in terms of artillery pieces and mortars they outnumbered the Republicans 5:1.López Rovira 2010, p. 26 Also, Republican divisions were mostly under strength. Geography favoured the defenders; numerous hilly ranges and mid-size rivers, high waters at this time of the year, formed natural obstacles.
The Nationalist offensive in Catalonia commenced on 23 December 1938; Balaguer, the point closest to Barcelona, held by the Nationalists, was some 120 km away. Operations commenced in the extreme western Republican salient projecting into Nationalist lines in-between the Segre and the Ebro. Most fighting took place along a 50-km long frontline in the county of Garrigues. Until the year-end the Nationalists overran the salient; it was only at this point that in the first days of 1939 another offensive was launched north-east of Lleida, in the county of Noguera.López Rovira 2010, p. 99 By 5 January the Republican front collapsed, and the Nationalists broke into operational space. Re-organised Republican troops were not in position to mount a counter-offensive and were capable merely of slowing down the enemy advance; it progressed in the course of numerous minor engagements, but with no major battle fought. Though after 2 weeks of combat the Nationalists were still no closer than 110 km to Barcelona, their offensive was now progressing along a 150-km long frontline from Tremp at the Pyrenean foothills in the north to Tortosa on the Mediterranean coast in the south.
Barcelona, 5 to 15 January
In the very first days of 1939 daily life in Barcelona did not differ much from the earlier wartime period. Catalan industry, since the summer of 1936 on a revolutionary footing, was in decline, yet a contemporary scholar concluded that "the Catalan war industry continued functioning very well until the very end of the conflict".Jordi Catalan, La industria entre la guerra y la revolución, 1936-39, [in:] Pablo Martín Aceña, Elena Martínez Ruiz (eds.), La economía de la Guerra Civil, Santiago de Compostela 2005, pp. 23, 30 In late 1938 its output was some 40% of the pre-war period;Catalan 2005, p. 27. Catalan metalworking output was at 30% of pre-war production, Stanley G. Payne, The Spanish Revolution, New York 1970, , p. 257 most factories kept operating, in some cases with production ongoing until mid-January.e.g. in the case of the Pirelli factory in Manresa, the last shipment took place on 14 January, when the Nationalists were some 40 km from the city and 10 days before they entered Manresa, Catalan 2005, p. 31 Like everywhere in the Republican zone, food was subject to rationing;Payne 1970, p. 359 some authors claim that Barcelona dwellers until then lived rather comfortably,see opinions referred in Payne 1970, p. 359 but some claim that the city was suffering from hungerFrancisco González Ledesma, Expediente Barcelona, Barcelona 2014, , p. 65 and there are accounts featuring teenage girls approaching strangers in cafeterias and offering themselves in exchange for food.Charles J. Esdaile, The Spanish Civil War. A Military History, London 2018, p. 295; similar story, accounted by another IB volunteer, in D. P. Stephens, A memoir of the Spanish Civil War, St. Johns 2000, , p. 114 The annual inflation rate was some 260%,or 564% compared to 1913, Payne 1970, p. 258 but given there was little to buy and food was to large extent purchased on the black market anyway, monetary problems did not matter much. Municipal services kept operating and newspapers were being issued. Cinemas remained open, with screenings of pre-war foreign (e.g. Beloved Enemy with David Niven) or Spanish (e.g. Rinconcito madrileño with Luis Prendes) movies.Solidad Obrera 05.01.1939
The press were fairly accurately reporting frontline developments, yet contrary to facts they claimed that their own troops were doing well, remained in excellent spirits and kept inflicting heavy losses upon the enemy. Popular Front parties started publishing repeated calls for males to volunteer for either combat troops or fortification units,Higinio Polo, Los últimos días de la Barcelona republicana [PhD thesis Universitat de Barcelona], Barcelona 1989, pp. 595-599 though with at best a moderate response on the part of the population."lack of general interest in responding to the emergency call for volunteers to build fortifications was painfully clear from the start", Payne 1970, p. 359 To enhance the spirit of resistance, some newspapers published horror stories of hundreds of thousands people already murdered in political purges in the Nationalist zone.Polo 1989, p. 600 Defeatism was treated as an offence; on 8 January a well-known writer Eduardo Zamacois was sentenced to 6 years in prison for the spirit of derrotismo in his novels.Polo 1989, p. 605 To introduce a more serene tone, on 6 January the president declared an amnesty for all prisoners above 60 years of age.Polo 1989, p. 595. At the time there were 24 POUM leaders incarcerated in Barcelona prisons, and some, like Teodoro Sanz Hernández, would arrive slightly later, transported from minor local prisons. Also some 250 members of International Brigades remained behing bars, Agustín Guillamón, El terror estalinista en Barcelona, Valencia 2018, pp. 132, 153
Nationalist troops were reportedly taking hundreds of prisoners every dayduring the Catalan campaign the Nationalists took 60,000 prisoners, Payne 1970, p. 360, which given the duration of the campaign translates to an average of some 1,500 POWs taken every day and the strength of the Republicans was dwindling dramatically.up to 900 daily, López Rovira 2010, p. 88 On 5 January the Republican Ministry of Defence issued a decree which broadened conscription to males born in 1901 ("quinta de 1922") and these who complete 18 years of age in the first quarter of 1939, even though they had not undergone any military training at all; they would form part of a theoretical "quinta de 1942".Polo 1989, p. 590 It is not clear how many new conscripts were pressed into service, yet it is known that many of those called defaulted or went into hiding, usually in their relatives' premises.Polo 1989, p. 591 For these who did show up, there were not many rifles available, as even frontline units reported shortages of arms and munitions. Nationalist intelligence estimated that Republican human reserves in Catalonia were 45,000 men aged 37–41 and 34.000 men aged 41–44.López Rovira 2010, p. 3