Special Units For the Spanish Civil War
1. a) Moroccan Regulares (aka Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas)
(Nationalist): 4-5-8/(broken side) 8; possessing stealth capability
akin to Gurkhas due to their oft ascribed ability to use so called "dead
ground"; considered lax when in city terrain (Moroccan troops became
far less effective when entering Madrid, due to their disorientation and
utter lack of familiarity with city environs); cannot conceal (A12.1) in
city terrain. Recruited in Morocco and officered by Spaniards, the Regulares
were all volunteers, brave to the point of fearlessness, and represented
the best troops on the Nationalist side. Though recruitment in Morocco continued
throughout the war, the Regulares took heavy losses in the battles
for Madrid, decimating their ranks.
1. b) Spanish Foreign Legion (Tercio de Extranjeros) (Nat.): 4-5-8/8
& 4-5-7/7's - The Tercio, or Spanish Foreign Legion, which was
largely Spanish unlike its French counterpart, had a number of combat veterans
from the Rif war in its ranks and would include a number of elite counters.
- The Spanish Foreign Legion, whose battle cry was Viva la Muerte (Long
Live Death), was the elite portion of the Spanish Army, garrisoned in Spanish
Morocco and which formed some of the best units on the Nationalist side.
Like the Moroccan Regulares, the Spanish Foreign Legion took such
heavy losses in the battles for Madrid through the Jarama that it virtually
ceased to exist thereafter as an elite unit. Recruitment continued on the
mainland, hence the 4-5-7 values.
1. c) Regular Army & Guardia Civil (Nat.): 4-5-7/7's & 3-4-7/6's.
- A large number of the paramilitary police, the Guardia Civil, and
a lesser number of Asaltos declared for the nationalists. The Guardia
Civil were the main police force in the countryside, towns and villages.
They were a confident force, well trained and armed and would be represented
by the 4-5-7's. The mainland regular army was considered to be a poorly
trained and badly led force of conscripts and would include a number of
second line troops in its ranks as well as the first line 4-5-7's.
1. d) Requetés (Nat.): 4-4-7/8; sometimes accompanied by field
chaplains; can be awarded "fanaticism" (A10.8) by S.S.R. - The
Carlist Requétes came mostly from Navarre and were highly
religious, many regarding the war as a holy crusade. They would often be
accompanied by priests, who risked their lives to perform last sacrament
on the battlefield and who urged the men on.
1. e) Falangists (Nat.): 3-4-7/6; same rules regarding entrenchment and
artillery as militia (see below). - The Falange was a paramilitary facist
orientated political organization which contributed many volunteers to the
Nationalist insurrection, but whose troops, though motivated, had little
training. Not as initially combat reliable as regular troops, Falangists
were often used to garrison conquered areas. Note: both Requetés
and Falangists would be represented by regular army counters in later war
scenarios, reflecting both battle experience and training by the German
Condor Legion.
1. f) Italian CTV (Corpo di Truppe Volontairie) (Nat.): 4-4-7, 3-4-7
& 3-4-6; Mussolini's so called "volunteer" troops were the
most part militia conscripts fighting in a war that they had no stake in
and for which they were poorly conpensated for, given that 6000 were to
die and many were to come home disfigured from their wounds. Poor Italian
troop performance was the first indicator that Italy's grandstanding Duce
was merely "a paper tiger brandishing a tin sword." Italians enjoyed
success against the poorly trained and equipped militias at the Battle of
Málaga but performed disastrously at the Battle of Guadalajara, much
to the enjoyment of both Republican and Nationalist Spaniards. Later, they
fought well enough against the Basques and in later campaigns. The cooperation
of Italian and German efforts in aiding the Spanish Nationalists was the
cementing factor in the later Axis alliance between Germany and Italy. Black
Shirt `God wills it', Black Arrows, Black Flames, and `23rd of March' Division
troops are represented by the 3-4-7 & 3-4-6 values. The regular army
Littorio Division, which showed better performance, is represented by the
elite 4-4-7 value. Though designated as divisions, these Italians units
were more brigade sized.
1. g) Milicianos (Militia) (Basque - gudaris) (Republican):
use partisan value counters and rules; automatically fanatic (A10.8) when
S.S.R. designates them as defending their home village/city, but only when
in a building hex (exc. Madrid); must take an additional morale check when
attacked or buzzed by a plane, unless in a building hex (So unused to air
attack were the militia that they were known to abandon good defensive positions
when buzzed by aeroplanes or sometimes even if they just heard one.); cannot
entrench unless specified by SSR; when using O.B.A, attacker may take a
-1 d.r.m. vs militia (Having not experienced the First World War and a little
naive about combat, many Spaniards considered it cowardice to dig trenches
or take cover from artillery.); when units in a stack break and rout, they
must rout as a stack (Fleeing militia units were notorious for bunching
up, making them easy pickings for machine guns set up to pick them off.),
may be denied utilization of "point blank fire" (A7.21) if designated
by S.S.R. (many militia units didn't have grenades) - The primary fighting
force for the Republic in the early war, the militias were largely ineffective
and unable to stop the advance of the Army of Africa (exception: Battle
of Madrid), though, at a high cost to themselves, they did attrition the
Army of Africa's best units and bought some time for a popular army to be
trained. Later in the war, militia units not assimilated into the Popular
Army could be found acting as guerillas behind Nationalist lines.
Leaders stacked with militia must take a front line position within LOS
of enemy units when possible (see 2.c below). They were supposed to lead
their troops and expose themselves to danger, showing their machismo as
a qualification for leading. Obviously, many died.
Militia were highly suspicious of officers and trusted only their own leaders.
Regular army officers and leaders from other politicial organizations are
treated as allied officers.
The communist organized 5th Regiment represents a special case in that,
though they were a militia unit, their troops were better organized and
equipped and tried to emulate military discipline and effectiveness. 5th
Regiment troops are best represented by 4-4-7 counters from the Popular
army. Their leaders, many purposely recruited from ex-Foreign Legion and
the regular army, need not take the suicidal front line stance.
1. h) Asaltos and Loyalist Army (Rep.): 4-5-7/7 & 3-4-7/6 - The
Guardia Asaltos (Storm Troops) were a paramilitary urban police force,
similar to the Guardia Civil, whose loyalties mostly lay with the
Republic and were relied on to be a force loyal to the government should
there be an insurrection. Not as numerous as the Guardia Civil, the
Asaltos formed the best Republican troops of the early war and played
a key factor in suppressing army units attempting to rise in certain cities,
thus keeping these areas loyal to the Republic. Though a majority of Guardia
Civil did declare for the Republic, the fact that so many didn't kept
the Republic suspicious of them and they were often dispersed to militia
units, which prevented their being utilized to their best capabilities.
Asaltos personnel were drawn from ex-Army of Africa and Foreign Legion
and were considered better trained and equipped for street fighting than
army conscripts.
Loyalist regular army units could be found in the early stages of the war
still in formation, though they were bled from desertion either to the Nationalists,
or to Militia bands representing their local community and eventually were
disbanded. Still, loyal army units fought for the Republic in early stages
and can be represented by first line troops as in the 1st Division of Madrid
or by a mix of first and second line troops (3-4-7's).
1. i) International Brigades (Rep): 4-4-8/7, 4-4-7/7, & counters for
regular Republican army; at least one commissar per unit - One of the major
participants in the wartime Republican coalition was the Spanish Communist
Party and when the regular army revolted, Stalin decided that a communist
defence in Spain would bolster the communist image worldwide. Not willing
to risk the provocation of using Soviet troops, he ordered the Comintern
to recruit and send volunteers from all over the world to fight in Spain.
These volunteers were highly motivated, though they were often young and
had little training. Most were communists, some later became communists,
others were adventurers or anti-facists. They were initially organized along
roughly national lines and arrived just in time to take part in the crucial
battles for Madrid. Since they were communist organized, they tended to
have a little better material support than other units (Russia had become
the principal supplier of aid to Republican Spain.). The International Brigades
took heavy casualties in the battle to save Madrid, but their timely arrival
helped save the Republic. Later, many of the brigades had their men transferred
to other Spanish units to impart training and battle sense to the undisciplined
Spaniards. And as Spanish replacements filtered in, the International Brigades
became international in name only. Brigade volunteers came from all over
Europe, the Americas and even Asia. Some rare units actually contained a
high number of W.W.I. veterans, hence the higher morale values. The German
anti-facist Edgar Andre battalion was among the best. Other units of note
are the Italian Garibaldi's, who ended up fighting Mussolini's Italians
at Guadalajara, Franco-Belgian Andre Marty Battalion which fought to the
last before being wiped out, the British Saklatvala, which lost one third
of its men defending Suicide Hill, the American Abraham Lincoln Battalion,
the Canadian Mackenzie-Papineau, and Polish-Hungarian Dabrowsky.
Most of the International Brigade units found after the Battles around Madrid
would not rate the higher values reflecting that they were largely inexperienced,
albeit enthusiastic, and are better represented by counters for the People's
army.
1. j) Peoples Army (Ejército Popular de la República)
& Basque Army of Euzkadi (Rep.): 4-5-8/8, 4-4-7/7, 3-4-7/7, & 3-3-6/5;
probably at least one commissar per unit. - As a proper training process
began to be implemented and take effect, the Republic was at last able to
field a regular army. However, except for certain elite communist units,
material shortages were always endemic. The highest value counters would
represent specially trained commandos, such as were used in some parts of
the Ebro offensive, and are therefore quite rare. They might also be used
to represent some International Brigade Battalions. As Russian training
methods became more pronounced over time, the regular use of commissars
became an almost standard feature, as with the International Brigades. The
reason for the high number of units available for unit substitution is that
the later Republican army showed a remarkable ability to take a heavy pounding
and still maintain unit integrity, though these units were often severely
reduced as to combat worthiness. Most Basque units would probably start
with the 3-4-7 as their most basic squad, since though stubborn, they lacked
training and military experience. Basques units would not have commissars.
2. a) Field Chaplins: Represent priests serving with the Navarrese Carlist
troops on the Nationalist side, and Basque troops on the Republican side.
They cannot direct fire, can only rally or raise morale, units stacked with
them have morale raised by one and are automatically fanatic. Field Chaplins
must take a front line position (to be ready to give last sacrement). Navarrese
priests can man machine guns while the Basque counterpart cannot man any
weapons. (Though they are given no beneficial leadership modifiers, all
are assumed to have an inherent -1 for rallying purposes, some priests were
actually known to get in the way, urging the troops to action, hence a +1
modifier might be ascribed to some chaplains to reflect this. This modifier
would affect only fire, not rallying or morale.)
2. b) Commissars: Once Russian advisors and aid began to take a paramount
role in the Republican effort, Commissars were actively used. Though present
from early on in the war, the use of the commissar as represented by the
A.S.L. game piece is not automatic for all scenarios. The commissar was
a political indoctrination and training officer who co-commanded with the
actual unit commander. One was concerned with the military function of the
unit, the other, the political reliability of the troops and commander.
Later, the wide use of conscript soldiers and battle fatigue amongst existing
units brought about the use of the commissar as he is known in A.S.L.
2. c) Leaders: Nationalists had many field commanders of good quality in
early scenarios. However, as casualties mounted, they turned to quickie
schools to turn out young officers with minimal if any experience, dedicated
but not learned. Since many of these young men were drawn from aristocratic
or educated backrounds, they would have fairly good morale, but would suffer
in leadership modifiers. The Carlists produced good and able leaders as
shown by their ability to keep their troops in action. Also, they had made
use of secret training centers before the war, always awaiting the chance
for a new rising. Falangists would have the poorist leadership representation
among the Nationalists until later in the war, when German training started
to help.
Republicans had some good leaders at the very beginning, (asalto, and loyalist
army) however, many of these soon were soon displanted to be replaced with
men having good political connections but little if any military training
(Especially true under the communists where having led a Communist youth
organization was sufficient to command a division). In such cases, one would
not expect to find modifiers higher than a "+1." Later, better
leaders and commissars become available, to reflect battle experience and
leader training academies, but rarely was someone remarkable produced. School
of hard knocks, aka. battle experience, probably produced the best Republican
leaders outside of the International Brigades since the Republican leadership
schools, it is said, produced leaders as conservative and rigid as were
in the old army.
Because of the extreme bravery and equally tragic tactical stupidity shown
by many Republican militia leaders and Nationalist junior officers, I recommend
creating a 9-0, 10-0 leader type to reflect this, highly courageous, but
militarily naieve leader that could inspire the troops. These leaders, having
machos, would take front line stances with their troops when able.
Historical accounts relate that the combat lifetime of some Nationalist
junior officers and early Republican militia leaders could be measured in
days, sometimes hours, of service. These values reflect such individuals.
One would assume that such surviving leaders, having learned the hard way,
would evolve in time to 8-1 and 9-1 values, not as reckless and a lot wiser.
3. Dinaminteros: The dinaminteros were Asturian miners who
were experts with the use of dynamite from their jobs. They were men and
boys who entered battle armed with dynamite and nothing else. Because Asturia
was largely Republican in sympathy, great numbers of these miners flocked
to the Loyalist cause. Accounts relate them being able to approach a machine
gun nest in a building from the building's blind side, drill mounting holes
for the dynamite and figure the charge to just the right amount to blow
up the entire building and leave those alongside untouched. Also, they were
able to trim fuses so expertly that they could toss dynamite like a grenade
so that it would explode on impact, without the receiving troops having
even a chance of throwing it back. They would be considered a special troop
type, having no firepower, but having a reusable demo charge capability.
They have a breakdown number of 9, as if they carried an inherent support
weapon, to reflect that they might carry limited charges, fuses, broken
detonator, etc. If their breakdown number is rolled, they are eliminated.
The dinamintero had a basic morale of 7 and a broken morale of 6 reflecting
his irregular status. If SSR designates the Republican unit to which the
dinamintero belongs as being fanatic, then the dinamintero
is also considered fanatic.
Molotov cocktail: Nationalist version was petrol in a bottle stuffed with
a rag and tied to a hand grenade. The hand grenade would explode and the
gasoline would burn, deceiving the tank crew into thinking that they had
been hit and that they were on fire, and therefore abandon their vehicle.
The Nationalists, having no heavy tanks of the Russian caliber, had to resort
to tricks like this to capture T-26 tanks. - drawn from Hills, p. 85.