XV International Brigade

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade (Spanish: Brigada Abraham Lincoln), officially the XV International Brigade (XV Brigada Internacional), was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the International Brigades.

"Abraham Lincoln Brigade" redirects here. For the battalion, see Lincoln Battalion.

XV International Brigade Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Active	1936–1939
Country	United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia, France, Belgium, and Cuba
Allegiance	Spain
Branch	International Brigades
Type	Mixed Brigade – Infantry
Role	Home Defence
Size	Four battalions: the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th (January 1937)
Part of	35th Division (1937–1939)
Garrison/HQ	Albacete, Barcelona
Nickname(s)	Brigada Abraham Lincoln
March	Jarama Valley and Viva la XV Brigada
Engagements	Spanish Civil War Battle of Jarama Battle of Brunete Battle of Belchite Battle of Teruel Aragon Withdrawal Battle of Gandesa Battle of the Ebro
Commanders
Notable commanders	Janos Galicz Vladimir Ćopić

The brigade mustered at Albacete in Spain, in January 1937, comprising mainly English-speaking volunteers – arranged into a mostly British Battalion and a mostly North American Lincoln Battalion. It also included two non-English-speaking battalions, the Balkan Dimitrov Battalion and the Franco-Belgian Sixth February Battalion. It fought at Jarama, Brunete, Boadilla, Belchite, Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel and the Ebro River.

The brigade's songs were "Jarama Valley" and "Viva la Quince Brigada".[1]

History

The XVth Brigade first fought at the Battle of Jarama in February 1937 and suffered many casualties. The British lost 225 men out of 600,[2] the Lincolns 120 out of 500.[3] After the battle, the brigade was seriously under-strength.

At the end of March, a Spanish battalion, Voluntario 24 (the 24th Volunteers), joined the brigade. Over the next few months, under the close supervision of Janos Galicz, the brigade was re-organised into two regiments of about 1,200 men. He appointed "the gallant major",[4] George Nathan, as brigade Chief of Staff.

The first regiment, commanded by Jock Cunningham, with Harry Haywood as political commissar,[5] was English-speaking and comprised the depleted British and Lincolns; as well as the recently formed but under-strength second battalion of American volunteers, the George Washington Battalion. The second regiment was commanded by Major "Chapaiev" (Mihaly Szalvay)[5] and consisted of the Dimitrov Battalion, the Sixth February Battalion and the Voluntario 24 Battalion.

This was the composition in July 1937 for the Battle of Brunete. As with the Battle of Jarama, the brigade suffered huge casualties; the brigade strength was reduced from six to four battalions. In particular, the two American battalions were so depleted that they merged to form the Lincoln-Washington Battalion.[6] (This name did not last: it was renamed the Lincoln Battalion in October 1937.) The 6 February, which also suffered severe casualties, was transferred after Brunete. After Belchite, the nominally Canadian Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion joined the brigade, while the Dimitrov Battalion departed.

During the fall of 1937 the units of the International Brigade were integrated into the Spanish Popular Army and the Battalions were re-numbered. The British Bn became the 57th, the Lincoln-Washington the 58th, the Spanish (formerly known as the 24th), became the 59th and the Mackenzie-Papineau the 60th. The battalion line-up remained stable through the withdrawal of the Internationals during the Ebro Campaign.

The XVth International Brigade also included volunteers from Latin America,[7] who, after incidents of bad treatment from North Americans, left the international Brigades and joined other units such as El Campesino's First Mobile Shock Brigade.[8][9]

On 13 March 2015, Dan Kaufman interviewed Del Berg, a 99-year-old veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, who he described as the last known survivor of the Brigade.[10] Berg died 28 February 2016.[11]

Battalions: overview

Flag of the 17th battalion of the brigade. It was also known as the 1st American Battalion; the 2nd American Battalion was the Washington Battalion.

Date joined	Number	Battalion Name	Composition	Date left	Comments
31 Jan 1937	16th/57th	British Battalion	British, Irish, Dominion	23 Sep 1938	Demobilized
31 Jan 1937	17th/58th	Lincoln Battalion	US, Canada, Irish, British	23 Sep 1938	Demobilized
31 Jan 1937	18th	Dimitrov Battalion	Balkan	20 Sep 1937	Moved to 45th Div. Reserve
31 Jan 1937	19th	Sixth February Battalion	French and Belgian	4 Aug 1937	Moved to 14th Brigade
14 Mar 1937	24th/59th	24 Battalion	Cuban volunteers	10 Nov 1937	Moved to a Spanish Mixed brigade
29 Jun 1937	60th	Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion	Canadian and US	23 Sep 1938	Demobilized
4 Jul 1937	20th	Washington Battalion	US	14 Jul 1937	Merged with Lincoln Battalion[12]

• Sub-battalion units attached to the Brigade
  • Brigade Anti-Tank Company
  • XVth Brigade Photographic Unit (Aug 1937 – Sep 1938) Archive
  • Connolly Column

Notable members

• Delmer Berg – American political activist and last surviving member
• Edward A. Carter Jr. – American Medal of Honor recipient
• Theodore Cogswell – American science fiction writer
• Fred Copeman – English battalion commander
• Vladimir Ćopić – Croatian brigade commander
• Jock Cunningham – Scottish battalion commander
• Paddy O'Daire - Irish battalion commander
• Frank Ryan – Irish commissar
• Ralph Fasanella – American painter
• Janos Galicz – Hungarian division commander
• Jack Jones – English company commissar
• Oliver Law – African-American battalion commander
• James Maley – Scottish political activist
• Roland Masferrer – Cuban political activist
• Robert Hale Merriman – American brigade chief of staff
• Conlon Nancarrow – American-Mexican composer
• George Nathan – British brigade chief of staff

See also

• American Medical Bureau

References

Citations

1. Viva la Quinta Brigada was unfortunately misnamed in the 1970s song "Viva la Quinta Brigada" by Christy Moore.
2. Beevor (2006), p. 211
3. Beevor (2006), p. 214
4. Thomas (2001) p693
5. Eby (2007), p174
6. Eby (2007), p 196. "... losses in killed and wounded approached four hundred out of close to eight hundred just eight days before..."
7. "Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Spanish Civil War History and Education: The War in Spain". Alba-valb.org. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
8. "Spaniards and Latinos in the International Brigades - The Volunteer". Albavolunteer.org. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
9. Petrou, Michael (2008). Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, p. 109-110. UBC Press. ISBN 9780774858281.
10. Kaufman, Dan (13 March 2015). "The Last Volunteer". The New York Times Magazine. p. MM38. Retrieved 16 March 2015. Del Berg, 99, is the last known surviving veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a contingent of nearly 3,000 Americans who fought to defend the democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
11. Roberts, Sam (3 March 2016). "Delmer Berg, Last of American Volunteers in Spanish Civil War, Dies at 100". The New York Times. p. A21. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
12. Briefly known as the Washington-Lincoln Battalion

External Links

• Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU.

General references

• Beevor, Antony, The Battle for Spain, 2006.
• Bradley, Ken with Chappel, Mike (illus.) International Brigades in Spain 1936–39. Published by Elite. ISBN 978-1855323674.
  • Good basic introduction to the subject in a readable and well-illustrated format. Author made several visits to battlefields and interviewed veterans in the 1980s and 90s.
• Eby, Cecil. Comrades and Commissars, 2007.
• Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, 2001. 4th Rev. Ed. 2001.
• EPR Order of Battle Website (in Spanish)
• Associació Catalana Website (in Catalan)