Alcazar: the fortress fights and does not surrender
Alcazar today
“Dad, they say that if you don’t surrender the Alcazar, they will shoot me.”
“What to do, son.” Depend on the will of God. I can’t surrender the Alcazar and betray everyone who has trusted me here. Die worthy of a Christian and a Spaniard.
- Good, dad. Goodbye. Hug you. I will say before death: Long live Spain. Glory to Christ the King!
A telephone conversation between the commandant of the Alcazar fortress, Colonel Moscardo, and his underage son, Louis
“What to do, son.” Depend on the will of God. I can’t surrender the Alcazar and betray everyone who has trusted me here. Die worthy of a Christian and a Spaniard.
- Good, dad. Goodbye. Hug you. I will say before death: Long live Spain. Glory to Christ the King!
A telephone conversation between the commandant of the Alcazar fortress, Colonel Moscardo, and his underage son, Louis
Behind the pages of the civil wars. We all know about the heroic resistance of the defenders of the Brest Fortress and are rightfully proud of their courage. However, examples of courageous fulfillment of one's military and civil duty occurred in other countries, in particular, in Spain during the years of the Civil War of 1936-1939. This incident took place during the defense of the Alcazar fortress in Toledo. And today we will tell you about him.
A bird's eye view of the Alcazar immediately after the siege
Let's start with the simplest. What is alcazar? The fact is that this is not a proper name, but the common name of fortresses or fortified palaces in Spain and Portugal, built there during the reign of Arabs (usually in cities) somewhere between the VIII and XIV centuries. So there are Alcazars in many cities in Spain.
Model of the ruins of Alcazar in the military museum opened there
Recall also that the Franco insurgency in Spain began on July 18, 1936, seemingly at the signal of a radio station in Ceuta: “The sky is cloudless over all of Spain!” However, many, including the Spaniards themselves, believe that there was no, and even more precisely this signal, and that for the sake of beauty and drama Ilya Ehrenburg came up with it. But the following is reliably known: on July 18 at 15:15 the republican government in Madrid again broadcast an official message, which began with the words: "The government again confirms that there is complete peace on the peninsula." At the same time, the rebellion was already on. It only began not on the 18th, but on the 16th in the territory of Spanish Morocco.
Another model of the ruins of Alcazar in one of the casemates of the museum opened in it. The destroyed parts of the building are made of transparent plastic
That is, there was no peace anymore! But in Toledo, the anti-republican uprising began precisely on July 18, and the military commandant of the city, Colonel Jose Moscardo, took command over it. However, the rebels could not achieve much success either in the whole country or in the city of Toledo, which they especially wanted to capture, since it housed a large cartridge plant. Already on July 19, the government of Jose Hiral began to distribute weapons supporters of the Popular Front, as a result of which the Republican police immediately gained an advantage over the nationalist rebels. So they had no choice but to retreat to the same Alcazar in Toledo and barricade in it. In the old days, it was the residence of the Spanish monarchs, in the XVIII century a military academy was located there. In 1866, a fire broke out in Alcazar (now it was already called that), after which the building was rebuilt using steel and concrete structures. The great advantage was the presence of vaulted stone cellars that could withstand the impact of air bombs, as well as the location of the palace fortress on a hill with pretty steep slopes, which were very difficult to climb in the summer heat.
The sequence of destruction by the Republicans of Alcazar. Destruction is shown in red.
That's just the strength of Colonel Moscardo had very little: a total of 1300 combat-ready men, of whom 800 were Guards of Civil, 100 officers, 200 activists of right-wing parties who were ready to fight with weapons in their hands, and 190 cadets of the local military school. In addition to them, in Alcazar there were also members of their families - women and children in the amount of 600 people. There were also hostages, in particular, the civil governor of Toledo with his family and about a hundred left-wing activists captured by the rebels.
The Republicans undermine one of the towers of Alcazar
However, the government of Hyral, although it began well, continued to act so ineptly that in just a few days it lost all its power. Well, how could you wage a war without a military ministry or a general staff? True, he had a Minister of War, but had no connection with the fronts, nor with the military industry. As a result, by August 10, the rebels repelled all attempts by the Republicans to attack the main strongholds of the rebellion. There were few rebels, but they were trained and disciplined.
Photo by M. Koltsov. Republican soldiers shell Alcazar
However, the leadership of the republican police, in spite of everything, stubbornly sought to seize at the same time all the points held by the rebels, including the Toledo alcazar. As a result, they, having more power, sprayed them all and did not receive a decisive advantage anywhere. So in Toledo, Alcazar has been surrounded by barricades since July, Republicans fired at it, bombed it from the air, but to no avail. For example, more than half of the shells, due to long storage, became unusable and did not explode, and the police did not succeed in storming it, since many "police officers" were simply too lazy to climb the steep hill where Alkasar was located. Attempts to persuade Moscardo to surrender through negotiations also failed, and by mid-September, rebel aircraft began to break through to Alcazar and drop leaflets, promising that help was coming. In addition, the soldiers of the Civil Guard knew too well how in case of victory with them and their loved ones the winners would do, therefore they were ready to fight to the death.
Photo by M. Koltsov. Siege of Alcazar. Cameraman Roman Carmen removes Republican fighters
But perhaps the most tragic and dramatic events in stories the siege of Alcazar occurred on July 23. It was on that day that the head of the Toledo police, Candido Cabello, called Colonel Moscardo and demanded the surrender of Alcazar within ten minutes, promising in case of his refusal to shoot the only surviving son of Moscardo - Luis. He was handed the phone, and the father and son were able to talk and say goodbye, after which Candido Cabello heard the following: “Your term does not mean anything. The Alcazar will never give up! ” Then the colonel hung up, and his son was immediately shot, which also meant that the Alcazars could now shoot the hostages in their hands ...
In the photo, fighters of the republican militia who pulled out the remains of monks from the tombs of the Toledo churches desecrated by them
True, then many Republicans claimed that the whole episode was nothing more than an invention of Franco propaganda, but they did not deny the fact of the execution of the son of Moscardo, and in addition, the fact of the connection of the fortress with Cabello headquarters was also confirmed by our journalist Mikhail Koltsov in his Spanish book a diary".
Telephone conversation July 23. Patriotic postcard of the francists
For 70 days the defenders of Alcazar defended themselves, overcoming all the difficulties and deprivations of the siege. When food became scarce, they made a sortie to a nearby granary and managed to get as many as two thousand bags of grain there. The problem with meat was solved due to the fact that they put under the knife 177 horses that were in the fortress, which they ate, but still left one pedigree stallion. There was not enough salt and together they used ... plaster from the walls. How to bury the dead if there is no priest? However, here the besieged also found a way out: Colonel Moscardo himself began to perform funeral rites together, declaring that if this could be done to the captain of the ship, then in such difficult circumstances even more so. By the way, the losses among the defenders were relatively small - only 124 people for the entire 70-day defense, which indicates the thickness of the walls of Alcazar, and, of course, the courage and skill of his defenders. Military parades were even held in Alcazar, and on the day of the Assumption (August 15), a fiesta was held, in which, in spite of the Republicans, flamenco danced to loud music.
Communist Party Toledo demonstration
Well, for many Republicans, the Alcazar has become a kind of place ... leisure. Journalists were brought here to show them how the war was going on, and the prominent Republicans themselves did not deny themselves the pleasure of shooting at the rebels who had settled in it right in front of the cameras.
Defenders of the Alcazar
Photo by M. Koltsov. Frontline Airfield Protection
There were no military specialists among the Republicans, so the most fantastic projects for the capture of the fortress were put forward, which every time they ended in failure. The besiegers, for example, tried to undermine and blow up the walls of Alcazar with dynamite. But due to the rocky ground on which it was erected, and the demolition inexperience, this could not be done, although a number of explosions caused him quite severe damage. However, the strong casemates of the fortress also protected its defenders from explosions, which is why the losses among them were so small. Then the anarchists came up with a proposal ... to pour gasoline on the fire walls of the fortress and set fire to them. However, this did not help them, but many of the participants in this operation received numerous burns.
Meanwhile, the rebels captured one Spanish city after another. Every day they broadcast on the radio: “The Alcazar is holding on!” Colonel Moscardo does not give up! " But the besieged also listened to the radio and realized that the Republicans were losing one after another and that help was close. Parts of Franco attacked Madrid at that time, but in the 20s he turned on Toledo. Foreign officers at his headquarters insisted, but Franco did not listen to them, believing that the moral duty in this case was higher than military expediency.
The Reds on the barricades in Socodover Square (Toledo) during the shelling of the Alcazar
And on September 27, nationalists finally reached the outskirts of Toledo and fired artillery fire around the city. They also shot at the station and Madrid Highway. In response, the republican police fighters killed their commanders, who tried to encourage them to take up defense, got on the buses and hurriedly left the city. Nationalists did not take prisoners. Rather, there was no one to take prisoner, since the Moroccans simply cut the wounded Republicans lying in the city hospital. Only one unit, commanded by Emil Kleber and Enrique Lister, left the city with a fight and entrenched in the hills east of it.
Alcazar Defenders on Liberation Day
Coming out to meet General Varela, Colonel Moscardo reported: "Everything is calm in Alcazar, my general." Patriotic postcard of the francists
This ended up being immediately promoted to general and sent on vacation. Upon his return from him, Moscardo was appointed commander of the Soria division. Together with her, he participated in the battle of Guadalajara. Then, already in 1938, he, as commander of the Aragonese army corps, fought in Catalonia.
After the Civil War, Jose Moscardo led the military cabinet of Franco (1939), commanded the phalangist militia (1941), was captain-general (commander of the troops) of the II and IV military districts (Catalonia and Andalusia). In 1939 he was already a division general, and then a lieutenant general. He was president of the Olympic Committee of Spain and a member of parliament. The result of his career was the honorary post of chancellor of the imperial order “Yarmo and Arrows”, established by Franco and named after the ancient symbols of Castile and Aragon.
In the liberated Alcazar. On the right is Colonel Moscardo, on the left is General Franco. To the left you can see the white sleeve of the uniform shirt of General Varela
In 1948, Franco, in recognition of his services to the country, awarded Moscardo the title of Count Alcazar de Toledo, which automatically made him a Spanish grand. Well, in 1972 this title was already received by his grandson Jose Luis Moscardo y Morales-Vara del Re.
1961 Caudillo Francisco Franco unveils a monument to the fallen defenders of Alcazar
The hero of Alcazar died in 1956, and he was buried along with 124 dead soldiers from the siege time directly in Alcazar. Already posthumously he was awarded the rank of Field Marshal, or in Spanish, captain-general.
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