12 Facts About International Brigades

International Brigades were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.

Beyond the Spanish Civil War, "International Brigades" is sometimes used interchangeably with the term foreign legion in reference to military units comprising foreigners who volunteer to fight in the military of another state, often in times of war.

International Brigades were strongly supported by the Comintern and represented the Soviet Union's commitment to assisting the Spanish Republic, just as Fascist Italy, Fascist Portugal and Nazi Germany were assisting the opposing Nationalist insurgency.

For several weeks, the International Brigades were locked in their base while their strict military training was underway.

Many of the older members of the International Brigades provided valuable combat experience, having fought during the First World War and the Irish War of Independence.

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International Brigades saw combat in the Battle of Teruel in January 1938.

The 35th International Brigades Division suffered heavily in this battle from aerial bombardment as well as shortages of food, winter clothing, and ammunition.

The XIV International Brigades Brigade fought in the Battle of Ebro in July 1938, the last Republican offensive of the war.

Later, the XIVth and XVth International Brigades were raised, mixing experienced soldiers with new volunteers.

International Brigades volunteers were mainly socialists, communists, or others willing to accept communist authority, and a high proportion were Jewish.

The Spanish Civil War, and especially the role of the International Brigades, became a substantial part of East Germany's memorial rituals because of the substantial numbers of German communists who had served in the brigades.

International Brigades served in the CXXIX International Brigade and later fought in the Spanish Maquis, and after the war lived in exile in France.