Maroto Column

Maroto Column
Columna Maroto
Active	1936
Country	Spanish Republic
Allegiance	CNT
Branch	Confederal militias
Type	Militia
Role	Home defense
Size	1,000
Garrison/HQ	Guadix
Commanders
Notable commanders	Francisco Maroto del Ojo

The Maroto column was a militia column that operated at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

History

The column was founded in Alicante, in the summer of 1936, by the Granadin anarchist leader Francisco Maroto del Ojo. At first it was made up of 270 anarchist militiamen. After being formed, on August 6 the column left Alicante and headed for the Granada front; they managed to reach the town of Guadix, where they established their headquarters. In this area they managed to recruit more volunteers, until the column reached a thousand troops.

Their military actions, however, were null. The Maroto column took part in the attack against the nationalist position at Güéjar Sierra, but it was never in a position to retake the city of Granada. At the end of 1936, the attempts to militarize this militia met with the opposition of their commander, Maroto del Ojo.

After its militarization the unit disappeared and its troops integrated into the 89th and 147th mixed brigades, on the Andalusian front.

Bibliography

• Gil Bracero, Rafael (1998). Revolucionarios sin revolución. Marxistas y anarcosindicalistas en guerra: Granada-Baza, 1936-1939 (in Spanish). University of Granada.
• Mainar, Eladi (1998). De milicians a soldats. Les columnes valencianes en la Guerra Civil Espanyola (1936-1939) (in Catalan). University of Valencia. ISBN 84-370-3349-7.
• Ramírez Navarro, Antonio (2018). Aunque nos espere el dolor y la muerte. Historia del movimiento libertario en Almería (in Spanish). Editorial Universitaria de Almería.
• Ramos, Vicente (1972). La guerra civil (1936-1939) en la provincia de Alicante (in Spanish). Biblioteca Alicantina.