71st Division (Spain)

The 71st Division was one of the divisions of the People's Army of the Republic that were organized during the Spanish Civil War on the basis of the Mixed Brigades. It came to operate on the Andalusian and Extremadura fronts.

71st Division
71.ª División
Active	September 1937–March 1939
Country	Spain
Allegiance	Republican faction
Branch	Spanish Republican Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Albuñol
Engagements	Spanish Civil War

History

The unit was created in September 1937,^[1] on the Andalusian coastline. Its headquarters were in Albuñol.^[1] Some time after its creation the division was integrated into the XXIII Army Corps.^[2] Later it became a reserve of the Andalusian Army.^[3] In May 1938 members of the division led the liberation of more than three hundred republican prisoners from Carchuna, in the nationalist rear.^[4] In mid-August 1938 the Republican command sent it as reinforcement to the Extremadura front, to the sector defended by the 29th Division.^[5]

Command

Commanders

• Bartolomé Muntané Cirici;^[6]
• Luis Bárzana Bárzana;^[7]
• José Torralba Ordóñez;
• Carlos Cuerda Gutiérrez;^[3]

Commissars

• José Piñeiro Zambrano, of the CNT;^[8]

Chiefs of Staff

• Frumencio Sanmartín López;

Organization

Date	Attached Army Corps	Integrated Mixed Brigades	Battle front
December 1937	XXIII Army Corps	55th, 221st	Andalusia
April 30, 1938	XXIII Army Corps	54th, 55th, 221st	Andalusia
August 16, 1938	VI Army Corps	73rd, 198th, 199th	Estremadura