Maroto Column

The column was founded in Alicante, in the summer of 1936, by the Granadin anarchist leader Francisco Maroto del Ojo.[1] At first it was made up of 270 anarchist militiamen.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] At the end of 1936, the attempts to militarize this militia met with the opposition of their commander, Maroto del Ojo.[5]

After its militarization the unit disappeared and its troops integrated into the 89th and 147th mixed brigades, on the Andalusian front.[3]

• Gil Bracero, Rafael (1998). Revolutionaries without revolution. Marxists and anarcho-syndicalists at war: Granada-Baza, 1936-1939. University of Granada.
• Mainar, Eladi (1998). From milicians to soldats. The Valencian columns in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). University of Valencia. ISBN 84-370-3349-7.
• Ramírez Navarro, Antonio (2018). Although pain and death await us. History of the libertarian movement in Almería. Editorial Universitaria de Almería.
• Ramos, Vicente (1972). The Civil War (1936-1939) in the province of Alicante. Alicante Library.