Spanish Republic Nationalist Spain Germany Thomas: 85,000[2]Beevor: 70,000[3]Jackson: 50,000 infantry[4] Thomas: 300 aircraft[5]Beevor: 50 bombers, 90 fighters (only 50 serviceable)[6]Jackson: 100 aircraft [7] The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War.

[15] Once Brunete had been taken, and after some reorganization, the plan was that the offensive would then in a second phase continue in the direction of Talavera de la Reina, a move that would eventually cut off the Nationalist forces outside Madrid.

[16] From a political standpoint, the offensive was chosen for Brunete to satisfy communist demands and to prove to the Russians that the Spanish possessed military initiative.

Prime Minister Juan Negrín needed to convince the French Premier Camille Chautemps that the Spanish Republic was still capable of military action after the disastrous losses of Málaga and Bilbao.

[22] The terrain where the battle was to be fought is pretty hilly, with many ridges and small creeks, but for the most part open, and thus accessible to the Republicans new Soviet tanks, which they now intended to put to their first full use.

The first attacks started already during the night of July 5/6, with Republican forces in the cover of darkness penetrating deep into the thinly held Nationalist lines.

The Nationalist forces there were completely taken by surprise, and it wasn't until the morning attacks started that they realised the full extent of the Republican operation.

During the morning all available manpower was rushed into the faltering front line, these included personnel from local staffs, field hospitals and supply units, and by noon the 12th, 13th and 150th Divisions along with parts of the Condor Legion were on their way to help bolster the defense.

The Republican Colonel Jurado diverted the 15th Division to end the stalemate at Villanueva de la Cañada and the British Battalion of the XVth Brigade managed to clear the village of Nationalists by 7 am on July 7.

During the night of the 7/8 July general Miaja committed his reserve, the XVIII Army Corps, in an attack towards the east, in the direction of the Guadarrama River.

On the morning of July 9, two Republican brigades attacked at Quijorna, and, after taking heavy casualties, they were able to finally clear the village of Nationalist defenders.

But the Republican planes were slow and obsolete, which would assure the German Legion Condor almost total control of the air as the battle would unfold.

The Republicans were able to trap the Nationalist garrison in Villafranca del Castillo, forcing General Varela to send the 5th Brigade of Navarre to relieve the pressure.

The arrival of the Navarrese tipped the balance in favor of the Nationalists as the Republicans were forced from their positions and fled back across the Guadarrama River.

As large Nationalist ground and air reinforcements had arrived to the threatened front, and as the planned pincer movement from the Carabanchel area south of Madrid had failed to make any impression, the Republican offensive was clearly grinding to a halt.

And the offensive had indeed relieved the Nationalist pressure on the Basque country, and it had proved to friend and foe that the Republican forces were rapidly increasing in both strength and capacity.

The Republican forces had suffered big losses, not only from the actual fighting, but also due to the extreme heat, which, combined with lack of water, had incapacitated many soldiers.

The counteroffensive started early that morning with a lengthy artillery barrage over the Republican front lines, together with heavy aerial attacks by Nationalist air units.

However the Nationalists made only small gains this day: the western group managed to capture some hills northwest of Quijorna, while the eastern force took some ground east of the Guadarrama.

While the see-saw battle raged on the eastern flank of the salient, the Republican forces on the west side held their ground, despite heavy attacks concentrated mainly on the terrain around Quijorna.

However, on July 23 the eastern forces finally made a major breakthrough, and managed to fight their way across the Guadarrama, close to the place where the small Aulencia flows into the larger river.

Varela wanted to continue his attacks but Franco ordered them to halt so that troops could be moved north for the start of the offensive against the strategically important port of Santander.

(On July 25 the German war photographer Gerda Taro was fatally wounded when the car she was riding in was hit by a Republican tank more or less out of control due to a Nationalist air attack.)

[25] Politically, the communists suffered a loss of prestige because the offensive failed to stop the Nationalist troops from completing the conquest of the north.