[1] During the first months of the war, it became the most recognized and popular military organisation fighting against Franco, and it is a symbol of the Spanish anarchist movement and its struggle to create an egalitarian society with elements of individualism and collectivism.

Fearing attack, the anarchist and communist organisations such as CNT-FAI along with Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ("Partit Obrer d'Unificació Marxista", POUM) and the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia ("Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya", PSUC) organised themselves into militia units and took weapons from the arsenals with the support of the people responsible for the arsenals, mostly non-commissioned officers.

On 20 July 1936, Durruti and other anarchists such as Juan García Oliver and Diego Abad de Santillán, participated in a meeting with Lluis Companys, the President of Catalonia.

The advance stopped near the city banks because Durruti became convinced by Colonel Villalba, the leader of all the republican forces, that if he reclaimed Zaragoza, he may become isolated from the rest of the fighters.

Nowadays it is doubted if that was a good decision since the republican forces were greater in number; however, some state that in the event of an open battle a lack of weapons and supplies could have led to total disaster.

Waiting for the more convenient moment to attack Zaragoza turned out to be a grave mistake because, in time, Franco's forces became more powerful there and made it impossible to reclaim the city.

At the time the capital of Spain was in grave danger of being overtaken by the fascists and Federica Montseny convinced Durruti to leave Catalonia.

Due to the Soviet forces growing in power, the other militias were organized into a regular army and the Durruti Column was transformed into the 26th infantry division.

Those who survived and escaped to France which right before World War II experienced a rise of nationalist sentiments, were put into concentration camps.

Some managed to escape to different countries of Latin America and stayed there for the rest of their lives, sometimes even organising with the indigenous people mini-anarchist states in the jungle, as did Antonio García Barón.

Its general delegate, liaising with the War Committee, was the French artillery captain named Berthomieu, who died on 16 October during the Battle of Perdiguera.

[16] The column also had an international group, containing fighters from several countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Morocco, Britain and the United States.

[15] A "war committee", advised by the military-technical council, coordinated the column's operations from the headquarters at Bujaraloz, where fighters were provided with services such as: health care, food and mechanic support.