Madrid: Struggle for the University City - Nov 16, 1936. Action Report, Nov 2020-Jan 2021
(photo above, map of table before game. The left side of the photo represents north, east in the background, south to the right)
Disclaimer: The below article is a report on a war-game. This is a fictional history, merely a description of a play through of a game that, while based on historical events, is not real. Furthermore, this is the first such report I’ve ever written, and it was based on a solo game for a campaign I wrote. Thus, it would be wise to just never read this at all!
On November 15th, survivors of the 3rd Tabor of Tetuan become the first of Column Asensio’s forces to cross the Manzanares river into Madrid. The Battle of University City has begun. In the early morning hours of November 16th, the 3rd Tabor secures the School of Architecture, and push on toward the Casa de Valezquez. Meanwhile, elements of the 6th Bandera of the Foreign Legion follow behind. On the other side of the river, Asensio’s headquarters arrives with 4 tanks.
Across the table, the Durruti Column makes its first appearance in the University City. Durruti sets up headquarters in the top floors of the Hospital Clinic. They bring machine guns to the upper floors and roof. The 1st Agrupacion arrives to the south of the Clinic. José Mira sets up the Agrupacion’s headquarters at the top of the Rubio Institute, while the centurias move into the Asylum of Santa Cristina. The 8th Agrupacion arrives to the north of the Hospital Clinic. Two other D.C. centurias, including the shock forces of the Grupo de Madrid—led by Timoteo--advance toward the Casa de Vaquez.
Still in the first rounds, the 3rd Tabor of Tetuan reach Casa de Valequez and fortify the building. The Grupo de Madrid rushes through the grounds of the Asylum to reach the Agronomical Engineering building, facing the Casa de Valequez.
(3 CNT Centurias, led by the shock group of International volunteers, hurry through the Asylum grounds).
On the next round, Asensio moves up his tanks to the edge of the river, causing the advanced units of Romero’s IV Brigade of the Republican Army to retreat toward the Student Residence building. Asensio then draws first blood, lobbing a single mortar, which lands directly on Romero and his staff, killing the entire IV Brigade headquarters, mortar and one of the two machine gun crews. The few survivors join the remainder of the 1st platoon in the western-most building, by the river.
(Above: Romero's Headquarters, IV Brigade Republican Army).
Meanwhile, the Catalan communists of Lopez-Tiende’s Column Libertad get into action. The HQ section and small group of dinamiteras occupy the Student Residences, and the first platoon takes the trenches on the hill at the edge of the Parque d’Oeste. Within a few rounds, Column Libertad reaches the IV Brigade and establishes communication, though with the loss of the IV Brigade headquarters, neither have a radio or other means to communicate with the anarchists, had they wanted to. A centuria of the Durruti Column advances toward the Student Residences, with orders to bring the communists under Durruti’s command.
On the new front line between the Engineering School and Casa de Valequez, in the first exchange of fire between the two buildings, the Grupo de Madrid kills the 3rd Tabor of Tetuan’s 1st platoon’s teniente, and an anarchist’s grenade on a perfect roll crashes through the window of the Casa and kills 4 more Regulares.
(Second Platoon of Column Libertad, Catalan communists heading to the front)
More Durruti Column centurias converge by the Casa de Vazquez, drawing Morrocan fire from the windows resulting in casualties. Another platoon of the 3rd Tabor reaches the Casa de Vasquez, as does the Tabor’s headquarters. A machine gun section heads to the roof.
Nationalists continue their good luck, drawing a card to bring Foreign Legion cavalry onto the table. The cavalry crosses the river and charges at the first building at the south edge, but draws fire from the IV Brigade garrisoned there and withdraws with heavy losses. A couple more platoons of the 6th Bandera cross the river and make it to the School of Architecture.
Meanwhile, 3 tiznaos join the Durruti Column forces, and 3 tanks arrive to support the communists. Durruti’s tiznaos advance up the north flank, and the tanks head up the left, or south flank. Ahead of the tanks, the Durruti Column centuria reaches Lopez-Tienda and the column’s comisar, Virgilio Llanos Manteca. The Catalan communists predictably refuse to take orders from an anarchist. They do, however, agree to share runners to communicate with the Durruti Column headquarters, and to defend their positions. Across to the north, a third centuria nears the Agronomical Engineering school, with the three Tiznaos following behind. The milicianos, drawing fire from the Casa de Vasquez, take cover behind a fountain.
Next, a bombardment phase commences. A spotter on top of the Casa de Valequez directs 8 rounds of long range artillery, which land in a cluster in front of the Asylum, killing the group of anarchists who had just finished building a barricade, and causing minor damage to the building.
Four german fighter jets and two bombers appear above the Manzanares. Behind them, more Foreign Legion banderas ford the river. An engineering platoon arrives to start building a pontoon bridge, so Asensio can make use of his armor. The fighter jets come in range of the anarchists behind the fountain, who make a break for the Engineering school. Due to a “jammed MGs” card this round, the anarchists are spared. The two bombers approach next, on the same trajectory. They line up the three Durruti Column tiznaos. They drop their payload on the Engineering School, causing damage to the building, and some minor damage to the Durruti Column’s tiznao “King Kong”. The fighter jets, guns now unjammed, fire on Jose Mira’s 1st Agrupacian headquarters, who take cover behind the gates of the Asylum, yet suffer 3 casualties.
The aircraft depart the table, and the 3 tiznaos arrive in front of the Engineering School. A centuria leaves the building to line up behind the armor, while the shock group heads toward the Engineering School’s other door, directly across from the front door of the Casa Valequez. The Republican’s reinforcements, XI Brigades groups Andre Edgar and Dombrowski, arrive, a platoon of each heading toward the tiznaos.
At the top of the Parque d’Oeste, Column Libertad’s 2nd platoon finishes building barricades, effectively advancing the Republican front line. Their mortar lobs shells in three subsequent turns, eliminating the nationalist mortar and causing enough damage to the armor group that Asensio pulls them back off the table until the bridge can be completed. The FT-17 and IVth Brigades rifles all but finish off the fleeing cavalry, and trade shots with the Foreign Legion platoon advancing toward the sports fields. The exchange is harmless, except for one IV Brigader who dies from a rifle round. The 3 Republican tanks roll up the hill and into the sports fields, approaching the front line.
In the rear, platoons of Lister’s V Regiment makes an appearance behind the Hospital Clinic. In front of the Engineering School, the anarchists, international brigades and tiznaos are ready to advance. They charge the front door of the Casa de Vasquez, losing only a few to rifle fire from the windows. A couple anarchist grenades smash through the windows, causing modest losses for the defenders. A Foreign Legion mortar, recently established on the roof of the Architectural School, lands an accurate round, all but eliminating the first Dombrowksi platoon. The other Brigadistas and the anarchists maintain their morale and continue their charge. In the next rounds, a Durruti centuria made up of Internationals—shock troops—storm the Casa de Vazquez. In the hand-to-hand fighting, the anarchists inflict heavy losses on the Moroccan Regulares guarding the first floor, causing the surviving defenders to flee out the back door. A second CNT centuria enters the building. But on the top floors, a platoon of Foreign Legion prepares to fight to regain the first floor, and a Moroccan machine gun crew remains on the roof, firing at the workers below.
On the south edge of the frontline, the balance of power has shifted. The nationalists tanks departed, and the soviet tank group is nearing the last building, where the IV Brigade are held up. The FT-17 charges the Foreign Legion platoon, who have been lobbing grenades at the armor from the cover of the bank of the river. The FT-17’s heavy machine-gun thins out the platoon. Then a grenade goes off in an Army of Africa soldier’s hand, killing all but one of his group. As that survivor flees to join the rest of his platoon behind some trees in front of the Architecture school, the t-26s reach the line. One blasts through the trees, obliterating the platoon. Another scores a hit on Asensio’s truck across the river. A couple mortar rounds land by the FT-17, which, combined with the Foreign Legion soldier’s premature grenade, reduce the light tank’s health, and movement ability, to half.
Reinforcements of Moroccan Regulares rush down the road to try to push out the anarchists in the Casa de Vasquez. They come face to face with two workers’ tiznaos, accompanied by a centuria of Edgar Andre Brigadistas. Both sides inflict casualties on the other, but neither withdraws. The surviving regulars forced from the Casa de Vasquez, seeing reinforcements approaching, regroup and charge back into the building. This was a bad decision. A Tiznao cuts them down as they run for the door, where defenders wait with bayonets. They kill 5 anarchists, but all die for their efforts.
Behind the action, the nationalist engineer’s platoon has finished building the pontoon bridge, and a tiznao and six tanks rush across the river, the first nationalist armor to enter University City. They, too, rush down the road toward the Casa de Vazquez.
The nationalist vanguard fires upon the anarchists’ tiznaos and International Brigadistas behind them. The rear of Asensio's tank column fires their machine guns at the T-26s. One of the eight machine guns miraculously penetrates the armor of the lead tank, killing the gunner before they can return fire. The driver retreats toward the trenches. The remaining T-26s both land their rounds, the first demolishing the damaged truck across the river, the second causing minor damage to an Italian CV-33 tank on the road. Another Moroccan platoon advances from the river, and begins building barricades in front of the School of Engineering. Under orders from HQ, the advanced platoons of Moors fire their rounds and retreat toward the Architectural School. The mortar team on the roof of that building lands a shell behind the anarchist tiznaos, all but destroying the Edgar Andre group there. The surviving international brigade fighters hold their ground, and are joined by the reserve group of anarchist shock fighters. A second Edgar Andre group takes cover in the School of Engineering.
Back in the Casa de Vazquez, the isolated Foreign Legion platoon attempts to rush down the stairs and retake the ground floor. The kill their fair share of anarchists, but no banderistas survive. Now, only the Moroccan machine gun crew remain for the nationalists in the Casa de Vazquez, trapped on the roof. The centuria of shock fighters make their way up the stairs, easily clearing them in the next turn.
The CNT-FAI now control the building. A worker tosses a lucky grenade from the roof of the Engineering building to the roof of the Architectural School, taking out the Nationalists’ most-advanced mortar and machine gun teams.
At this point in the scenario, night has fallen and the cold rain continues. Visibility is minimal. On the street below, the tiznaos have pushed up to the far edge of the Casa. The two armored columns face off, the vehicles trading harmless shots, as neither have anti-tank weapons. Each side’s infantry, seeking cover behind the vehicles, take heavy losses from rifles and MGs in the buildings. Nationalist mortars land accurate hits on the anarchist tiznaos, and obliterate the workers behind them. The nationalist armor column holds its position by the School of Architecture. The CV-33s pull off to the right, firing at the Republican Army tanks in the sports fields. Two of the Republican tanks return fire, while another blows up the damaged truck across the river, killing members of Asensio’s staff and clearing the area. Republican forces charge down the hill behind the tanks, and take cover in the bushes on the edge of the Manzanares.
A platoon of Moors and two German Panzer I tanks arrive at the Architecture building. They are joined by a platoon of Foreign Legioneers, part of the Architectural School’s garrison. The two platoons follow the four tanks as they set off across the sports fields into the flank of the Republican armor column.
The German tanks shoot up the Republican soldiers on the banks of the Manzanares, causing many casualties, though taking shell fire from the T-26s. The T-26s, in turn, take damage from the Banderistas' grenades and mortars across the river. The Republican machine gun on the roof of the house by the river continually misfires, until a mortar round quiets it entirely. Nationalist soldiers reach the house, and the surviving Republican defenders hastily retreat along the side of the Student Residences, taking cover in the trenches. The Republican armor group also heads backward up the hill. Meanwhile, the Nationalist engineers have begun erecting a second bridge, on the south side, to carry more armor and troops across the Manzanares.
In the light of the morning, a Nationalist bombardment pounds the center of the battle field, targeting the Republican armor and anarchist tiznaos. The tiznaos take damage and retreat behind the first line of barricades. The bombs follow closely behind, killing half of a centuria guarding the Plaça. A squadron of fighters and another of bombers appear over the Nationalist lines, headed toward University City.
(Nationalist aircraft return).
Back at the Hospital Clinic, Durruti decides to tour the frontline positions, to get a better sense of where the forces are, and to raise morale. Arriving at the safer end of the Plaça, he takes time to get out of the car and re-organize the frightened defenders at the central barricades. Already, the next wave of Nationalists is crossing the Manzanares, now via two bridges.
On the communist flank, the retreat is halted at the hill top. The tanks and soldiers hold their ground against the the charge of the Morrocan and Foreign Legion infantry. The armored units trade blows, but the Nationalist bomber squadron arrives and settles the question. The two surviving Republican tanks, badly damaged and low on ammo, begin to retreat back toward the next set of lines, all the way across the park. What few surviving communist defenders follow suit. The Nationalists charge up the hill behind them.
Lopez-Tiende and the Column Libertad HQ group attempts to rally the fleeing troops, but they, too, are chased across the park. Nationalist tanks gather on the hill. The engineers even manage to put an abandoned, disabled Republican tank back into action.
Across the table, the Nationalist fighter squadron chases the Tiznao’s out of the Plaça. But when the planes pass to shoot up the defenders on the Asylum roof, the tiznaos return.
Other defenders of the Asylum, encouraged by Durruti, rush up and fill the gap at the center of the table. Durruti’s car races toward the Casa de Vasquez, the fighters flying dangerously close to this leader of the anarchists. The planes pass overhead, and the car continues up through the Plaça, reaching the Engineering School and the Casa de Vasquez, where Durruti organizes a CNT shock centuria, a second CNT centuria, plus a third from the Dombrowski Brigade, to attempt to enter the Architectural School. They accomplish this order before the next wave of Nationalists charging down the road comes into view, and find the east end of the building poorly defended.
Over the next few turns, they enter the building through the windows, and defeat the weak garrison on the ground floor, They fan out across the building and even lay flanking fire on the Nationalists on the road. Durruti remains in the Engineering School until a runner brings news of the early successes in the School of Architecture. He sends the runner back with some recently arrived ammo for the advanced group, and orders them to hold the building. Then, Durruti departs toward the rear to organize more reinforcements toward the School of Architecture. In subsequent rounds, the anarchists clear the building, section by section, eventually reaching the tops floors. The International Brigade volunteers hold the ground floor and prevent any Nationalist pushes from getting further than the foyer.
Outside the windows, the battle for the road is at a standstill. Most of the armor on both sides is immobilized, including Durruti’s “King Kong.” But new nationalist tanks inch closer, with infantry in tow. A captured T-26 in Asensio’s column rushes past the front line, and blasts away a whole barricade’s worth of defenders at the top of the Plaça. The anarchists and brigadistas there have no grenades left to respond with.
On their south flank, Nationalists are taking up positions on the hills, threatening to collapse the center of the Republican front, while the communists continue to flee for their lives back toward the Rubio Institute and Hospital Clinic. A platoon of the V Regiment leaves the Clinic to reinforce the retreating communists. They reach the street on the near end of the park just in time for the Nationalist bomber squadron to drop a line of ordinance along their path. Now the V Regiment platoon, the nearby machine gunners and mortar teams, and the fleeing communists are thrown into further disarray. Their officers are unable to rally them, and the column of Nationalist tanks and infantry have crested the top of the hill, aiming to charge across the park. More Nationalist platoons reach the rally point at the top of the hill, and trucks arrive with machine gun and mortar teams, which begin to set up their weapons.
José Mira leaves his headquarters upstairs in the Rubio Institute and comes out to rally the routing defenders. Mira succeeds, and hope appears to be returning. At that moment, the first Republican-allied aircraft roar overhead. The soviet fighter group begins shooting down German and Italian planes. A squadron of Republican bombers flies over the park, and unloads on the Nationalist armored column on the hill. The bombs immobilize most of the armor, and destroy some of the mortar and MG teams. A small group of anarchist defenders guarding the barricade closest to the center of the table rush up the hill, against all good sense but at the behest of the card drawn that round. They take out another mortar team before perishing themselves. Not to be out-led by Mira, the communist commanders reorganize their troops behind their armor, and prepare to face the enemy.
By this point, the Thaelmann Brigade has relieved the Edgar Andre Brigade, taking up their positions in the Plaça. A platoon from the Garibaldi Brigade has arrived to relieve the Dombrowski Brigade, if they can reach them. Just as in the historic battle, there will be no relief for the Durruti Column centurias, though the last of its reserves has arrived in the Plaça by truck. They disembark and prepare to join a Garibaldi centuria to reinforce the comrades in the School of Architecture.
More and more waves of Nationalists rush across the Manzanares, though they must wade through relentless Soviet bombs falling from above. The larger squadron of Russian fighter planes suffered only minimal damage, yet knocked out all of the nationalist crafts. The Republican aircraft have achieved dominance in the skies.
(Russian fighter planes shoot down nationalist bombers from behind)
(Republican bombers (top) unload on the line of attackers).
Republican air superiority comes not a moment too soon, as swarms of nationalists continue to flood across both bridges, the Republican left flank collapses, and the anarchists in the Architecture building are almost out of ammunition.
At the Architecture school, fresh platoons of Regulares and Foreign Legioneers storm the front doors. At the top of the building, two dinameteros creep toward the window, ready to turn the tide of the battle with one bomb. But when the first man lights the fuse, the bomb explodes in his hand, killing many of his comrades. Below, the nationalists burst into the foyer, and advance through the next door, engaging with the brigadistas inside. Just then, the Soviet bombers curve around, and unload their payload on the nationalists in front of the building. The Dombrowski group drives back the attackers in the foyer, holding the building until the next wave arrives. Three more platoons cross the bridge.
Back in the Plaça, the Thaelmann platoons have taking up their positions at the barricades, and attack the isolated nationalist tank with grenades. The Republican bombers make their turn above, flatten the tank, and head across the table. Thaelmann comrades turn to trade fire with an advanced section of Foreign Legioneers rushing down the center. Another section of the Thaelmann brigade advances into the plumes of smoke surrounding the disabled pieces of armor on the road.
Across the table, the nationalists regroup on the top of the hill. Fresh platoons arrive, with heavy weapons in trucks.
But the Republican defenders on the other side of the park have spread out across the barricades, and rolled three tanks, accompanied by Vth Regiment Infantry, into the field. Durruti arrives on the left front, and leaves his car to raise the defenders morale. Two mortar teams, one anarchist and another communist, land accurate rounds on the top of the hill.
Despite all of the platoons converging there, the Nationalists cannot pull together an attack force in the face of overwhelming fire. The last of their reinforcements are racing across the sports fields, but the Republican bombers have circled back around. Unable to wait, the advanced nationalist force charges across the field behind their last two operational tanks. The first tank, a Lancaster, drives slowly into the park, straight at the three Republican tanks facing it.
Two Republican tanks miss the target, but the third disables the Lancaster. The communist militiamen charge the nationalist infantry. The hand-to-hand combat that ensues is brutal, leaving few standing on either side. The strong line of Republicans behind the action await the movement of the few remaining enemy soldiers, only now appearing at the top of the hill.
On the north side of the table, more platoons of attackers rush into the Architecture building. Two more brave dinameteros on the top floor above crawl toward the window. The first man’s grenade is a dud. But the second lands his blast, slaughtering many of the attackers below. But two platoons have already entered the foyer. They burst through the next set of doors, and into the fire of the International Brigades. The volunteers’ aim is off, and many attackers survive to return fire, with accuracy. The entire remaining attack force is able to enter the building, but the defenders hold their ground.
(Above, Nationalists storm the center of the Architecture Building. Below, Anarchists and Brigadistas hold their ground)
At that moment, the first Garibaldi platoon comes through the windows to the east, along with the reserve Durruti centuria. Outside the building, the furthest-advanced Durruti Column shock group rounds the corner of the architect building, and take up positions to fire on any enemies attempting to cross bridge.
In the next round, the Nationalists in the main section of the Architecture building win initiative, and in an intense and accurate volley, kill all but two of their enemies in the room. The last two anarchist militiamen, however, refuse to retreat, holding on long enough for the rest of the Garibaldi platoon and the reinforcing anarchist centuria to swarm in through the windows. With grenades and rifle rounds, they destroy all the nationalists. Outside, the Thaelman and Garibaldi brigadistas close in on the few surviving attackers through the smoke on the road. Further south, the last group of nationalists attackers rally at the top of the hill, preparing for a final, desperate attempt to break the lines. But a local centuria of Madrid anarchists, part of the Cipriano Mera column, have arrived by truck. Durruti himself sends them off with some inspirational words, and they rush up to join the Republican tanks facing the hill. The Mera group sends a single grenader, who’s accurate throw effectively ends the final attack force.
The rest of the Mera Column centuria joins their daring comrade, and they follow the tanks up the hill.
Tank shells and soviet bombs from above leave only a few surviving soldiers, who sprint back toward the Manzanares. Mera’s workers chase behind them, while the north bridge has already fallen to the Durruti Column’s advanced shock group. The Red and Black flag flies on the shore of the Manzanares, and Ascencio’s headquarters group withdraws in defeat.
Conclusion:
In the game, the Republicans scored a massive victory, driving the Nationalists out of the University City. In the historic battle, the Nationalists were able to capture and hold much of the University City, though could not advance further until the end of the war. Certain factors seem to have made this game scenario more favorable to the Republicans than in the actual event, even with the large numerical superiority assigned to the attackers. In the game, the Nationalists suffered greatly attempting to cross the open fields against fortified buildings. As was the case in 1936, the Nationalist tanks were all but useless against their Soviet opponents. Furthermore, because the Republicans began with a front line on the south flank already pressed up against the river, and because the anarchists and brigadistas rapidly advanced their lines early on in the north, it was impossible for the nationalists to hold a frontline far enough out to assemble an attack force behind. The sports field and hills became a killing ground. Once Soviet fighters downed the last fascist plane, nationalist reinforcements quickly ran out.
It may have made for a more balanced game to run the scenario on a larger table, perhaps an 8’ square (rather than 8'x4+' as I used), or otherwise arranging the front line down the length of the table, instead of the width, to create a longer front line. With the short frontline advanced toward the Nationalist side, it was easy to concentrate defenders on the flanks, with only a couple centurias positioned in the center of the table. Having nationalist artillery fire to begin every round, as opposed to only during a few pre-determined phases, may also have created a more realistic and balanced representation of the engagement.
Lastly, Durruti survived the game battle—another departure from history. I’m not sure I could have let him die. Perhaps for the next play through I will have to add three cards to the deck that could kill Durruti. Based on the historic theories (even though some seem more likely thank others), one card may read “nearest communist unit turns to assassinate Durruti;” another “Durruti’s gun misfires. The comrade is gravely wounded;” and a third "Nationalist sniper hits Durruti." In all, this was an enjoyable and illuminating experience, though I’m not sure any one else would enjoy it in the same way. This game was by far the largest I’ve ever played. One of my biggest issues is that I was constantly running out of forces, especially for the attackers, and had to use substitutions. I'd expected there to be faster carnage, and thus more available forces. In the future, I would probably run the game on a smaller scale (I attempted to play with 25 minis = 100 milicianos, but had to make further reductions.) The game ran for 25 turns, lasting about an hour each, played over the course of two months. It was the cumulation of a solo play-through of a campaign I'm working on, tentatively titled "A Zaragoza!", following the Durruti Column’s actions beginning in July 1936.
