Battle of Cape Espartel

Battle of Cape Espartel
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Republican destroyer Almirante Ferrandiz, sunk during the battle
Date September 29, 1936 Location Strait of Gibraltar, near Tangier, present-day Morocco Result Decisive Nationalist victory
Belligerents
Spanish Republic	Nationalist Spain
Commanders
	Francisco Moreno
Strength
2 destroyers	2 heavy cruisers
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer sunk 1 destroyer damaged	None

The Battle of Cape Espartel was a naval battle of the Spanish Civil War that broke the Republican blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, securing the naval supply route to Spanish Morocco for the Nationalists early in the war. The action ocurred on September 29, 1936 between two Nationalist cruisers and a squadron of Republican destroyers.

Background

The Nationalist conspirators at Ferrol had been able to seize the city's naval base in July, but at a large cost to the Spanish Navy: Over thirty officers had been shot by hundreds of mutinous sailors, loyal to the Revolution, that were imprisoned afterwards or killed in the fighting.

Their prize included the old battleship España (formerly the Alfonso XIII), the cruisers Almirante Cervera and the unfinished Canarias, two light cruisers, one destroyer, and a number of torpedo boats and sloops. In September, a small squadron, including the Almirante Cervera and Canarias, steamed from Ferrol to engage the Republican navy.

At the start of the war, the Republican navy had the battleship Jaime I, three light cruisers, 14 destroyers, plus five submarines. In addition to the España, the two cruisers and one destroyer taken by the Nationalists, by the following year they had completed the Almirante Cervera and Canarias, plus they had purchased four destroyers and two submarines from Italy. The Nationalists established a blockade of the Republican-held coastline for the entire duration of the war, but their paucity of ships limited the blockade's effectiveness.

The battle

The Nationalists engaged a squadron of Republican destroyers stationed near Cape Espartel on the western end of the Straits. A fierce exchange of fire followed during which the destroyer Almirante Ferrándiz was sunk and the Gravina was blackened and wrecked. The surviving Republican destroyer retreated toward Casablanca. This action was decisive to opening the Straits to the insurgent's shipping.^[1][2]

Notes

References

• Hugh Thomas (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Modern Library. ISBN 0-375-75515-2. 
• Cortada, James: Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Greenwood Press, 1982. ISBN 0313220549

External links

• Summary of Major Campaigns and Offensives

This article about a battle in Spanish history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

v • d • e Tangier History History of Tangier · Battle of Cape Spartel · Battle of Cape Espartel · First Moroccan Crisis · Treaty of Tangiers · List of colonial heads of Tangier · Tangier Garrison · 2nd Tangier Regiment · Tangier Regiment · Tangier Protocol Economy Economy of Tangier · Tangier Exportation Free Zone · Tanger-med Districts and streets Tangier City Center · Grand Socco · Petit Socco · Quartier du Marshan · Rue Es-Siaghine · Rue de la Liberté · Avenue Pasteur · Avenue d'Espagne Religious buildings Tangier Grand Mosque · Kasbah Mosque · Sidi Bou Abib Mosque · Church of the Immaculate Conception · Anglican Church of St. Andrew Palaces and museums Dar el Makzhen · Ancien Palace du Mendoub · American Legation · Forbes Museum of Tangier · Museum of Moroccan Arts and Antiquities · Museum of Contemporary Art · Fondation Lorin · Musée de Carmen-Macein Other buildings Borj en Naam · Gran Teatro Cervantes · Hotel Continental (Tangier) · Café Hafa · Tangerinn · Villa Muniria Schools and colleges Tangier Anglo-Moroccan School · The American School of Tangier Transport Rabat-Tangier expressway · Tangier-Boukhalef Airport Sport and Culture Atletico Tanger · IR Tanger · Stade de Tanger · Stade de Marchan · Cap Radio (Morocco) Geography Bay of Tangier · Parc de la Mendoubia · Colline du Charf · Cape Spartel · Cape Malabata