Monday, December 5, 2016

Spanish Civil War - Madrid Militia, 1936


Here are a few Spanish Civil War figures I finished recently in observance of the Siege of Madrid, which occurred 80 years ago this past month.


By the end of October, 1936 Franco's Nationalists closed around Madrid and prepared to assault the Republican-held city.


While the Republicans were at the time recognized as the official government of Spain, their cause was hampered by the loss of the majority of the Spanish army, many of which had sided with Franco's rebels. As such they had to rely heavily on the active support of civilian militias, militarized worker's unions and foreign fighters. 



Early in November, the Nationalists began their assault on Madrid in earnest. They forced their way into the western part of the city, crossing the Rio Manzanares and advanced into the grounds of the city's University. Bitter combat raged amongst the college buildings and also north of the city, where the Nationalists attempted to cut-off both water and electricity to the city. By early December, with approximately 10,000 casualties suffered by both sides, Franco called off the assault with no real gains. 



Nonetheless, Madrid remained under siege until the end of the war, finally falling at the end of March 1939. Tens of thousands of the city's defenders were rounded up to either be executed or perishing in prison camps. 

These 28mm  figures are from the excellent Empress Miniatures range. 

Thanks for dropping in. Next up are some reinforcements for my Italian Wars collection.

32 comments:

  1. Very nice.

    The Spanish Civil War has always been something on my gaming radar to do at some point, but I never seem to get around to it. I have amassed a fair number of generic early-mid 20th century armed civilians/partisans that I've used for all sorts of conflicts (real or fictional) from 1920-ish to 1940-something. I expect they'll come in handy when I get to it.

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    1. It's a very evocative and colourful period while also being quite tragic. I'm oddly fascinated by it because it's so conflicted and doomed. The Good Guys fight hard and are largely ignored - the Villains stick together and rise triumphant. What was old is new again? :/

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  2. You did not mention the British Battalion of the XV International Brugades stand at Jarama?

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    1. Umm, no, because the post is about the Siege of Madrid in 1936 while the Battle of Jarama was in February 1937.

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  3. They look excellent. The colours are superb for that era. cheers

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    1. My current inspiration came from binging on 'Peaky Blinders'. ;)

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  4. Excellent looking troops Curt! Your jump starting your SCW engines for the challenge I see.

    Christopher

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    1. Yes, I'm getting limbered up for the Challenge, Christopher!

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  5. Good job, I like this period.
    The photo shows Russian volunteers requete 8)

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  6. Lovely painting on very nice sculpts ,your right it's a tragic and evocative period with lots of colourful and distinctive units,flags and tanks! What's not to like . If you do want to look at Jarama In a shallow grave ,an autobiography by an international brigade veteran is a good read .
    Looking forward to your renaissance figures.
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain, I'll have to hunt a copy of that down to add to my collection.

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    2. I think it's "In a shallow grave " by Walter Gregory he ended up as a communist local councilor in Nottingham.
      Best Iain

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    3. I'm sure you have this one, but just in case
      https://www.amazon.com/They-Shall-Not-Pass-Battalion-ebook/dp/B01DPPWGLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481119478&sr=8-1&keywords=ben+hughes+they+shall+not+pass

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  7. Empress minis are a joy to pait and your work is outstanding. Only caveat is the guy in short sleeves: Nov 36 was a very cold month and he's going to freeze to death :-)
    There is a limited range of SCW models in 28mm and nobody has worked in wither dressed minis yet to play the large battles between Nov 36 and March/April 37 (Seseña, Madrid, Jarama, Guadalajara, Carretera de la Coruña)... any manufacturer out there wanting to cover this gap??

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    1. Yeah, well, you work with what you got. I agree, some greatcoated figures would be brilliant.

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  8. Those Empress miniatures do look sharp, and you've done an excellent job on them!

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  9. Nicely done, do love a bit of SCW knew of my favourite periods, agree with all the above the Empress Miniatures are superb, great to paint, top work.

    Regards Ken
    The Yarkshire Gamer

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  10. Really nice painting work with those mute uniforms.

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  11. Very tidy brushwork sir! You've managed to get the palette just right and as Juan says the muted colours work really well.

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  12. Lovely work. I'm reading about the Greek resistance at the moment and Gorgon Studio's make miniatures of them eek. These lovely beauties you've done though Spanish aren't helping my willpower!

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  13. Warming up your engines for our side duel it seems. Fabulous work Curt!

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Thanks for your comment! As long as you're not a spam droid I'll have it up on the blog soon. :)