The Lincoln Battalion (also wrongly known as Abraham Lincoln Brigade) was the 17th (later the 58th) battalion (it was an infantry battalion) of the XV International Brigade, that formed part of the International Brigades at the Spanish Civil War. With its headquarters in Albacete, it was formed by a group of American volunteers who served as soldiers, technicians, medical personnel and aviators that fought in the conflict, who were totally around 3,000 volunteers, of which around 700 died at the battle field or also by wounds or sickness.
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| Lincoln Battalion's flag |
The Lincoln Battalion was integrate like successor of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion. A great part of the volunteers came from the Mackenzie-Papineau, also known as "Mac-Pap" Battalion (a Canadian Brigade) which suffered heavy losses and transfered 1,891 men. Many of the soldiers were either first or second generation immigrants, and the battalion was overwhelmingly white.
Americans usually entered Spain by first emigrating to France because the United States Government was not issuing visas to Spain as part of its non-intervention policy. Few American soldiers arrived after September 1937. Battalion members fought for many different reasons. For the 85 African-American members of the battalion, the Nationalists represented all the injustices they faced back in the US. Furthermore, Franco was supported by Mussolini's Fascist Italian army and air force which had only recently conquered the African nation of Ethiopia, a beacon of Black nationalism around the globe.
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| Lincoln Battalion's volunteers, with Oliver Law (first African-American commander of the American army) |
The units that composed the Lincoln Battalion were:
*20th Battalion, 86th Brigade: This unit fought on the Cordoba front, being most of the American volunteers transferred from this unit to the XVth International Brigade.
*George Washington Battalion (2nd American battalion): Joint with the Lincoln Battalion during the Brunete Campaign, this unit was commanded by Mirko Markovics, with Dave Mates as its commissar.
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| Mirko Markovics (left, with the sovietic Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Copic) |
*Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion (“Mac-Pap” Battalion)
*2nd Squadron, 1st Regiment de Tren (transportation unit): Commanded by Durward Clark.
*The John Brown Battery (14th Battery, 2nd Group, 11th Regiment): Heavy artillery unit.
*4th Group, 35th Battery.
It was associated with the Lincoln Battalion the American Medical Bureau (AMB), an humanitary institution organised by the Dr. Edward K. Barsky that provided medical assistance to the Republican band, recruiting doctors, dentists, nurses, administrators and ambulance dirvers.
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| AMB's armband |
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| Dr. Edward K. Barsky |
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| Delmer Berg on 2015 |
Oliver Law
Oliver Law (Texas, 23 de octubre de 1900 - Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, 9 de julio de 1937) fue un sindicalista, comunista y activista social afroamericano que estuvo primeramente en el ejército estadounidense entre 1919 y 1925, sirviendo de soldado raso en el 24º Regimiento de Infantería. Tras ello, probó suerte en otros empleos, estando muy activo en el desempleo, así como en el activismo social.
Tras este periplo por el mundo laboral, se unió al Batallón Abraham Lincoln en 1936, llegando a España en enero de 1937 para servir en una compañía de ametralladoras, de la que llegaría a ser comandante tras su buena actuación en la Batalla del Jarama (6-27 de febrero de 1937); algunas semanas después, sería ascendido a comandante del batallón. A principios de junio, cuando las tropas republicanas se trasladaban a Brunete para llevar a cabo una gran ofensiva contra los nacionalistas, Law murió abatido en el Cerro del Mosquito cuando lideraba a sus hombres.
Viriatos (Portuguese intervention)
Viriatos, named after the Lusitanian leader Viriathus, was the generic name given to Portuguese volunteers who fought with the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.
Emblem of Portuguese volunteers Viriatos.
In the first weeks of the war the Portuguese Army tried to form this expeditionary army to aid the right-wing insurgents in Spain. The Legion was disbanded before any recruitment drive could take place after pro-Republican incidents in Portugal convinced the government that direct intervention on the side of the Nationalists could cause many unrest in the country. Due to the widespread publicity given to the Viriatos Legion all the Lusitanian volunteers enlisted in the Nationalist armies were known as Viriatos.
Portuguese volunteers marching.
According to historian experts, among 8,000 and 12,000 Portuguese participated. The objectives were to protect the interests of Portugal and to collate information on the lessons learned in the Spanish Civil War.










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