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Have you tried an attack on Zaragoza with the anarchist colums from Barcelona?
That's what was done historically, and although it failed, they recovered a significant amount of ground.
It could slow the nationalist advance in the north somewhat.

Piteas wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2026 5:55 pm Have you tried an attack on Zaragoza with the anarchist colums from Barcelona?
That's what was done historically, and although it failed, they recovered a significant amount of ground.
It could slow the nationalist advance in the north somewhat.

That's a great question, and you are correct that the best thing I can do is create trouble elsewhere. So I'm trying!

I'll detail a couple of those in this report for sure......but so far it's not exactly from the Barcelona direction. You do get quite a few columns from Catalonia, but alot of them are on Mallorca for now.

August 16,1936

COMRADES! Another report from the Front!

Republican Offensive Moves:

Piteas is right; I can't get to the North directly, but I can at least try to divert troops, or make him pay for their absence.

One area is Extremadura; we are absorbing space here for sure, and have some of his forces sort of surrounded; he is sending strong forces up the rail line from the South to relieve them:
There isn't much between us and Salamanca, so we are moving that way, and otherwise just taking all the empty towns to the Portuguese border. He does have that strong column coming up, that includes African troops.

Extremadura isn't that strategic, but he does need to clear that rail line in order to connect the two halves of the Nationalist realm....so he has to put forces there for sure

We also have another attack planned, which for OP SEC reasons I am keeping to myself for now.....but it will be uncorked shortly, so stay tuned!

Mallorca:

Speaking of Mallorca, we have cleared everything on the island except Palma; I have 8000 troops and will test the defenses, but my suspicion is that I don't have enough to take it. At that point I'll have to make a decision: Either get more troops, or wind it down.

I have taken out all the CD guns, which will make the airbase difficult to use long-term (because I'll be able to easily bombard it with my Navy)...so this does have a benefit. We shall see!

Santander:

Our defenses south of Santander have cracked; with the terrain more open on this side, and 15,000 Nationalist troops coming up the road, it's just about decision time. I have about 8000 troops there, and they are all going to have to go one of 3 directions: EAST toward the Ring of Iron, NORTH into the port, or WEST toward Asturias. One thing we can't do is hang around in the open terrain just south of Santander and hope to hold out; that's not going to cut it.
Decisions, decisions.....Przemek is really all-in up North, which I think is a good idea, and he pressed in the right place. It probably helps alot that we ran this movie before with him as the Republic, so he knows where to attack!

Malaga:

A strong Nationalist move here as well, coming down from the North. I still have a pathway out toward the East, but I'm not that worried about getting cut-off; I have tons of shipping and can lift everyone out if it comes down to it. (and I am gathering shipping for that purpose, just in case)
The main problem with losing Malaga is that it will further strain my ability to re-fuel the blockade forces on the other side of the Strait. It's becoming a real problem now, as every time I transit to refuel it seems like a ship gets hit. I'm already down to just one cruiser (though the damaged ones will be back in a reasonable timeframe).

I could bring down Jaime I, but would hate to cede sea control up north, particularly as I may need it soon

August 21, 1936

COMRADES!

To fight the forces of Fascism, all must be mobilized to the Republican cause, including our Chickens! Our Pollos Revolucionarios are marching forward to make more chickens for the Republic!

(This doesn't have anything to do with the game, but I saw it and thought it was funny!)
Naval Update:

We are down to one cruiser that isn't damaged, but she continues to enforce a blockade of the Strait. We see Nationalist planes flying over constantly, so the airlift continues; 15-20 planes seem to be in service lifting troops.

Our bombers are repairing a bit, but I don't miss them much....they really don't his anything.

Republic Del Norte:

The positions in front of Santander collapsed; I am certain I'll have to evacuate the port shortly. That's quick, but let's see if I can even hold out until August (!).

I'll have to look at when I took Santander in the other game, but I want to say it was October....either way, it's the first place to fall up there, and very difficult to defend.

We are ahead of the last game in Asturias; Oveido is still isolated, though we are now being pushed back at the Western end at Ribodeo; we will have to fall back, and the terrain isn't as good closer to GIjon, so we may need to contract soon.
Malaga:

The Nationalists have also surrounded Malaga; I'm not worried about being cut-off, as you can see I have a ton of ships there, basically enough to pull the garrison off all at once. What I would like to do, however, is take out most of the supplies, and not leave any for the Nationalists.

August 16, 1936:

COMRADES!

All is not lost however, as we are launching several offensives to hopefully take pressure off the North!

Extremadura:

I don't expect to hold all this ground, but we are now besieging Caceres, and I expect to take it. I am not 100% sure of the wisdom of this expedition, but it's training our troops, and will force him to move units into this area for sure....as he HAS to clear that rail line. We have taken towns all the way to the Portuguese border.
Other DIrections:

A large extended map showing other offensives; we are moving units in the Levant toward Zaragossa; this area the Nationalists seem particularly weak. We'll find out how weak!

Near Guadalajara, he has a few Battalions hanging on, but we are working to outflank that position. This is a pretty serious threat that I think he'll have to counter.

The most serious is down in Teruel, where I have the garrison completely surrounded. I would like to liquidate them all before help arrives, then move northward.
Teruel is a real pain to defend for the Nationalists BTW; if I play the Nationalists again I might be inclined to just abandon it. Doesn't seem right since Franco fought so hard for the place, but it's not terribly important.

August 27, 1936

COMRADES!

Our first task is to WIN THE WAR! To that end we are moving forward on all fronts!
Offensives:

Teruel did fall after about 4 days, and we captured 2200 Nationalist Troops in the process (the 3 units that start in the city). That position is very exposed IMO for the Nationalists, if I play that side again I'd probably abandon it.

We are also advancing on Zaragossa, and also NE of Madrid, though in that direction we are a bit hung-up on a couple towns right now. Will try a flanking attack.
The offensive in Extremadura is pretty much halted, as we are stuck on Caceres; meanwhile, a large Nationalist force took Merida, and Badajoz is also fallen. They are advancing up the tracks toward Caceres, no doubt to clear this rail line.

Del Norte:

This is the biggest problem right now; the Santander position collapsed, forcing me back into the city. Worse, large forces are approaching Bilbao from the West. We cannot let him take the Ring of Iron, so I am moving forces around to hopefully hold him off.

Asturias continues to hold, but I fear that may not be much longer; I am pressed in 3 directions there, and if just one starts to fall, that will topple the whole position outside Gijon.

September 3, 1936

COMRADES! Another update from the front!

Naval Update:

Nationalist bombers are starting to be active; Ju-52s hit Libertad with a couple bombs, causing fires. Apparently our crew put the fires out pretty quickly, because the damage was minimal, but it did take out an AA gun. Another attack like that however and I may have to abandon the blockade:
Speaking of the blockade.....my opponent indicates that all of the infantry in Africa has been airlifted over the strait, as of 9/2.....which is pretty close to historical. The Cavalry and Artillery is still stuck in Morocco, but the fighting men are over. That's another reason I may have to abandon the blockade if there is a threat to my ships, though I do want to keep that Cavalry in Morocco (they are effective)

Republic del Norte:

I've seen this movie before because the exact thing happened in my last game with Przemek, because I played the other side....but defenses in Asturias are now collapsing. This is on top of the collapse of the Santander position. Our troops in Asturias are falling back on Gijon.

On the map, I marked 3 spots here; these are key chokepoints to defend Asturias, because the terrain around the road is difficult or impassible. Pajares is a natural defensive point in the south (though you have to leave a unit in Mieres to guard your rear from the Oveido garrison). To the West, Ribadeo and/or Luarca are the best you can do; they can both be flaked, but it's at least rough terrain with a river. Finally, once Santander falls the best position is Unquera; there's a river, and a mountain immediately to the south, so you cannot be flanked.
All of these positions held for awhile, but if any of the 3 fall, then eventually he's going to get in your rear, get to the Oveido garrison, and force the withdrawl of the other positions. In this case, he broke Ribeadeo and Luarco, using just the Galicians forces. While I held him at the other two spots, it ultimately didn't matter; it was retreat or get cut-off.

I think the playbook for the Nationalists against the North in the first two months is pretty clear:

1. Gather forces, and start pressing all around; take San Sebastian, and force him back into the Ring of Iron from the East.
2. Focus main effort south of Santander; drive up the roads and isolate the port, severing the North in two parts
3. Once you've cleared the open ground around Santander, you should send the strongest force toward Zierbena, along the coast near Bilbao. Why? Because it only has 2-level forts at-start, and is the weakest link in the Ring of Iron.
4. Also send forces toward Gijon along the coastal road; this will roll-up Asturias

The Asturians cannot be cut-off from Gijon; that's a death sentence, so the only option is to retreat to the safety of the city.

The forts in Gijon are high, and there should be plenty of supplies if the Republic controls the sea up there (which they should at this stage), so it's going to hold out a long time

The priority for the Republic, above all else, should be to hold the Ring of Iron. Early-on, I moved every engineer I had to Zierbena to get the forts up. I also evacuated all troops from Santander; I would rather hand that port over then have a crack in the Ring of Iron.

If you lose the Ring of Iron, it's big trouble, because it's difficult to make a last-stand in Bilbao. Why? Stacking limits...with reinforcements, etc, it will quickly become a massive refugee camp, and you'll be looking to get troops killed just to eliminate mouths to feed.

Extremadura:

The fun is over for our little offensive; Przemek is getting serious here, and serious means bringing elite troops; several African units make it to Caceres, and once that happens we start to lose the combats. Now, he is attacking, and a loss is inevitable.

So, rather than stay and get pummeled, we have to start a retreat; buy time to find a better defensive position

I do want to block the railway as long as possible....I hope to do that another month if I can

September 8, 1936\

COMRADES! Setbacks from the front but we know the people will prevail!

Republic del Norte:

We are withdrawing into Gijon; fighting outside is a losing proposition, but the city has level-5 forts and over 125K supplies, with more coming on Soviet frieghters. I am not concerned about holding out, and anticipate being able to punch back after a couple months of training and low-level fighting in the city.

We are also pulling back to the Ring of Iron; with the troops from Santander, and delaying tactics, plus some upcoming reinforcements, I feel relatively safe here. The forts at Zierbena are approaching Level 4. I am also increasing the forts in Bilbao itself. We have 180K supplies with more on the way.

Outside of those cities, it's just garrison towns

Zaragossa area

The advance continues, particularly Southwest of town, where I don't yet see a halt line. We continue to advance a bit every day.
Malaga:

Malaga finally falls; the last attack was 4-1, at which point I pulled all the units out of the city via ship. There is no point to getting all the troops captured, and we were able to drop them all at Almeria. There are alot of advantages to controlling the sea; makes it alot easier at least fighting on the coast.

Palma de Mallorca:

Speaking of sea control.....with Palma I was having unsuccessful shock attacks using 7,000 troops. At that point, you reach a decision: Commit more troops, keep a stalemate going, or leave.

I figured it would take at least another 7,000 to really take the town....pulling and transporting that many troops from Spain could not be done without cancelling the Zaragossa offensive, and diluting other fronts....so I decided against the "Double-Down" option.

I am keeping a force there, for now, while I haul supplies from the Black Sea. I can't starve it out, because Italian ships visit dropping supplies. I am starting to pull a few units for the front, as I don't need 7,000 troops to keep him bottled in the town.

I think I will likely keep up this stalemate, simply to keep the airbase on Mallorca closed, giving myself free transit in the Med until December. By that point, I think I will have emptied Odessa of all supplies and fuel. I'll probably pull all the forces before the CTV arrives, because they could make it messy on the island!

September 21, 1936

COMRADES!

My apologies for skipping ahead a bit, forgot to update, and we're flipping turns pretty fast. Some updates!

Naval Update:

Nationalist bombers are peppering my warships in the Atlantic, but held the blockade still. Had to send Libertad home after 3 bomb hits, but since then Miguel de Cervantes has finished repairs after that CD hit and is back on-station on the Atlantic side. Nationalist bombers did sink one of my AOs bringing fuel to the blockade, so not sure how long I can sustain this. At this point, I'm just keeping the Cav and Artillery from Morocco out....the rest is over.

Air Update:

Nationalists have started to bomb my ports; they didn't hit anything important in Cartagena, and lost some bombers in the process, but I think he'll be back when he has more fighters

I will post in the main forum, but I am finding ground attack to be ineffective.....too ineffective. It's a waste of time basically

Up North

Here is the Ring of Iron at Bilbao. I am not sure how the Nationalists can crack this; I have built additional forts at Zierbena, and am working on forts for the "Inner Ring" around Lamiaco, in case there's trouble. But this position is very strong, and I'm not sure how the Nationalists can ever take it.

Maybe I'll eat those words, but I feel very confident I can hold this forever; I have supplies o'plenty.
Zaragossa Offensive:

This is going well; we took the rail line toward Zaragossa, forcing him back, and destroying a couple units in the process. My troops are getting some training and experience, and getting a little dangerous. I plan to re-group a bit, then push behind Zaragossa, which I think is the only reasonable way to take it. Not sure if we can, but the threat at least might be diverting troops from up north.
South:

Down here, the presence of the Army of Africa is making a difference. I am pushed back from the gates of Grenada. Jaen fell easily. He's near Linares, and I think it's only a matter of time there. I will need to allocate more troops to stop him in this direction.

October 2, 1936

Naval Update:

The blockade of the African coast is finally lifted (at least on the Atlantic side; we still patrol the Med side). Przemek set-up some bombers to start air attacking my ships; they peppered them with bombs. While they didn't do a ton of damage, they did start fires, and all the hits started to stack up. What finally broke it wasn't the Ju-52s, but the Bre XIX believe it or not, because that plane carries a larger bomb (100 KG); a hit on a DD will send that ship back to port immediately.

Przemek had difficulty getting supplies to his CD guns (it should be automatic, so no idea why), otherwise I would've been tougher to maintain due to fuel limitations (sending AOs through the Strait would become too hazardous)

All my cruisers have a little damage, so are currently repairing.....which is unfortunate, because otherwise I would probably sortie and take on this TF:
Clearly a large Transport TF, with DD and TBs escorting....the whole Nationalist Navy, basically. Not sure where it's headed, maybe Larache.

Zaragossa Offensive:

He has reinforced this area heavily; maybe that was the point, but the offensive was halted on both flanks. Tried to surround Zaragossa and cut it off, but he's wise to that. We are standing down for now, re-organizing our forces, and will try another operation. Still, this definitely halted offensive actions in the north (though I think that was winding down anyway)
Southern Front:

Nationalists are moving fast here; Linares falls (Jaen already did), and a large force of African troops are marching up the road toward Albacete. That's a pretty deep advance, and he might mean to cut the Madrid-Cartagena rail line, which is pretty essential for the Republic....can't happen. So, I'm bringing troops to this area. Which maybe was HIS objective?