[icheerthebull]

" No man ever entered the earth more honorably than those who died in Spain " Ernest Hemingway

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was a group of volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War as soldiers, technicians, medical personnel and aviators fighting for Spanish Republican forces as part of the International Brigades, against the Fascist forces of Francisco Franco and the Spanish Nationalists.

The Spanish Civil War was fought from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939 between the Republicans, who were loyal to the democratically elected Spanish Republic, and the Nationalists, a rebel movement led by General Francisco Franco.

Of the approximately 2,800 American volunteers, between 750 and 800 were killed in action or died of wounds or sickness.

Lincoln Volunteers arrive in Barcelona.


Lincoln volunteers with the Karl Marx barracks in the background.


Jarama front: left. Seaman from Chile, Sterling Rochester (USA) Artemio Luna (Phillipines) Juan Santiago (Cuba) and Jack Shirai (Japan)


Jarama Front. left: Max Krauthamer, (killed July 6th 1937 at Villanueva de la Canada) Eli Biegelman and Mel Offsink (killed in March 1938 during the retreats)


Jarama: Seamen from all over the world who shipped out of American Ports. Holding the newspaper is Barney Spalding from Philadelphia


Tom Mooney machine-gun Co. Doug Seacord (second left) Dave Smith (second right)


Jarama: Lincoln Battalion members Juan Castro, Captain Van Der Bergh, Marty Hourihan.


Jarama Spring '37: left. Irving Chocheles, Harry Fischer (reading) Charlie Nusser and Hy Stone (on water tap)


Jarama: left: Oliver Law (L) unknow and Norberto Borges (Cuba)


Left: Bill Lawrence, XV International Brigade Commissar at Alabcete, Harry Haywood and Ed Bender of the Cadre Service.


Cubana Hermosa with Comrades at Jarama.


Brunete: Doug Roach and Steve Nelson.


Lincoln's: Back row left: Joe Stone, Mome Teietbaum, Sam Stone, Robert Zimmer, John Murra. Joe and Sam Stone were both killed at Mosquito Hill 09/07/1937. front left: Benevidio Dominguez (Puerto Rico) Jack Schulman, Joe Azar, Julius Deutsch.


Wisconsin Volunteers: back left: Fred Palmer, Harry Lichter, Ray Disch. Front left: John Cookson, Clarence Kailin


back left: Steve Boleshaw and Bill Bailey (back second right)


Machine-Gun Crew: Back row left: Milton Wolff, Mike Pappas, Zip Kachinski. front row, unknown, unknown Dave Reiss.


Chief of Auto Park Lou Secundy (l) with Abraham Lewis of Brigade Commisseriat, December 1937.


'Maximville' home of the Mother Bloor Machine Gun Unit. 177_178029


The Mother Bloor Machine-Gun Company


Transmissions Unit: Frank Barcena (Second left) Pat Read (third right) December 1937. 11_0991


July 1938: Volunteers returning to Spain: Joe Rehill, Bill Wheeler, Joe Gordon, Joe Cobert Joe Cuban and Al Tanz.


16/10/1938, Falset: Lincoln Battalion led by Left: Captain Don Thayer, Commander Milton Wolff, Commissar George Watt.


18/10/1938: Marca football field. Don Thayer (third left) John Gates (Fourth left) Milt Wolff (Fifth left) George Watt (third right)

[kellyhound]

never knew

[Oswald2001]

No matter how well intentioned many may have been, they were all inevitably just pawns in a game.

Essentially cannon fodder.

[Gpsma]

Unrepentant communists and fellow travelers but, at least, they put their beliefs into action.

Of course, if they weren't fighting the "good war" against fascism, they would just as quickly be machine gunning down priests, intellectuals, and other "counter revolutionaries".

[30564U]

Icheerthebull, not being an American, you might not know that most of these guys were (and still are) looked upon as Communists and at best, Communist symathisers that were too dumb to realize what they had gotten into. They were all watched/monitored by the FBI for the rest of their lives and were basically black balled from most industries and social groups. Granted, they did fight against a facisist regime, but most (if not all) had deep sympathies with Communism, Bolshivism, and Marxism...they really were never considered "heroes" here in America...misguided youth perhaps, but never heroes.

[30564U]

Abraham Lincoln Brigade
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was a well known front organization of the Communist Party USA.

As time went on, the name Abraham Lincoln Brigade became used loosely, in the United States, as shorthand to describe any unit with an American component. Volunteers from the United States also served with the Canadian Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, the Regiment de Tren (transport), and the John Brown Anti-Aircraft Battery. North Americans also ran a very well-organized and well-equipped field hospital (funded and staffed by the American Medical Bureau to Save Spanish Democracy).

History-Creation
Washington, D.C., Feb 12, 1938. Americans, all of whom fought and many wounded while fighting for the Republicans in Spain, met this day in Washington at the First National Conference of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was made up of volunteers from all walks of American life, and from all classes. Many of the people who volunteered for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were official members of the Communist Party USA or affiliated with other Marxist, socialist, or anarchist organizations, such as the Uruguayan Hugo Fernández Artucio Members of the Industrial Workers of the World ("Wobblies") were also represented. It is sometimes thought to be the first American military unit to be commanded by a black officer, Oliver Law.

American volunteers began organizing and arriving in Spain in 1936. Centered in the town of Figueres, near the border with France, the brigade was organized in 1937 and trained by Robert Hale Merriman. The Lincolns suffered from poor training and inept leaders, including both Merriman and Law, who were selected for command primarily for political reasons. The battalion only had one capable commander, Steve Nelson, who took command too late to turn it into a truly effective combat unit.

By early 1937, its numbers had swelled from an initial 96 volunteers to around 450 members. In February 1937, the European powers comprising the League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee banned foreign national volunteers.

In 1939, The Roosevelt Administration’s Attorney-General, Frank Murphy indicted 16 alleged Communists and fellow travelers for having recruited volunteers for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and for supporting Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Nationalists. This earned Murphy censure from hard core liberals.

Service
The International Brigade took part in several battles in Spain. They unsuccessfully defended the supply road between Valencia and Madrid in the Jarama Valley from February 1937 until June 1937. They were also present at the battles of Brunete, Zaragoza, Belchite, Teruel, and Ebro River.

The Brigade was a cause célèbre in some liberal and socialist circles in the United States. Some groups organized fundraising activities and supply drives to keep the brigade afloat. News of the brigade’s high casualty rate and bravery in battle made them heroic figures to left leaning Americans opposing the rise of fascism. Paul Robeson was one high profile supporter, even going so far as to visit the Lincolns in the field in Spain and appearing in publicity photographs (the XV International Brigade had its own photographic unit).

The war dragged on and the Nationalist forces, supported by Nazi Germany under Hitler and Fascist Italy under Mussolini, gained victory after victory over the Republic, which was increasingly dominated by the Spanish Communist Party. The International Brigade was withdrawn from battle by the Spanish prime minister Juan Negrín, after the Non-Intervention Committee ordered the withdrawal of the International Brigades in the spring of 1938. Most of the surviving Lincolns were repatriated promptly afterwards.

Of the more than 3,000 who fought in the battalion during the conflict, over one-third were killed.

Aftermath
During and after the Spanish Civil War, members of the brigade were generally viewed as supporters of the Soviet Union. However, the Hitler-Stalin pact caused a division among the Lincoln Brigade veterans. Some of them, adopting the official Communist line that regarded the war in Europe as "an imperialist war", joined with the American Peace Mobilization in protesting U.S. support for Britain against Nazi Germany. Others, however, persisted with the anti-Fascist line which they had followed to Spain. In particular, former Lincoln Brigade commander Milton Wolff volunteered in 1940 for the British Special Operations Executive, and arranged the provision of arms for the European resistance organizations.

During and following World War II, particularly at the height of the Second Red Scare, the U.S. government considered former members of the brigade to be security risks. In fact, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover persuaded President Roosevelt to ensure that former Abraham Lincoln Brigade members fighting in U.S. Forces in World War II not be considered for commissioning as officers, or to have any type of positive distinction conferred upon them.

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade were never considered heroes in America and were more often looked upon with suspicion. Although some members served in World War II and were highly decorated, most were ostracized and were social outcasts only loved by the extreme political left. As time progressed and more information about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade's affiliation with the Communist Party USA became more generally known by everyday Americans, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fell to just an odd footnote to American history.

[icheerthebull]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

Icheerthebull, not being an American, you might not know that most of these guys were (and still are) looked upon as Communists and at best, Communist symathisers that were too dumb to realize what they had gotten into. They were all watched/monitored by the FBI for the rest of their lives and were basically black balled from most industries and social groups. Granted, they did fight against a facisist regime, but most (if not all) had deep sympathies with Communism, Bolshivism, and Marxism...they really were never considered "heroes" here in America...misguided youth perhaps, but never heroes.

Actually I am aware of how they were viewed and how the international brigade volunteers were viewed in their respective country's. I am also aware of how the fight against the Fascists was not helped (in fact quite the opposite) by the actions of some communists with Russian links. It's important to remember though that when it comes to some of the youth who aligned themselves to certain groups, that they had a idealistic view of Russia. They had never been their and never witnessed the oppression commited by the so called communists. It's also important to not paint the Spanish civil war as a communist vs fascist war as it was far from that.

Gpsma - the atrocities committed by the republican side have not been ignored and the actions of the likes of Carrillio are well documented. It's the actions of the army and later the dictatorship that still go unrecognised.

[30564U]

You sure are fascinated by all things American. Tell me do you ever post anything not related to America? You seem so preoccupied by American, but you seem so anti-American. Interesting...perhaps you have a secret desire to actually be an American? Seems you just love to poke your nose into our business.

[icheerthebull]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

You sure are fascinated by all things American. Tell me do you ever post anything not related to America? You seem so preoccupied by American, but you seem so anti-American. Interesting...perhaps you have a secret desire to actually be an American? Seems you just love to poke your nose into our business.

again when have I ever posted anything 'anti-american' mr ad hominem. So preocupied by America? You stalk me so you must have checked what threads I have started?

This is not the first time I have posted CONTENT in the b/w section, nor is it the first time I have posted CONTENT in relation to the spanish civil war. I have some great pics of the connolly column and various others that I intended to post, like I have posted before and I'm sure you will turn up in all of them.

you seem fascinated by me and I am truely flattered. You are like a character from south park. I could post never before seen footage of the bombing by German forces of madrid and you would then pop up and claim anti-american commie, hippies are behind this thread.

Why are YOU so anti-american? How can you be so racist, so zenophobic, such a patriot and then fly half way across the world to adopt/buy children. "savages this, savages that" thats the sum of your posts

[30564U]

Originally Posted by icheerthebull ↗

again when have I ever posted anything 'anti-american' mr ad hominem. So preocupied by America? You stalk me so you must have checked what threads I have started?

This is not the first time I have posted CONTENT in the b/w section, nor is it the first time I have posted CONTENT in relation to the spanish civil war. I have some great pics of the connolly column and various others that I intended to post, like I have posted before and I'm sure you will turn up in all of them.

you seem fascinated by me and I am truely flattered. You are like a character from south park. I could post never before seen footage of the bombing by German forces of madrid and you would then pop up and claim anti-american commie, hippies are behind this thread.

Why are YOU so anti-american? How can you be so racist, so zenophobic, such a patriot and then fly half way across the world to adopt/buy children. "savages this, savages that" thats the sum of your posts

You know...that's the second time you've brought up my adoption in a very personal very negative light. You must be a real asshole. We now all know you're anti-American, anti-police, pro-Communist, and now apparently now anti-adoption as well. You are nothing but a typical Euro type progressive with a big chip on your shoulder when it comes tonanything American. To piss mouth someone for adopting children from ANY country is really chickenshit. You're a real badass from behind your computer monitor...just another anti-American Internet bully. I suppose it makes you angry that an evil American Capitalist would spend money to adopt children from another country. You're a cunt and your opinion no longer matters...you've shown your ass now and we can all see what you are...laughable.