Nuevas Tactica*
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Date: October 11, 1937*                     
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Battle Type: Republican Advance vs Nationalist Delay*
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Battle Description: The Republican armored troops utility has been seriously questioned after the defeats around Madrid. The reason was the lack of adequate tactics and the inability of the infantry to follow the rushing tanks. Republican tanks were superior to anything Nationalist had, but the military leadership merely used those tanks as infantry support weapon, thus dissipating the strength of the armored strike. One of rare exceptions to this doctrine was the unsuccessful attack to Fuentes de Ebro, village near Zaragoza, performed by the Heavy Tanks Regiment. This unit was comprised of the new secret Soviet tanks, BT-5, faster and better armed than T-26, their predecessor, under the leadership of Soviet Colonel Kondraiev.*
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Fuentes de Ebro was the key to the gates of Zaragoza, and it was heavily defended and surrounded by trenches. To overcome this, 25th Battaillon of 15th International Brigade was carried to the battlefield mounted on BT-5 tanks. The idea was that the infantry clears the way for the tanks by eliminating any AT strongpoints. But, the Nationalists had a terrible answer: the dreaded German PAK antitank gun, combined with muddy terrain around the village. The young and inexperienced Spanish conscrips had all died. Only 12 tanks survived, out of 40.*
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Source:  Serga, Spanish military history magazine, n.22 March/April 2002, page 12.* 
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Design: Edin Kapic*
