129th Mixed Brigade A predecessor
129th Mixed Brigade had been established in 1937 made up mainly of
POUM militiamen. It was made part of the new
29th Division of the
Spanish Republican Army and saw its baptism of fire in Northern
Aragon. Owing to its alleged faulty performance in the combats of the
Battle of Sabiñánigo and the
Huesca Offensive, both the brigade and the division were wrapped up. The disbandment, however, fell in line with the persecution of the POUM by the
Communists following the
May Events of 1937 in
Barcelona.
International Brigade The defunct
mixed brigade was revived as the CXXIX International Brigade in
Chillón (
Ciudad Real Province) on 8 February 1938. It brought together the odds and ends of assorted reorganized international units. Although nicknamed "Forty Nations Brigade", most of its men were from
Poland,
Czechoslovakia and
Yugoslavia. Its first leader was Polish officer
Wacław Komar, who had previously led the
Dombrowski Battalion in the
XIII International Brigade. On 13 February it was made part of the
45th Division. Meanwhile, the international fighters were gathered at
Moncada, Valencia and were sent by ship to
Barcelona. There they intended to take part in the
Catalonia Campaign under the former leader of the
Dimitrov Battalion, Czechoslovak commander
Josef Pavel. In the middle of the Republican debacle in Catalonia the former CXXIX International Brigade members joined other foreign volunteers who had chosen to remain in Spain and tried to defend
Vic. But in the face of the overwhelming rebel pressure they were not successful and had to join the general withdrawal towards the north. Finally they reached the French border at the beginning of February and left Spain. ==Structure==