The Dimitrov Battalion was part of the International Brigades

International Brigades

The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....

 during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. It was the 18th battalion formed, and was named after Georgi Dimitrov

Georgi Dimitrov

Georgi Dimitrov Mikhaylov , also known as Georgi Mikhaylovich Dimitrov , was a Bulgarian Communist politician...

, a Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n communist and General Secretary of the Comintern

Comintern

The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...

 in that period.

It was formed of Balkan

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

 exiles in December 1936. It soon had 800 volunteers, including about 400 Bulgarians, 160 Greeks

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and 25 Yugoslavs

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

. It became part of the XV International Brigade

XV International Brigade

The XV International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the International Brigades. It was mustered at Albacete in Spain, in January 1937, comprising many English-speaking volunteers - arranged into a mostly British British Battalion and a mostly...

 on 31 January 1937. There it joined two battalions that were to become famous: the British Battalion

British Battalion

The British Battalion was the 16th battalion of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.- Early volunteers :A number of British volunteers, including Tom Wintringham and Nat Cohen, arrived in Spain during August-September 1936 and formed the Tom Mann Centuria - a rifle company in...

 and the Lincoln Battalion. They fought together for the first time at the Battle of Jarama

Battle of Jarama

The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War...

 in February 1937, with the Dimitrovs holding the right. The brigade suffered extremely heavy casualties.

On 20 September 1937, the Dimitrovs were moved to 45th International Division Reserve, where the battalion was rebuilt. On 13 February 1938, it became part of the newly formed 129th International Brigade, which was formed from central European battalions. It remained with the 129th Brigade until it was demobilised on 5 October 1938. Its last commander, Josef Pavel, became a cabinet minister during Alexander Dubček

Alexander Dubcek

Alexander Dubček , also known as Dikita, was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia , famous for his attempt to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring...

's Prague Spring

Prague Spring

The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...

 in 1968.

Sources

• Hugh Thomas
  Hugh Thomas
  Hugh Thomas , is a British historian and life peer.Hugh Thomas may also refer to:* Hugh Thomas , American choral conductor, pianist and educator* Hugh Thomas , Australian rules football coach...
  
  , The Spanish Civil War, 4th Rev. Ed. 2001.
• Antony Beevor
  Antony Beevor
  Antony James Beevor, FRSL is a British historian, educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. He studied under the famous military historian John Keegan. Beevor is a former officer with the 11th Hussars who served in England and Germany for five years before resigning his commission...
  
  , The Battle for Spain, 2006. Order of Battle website Broken link Associació Catalana de Vexil·lologia Website Đurđević-Đukić Olga, Narodni heroji Jugoslavije, Belgrade 1975. (COBISS.SR-ID:5575431)