Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Guadalajara

Battle of Guadalajara was a battle fought in 1937 at Guadalajara, in what is now Spain. It was part of the Spanish Civil War, which ran from 1936 to 1939. The recorded result: Republican victory.

See it on the globe Read the article

For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Die grosse Winterschlacht um Guadalajar
For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Die grosse Winterschlacht um Guadalajar. Studnitz, von H.G., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1937
WhereGuadalajara, Spain40.633N, 3.167W
OutcomeRepublican victory
BelligerentsRepublican Spain; International BrigadesagainstNationalist Spain; Corpo Truppe Volontarie
Part ofSpanish Civil War1936 to 1939

Where it sits in the Spanish Civil War

Siege of Almadén, 1934Siege of the Alcázar, 1936Battle of Lopera, 1936Siege of the Montaña Barracks, 1936Battle of Vigo, 1936Siege of Gijón, 1936Siege of Oviedo, 1936Siege of Tocina barracks, 1936Siege of the Loyola barracks, 1936Battle of Guadarrama, 1936Convoy de la Victoria, 1936Battle of Sigüenza, 1936Battle of Almendralejo, 1936Battle of Mérida, 1936Battle of Badajoz, 1936Battle of Majorca, 1936Saseta defence work, 1936Battle of Irún, 1936Battle of Monte Pelado, 1936Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe, 1936Battle of Talavera de la Reina, 1936Battle of Cerro Muriano, 1936Siege of Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza, 1936Battle of Eibar, 1936Battle of Cape Espartel, 1936Battle of Seseña, 1936Siege of Madrid, 1936Battle of Ciudad Universitaria, 1936First Battle of the Corunna Road, 1936Second Battle of the Corunna Road, 1936Battle of Guadalajara, 1937Battle of Jarama, 1937Battle of El Escamplero, 1937Battle of Málaga, 1937Battle of Cape Machichaco, 1937Battle of Pozoblanco, 1937Battle of Saibigain, 1937Battle of Intxortas, 1937Battle of Bermeo, 1937Barcelona May Days, 1937Battle of Sollube, 1937Battle of Bilbao, 1937Battle of Albarracín, 1937Battle of Brunete, 1937Battle of Belchite, 1937Battle of Quinto, 1937Battle of El Mazucu, 1937Battle of Cape Cherchell, 1937Battle of Santander, 1937Battle of Fuentes de Ebro, 1937Battle of Teruel, 1937Battle of Caspe, 1938Battle of Alfambra, 1938Aragon Offensive, 1938Battle of Gandesa, 1938Battle of the Segre, 1938Merida pocket, 1938Battle of the Ebro, 1938Siege of Gandesa, 1938Sinking of the SS Cantabria, 1938Catalonia Offensive, 1938Battle of Bielsa pocket, 193919341939Battle of Guadalajara, 1937
62 placed engagements of the Spanish Civil War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1937 (year precision)
to 23 March 1937
PlaceGuadalajara, Spain
40.633N, 3.167W
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
Strength20,000; 45 artillery pieces; 60 armoured vehicles; 70 aircraft35,000; 15,000; 270 artillery pieces; 140 armoured vehicles; 62 aircraft
Casualties and lossesRepublicans: 2,000 dead; 4,000 wounded; 258 captured; Total: 6,258Italians: 600 or 3,000 dead; 2,000–4,000 wounded; 800 missing; 300-800 captured; Nationalists: 4,000 dead; 4,000 wounded; 800 captured; 65 artillery pieces
Commanders
  • Mario Roatta
  • Annibale Bergonzoli
  • Edmondo Rossi
  • Guido Coppi
  • Luigi Nuvoloni
  • José Moscardó Ituarte
Battle of GuadalajaraBattle of GuadalajaraBattle of AranzuequeBattle of BrihuegaBattle of VillaviciosaSiege of MadridBattle of Ciudad UniversitariaBattle of AranzuequeBattle of VillaviciosaSiege of MadridValladolidToledo100 km40.633N, 3.167W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Guadalajara
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Guadalajara today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-07-18. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 705 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 614 to 963 m, 349 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 32% cropland, 31% built-up, 24% grassland.

cropland: 32%built-up: 31%grassland: 24%tree cover: 11%cropland 32%built-up 31%grassland 24%tree cover 11%
west to east, 10.0 km632 to 931 mnorth to south, 10.0 km641 to 920 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1937

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: IT VOL CORPSDefender: SP REPUBLICAN FORCES
Strength52,000100,000
Casualties6,460 (12.4%)6,660 (6.7%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1047
Outcomedefender won
Duration2 days
Front width11 km11 km
Attacker advanced-2 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 255), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Guadalajara is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 1,070 in present-day Spain.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1641241, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Guadalajara, revision 1374502590, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.