During the First World War, the Germans introduced the flamethrower in the Argonne fields and in the battle of Verdun and the horror presented itself to the French soldiers in one of its worst versions. The Germans discovered that with fire they not only obviously caused terrible physical damage, but also had a dire effect on the morale of their enemies.
After verifying that the mere sight of a flamethrower in action was enough to scare soldiers or force their surrender, they became essential weapons for many armies. The first were very bulky devices that required a team of three soldiers, but they soon developed to create a much lighter version, weighing 35 kilos, that could be handled by just one.
In Spain it was not used for the first time until the Civil War, through a unit that has gone unnoticed by most historians despite being active from 1936 to the end of 1939: the so-called ‘Tercio Flamethrower Company‘, later renamed the ‘Legion Flame Company‘. They did not use, however, the model that the Spanish master bombardier Ramón Biosca had created in 1918, but rather those supplied by the ‘Gruppe Thoma’, the code name for the Nazi soldiers who joined the rebels in Cáceres as instructors after the coup.
The first shipment consisted only of four light Flammenwerfer 16 models and five heavier Grossflammenwerfer brand, known as ‘trench’. Both had been used by the Germans in the Great War. The rebel commanders considered them sufficient to send, on October 17, 1936, to Oropesa, in Toledo, an officer and thirty soldiers chosen from the banners of the Tercio who were on their way to Madrid. There, the Germans taught them how to handle flamethrowers and, a week later, incorporated them into the Talavera front with five of them adapted to armored trucks and another to a Panzer tank.
Lanzallama’s Flamethrower
As the war progressed, the Third Reich supplied more flamethrowers to a total of 59 portable Flammenwerfer 16s and 70 Grossflammenwerfer. With part of this material, the chief general of the Reinforced Division of Madrid came up with the idea that the aforementioned company could be organized with soldiers from the Legion. The objective, as he wrote in the proposal, was “to have teams perfectly trained in the handling and use of flamethrowers, and that the chosen personnel are already experienced in acts of war.”
In February 1937, he sent the letter to General Emilio Mola, in which he assured that a captain, two lieutenants, two brigades, two sergeants, six corporals and 81 soldiers would be needed. This unit, in turn, would be divided into two sections, one light and the other heavy, which would have nine flamethrowers each, as well as three machine guns, six trucks and three light cars. And the go-ahead was given, being created on March 14 in Vats of the Sagra (Madrid). His first captain was Esteban Gilaberte Ara, who had just been assigned to the Legion from the Toledo Volunteer Battalion.
The moment of truth came ten days later. The light section was sent to the municipality of Salas, in Asturias, where it successfully participated in numerous combats against Escamplero, “in which it severely punished the enemy,” according to the unit’s operations diary. On March 30 it was the turn of the heavy section, which marched towards the sectors of La Marañosa, Casa de Campo and Jarama, on the Madrid front. His performance there was equally outstanding, as he occupied several enemy positions and repulsed a series of counterattacks, before returning to Cubas de la Sagra in September to check and clean the flamethrowers.
Flamethrower attack during World War I
Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma
The success of this Francoist company prompted Nazi Colonel Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma to send a letter to the Generalissimo’s Headquarters with the proposal to organize a second company of flamethrowers. The objective was to send her to the front of Asturias, which had been resisting the siege of the rebels for months. In fact, the socialist leader Belarmino Tomás had stood up not only to Franco, but also to the Republic, by declaring the region’s independence, creating its own currency, and appointing a president (himself) and various ministers.
“If another company were to be formed, it would need no more than Legion personnel. As devices I still have 25 small flamethrowers and 20 large ones. […] You would also need instructional time. In total, eight days from the arrival of the personnel, “reported Von Thoma. Franco gave his approval and ordered General Juan Yagüe, who was in charge of the Legion at that time, to take care of it. Due to the lack of personnel that it had, the operation was cancelled. Those who were already part of the ‘Lanzallamas Company’ were sent to Asturias.
Franco was convinced that the legionnaires of this unit should participate in the final offensive that had begun in the republican north, in the most exposed area of the front, where hard fighting was taking place. They arrived in Gijón eleven days later, engaging in several confrontations along the way. In those days, the company was continuously required in the points where the rebel side had more difficulties, such as Calatayud, in Zaragoza, and Belchite.
Reviews
Yagüe, however, did not seem to agree with the existence of this, according to him, misnamed the ‘Flame Thrower Company’. In January 1938, he even dared to send Franco a letter in which he argued his position, collected by Lucas Molina Franco, a doctor in history from the University of Valladolid, in an extensive article on this unit:
«The company affects the Legion from its organization. It has not been used in its special task because, although its teams stood out in different sectors on the Madrid Front, there was never an opportunity to use its apparatus. In the occupation of Bilbao (sic), where the entire company was taken, it was used as one of rifles, giving it objectives completely unrelated to the use of flamethrowers. […]
It is currently in Calatayud dedicated to training, with a staff of 1 captain, 2 subordinates, 1 medical officer, 1 second lieutenant, 1 brigade, 4 sergeants and 169 troops. I beg Your Excellency, in view of the ineffectiveness of this Flamethrower Unit, to grant the corresponding authorization to deposit the material in Cubas de la Sagra, where its staff is located, and to send the personnel to Talavera so that they can serve as based on the organization of the 178 Bandera».
The dissolution of the company
The historian says that Franco was not satisfied with the proposal of his classmate and friend, judging by what was written on the back of this letter by the staff of the General Staff: «SE is not satisfied with the dissolution of the company. The use of these dispersed elements in other battalions should be tested, and in a defensive plan, as a liquid launcher instead of the bottle, placing them in positions where tank attacks are possible (go to the 48 for study and report)».
Shortly after, the head of the Legion received the refusal and was ordered that the ‘Flame Thrower Company’ continue to engage in combat, as it had done up to that moment. His voice was not heard. As he was warned, he would soon receive new instructions for his use, which materialized in another letter from the Headquarters dated February 1938:
«With the material of the company, whose dissolution is proposed by the general in charge of the Legion, sections could be formed that would be assigned to the Army corps, so that the command of the great unit can detach them to the sectors that it deems appropriate, to be used in defensive plan against the tanks, in the advances and in the cleaning of the points of resistance that can be in the rear of our forces. These sections would also be equipped with the devices that are currently being tested in the Chemical Warfare Service, for the remote launching of incendiary bottles, in the event that these experiments give good results. Likewise, if the enemy were to use aggressive chemicals, such as Iperita, these sections could cooperate with the deimpregnation teams.
Aragon front
Judging by these words, it seems that some commanders on the Francoist side tried to have the company used for tasks other than their own, but Franco continued to be determined to use it on the battlefield. In fact, they added one more section and, on March 4, 1938, just in case there was any doubt, the future dictator settled the matter by telling Yagüe that the company was going to continue to be active no matter what. He also ordered him to continue using the flamethrowers that were scattered throughout the battalions in defensive operations.
The three sections were on the front line of the Aragon front until the end of 1938. In January they marched to the Tarragona town of Bot and continued their advance across the entire Catalonia front as far as Hospitalet de Llobregat. It was in this city where the end of the Civil War caught the curious ‘Flame Thrower Company’. Although after Franco’s victory it was sent to Morocco, the reorganization of the Army that took place at the end of 1939 put an end to it. The unit became part of the 3rd Tercio with another name.