XYZ Line
Spanish Civil War fortifications protecting Valencia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The XYZ Line, or Matallana Line, was a system of fortifications built during the Spanish Civil War in order to defend the capital of the Second Spanish Republic in Valencia, Spain. Unlike the Maginot Line, or the Iron Belt ("Cinturón de Hierro") of Bilbao, which were expensive systems of fortifications and bunkers made of reinforced concrete, the XYZ Line was a simpler system of defenses in depth consisting of trenches and bunkers that took advantage of some of the most difficult terrain in Spain in the Iberian System ranges to the north and northeast of Valencia. The defenses were built to withstand bombardment by either heavy artillery or 1,000-pound aerial bombs.[4]
XYZ Line | |||||||
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Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||
Moroccan troops in Rubielos de Mora, 1938. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Spanish Republic |
Nationalist Spain Italy Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
General Leopoldo Menéndez Lopez[2][3] Colonel Carlos Romero[4] Colonel Ernesto Güemes[4] Colonel Gustavo Duran[2][5] |
José Solchaga[5] José Enrique Varela[5] Rafael Garcia Valiño Mario Berti[5] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
125,000[6] |
125,000[6] 900[3]-1,000 cannons[6] 400 aircraft[5] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
5,000[7] | 20,000[7] |