The Guardia de Asalto was the heavy reserve force of the blue-uniformed urban police force of Spain during the Spanish Second Republic. The Assault Guards were special police units created by the Spanish Republic in 1931 to deal with urban violence. At the onset of the Spanish Civil War there were 18,000 Assault Guards. About 12,000 stayed loyal to the Republican government, while another 5,000 joined the rebel faction. Many of its units fought against the Franco supporting armies and their allies. Their siding with the former Spanish Republic's government brought about the disbandment of the corps at the end of the Civil War. The members of the Guardia de Asalto who had survived the combats and the ensuing Francoist purges were made part of the Policía Armada, the corps that replaced it.
Origins
Following the overthrow of the Spanish Monarchy in April 1931, the new Republican regime created the Guardia de Asalto as a gendarmerie style national armed police that could be used to suppress disorders in urban areas. Armed and trained for this purpose, the Guardia de Asalto was intended to provide a more effective force for internal security duties than the ordinary police or the conscription-based army. Since its creation in 1844 the 25,000 strong Guardia Civil had been available to be ordered into the larger cities in the event of unrest, but this efficient rural force —its officers drawn from the regular army and with an oppressive image— was not seen as being in sympathy with the new Republic or particularly suited for urban operations. The Ministro de la GobernaciónMiguel Maura accordingly reorganized elements of the existing police into a more heavily armed republican security force for service in the cities, leaving the countryside to the Guardia Civil. As an initial step Compañías de Vanguardia were created. These were subsequently redesignated as Sección de guardias de Asalto. As a part of the reformed Cuerpo de Seguridad they provided an instrument for controlling mass demonstrations; similar in function to modern riot squads. In 1932, the Cuerpo de Seguridad was renamed as the Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto.
Assault Guards played a critical role in preserving the republic during the early stages of the military insurgency that opened the Spanish Civil War, most notably by helping to crush the army uprising in Barcelona and through their heroic contributions to the defense of Madrid, where they did a disproportionate share of both the fighting and the dying. As noted by a Workers' Party of Marxist Unification militant who also participated in the Siege of Madrid, The Carabineros and the Assault Guards were the Spanish police corps where the 1936 coup found the least support. When the Civil War began about 70% of the Assault Guards stayed loyal to the Spanish Republic. On the other hand, in the Guardia Civil the breakup of loyalists and rebels was distributed evenly at around 50%, although the highest authority of the corps, Inspector General Sebastián Pozas, remained loyal to the republican government.
Ranks
Before the Civil War, eight-pointed and six-pointed silver stars were part of the officers' uniforms of the Guardias de Asalto. Following the Spanish coup of July 1936 and the ensuing reorganization of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces some changes were introduced and ranks were simplified. The silver 8-pointed and six-pointed stars that had been worn between 1931 and 1936 were replaced by the five pointed red star.
