Hans Amlie

Hansford "Hans" Amlie (September 5, 1900 – December 14, 1949) was an American mining engineer, political activist and soldier who served in the United States Army and Marine Corps during and after World War I and in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. In the latter conflict, he rose from commanding the 25-man "Debs Column" to the 500-man Lincoln Battalion.

Early life

Hansford Amlie was born on September 5, 1900 in Cooperstown, North Dakota. His family was of Norwegian descent. He was active in radical politics as young as 14 years old, when he joined the Industrial Workers of the World following the Ludlow Massacre. He attended Cooperstown High School and was on the debate team with his brother, future congressman Thomas Ryum Amlie.

Following American entry into World War I, Amlie enlisted in the Army at the age of 16, serving in France as a Corporal. After the war's end, he re-enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1919, serving as a private until 1921. Some sources also give his rank as sergeant. During his second tour, he married a woman named Margaret with whom he separated in 1936.

After leaving the military, Amlie attended the Montana State School of Mines and became a mining engineer. Turning away from the declining IWW, he joined the United Mine Workers of America and supported Progressive Senator Robert M. La Follette in the 1924 presidential election. By 1937, he was living in San Francisco and working as an orderly at the French Hospital.

Spanish Civil War

Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the Socialist Party of New York put out a call for 500 men to form a "Eugene V. Debs Column" to join the pro-Republican International Brigades. Amlie, having been a member of the Socialist Party since he cast his first vote for Debs in 1920, answered the call and was chosen to lead the column.

Amlie arrived in Spain on March 17, 1937, joining the XV International Brigade's predominantly-American George Washington Battalion. He attended officer training school and was given command of the battalion's 1st Company ahead of the Battle of Brunete. During the advance on Villanueva de la Cañada, Amlie tried to lead his men out of a sniper's line of fire and was shot in the hip. As he later recalled:

Amlie was eventually pulled to safety and hospitalized at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid. Upon his recovery, he was promoted to battalion commander of the reorganized Lincoln-Washington Battalion with Belfast-born International Seamen's Union organizer John Quigley Robinson assigned to him as battalion commissar. Notably, the Americans led the assault, and did so with artillery, armored, and close air support, the first time they were afforded such luxuries.

Amlie’s second and last battle as battalion commander would be at Belchite. After taking up positions in shallow trenches outside the town, he and his men came under heavy sniper fire. Unable to effectively take cover or retreat without being picked off, they were forced to attack. Without the support they’d had at Quinto, they quickly sustained heavy casualties; in one assault, 22 men were sent forward, of which 20 were killed and the remaining two could not make it. described the situation as follows:

...Amlie would not tell the men to continue the advance. When Amlie got the orders: "Either send your men and see that they go, or you face court-martial!" Amlie said to us: "What'll I do? Court-martial at the front means shot!" And we said, "Well, you just give us the order. You order us to go and then we'll refuse. Then you tell them to come down here and lead us, and we'll follow them!" They were married on December 1 in a "deathbed marriage;" neither of them had the birth certificates required for a regular marriage, so a friendly doctor was convinced to provide paperwork that Amlie was on his deathbed. speaking tour to raise funds and awareness for the Lincoln Brigade and the war in Spain. raised money to bring wounded Americans home. By 1940, Amlie was working as a migrant camp superintendent for the California State Relief Administration. He was later hired by the Farm Security Administration and War Food Administration He had gone down into a cesspool to fix a clog in the septic tank,

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