 In a section of her memoirs which otherwise lambasts the anarchists, Communist militant Dolores Ibárruri states, "The [Spanish Civil] war developed with minimal participation from the anarchists in its fundamental operations.One exception was Durruti..."

The column began with 3,000 troops but at its peak, was made up of about 8,000 people.They had a difficult time getting arms from a suspicious Republican government, so Durruti and his men compensated by seizing unused arms from government stockpiles.