Sierra de Guadarrama – CAROLINE ANGUS

This Week in Spanish Civil War History – Week 47: 5 -12 June 1937

Published on June 5, 2017June 5, 2017 by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

June 6

The Basque Army fighters, fighting alongside the Republicans, lose their last planes when they are shot down. The German Condor Legion planes destroy all their remaining planes, leaving the Republican men in the trenches around Bilbao exposed to Nationalist bombers.

Republicans outside Segovia

Republican Colonel Moriones, who is heading the Republican forces towards Segovia, orders a full retreat. The three divisions and the XIV International Brigade men have been soundly beaten over a week of fighting when they headed from the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains towards Segovia. A total of 3,000 Republicans have been killed, including 1,000 international volunteers.

Republicans outside Segovia seen by Gerda Taro

June 7

Manuel Hedilla, who has been leading northern areas of the fascist Falange party, is tried through a court-martial. The Falange have been merged with other Nationalist supporter groups, and Hedilla is in the way of Franco assuming total control over all right-wing factions. After being arrested in April for not following procedure set out by Franco (read: doing as told) Hedilla is sentenced to death. He is saved by Franco’s brother-in-law Ramón Serrano Suñer, who gets Hedilla a life sentence instead, which turns to only four years in prison. Having sidelined Hedilla allows Franco more control of Falange members and their attacks. Hedilla will remain a pain in Franco’s neck until his death in 1970.

June 11

Nationalist fighters in the Basque country breach the ‘Iron Ring’, the circle built outside the city of Bilbao. A series of fences and underground tunnels, the miles of iron tunnels serve to protect Bilbao and allow safe movements of Republican/Basque fighters. With not enough men or supplies to maintain the Iron Ring, the Nationalists finally break through to start an assault on the Basque capital. Basque President Aquirre is at the front, and sees German Condor Legion planes bombing the Iron Ring at Mt. Urcullu. The three miles of dried forest is bombed and set alight, overwhelming the Basque men inside the protective ring. The Nationalists get through on foot and are only 10 miles from Bilbao itself. The Basque government has no choice but to start a retreat to Santander.

The Republicans to attack the city of Huesca, in order to draw Nationalist troops away from Bilbao, take a hit when Hungarian General Béla Fankl, aka Zalka Mate, aka Paul Lukacs, is killed while inspecting Republican lines outside Huesca. An artillery shell hits his car and Lukacs is wounded in the head and dies hours later, his driver killed instantly. (Some accounts name his death as June 12, during fighting, but killed in the same manner)

June 12

The Republican attack on Huesca begins in the hope of stalling the Nationalist attack on Bilbao. The XII International Brigade, now without their General, join Spanish Republicans under their General and storm Huesca, 300 kilometres southeast of Bilbao, and just 70 kilometres north of Zaragoza. Huesca has been held by the Nationalists through the war and while they lack the men the Republicans have, they are well dug into the area. The Republicans have 50,000 men, mostly anarchists and POUM members from Barcelona, sent after the May Days a month earlier. Thousands of Republicans men are cut down with machine guns and artillery fire in what will become a week-long offensive.

This is not a detailed analysis, just a highlight (lowlight?) of the week’s events. Things get lost in translation – Feel free to suggest an addition/clarification/correction below. The more the world remembers, the better. All photos and captions are auto-linked to source for credit, and to provide further information.

This Week in Spanish Civil War History – Week 44/45/46: 15 May – 5 June 1937

Published on June 4, 2017March 6, 2018 by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

Sorry the delays over the Shakespeare season. Weekly posts will now return.

May 15

Prime Minister Largo Caballero resigns from his post, now having no alliance with either Anarchists, Socialists or Communists. A member of the centre-left PSOE, Juan Negrín, is appointment Prime Minister, and selects a group of ministers from all groups, Republicans, Communists, Socialists and Basque men to form the government. The CNT however are now cut out entirely from Spain’s government, despite having huge support around the country. The Anarchists are quickly losing strength and the POUM is about to be outlawed completely in Barcelona and around Spain.

May 20

The Nationalist offensive on the Basque Country is destroying the Republicans, who come up with a plan to divert Nationalist troops away from the north. Republican troops in Aragon start plans to take Huesca, and troops in Madrid decide to launch an offensive on Segovia, both to take place by the beginning of June. Bilbao in the north has not yet been taken by Nationalists, but the Republicans/Basque fighters have no reinforcements nor supplies getting into port, and need the Nationalists distracted.

May 27

The La Batalla newspaper, run by the Soviet anti-Stalin POUM ( Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification) is banned in Spain by the new centre-left Negrín parliament. Other communist factions are destroying the POUM.

May 28

The temporary capital city of Valencia is bombed from the air by Nationalist planes, killing 200 people and destroying 50 buildings while attempting to bomb ships in Valencia’s large port. The bombing is done while the city is sleeping, and the Red Cross hospital is targeted during the attack.

NB: A separate post on the attack of Valencia will also be posted.

May 29

Madrid is still surrounded by Nationalist troops since the siege on the city in November 1936. Daily air raids continue to hammer the innocents civilians of the city, and Republican troops devise a plan to break out of the city and push back Nationalist front lines. Republican men, led by a Polish communist leader, use armoured vehicles to try to push back the Nationalists, but the plan is quickly beaten by strong Nationalist troops. The city has been surrounded by large battles in Jarama and Guadalajara, and now the Republicans begin plans to take Brunete, a town 25 kilometres west of the city, and Segovia 90 kilometres north, to push back front lines and relieve Madrid. In the meanwhile, the daily air raids continue from German Condor Legion planes, and Spanish men are taken to Russia to be trained in Russian planes to aid the Republicans against this onslaught.

Two Soviet bombers, on behalf of the Republican forces, bomb air bases at Ibiza, off the coast of Nationalist-held Mallorca. The planes, sent from Cartagena, bomb the German cruiser Deutschland, mistaking it for the Nationalist cruiser Canarias. The Deutschland was off the coast of Ibiza as part of the Non-Intervention Committee’s patrol. Both pilots misidentify the ship and drop bombs, killing 31 and wounding another 74.

May 31

Due to the bombing of the Deutschland, both Germany and Italy decide to leave the Non-Intervention Committee. (Pointless as both had defied the Committee from the very beginning and had been killing Spaniards throughout the entire war.) German forces fight back by attacking the port city of Almería, relatively safe during the war until now. The cruiser Admiral Scheer fires off 200 rounds, killing 19 and wounding another 55. Around 150 buildings are destroyed. All the German and Italian ships on the Mediterranean are all backing the Nationalists, not neutral at all.

Spanish prime Minister Juan Negrin defies calls to attack Germany for these killings, as he does not want open war with Germany. The League of Nations calls the attack on Almería justified for the accidental attack on the Deutschland, reminding Spain that Europe and the world do not care about their pain.

The Republican army have three divisions in the Sierra de Guadarrama, the mountains on the north side of Madrid. The 34th, 35th and 69th divisions are brought together under Colonel Domingo Moriones, and given artillery and T-26 tanks. The Guadarrama is held by Nationalist troops and the Republicans attack, and break through the front line at San Ildefonso, around 80 kilometres north of Madrid. the 69th division also take nearby Cruz de la Gallega. The XIV International Brigade head towards La Granja, which brings them close to the strategic Segovia Road and advance towards Cabeza Grande, but only through suffering serious casualties.

June 1

The Republican forces reach La Granja north of Madrid on their way to Segovia, but the Nationalists begin to fight back with air raids on advancing Republicans on the ground. The Republicans lose the town of Cabeza Grande and casualties begin to mount.

June 3

High ranking Nationalist General Emilio Mola y Vida is killed when his Airspeed Envoy twin-engined aircraft crashes in bad weather on route to Vitoria. Mola is head of the northern Nationalist army, which has been successfully attacking the Basque Country, while Franco is able to focus on Madrid and the south. The war began with Franco, Mola and Sanjurjo all in equal power, but Sanjurjo died in a light plane crash in July 1936. Now with Mola also dead in a light plane crash, Franco is able to assume total control and no one is capable of standing up to him. Rumours that Franco had the men killed swirled, but nothing to suggest more than accidents almost a year apart was ever found. In 1948, Mola will would posthumously named a Grandee of Spain and made a Duke, the title given to his son.

Fidel Dávila is named head of the Nationalist troops in the north to continue the assault on Bilbao.

This Week In Spanish Civil War History – Week 3: 1 -7 August 1936

Published on August 1, 2016January 22, 2017 by Caroline AngusLeave a comment

Week 3: 1 – 7 August 1936

August 1

France changes its mind and doesn’t want to support the Republicans, after being pressured by Britain, who don’t want to intervene in a war. The two governments, along with Italy, Portugal, Germany, and Russia, forge a Non-Intervention Committee and sign an agreement of non-intervention in the civil war. This will become a major error and huge turning point.

Spanish King Alfonso XIII, who has been in exile for five years, begs Mussolini for help and they send more planes and trained pilots to the Nationalist rebels, paid for by a Spanish billionaire known for illegal and dodgy deals. But two planes crash on their way to Morocco to collect troops, making the news, showing Italy has already broken their non-intervention plan. Still, other major countries sit on their hands and refuse to assist.

The Non-Intervention agreement

August 2

Troops head out of Seville, having secured the city and made it their southern base, marching towards Madrid, over 550 kilometres away. The leaders plan to attack major areas like Badajoz, Toledo and Talavera along the way.

August 3

The shipment of refugee children is already underway, with children being sent to other European countries such and Belgium, France and Britain for their safety.

Nr:185498 9SP-1936-0-0-A1-35 Spanischer B¸rgerkrieg 1936-39. - Ankunft von Fl¸chtlingskindern aus Spanien auf dem Bahnhof von Gent (Belgien).- Foto, 1936. Photo: AKG Berlin Teutonenstr. 22 / D-14129 Berlin Tel. 030-803 40 54 / Fax 030-803 35 99 Bankverbindung Dresdner Bank Berlin BLZ 100 800 00 Konto 462732500 USt.Id DE 136 62841 — Children leave for Belgium

August 4

As the war as broken down much authority, the collectivisation of Spain is strengthening, particularly in Catalonia and Aragon. Workers are grouping together and gaining control of land and businesses, mostly under the guidance of the CNT and FAI anarchist organisations. Worker control is being established, training and education is being given, state and church control is being eliminated, all while looking to defeat the rebels.

Women start training in the militia outside Barcelona

August 6

North of Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Josep Sunyol i Garriga, the deputy of the Catalonian Republican left party and also the president of the Barcelona Football Club, is murdered by Nationalist troops. Sunyol is a politician, leader and journalist, having founded a left-wing newspaper in the 1920’s. He was captured during fighting and shot, and then dumped in a shallow unmarked grave (and wouldn’t be found for 60 years. This system of taking left-wing sympathisers, from battles or just their homes, murdering them without a word and dumping them in the wilderness is the start of what will result in 100,000 – 200,000 Spaniards ‘disappearing’, many still not found today).

Josep Sunyol

Francisco Franco makes his move, and leaves Morocco and flies to Seville, to be on the ground as his troops continue their bloody march towards Madrid, the start of severe killing through Spain’s south and west.

This is not a detailed analysis, just a highlight (lowlight?) of the week’s events. Feel free to suggest an addition/clarification/correction below. All photos are linked to source for credit.

A LITTLE JAUNT TO SPAIN – REVIEW PART 7: Valle de los Caídos: A trip to Franco’s tomb to see a divided Spain

Published on June 28, 2013July 22, 2013 by Caroline Angus5 Comments

You know how Germans dress in their best every Sunday and go to leave flowers and prayers at Hitler’s grave? Oh wait, they don’t, they opened up about their past, dealt with their issues and moved on as a people decades ago. So why are Spaniards having family picnics near the tomb of fascist dictator Francisco Franco? I packed my best possible neutral opinion and set off into the Madrid forests to find out.

“The moment you move the soil over shallow graves, the agony of Spain will pour out, like fresh blood from a wound. All that pain and hatred is covered by a thin layer. Don’t stir up something you can’t understand” – Blood in the Valencian Soil

I’m no ignorant tourist. I’m aware of the tensions that surround El Valle de los Caídos, the Valley of the Fallen. Some say it shouldn’t be open at all, and for a time when the PSOE was in power, it was closed to the public. It was one of the few places on my trip where I was the only foreigner, trying to quietly pass between families of all ages inside a macabre and eerie Basilica inside a mountain.

What is Valle de los Caídos? It is a giant memorial to those killed in the Spanish Civil War, but ended up as a monument to only the Nationalist side, headed by ultra-conservative war winner Franco, who is buried there. Even the history surrounding the place is murky. ‘Official’ records say it was built by approximately 2,600 workers, and a handful of them were Republican (left-wing anti-Franco) prisoners. (Long story short, Republican prisoners were basically anyone the new dictatorship didn’t like. Proof that ever committed any crime, against the public or the State was tough to find, unless being a Republican soldier counts as a crime, and it was back then). It was commissioned in 1940 and finished in 1959, but a more accurate report was of 20,000 Republican prisoners taking part, and the number killed in the process is unknown, some say dozens. You can get an idea of how touchy this subject really is.

Franco inspects the site of Valle de los Caídos in 1940

Republican prisoners building the cross

Remains of soldier killed in Toledo arrive to be reburied in 1959

Watching the opening of Valle de los Caídos in 1959

(click to enlarge the photos will launch an amazing slideshow of pics)

Franco created Valle de los Caidos in the Sierra de Guadarrama, the mountains outside Madrid city. Nearby is San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the once summer palace of the royal family (I visited, and the golden tomb is WELL worth the visit – for another post). The trouble is, Valle de los Caídos was filled with the bodies of killed men, Nationalist (Franco) soldiers and sympathisers. It was a civil war, Spaniard against Spaniard, but those who opposed the rebel army takeover of the Republic were simply forgotten. José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the fascist Falange party is buried there, and Franco was also placed inside a tomb under the basilica in 1975. The exact number of bodies laid to rest inside Valle de los Caídos is unknown, and could be anywhere from 30-35,000. In the last 10 to 15 years, a large number of Republican families and organisations have found the strength and courage to dig up their relatives who were murdered and thrown in mass graves around Spain. However, some have been removed from these graves and placed in Valle de los Caídos without family permission, which only serves to give this place an even more heartbreaking feel.

View while driving up the mountain

Political views aside, the sight of this location is incredible on its own. You can see it while driving along the motorway, sticking out of the otherwise peaceful mountains the surround the north side of the Madrid province. We went through an innocuous gate off the main road to El Escorial and made our way several kilometers up the mountainside on a bright and beautiful Sunday morning. You constantly catch glimpses of the behemoth through the trees, but until you are standing below the enormous cross built on the hillside (152 metres, the worlds’ tallest), you cannot grasp the size and scope of the this place.

The carpark was filled with cars and buses, and I suspected I was about to turn into another touristed location. Not so! Once at the arch doors to the entrance, the only people in sight were the Guardia Civil. The place itself is situated in a beautiful location and the quality of work done is exquisite. The place could have been built as a place to honour those lost in the war and the healing of a great nation. But given that the crypt is a basilica, and that the church oppressed the Spanish population and the Republican (or left-wing if you prefer) side didn’t support the church, there was never the possibility that the monument could honour both sides of the nation.

Entrance archway

View of the Sierra de Guadarrama

Statue over the entrance – The Pietá

I stepped inside, sadly unsurprised that there is gift shop (After all, what child doesn’t want a gift of a colouring book and pencils from a crypt, or a fan with Franco’s grave printed on it?) I put my camera in my satchel, as photos were forbidden, but I had my iPhone in my pocket, just in case. Then I entered the nave.

Nave

Ceiling over the altar

From the moment you go inside, the overwhelming and solemn feel of the cold and dark place takes you over. Giant gloomy and menacing angels brandishing swords bear down on you. The nave is filled with masterpieces of religious painting and tapestries. The attention to detail is second to none. I paused to take in them and the angel statues, but the foreboding sense of the place had already sunk into my bones. Mass was finishing up as I arrived at the altar, and I sat down quietly to listen to children sing in the choir. Children were singing in this place that spoke of death.

Altar angel

Mass ended and the faithful began to wander around the altar, me included. The first thing I noticed was not the menacing angels, or the elaborate golden Jesus, but the grave of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, which someone had left flowers. Now, can I judge those who come here? No, I can’t. I don’t know why they come. Perhaps their loves ones were buried here, as Nationalist believers to the Franco cause. It was a civil war and everyone lost one way or another. Can I, or anyone, look down on these people for coming to pray? No. Whether it’s for a loved one, to feel closer to the history of Spain, or even if they supported Franco, that’s their decision. But what about the people who came to leave flowers on the grave of the founding father of Spain’s fascist party? What was the motivation there? A grieving loved one, or someone with old evil ideas that haven’t been forgotten? It was shiver up the spine stuff.

Altar

As priests wandered about and nodded hello, I found what I had (kind of) came for – the tomb of Franco placed on the opposite side of the altar below the semi-circle of wooden stalls made for the monks and the choir. There lay flowers on the grave, and this time I saw no reason why anyone would place them there. There are many reasons why people continue to support Franco (and it’s a discussion too long for this post) and I don’t see the merit in any of them. Just to the right lay more floral tributes – dozens to be precise, which had been placed to one side presumably because of the sheer volume. A few people were taking photographs, under the watch of a guard. These people had laid the flowers and wanted to capture the moment, no mistaking their alliances in this case. I asked if I could also take a photo with these people and got permission. Why take it? I don’t know, it’s like watching a car crash, it’s awful but you can’t look away.

I was surprised by the state of the place. Perfection? No. Built into a mountain, they must fight their own war with damp, and you can see that in the granite stonework. Water seeps in here and there, which only gave the place a more unearthly and morbid feel. After all, we were all underground, surrounded by graves…

To the left and right are small rooms, with rows of seats and monuments to Spain’s fallen. People lit candles and families laughed and chatted with priests. What says family day out more than this? I sat in the right room, the entombment, which featured an alabaster Jesus statue. I sat and looked at the wall. Caídos – Por Dios y Por España. Fallen – For God and For Spain. All of Spain? Many disagree. Republicans denounce this place, and many here on this random Sunday wore Falange symbols on their lapels.

Inside the chapel of the emtombment

I will admit it – I silently cried as I sat there, which drew the attention of a priest who thought I needed comfort, and the ‘comforting’ hands of old ladies on my shoulder. Me, the young Catholic attending Mass here? Oh boy, that couldn’t be more untrue.

I headed back through the place, fairly certain I wouldn’t ever be back. I stopped by the gift shop to buy a book on the place, in Spanish, about how the place has reconciled Spain. Hmm. I also grabbed an excellent copy of a collection of civil war photographs. The crypt trinkets and religious adornments could stay where they were. After all, who would wear a Valle de los Caídos t-shirt? Why would you, and for what purpose?

The shining moment came as I left the crypt and stepped out in the sunlight. There stood a group of men, all aged 70 or more, hailing a fascist salute at the cross above the entrance. It was well and truly time to leave.

Panoramic view from the main entrance after the fascist saluters said hello and went inside

If there is one thing, it’s that this place is full of emotion. Good emotions? Not all of them. No good ever came from a fascist salute, but it would be too simple to label everyone who visits there, whether they’re crying at Franco’s tomb or having a picnic outside in the sunshine. I am not a religious person and I am not going to tell Catholics how to pray to their God in that Basilica. The books I bought there, their glossy pages gloss over Spain’s history entirely – after all this time, the war and the subsequent dictatorship is not talked about like it should be. Spain shouldn’t have to hide its past. It has been 74 years since the end of the war and yet its presence still lives in Spanish life, whether people say so or not. In 2011, it was decided that moving Franco’s body would be a way of restoring Valle de los Caídos’ image and making it a truly impartial monument to Spain’s fallen, however as the crypt was elevated to Basilica status, the church can decide, and their opinions are not so easy changed.

Franco’s burial in 1975 I wonder who the crying guy is on the left (click to enlarge and view slideshow)

My personal opinion? The place is worth the visit, despite being a pain to get to if you don’t have a car. I travelled alone, and would I want to take my young family there? I’m honestly not sure. It’s not something you will find in the Spain brochures during your Ryanair flight to the beach in Benidorm or Malaga. But if you’re into Spain history, or have a personal or familial connection to the civil war (as have I) you really should visit. Just leave your camera behind and hush your opinions while you’re there. I know what side I stand on, and I took the bus back to Madrid, convinced more than ever of my opinions. But they remain mine. The other people there were very polite, and believe in what they love – that Spain was better under Franco. Nothing I stumble out in Spanish will make the slightest bit of difference. Check out this photo of a wedding over Franco’s tomb though, that was a surprise find. Just goes to show how divided this place can make people.

Photos by abc.es – protesters waved Republican flags and supporters gave out fascist salutes when Valle de los Caídos reopened. The salute seems to be pretty popular