Battle zone

Another day, another early morning trip to the site of the Battle of Jarama, near Madrid (see yesterday's entry).

I went back because I was not convinced I had seen all the important landmarks on my first visit. My second tour was a great success.

The picture shows me taking photos from a ridge held by mainly British volunteers in the fight against Franco's fascists. The hills you can see in the middle distance were highly significant in the battle. The fighting in this area was intense and it is still possible to find shrapnel and even, apparently, live grenades.

Today, as in the civil war, the area largely comprises olive groves. I read in a book about this battle that the soldiers used the olive trees as cover. When you visit this place, you notice straight away how little protection these men would have had. I can't imagine what it must have been like standing in these fields with the air singing as bullets and shrapnel flew everywhere.

There are memorials to the dead, but sadly they are regular targets for vandalism, despite their remote location. Some of the divisions from those dark days live on almost 80 years since the start of the civil war.

I am hoping my project will make more people aware of the heroism of the British volunteers in the XV International Brigade.