THE BATTLE OF THE EBRO
The banks of the river Ebro offer a variety of environments from fruit trees and rice fields, rocky gorges, semi-desert and lush vegetation against stunning mountain peaks. Further along the banks from where now people take river cruises and fish for huge catches, the blood of the volunteers of the International Brigades flowed in what became known as the last throw of the dice for the Republican army. It was at Asco, a small town in beautiful countryside, that the British Battalion made its crossing in the Ebro offensive of July 1938. Peeping through the trees and bushes and pushing up into the skyline are the crags and crevices, rocks and peaks which made up the relentless terrain of the battles which followed the crossing of the Ebro by the Republican army.
In the spring of 1938, following the great retreat from Aragon, what was left of the Republican army began to re-assemble on the north banks of the river Ebro. Those left of the Brigades crossed by boat, some swam, although some were shot or taken prisoner.
In the town of MARCA there is still some faint writing above a doorway identifying the Brigade’s Intendencia (stores).
The rock pools still hold their charm where the men enjoyed bathing and relaxing in the waters warmed by the hot sun.
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The preparation for medical care for the planned offensive included hospitals based in farmhouses and business premises with the most unlikely being a large cave near La Bisbal de Falset and a railway tunnel at the station of Pradell.
The tunnel at Pradell is the longest tunnel on the Spanish railway. One train would be kept under cover in the tunnel as a hospital train and another would be used to transport the wounded to hospital in Reus. Those who needed surgery would be dealt with in the operating room on the hospital train, and the other train could evacuate up to two hundred men
The cave hospital was equipped with eighty beds, a store of medical supplies and an operating theatre, with improvised partition walls.
Lighting was generated by a car engine and local people brought fruit and vegetables. Those who died there were buried in a communal grave in the village cemetery.
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It was to this cave hospital that Harry Dobson was brought and it was here that he died. His picture is displayed in a panel on the wall of the cave. (See left)
CORBERA
After crossing the river Ebro the British made at first for Corbera, fifteen kilometres away, which they reached by late afternoon with little resistance at first, and made contact with the 13th Brigade whose task was to enter the town.
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The town of Corbera was completely destroyed during the fighting over the period of the war. The lower part was rebuilt but the upper part, known as Poble Vell (Old Town), was left as it was as a reminder of the destruction. One information sign in the village describes the old town as symbolising the tragedy of war and remaining as a silent witness to the violence and brutality of air attacks and artillery fire on the civil population.
It is a steep climb to the old village and the only building standing is the church of Sant Pere, partially destroyed with visible damage from shells and bullets. It is preserved but not restored and with a cover enabling activities to take place inside.
It stands dramatically on the skyline and from it one can enjoy today stunning views of the rugged mountains of La Sierra de Caballs and La Sierra de Pàndols where most of the fighting took place during the 115 days of the Ebro battles.
Many sculptures, art and poetry creations are scattered through the village among the shells of buildings with their exposed beams and piles of rubble
HILL 481 (See 'You Are Legend' pages 149-155)
The fighting for the British now centred around a number of hills and they approached Gandesa with the aim of recapturing it from the Nationalists. Gandesa was an important communication centre for the Nationalists with roads and railways criss-crossing the area. The key hill protecting Gandesa was known as Hill 481 and called the “Pimple” by the men. It was almost impregnable. It was a key position offering a distinct advantage to whichever side held it. The hill was fortified with bunkers, trenches, barbed wire and booby traps and some of the slopes, which were almost sheer, provided a powerful natural defence.
EXPLORING HILL 481 WITH ALAN WARREN All photos copyright author.
Brazell Thomas(left), killed on Hill 481 and his friend, Evan Jones, wounded at the same time. Photos courtesy of Deputy Director, RGASPI, Moscow
It was early on the 27th July 1938 when the British No. 1 Company launched an attack on Hill 481 and was beaten back by a hail of fire from guns, grenades rolled down the hillside and artillery.
The Battalion order was for audacity, speed and determination. Rocks splintered and men were mown down in a suicidal death trap.
For five days three companies of the 15th Brigade kept up their efforts to take the hill but were often pinned down and trapped for hours by incessant fire.
Casualties were high and a number of commanders of No. 2 Company were replaced but eventually killed or wounded.
On the 1st August the final assault was made on Hill 481 amidst a pounding from artillery and a barrage of bullets. Some managed to get within twenty metres of the enemy positions but could get no further. Trapped in their positions the men suffered huge casualties and it was clear that the attempt had failed.
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Hill 481 claimed the lives of Harry Dobson of Blaenclydach, Brazell Thomas of Llanelli and
James Scott of Swansea.
Hill 666 (See 'You Are Legend' pages 155-158)
Today on the Serra de Pàndols on what is known as Hill 666, and on a seemingly endless ridge with steep sides, a Republican flag blows proudly in the wind alongside a memorial plaque which reads: “People of Spain, you will remember the free men who fought beside you, enduring and dying with you, the strangers whose breath was your breath”.
The terrain on the sides is heavily wooded and nearer the top boulders and rocks jut out shapelessly from bushes and shrubs. It is clear how terribly exposed the men must have been and how almost impossible it was to find any protection. This time the 15th International Brigade was called upon to defend the hill, almost 1000 metres high.
There they were pounded by artillery, attacked by infantry and bombarded day and night from the air.
Digging trenches was often out of the question since they were most of the time defending on hard rock and there was little or no cover from enemy fire. Surrounded by splintered rock, shells and shrapnel the casualties were heavy.
Hill 666 took the life of Tom Howell Jones of Aberdare. He was struck on the chest by a shell fragment while at his observation post. The tributes to him in the Aberdare Leader and in a memorial service portray a popular, calm, intelligent man with a keen philosophical mind, a lover of poetry and a Marxist scholar who championed democracy and freedom.
HILL 356
(See 'You Are Legend' pages 158-161)
Now the Sierra de Caballs range of mountains became key to the defence of the whole Republican front. The British on the 7th September were dramatically rushed in a hurry with every available vehicle to a site near Ascó Despite the bombardment, the British Battalion managed to recapture the Nationalist position on Hill 356.
Billy Griffiths was in a cave housing the Brigade HQ when the bombing started. About 80 feet deep and 20 feet wide, the entrance was built up with stones and sandbags. The noise was deafening and communications were often broken, which meant that men had to go out and follow the line until they had identified where the break was.
It was remarkable that this primitive cave, still to be found on the mountain and pictured on the right, could have accommodated the nerve centre of the Brigade.
It would have had a number of partitioned rooms resonant with business, bustle and activity with a background of shelling in the distance. Communication lines would have tumbled out of the cave.
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On the worst day of the pounding, 8th September, Sid James was badly wounded in the stomach in the Sierra de Caballs. It seems a shell or bullet had set off bullets in his cartridge pouch and inflicted the wound. He died in the ambulance taking him to a hospital. In his letters to his sister, brother and brother-in-law Sid James talks about not fighting in vain and the whole world waking up to the rights of the workers. “If the people in England and Wales only knew half we have gone through …there would a revolution at home….”