They Shall Not Pass - The British at the Jarama Valley 1937

I have just finished this little but otherwise excellent work about the British Battalion involvement in the Jarama Battle during the winter of 1937, part of the XV International Brigade. Trailing the style and structure of Ambrose's Band of Brothers, the writer has identified the main characters, providing their background, key aspects during the battle and the aftermath using primary and secondary sources.

The description of the climatic points of this short (12 to 15 February 1937) but bloody battle to save Madrid from being surrounded by the Nationalists troops is dramatic and well structured, supported by ample notes and the best thing of all, detailed map illustrations that makes the narrative really easy to follow.

Jarama BattlefieldvVisit

This February is the 76th Anniversary of the Jarama Battle a major and bloody encounter of the Spanish Civil War in the fight for Madrid and the first test for the recently created Republican Popular Army. This weekend the Asociación Tajar has organised a number of events including a couple of very interesting guided tours to the battlefield. I signed up with my son and we are eagerly waiting Saturday to arrive... and hopefully that the rain falling these past three days will give us some rest during the weekend.

Warming up for our visit,  I leave you now with this famous contemporary tune sung by the members of the Lincoln Brigade and also adopted by the British Battalion of the International Brigades

Taking the bull by the horns

The title of this post probably will mean nothing to English readers as it is a remarkable Spanish expression (coger el toro por los cuernos) used when you take the a firm decision on any matter. A few posts back, I talked about my intention this year to play IABSM but with a twist: focused in the Spanish Civil War.