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THEMATIC
ROUTES
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Chapter
extracted from the guide PEACE
ROUTE,
made
by Joan Pallarès-Personat.
Let's
go step by step: we do not want to discuss about languished historiographical
validity speculations of fights between the Iberian inhabitants of the
region of Ilerda, half celtic, and Roman newcomers. Neither during the
Islamic occupation of Catalonia, in 788, Sa'id ibn Hussain, who began
a rebellion in Els Ports, was able to occupy and dominate Turtusha.
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If alarb'Abd
ar-Rahman crossed by horse the river Canaletes at the beginning of the
10th century, in mid 12th century, it was the Catalan count Ramon Berenguer
IV, who needed to dominate the Terra Alta in order to connect his recently
conquered kingdoms of Tortosa, Lleida and Aragon.
There are other fights, that nowadays will be called civil wars, among
the Islamic people. But, when the Christian people arrived, the fights
took place because of the interpretations that everyone made of donations,
dominions and privileges given by the count. This kind of generous acts
were made first in favour of the Templar religious order; later on, they
were made in favour of the Hospitable religious order. The provoker families
were the Montcada, the Entença and others. Those fights were so
cruel that in some villages, like Corbera, La Fatarella, etc, the inhabitants
missed the Islamic times as really peaceful.
Some examples of the bandits that inhabited this area were Però
d'Urrea, a warrior-archbishop, and the Clua brothers. They followed the
previous example of other bandits like Trucafort, Tallaferro, Serrallonga,
the Sastre Domingo or the Batlle d'Alòs.
By 1640, in the Terra Alta, people complained about the evil actions made
by the Castilian people, the Lobardian people and people from other European
regions, under the service of the king Felip d'Àustria. They sacked
churches, fired the town authorities or gave the peasants' wheat to their
horses.
The years 1642 and 1643 were really hard, mainly because the siege of
Batea, where soldiers killed, raped, fired houses, etc. Their evil actions
could not be avoided by anyone.
Some bandits from La Fatarella and Vilalba resisted in the north until
1685, people like Pere Benavent or Joan Tarragó, who were finally
captured and executioned.
War reentered in the area and the Catalan national rights were banned
in 1714. Before, in 1707, the Marquis of Los Vélez devastated the
area. When Catalonia failed, the bandit called Carrasclet could still
resist in the Terra Alta, giving an example of epic resistence.
By the beginning of the 19th century, when the Napoleonic armies occupied
the main places, the Spanish comandments had their site in la Terra Alta.
And the guerrillers fought against them there.
During the first
Carlin war, between 1837 and 1838, Gandesa achieved a great reputation
because of the hard attacks of the Carlin comander Cabrera as well as
for the mythic character of Lluïsa d'Ara, lately known as the baroness
of Purroy.
Gandesa was sieged and, finally, it had to be evacuated. The town hall
of Armes was burned; Batea was attacked thousands of times. The most important
bandits of those times were the Moro de Xerta, the Felicianos brothers
from Gandesa, en Curro or els Matiners.
The Fets de
la Fatarella happened soon before the Ebre battle, in January 1937, when
the local peasants, supported by the UGT (a trade union) and Esquerra
Republicana de Catalunay (a left-handed political party), opposed with
guns to the bad application of the collectivity rights made by the CNT-FAI
(another trade union). The bloody battle ended with about fifty deads.
The
Ebre battle
DSome
people say that there is no possibility that great battles could happen
in Catalonia, because its geographical profile is not good for the armies.
If this is true, the region of the Terra Alta is the worst Catalan region
for battles. But, contrary to that, the most important battle, the bloodiest
one, the longest, and the more lethal one has occured in the Terra Alta,
a place where wars and battles have happened for centuries.
The concept
of Ebre battle has to be revised, because its beginning and end occured
in the river Ebre. But the rest of 116 days of battle happened in the
Terra Alta, a region that ended full of blood, dead bodies and anguish,
and where a whole generation was lost. Even now, 60 years after the facts,
it would be quite late to revise such concepts. In the Terra Alta, everything
is late, so let's call it the Ebre battle.
The Spanish
Civil war began in July 18th, 1936, when some fascist military corps revolted
against the legal order. This rebellion produced a reaction by the left-handed
fighters, who arbitrary killed several right-handed people in the area.
 Gandesa and Serra de Cavalls. Photograph by J.M. Jerez |
 Serra de Pàndols. Photograph by J.M. Jerez |
In March, 1938, when
the Aragonese front fell, the fascist army broke the Republican territory
in two. They arrived to the sea by Vinaròs in April 1938. Soldiers
mainly from Navarra, Italy (Litorio Division) and Morocco occupied the
Terra Alta, hardly repressing the people loyal to the Republic who did
not go away.
In Catalonia,
the war was stable in April 1938 by the line of the rivers Segre and Ebre.
This situation will go on for three months and a half, until one o'clock
in the morning of July, 25th, 1938.
In order to
create a big human force to stop the enemy in their march over Valencia
(and recuperate the contact and the comunications with the central area),
the Republican government mobilized all the 18-year-old young men and
those under 40 for the final fight. Those men were taught in secret for
two months to build anything. The Republic comandment also left the enemy
confused about their intentions, characteristics, day and place of the
attack, etc, a needed work in order to get profit of the surprise factor.
From July 19th,
in a very discrete way, the units concentrated in several places near
the river; men, cars and other material collapsed roads and paths of the
Catalan left side of the river Ebre.
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In a calm night, without the light of the moon, at about a quarter past twelve in the night, the first Republican soldiers crossed the river.
The maniouvre happened in several places and in different manners (swimming, by boats, etc). Soldiers crossed the river and built several bridges for men and material to cross the river.
From the very begginning, the fascist armies who were in the left side of the river were captured and, some of them, run away. The attack had been so quick and silent that the surprise factor was guaranteed.
By two o'clock in the morning, the comander of the area, the Moroccan Juan Yagüe, received the first news about the attack and until the evening of the next day he was not conscious of the real effects of the offensive, neither the size of the forces he had in front. Until then, he thought that this could be just a maniouvre to hide a bigger attack in the Segre front, as the information sent by the Republican secret service said.
Although Yagüe's ignorance of the attack, the fascist air force reacted and just a few hours later, they were bombing and firing the soldiers and avoided the crossing of the river to the vehicles that could make the march easier.
 Republican attack |
Quickly,
the villages of Ascó, Riba-roja, Flix, la Fatarella, Benissanet,
Miravet or El Pinell del Brai fell to the hands of the Republican army,
that also got the important mountains of the crests of La Fatarella, Pàndols
and Cavalls. By the early morning of July 26th, the IX Republican "Brigada
Mixta" was placed in the cemetery of Prat de Comte, in Gandesa. The
village was in the first row of fire and fell.
By the afternoon,
the river Ebre grew unusually because the fascists had opened the doors
of several dams. They were not happy only with this maniouvre, so they
hired lots of men that arrived to Bot by train. This train was also used
to evacuate wounded people. One of the most important units that arrived
was the so-called "Tercio de Requetés de Nuestra Señora
de Montserrat", that have been in the calm area of Extremadura. Although
the isolation, the Republican armies did not stop the attack.
By the end of
July, general Franco began to direct the battle himself, and those were
also the days that the mythical names of that battle were written in the
book of history, mainly because of the epic episodes and the futile wasting
of human lifes.
The battle was
so furious that, by August 15th, in the 11th Republican division, leaded
by Joaquim Rodriguez, 4800 soldiers died in a few days. They were replaced
by the 35th International Brigade, that could only stay in the first row
of fire for ten days.
 Fascist counterattack |
According
to the results, the fascists, who were taking the iniciative by mid
August, tried to break the battle by Vilalba in August 17th. This was
a really hot day. Soldiers had to use wine instead of water for drinking
and for refreshing their guns. Mizzian, the leader of the Moroccan soldiers
who fought in favour of Franco, arrived by train to Bot in September
2nd and, in that same day, he placed the commandment in the col of the
Moro, from where he leaded the battle.
From the very
first moment, several people advised Franco that, bearing in mind that
all the Republican troops were concentrated in the Terra Alta, he had
to attack by Lleida, go over Barcelona and obtain a quick victory. But
Franco chose another option: an African war in order to destroy the
enemy. He opted by the militar principle that there had to be several
bombings and attacks in narrow valleys in order to destroy them completely
and reduce the Republican resistance to nothing.
The progress
was slow: the Closa valley, Santa Madrona, Corbera, Camposines, and
lots of villages where witnesses of the fights. Franco's big estrategical
plans failed again and again. About 6000 Republican soldiers from the
international brigades retreated according to the agreements of the
Nations Society. This fact, together with the September rain, provocked
a decreasing in the number of fights. After that, the village of Camposines
fell under Franco's control in October 10th.
The progress was
slow: the Closa valley, Santa Madrona, Corbera, Camposines, and lots
of villages where witnesses of the fights. Franco's big estrategical
plans failed again and again. About 6000 Republican soldiers from the
international brigades retreated according to the agreements of the
Nations Society. This fact, together with the September rain, provocked
a decreasing in the number of fights. After that, the village of Camposines
fell under Franco's control in October 10th.
 Sant Josep hermitage, near Bot. Photograph by J.M. Jerez |
The
final assault to the crest of Cavalls was in October 31st, 1938. More
than 300 cannons and other military material were fired for about 4
hours against the Republican soldiers. The rocky land multiplied the
effect of the shrapnel, so the Republicans had to abandon the exterior
part of their position and hide in their refuges.
All the 1st
Division of Navarra went forward. When the Republican soldiers came
back to their exterior positions, they found their enemies there. The
battle had to be solved body against body, using their knives. When
the Republicans lost, everything was lost: in November 7th, Picossa
and Miravet; in Nov. 11th, Móra d'Ebre; in Nov. 12th, La Fatarella
and Flix; in November 15th, the last positions were occupied by the
fascists and, the next day, Modesto ordered to destroy the last bridges
over the river Ebre.
 Cote 705 of the Serra de Pàndols, monument to Peace. Photograph by J.M. Jerez |
There
are several opinions about how many people died in the river Ebre. According
to Hugh Thomas, there were about 70.000 Republican people among prisoners
and deads. Most of the Republican units lost half of their soldiers.
According to the Nazist German ambassador, placed in the fascist Salamanca,
there were 33.000 people dead in the fascist side. Others say that,
in both sides, more than 150.000 people died... The truth is that there
were no less than 60.000 people dead in both sides. A whole generation
in Catalonia was shocked.
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A poem by Josep Gual i Lloberes titled "Paisatge de l'Ebre" (View over the river Ebre) illustrates the feeling of those who lived the battle:
"Avui
he tornat a la serra de Pàndols.
l a la cova he trobat
les sabates d'en Jaume.
Un forat a les soles i una pinta de bales,
dins d'un plat enfangat
tres cascots de metralla.
Des de I'any trenta-vuit
jo no havia tornat
a la serra de Pàndols.
l a la cova han quedat
les sabates d'en Jaume.
Dins d'un plat enfangat
tres cascots de metralla"
When
the battle ended, the material was recovered and even nowadays there
are several places that shepherds and hunters avoid to cross, and peasants
still look if there is any old but active bomb to be discovered.
The Route
of the Peace
The Consell Comarcal de la Terra Alta created this route in order than
walkers could visit the most representative places part of the Ebre
battle (1938), also in order to honour the memory of those who fought
in this fratricide fight and to help to divulgate peace and solidarity
among the youngest generations.
This route only wants to honour PEACE in capital letters.
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This
route has an own mark and can be made in five or six days, full
of emotions and interesting things, as the route itself or the meaning
of the visited places. Apart from this mark, in the Consell Comarcal square of Gandesa, there is a post sign with the whole route. |
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Links
related with the Terra Alta and the Ebre battle
Consell Comarca
de la Terra Alta
http://www.terra-alta.altanet.org/
Centre Estudis "Batalla
de l'Ebre"
http://www.fut.es/~cebe/catala.html
Website by Joaquim
Ferré
http://www.xtec.es/~jferre15/rutes/rpau.htm
"De vacances",
TV programm, TV3
http://www.tvcatalunya.com/devacances/2001/rutes/ruta5b.htm
History of Spain
by Ramón Puche Maciá
http://www.guerracivil1936.galeon.com/ebre.htm
Manuel Sanromà
http://www.guerracivil.org/EjEbro.html
Asociación
de Amigos de las Brigadas Internacionales
http://www.brigadasinternacionales.org/Ebro.htm
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