The French magazine Regards published in its number of September 24, 1936 a photograph made by Robert Capa whose location has been discovered by elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com
It´s an image in
which appear three Republican soldiers wearing helmet. Two of them (visible in
the center of the picture) are walking up a slight slope of a little path and
advance towards the lower right corner of the frame, while another one (visible
on the left of the photograph) is walking down in the opposite direction,
advancing towards the lower middle left border of the frame.
This photograph was made by Capa in Las
Malagueñas hill, an estate being around 2 kilometres in the south of Cerro
Muriano village (Córdoba) and crowned by a 589 m strategic elevation, and the image wasn´t taken on September 5, 1936 as was believed until now, but very few days before, on
September 2, 3 or 4 of 1936.
Between mid August
1936 and the night of September 5, 1936 the so-called House of Las Malagueñas
(a big country dwelling from early twentieth century which was on top of this hill) was the advance command
post of the Republican forces in the area, under the authority of major Juan
Bernal, in whose general staff were also majors José Balibrea, Gerardo Armentia and
Aviraneta.
This picture
shows three Republican soldiers.
Two of them are
walking up across a small path in slight ascending ramp.
The nearest one
to Capa, walking upwards, is taking on his right shoulder a Maxim Sokolov M1910-30
7.62 x 54R machine-gun that he´s grabbing with his right hand, while his left
arm is within a certain distance from his waist to counterbalance the weight of the machine-gun barrel.
The second one
nearest to Capa, walking upwards behind the one taking the machine-gun, is
holding a dark box of 7.62 x 54R ammunition with his left hand, while he´s carrying the small but heavy stainless-steel wheels of the Maxim-Sokolov M1910-30
on his right shoulder.
The third
Republican soldier, visible on the left of the two ones walking up, is going
down in opposite direction, has his left arm a bit folded at the height of his
elbow and is holding a 7 x 57 mm Mauser rifle with his right hand.
Both sides of
the little path appear covered with very high pine trees, which go on existing
currently, because this zone is full of them.
I know the area, that I visited in 1998 for the first time, a period in which it was very
frequent to be able to enter Las Malagueñas estate (visiting the old House of
Las Malagueñas, very abandoned and spoilt, painted with abundant graffitis,
etc) through its main entrance door, placed by the N-432 Granada-Badajoz highway, though a radio tower of the Spanish
Army was installed on its summit some years later, so entrance has been forbidden because of
security reasons since then, and all the access perimeter leading to the estate
peak, where the House of Las Malagueñas was located, is nowadays protected with
barbed wire. to preserve the radiolelectric facility.
Robert Capa made
this picture on a stretch of the small path leading from the entrance door of Las Malagueñas estate – currently closed because of security reasons – to the summit of the hill, where was the House of Las Malagueñas, the advanced command
post of Republican forces in the area between mid August 1936 and September 5
of that year.
That´s to say,
Capa gets the picture inside Las Malagueñas estate, on a spot of the little path leading upward to the summit of the hill.
This point is
going up around 100 meters from the quoted entrance door located by the N-432
Granada –Badajoz highway nearby stretch, which is approximately 300 meters from
the summit, where was the House of Las Malagueñas.
Capa, who is covering the area of Las Malagueñas hill, Torreárboles hill, Villa Alicia estate, Cerro Muriano village, etc, with Gerda Taro, gets the picture while he walks down from top of Las Malagueñas hill (where was the House of Las Malagueñas and the defensive points in which the Republican forces were installing their automatic weapons) going to the main entrance door of Las Malagueñas estate.
The picture was
not made on September 5, 1936 as believed till now, but very few days before,
on September 2, 3 (most probable date) or 4 of 1936, and clearly proves that the Republican high
officers (majors Juan Bernal, José Balibrea, Gerardo Armentia and Aviraneta, along with
captains Castañeda and Del Amo) were sure since late August 1936 that the Francoist troops
from the city of Córdoba would attack them very soon, trying to wipe out the
menace which meant for the capital of the High Guadalquivir the presence of
thousands of militiamen and Republican soldiers who after not being able to
capture the city of Córdoba in mid August during the attack led by general Miaja
and carried out by Armentia, Balibrea, Peris, Vigueira and Pérez Salas (such as
indicates the artillery colonel José Manuel Martínez Bande in his book The
Campaign of Andalusia, Military Historical Service, Monographies of the Spanish
Civil War, San Martin Editorial), and after suffering a lot of casualties
(above all on August 20, 1936, in which Pérez Salas column was bombed in open
ground near the village of Torres Cabrera when was at a distance of 14 km from
Córdoba city, and the Moroccan soldiers of Tabor of Regulares of Melilla Number
3 who fought tooth and nail in the area of Alcolea and Puente Mocho, curbing
the onslaughts of Balibrea´s Republican contingent of troops), withdrew following north direction in great
numbers to Las Malagueñas, Torreárboles, Villa Alicia estate and Cerro Muriano
village (albeit the biggest quantities of Republican forces were in Las
Malagueñas, Torreárboles and Villa Alicia estate).
Therefore, it is
impossible that this picture made by Robert Capa corresponds to September 5,
1936, because by then the Republican forces had already installed and ready for
combat their Maxim Sokolov M1910-30 caliber 7.62 x 54R and Hotchkiss M1914
caliber 7 x 57 mm machine-guns, above all on the elevated areas of Las Malagueñas and
Torreárboles hills, for they had been waiting the attack of the Francoist troops
for some days.
As a matter of
fact, the Maxim Sokolov M1910-30 machine-gun appearing in the image, whose barrel, wheels and ammunitions boxes are being carried to the summit of Las
Malagueñas hill (to dominate the whole surrounding area from a high
position) by the two Republican soldiers nearest to Capa when this makes the
picture, appears in its lightest feasible configuration, with simplified Sokolov
mount, without foldable legs and lacking shield, to eliminate as much weight as
possible and to allow if required its fast change of location depending on the
attack angles performed by the exceedingly experienced Francoist professional
troops from the Army of Africa, that they know will attack them within very few
days.
This photograph
was made by Capa very few days before the Francoist attack on Las Malagueñas
and Torreárboles, which is where the combats front was really on September 5,
1936.
Capa´s image
reveals that the Republican soldiers are preparing for the defense against the
Francoist thrust that they are aware will take place in very few days. That´s
why they are taking up machine-guns and ammunition boxes to the summit of Las
Malagueñas hill, which is where the Republican advanced command post is located.
And besides, the Republican high officers have already seen for a number of consecutive days some Francoist Breguet XIX aircraft coming from the Electromecánica airdrome (located 8 km in the west of Córdoba city, near Medina Azahara), flying over them in reconnaissance and espionage missions previous to the impending onslaught by general Varela.
And besides, the Republican high officers have already seen for a number of consecutive days some Francoist Breguet XIX aircraft coming from the Electromecánica airdrome (located 8 km in the west of Córdoba city, near Medina Azahara), flying over them in reconnaissance and espionage missions previous to the impending onslaught by general Varela.
This proves once
more what we have stated for a long time:
Robert Capa and
Gerda Taro didn´t arrive at Cerro Muriano area on September 5, 1936, but very
few days before, and during those 24, 48 or 72 hours previous to the battle,
they were in contact with the Republican high officers, the Republican soldiers
and the Anarchist militiamen, and visited Las Malagueñas, Torreárboles, Villa Alicia
estate, the village of Cerro Muriano, etc.
This way, Robert
Capa and Gerda Taro knew perfectly, with some days of anticipation, the very
violent Francoist onrush which would unleash against the Republican forces
located in this area,
But they decided
to stay in Cerro Muriano area and its surroundings for some days more and
risked their lives different times to document the events with their cameras,
not hesitating in going to the most dangerous zones on September 5, 1936, very few
days after this picture was made in Las Malagueñas, when the Republican forces
were already clearly preparing themselves for the defense.
© Text and Indicated Pictures: José Manuel Serrano Esparza
Inscribed in the Territorial Registry of the Intellectual Property of Madrid
Inscribed in the Territorial Registry of the Intellectual Property of Madrid
