El Merengue inexpugnable / Unbreachable position
IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE
Foto feta amb una Rolleiflex Old Standard fabricada el 1936; objectiu Carl Zeiss Tessar f3.5 / 75mm; pelicula Fomapan 100, revelada amb Rodinal 1+50.
El puig conegut actualment com El Merengue, i fins el 1937 només com el Tossal del Deu, fou juntament amb Lo Morinyol la posició més disputada de tota la batalla pel cap de pont de Balaguer dins la batalla del Segre (1938). Els nois de la lleva del biberó de la 122 Br. (27 Div.) atacaren durant diversos dies sense gaire suport artiller ni aeri. Especialment dramatic és el fet que la gran majoria no tenien cap experiencia de combat, mentre que els defensors sublevats eren tropes experimentades del exercit d'Àfrica. Fou una massacre. Diu la llegenda que el nom de El Merengue li va donar un oficial republica de nula visió de futur en afirmar "Venga chavales, que nos lo vamos a comer como un merengue!".
Les trinxeres del Merengue s'han restaurat recentment per part del Memorial Democratic, un fet que per fí dignifica aquests espais i tots aquells que hi moriren, fins fa poc completament oblidats per les institucions.
El cap de pont de Balaguer fou una de les més importants zones de combat de la guerra civil a Catalunya, al llarg de tot el 1938. Els feixistes capturaren Balaguer i el seu pont l'abril d'aquell any, resistiren forts contraatacs republicans aquell maig, i el front s'estancà fins el desembre, quan l'ofensiva final sobre Catalunya trencà el front vers Artesa de Segre.
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serra_Morinyol
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalla_de_Balaguer
====================
Picture taken with my Rolleiflex Old Standard made in 1936; Carl Zeiss Tessar f3.5 75mm lens; Fomapan 100 film, developed in Rodinal 1+50.
These the now restored trenches of the fascist position at El Merengue, in the Balaguer bridgehead. Hundreds of republican teenagers died in the no-man's land in front, for nothing, during the spanish Civil War.
The so called 'Merengue' (it's older name is "Tossal del Deu") was the key position of the northern side of this 'national' bridgehead in republican Catalonia. It was attacked during a whole week in may 1938 by the raw recruits of the Republican 122th Brigade (27th Division). It was a massacre, because they had almost no training and few artillery and air support. And up in the hill they had spanish veterans from the North African campaigns well dug-in. They say about 300 attackers were killed in action.
The name of "The Meringue" allegedy comes from a republican oficer who boasted that they were going to swallow it like a meringue. It's not know if he survived. In the last few years the trenches in the hill have been excaved and restored, and historical signs explain the combats. At last these bloddy battlefields are dignified.
The battle of the Segre river was a series of static warfare combats along this river (and it's affluent Noguera Pallaresa from april 1938 to january 1939, part of the Spanish Civil War. One of the focal points of this battle was Balaguer bridgehead, a nationalist position on the republican (eastern) side of the river. It ended with the fascist ocupation of Catalonia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Segre
No AI Training: Without in any way limiting the artist’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this photograph to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to produce images is expressly prohibited.
El Merengue inexpugnable / Unbreachable position
IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE
Foto feta amb una Rolleiflex Old Standard fabricada el 1936; objectiu Carl Zeiss Tessar f3.5 / 75mm; pelicula Fomapan 100, revelada amb Rodinal 1+50.
El puig conegut actualment com El Merengue, i fins el 1937 només com el Tossal del Deu, fou juntament amb Lo Morinyol la posició més disputada de tota la batalla pel cap de pont de Balaguer dins la batalla del Segre (1938). Els nois de la lleva del biberó de la 122 Br. (27 Div.) atacaren durant diversos dies sense gaire suport artiller ni aeri. Especialment dramatic és el fet que la gran majoria no tenien cap experiencia de combat, mentre que els defensors sublevats eren tropes experimentades del exercit d'Àfrica. Fou una massacre. Diu la llegenda que el nom de El Merengue li va donar un oficial republica de nula visió de futur en afirmar "Venga chavales, que nos lo vamos a comer como un merengue!".
Les trinxeres del Merengue s'han restaurat recentment per part del Memorial Democratic, un fet que per fí dignifica aquests espais i tots aquells que hi moriren, fins fa poc completament oblidats per les institucions.
El cap de pont de Balaguer fou una de les més importants zones de combat de la guerra civil a Catalunya, al llarg de tot el 1938. Els feixistes capturaren Balaguer i el seu pont l'abril d'aquell any, resistiren forts contraatacs republicans aquell maig, i el front s'estancà fins el desembre, quan l'ofensiva final sobre Catalunya trencà el front vers Artesa de Segre.
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serra_Morinyol
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalla_de_Balaguer
====================
Picture taken with my Rolleiflex Old Standard made in 1936; Carl Zeiss Tessar f3.5 75mm lens; Fomapan 100 film, developed in Rodinal 1+50.
These the now restored trenches of the fascist position at El Merengue, in the Balaguer bridgehead. Hundreds of republican teenagers died in the no-man's land in front, for nothing, during the spanish Civil War.
The so called 'Merengue' (it's older name is "Tossal del Deu") was the key position of the northern side of this 'national' bridgehead in republican Catalonia. It was attacked during a whole week in may 1938 by the raw recruits of the Republican 122th Brigade (27th Division). It was a massacre, because they had almost no training and few artillery and air support. And up in the hill they had spanish veterans from the North African campaigns well dug-in. They say about 300 attackers were killed in action.
The name of "The Meringue" allegedy comes from a republican oficer who boasted that they were going to swallow it like a meringue. It's not know if he survived. In the last few years the trenches in the hill have been excaved and restored, and historical signs explain the combats. At last these bloddy battlefields are dignified.
The battle of the Segre river was a series of static warfare combats along this river (and it's affluent Noguera Pallaresa from april 1938 to january 1939, part of the Spanish Civil War. One of the focal points of this battle was Balaguer bridgehead, a nationalist position on the republican (eastern) side of the river. It ended with the fascist ocupation of Catalonia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Segre
No AI Training: Without in any way limiting the artist’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this photograph to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to produce images is expressly prohibited.