Suicide Hill
The XI International Brigade (composed of British, Irish, Balkan, French and Belgian volunteers) defending the Pajares found itself outmanned and outgunned. Nationalist artillery massed on the heights of Pingarrón and pummeled the defenders. The German Thälmann Battalion held off a frontal assault on their hill-top, inflicting severe casualties on the attacking regulares with machine gun fire, but the British were forced back and took up position at a place they named Suicide Hill. A machine-gun battalion arrived in support but proved of little use, having been issued the wrong ammunition. However, Líster's veteran Spaniards appeared to the left of the British and helped the Republican line hold all day and through the night, despite frightful casualties.
A furious and confused fight followed in which the British Battalion lost poet Christopher Caudwell and 375 of their 600 men, including almost every officer. On February 13, Nationalist forces started a flanking manoeuvre and forced back the French units to the right of the British. They were then able to isolate and capture 30 members of the machine gun battalion. The surviving Republicans gave up the hill and retreated to the heights, where the enigmatic, pseudonymous "Colonel Gal" — whose identity was never confirmed with certainty — rallied the officers and convinced them to rejoin the battle. The Nationalists, mistaking the returning Republicans for their own soldiers, gave up the hill to them without a fight before realizing their error and resuming the struggle. By the night of February 14, fresh troops arrived to shore up the Republican line.
The farthest Nationalist advance was made to the south of "Suicide Hill" in the low hills between the heights of Pajares and Pingarrón. There the Nationalist centre made a breakthrough, after the XV International Brigade was smashed by artillery fire from the Nationalist 155mm guns on Marañosa hill. Barrón's troops almost reached the town of Arganda del Rey and the coveted Madrid—Valencia road. However, their advance was halted by orders from General Varela, who was concerned that they would be cut off if they advanced too far ahead of other Nationalist units.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Jarama
Famous quotes containing the words suicide and/or hill:
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