Thanks Pat,

I'm sure we can meet some time a do a recce ourselves there!

Meanwhile I'm doing a lot of riding and research for my Spanish Civil War tour in July. Tomorrow I'm spending the day around the Ebro battleground where I've discovered almost literally hundreds of sites to visit - a 600 kms itinerary just on trails!

Meanwhile, an image from last year's HISS rally in the Pyrenees, where the tour will start:



The mountain that appears in between the mirrors on my bike is called 'Sant Corneli' (Cornelius) and was the scene of one of the most bloody battles of the war.

Here's an eye witness report that appeared in the La Vanguardia newspaper a few years ago:

“...El principal obstáculo lo constituía la montaña de San Cornelio, en las estribaciones de la Serra de Carreu (Pallars Jussà), punto clave para el dominio de la extensa Conca de Tremp. Y allí durante tres días y sus noches, tuvieron lugar combates de los más sangrientos de la guerra en Cataluña, por el gran número de muertos y heridos habidos en tan poco tiempo, quedando materialmente deshecha la unidad republicana (4° Batallón de la 134 Brigada Mixta) formada en su mayor parte por bisoños jóvenes catalanes del reemplazo de 1940, que intentó en vano una y otra vez conquistar la fortificada y bien guarnecida cima.”

My Translation:

“...The mountain of San Cornelio, was the main obstacle in the foothills to the Serra de Carreu (Pallars Jussà) - that's the spiky bit to the left of the photo - , (a) key point for the domain of the extensive Conca de Tremp. And there during three days and nights, they held bouts of the bloodiest (fighting) of the war in Catalonia, for the large number of deaths and injuries incurred in such a short time, being materially undone (weak, short of munitions, etc.) (the) Republican unit (4 ° 134 mixed Brigade battalion) formed predominantly by novice reserves from the Catalan youth (not scheduled to be conscripted until the 1940 intake), tried in vain to reconquer the fortified and well supplied peak."

It got much worse than this - Franco's Moorish troops, feared and loathed for their brutality, neither took nor gave quarter. After the war bodies were found at the bottom of the cliffs you can see on the south face of the mountaintop - similar to the rest of the sierra - the interpretation was that injured of captured troops were simply thrown over the cliff edge

Link to photo
You can't ride a bike there - perhaps that's a good thing - but as you can see the 'memorial' cross, usually in Spain to praise the victors at the expense of the vanquished, has been left to its fate.

Regs

Simon

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