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‘ ofi l'l1fi,&rJ0a‘d from,.C‘hi/nclion to Madiridfngfhe noatfi fiiliong wrh/ieh/we had rnarchéd to,qtrhe iaffack three days before, /were iidw stoatleregy,/all who survived -1 qjew hjindred Britlins, Irish nd S/paniards. Dispirited by heavy casiialties, ‘by defeit, by lack of foodzvxivorn Out by itvlnge days f, gruelling fighting, our In n appeared to have reached the en of th- T if ' _ resistance " « i / V‘ J ’

So-mpy‘e“%7'er'e still sltraggling dowmihe slop«e“s from/,.wliat had‘ lielzh, up to an hour ago, the front line. Kind noy, theregwas no line,” no hing between the [KP/Iadridgiroad and-’ the Fascist/s disorg 'sed groups of Weary, wa -vsgeckfetrl men. After three days ofgtergif c struggle, the superio; flumblelws, the ‘superior armament of the Fa cists had routed‘ them. All, as they came backk/liad si ilar stories to tell: of comrades dead, of co idxi/tions/itliat Were’) more than flesh 9:1/d blood could stand, of W€aI‘l'I1-e$_S itiliey Found haiid to r p U s

I (recog is-efd the young Coriénissar ofuthe Spanish Company. , His hand bslqody where a bullet haed graze~d\the palm, he was fumbling ne- V'€I”’[h€$l*€'SIS with his autoniakfic, in turn ‘threatening and pleading with his men. I got Manu to calm him, and to tell him We would rally every- body in a mtomeni’. As I-Walkeid along the road to see how many men we had, ./ ounid“ myself deciding that we should go back up the .line of the road to an Martin de la Vega, and take the Moors‘ on their left flank.

Groups were lying about o11 the roadside, hungrily eating oranges that had been it 1I‘OWI1 to them by a passing lorry. This,wais no time to sort them into units. I noted with satisfaction that some had brought down spare rifles. I found my eyes straying always to the hills we had vacated. I hitched a rifle on my shoulder.

They stumbled to their feet. No time for barrack-square drill. One line of four. “Fall in behind us.” A few were -still on the grass bank beside the road, adjusting helmets and rifles. “Hurry up!” came the cry from the ranks.

Up the road towards the Cook—House I saw Jock Cunningham as-

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