I was ordered to move. We had twenty minutes to get ready, 
no lights to be used. There was a shortage of tank drivers so 
three of us volunteered for the job. In twenty minutes I was 
driving slowly towards the highway. At 6.00 o'clock the next 
morning, we were four miles behind the lines. The sound of 
artillery fire and exploding shells signallized that we were near 
the front.

Artillery fire was heavy that day, from both sides. At 
8.00 o'clock fascist planes appeared. Our anti-aircraft guns 
brought down three planes. It was the first time I had seen an 
airplane set on fire. I watched it go crashing to the ground 
That evening, the glad news reached us that Lister's Division 
was encircling Brunete and that the International Brigade had 
captured Villa Nueva de Canada.

That night, my company moved to the front lines to get 
into action. It was 3.00 a.m., and very dark. We had to drive 
without lights along a highway jammed with traffic --- trucks, 
cars, ambulances, gasoline tanks and water tanks. There were 
many hairpin turns in the highway. With no lights ,and 
clouds of dust, one could hardly see more than a few feet ahead. 
As we passed through Villa Nueva de Canada, a village ruined 
and destroyed by bombs and shells, men were working, clearing 
the streets for traffic. What had taken years to build was now 
a heap of ruins. The dead were gradually being removed from 
the streets for burial. This was my first glimpse of actual war. 
"So this is war", I thought, "destruction, ruins, blood and 
death."

The tanks were parked in an olive grove on the way to 
Brunete. We had fifteen minutes in all to fill our tanks with 
gas and oil, to check the motor and eat breakfast. Our artillery 
opened a barrage. The fascists replied. A few shells fell near 
our parking place. "To your tanks, start!", ordered the com-
pany commander. In five minutes, the tanks were lined up 
on the road, facing Brunete. Tank commanders were receiv
ing and issuing instructions.

Another fifteen minutes, and Brunete lay before us, 
ruined and destroyed. Some parts of the village were in flames. 
The church tower was full of shell holes; the fascists were still

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