Our First Experiences

By Lieut. Elias Begelman

We came into Albacete Bull—Ring on February 15. Long packing- cases were opened. Rifles, new, still covered with grease were brought forth and issued, also bayonets and ammunition. André Marty spoke

' to us, told us we were to go to the front.

We traveled by trucks at night, lights out, at a snail’s pace. It was bitterly cold and dark; one of those nights when the moon keeps out of sight. More than once we thought the driver was going to run off the road, and turn over into a ditch.

Before we had gotten very far, we were haunted by a plane circling overhead. To this day, I do not know whether it was friend or foe. Anyway, our truck lights flashed only now and then, at corners.

Morning came, and we again tried to clean the grease off our rifles. We had no cleaning equipment. Captain Merriman was equal to the occasion: “You have shirts. Use them.” So, with strips of shirts, we got most of the heavy grease off. There was a continual round of que-

stionsrabout the rifles. Every other comrade wanted to know howtthey

worked. Again, Captain Merriman provided a solution. When we came to a stop he gave brief instruction, and then told us familiarise ourselves with «the rifles, by firing five rounds a man at selected avail- able targets on the hillside. We were more confident now.

The next day, late in the afternoon, we arrived in Morata. There we witnessed our first aerial combat. Two gigantic Fascist bombers were brought down. We suffered no losses.

At nightfall, we moved up in trucks towards the reserve lines. After arrival at a position about 400 meters behind the front line trenches, we got off the trucks and took our places in ranks, not without many difficulties because of the darkness. To add to the confusion was the

heavy, rolling noises of several tanks crossing our paths. The Headquart— ’

er’s truck with Battalion records and supplies and a few comrades was reported lost. It drove into the Fascist lines. In November 1937, nine months after it is discovered that its personnel are prisoners.

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