Dimitrovs Depart

The

Even after the XV Brigade had become an English-speaking Brigade the Dimivtrov Battalion was still with us. It was with deep regret that the announcement of their transfer to another Brigade came in October 1937. While with us they had justifiably earned a record as our crack. Battalion.

At J arama, for four and a half months, they were the core of resistance in every defence, the spear-hea-d of every attack. No. 1 Company was made up exclusively of students, No. 4 Company of machine gunners with World War and Cze~cho-Slovak Army experience. The majority of the men were Czaecho-Slovaks and J«ugos1avs with a large sprinkling of Hungarians, Italians, and other nationalities. Some had come from exile in the United States and Canada. The Battalion was under the command of Grebenarev who Was killed in action in J arama.

The first five days continuous action in J arama reduced the Battal- ion from 670 men to a little over 200. Nevertheless, on February 17,. when -the Fascists made another attack, the Dimitrovs held on grimly and dug in, making their first trench between the Republican lines and those of the Fascists.

The Fascists guessed it was our trench; our tro-ops thought it was the -

Fascists’. So, the Dimitrovs were fired at from both sides! The Fascists. got confused. One morning their food detail came along With coffee. The Dimitrovs «accepted the breakfast and the prisoners.

At Brunete the Dimitrovs were at the storming of Villanueva de la Canada, and Pardillo. They were prominent in all the battles for Mo- squito Crest. In the Fascist counter—offensive they met the best enemy troops and inflicted heavy b~l—oWs on them. A group of their machine- gunners under the command of J-oseph Benda held out for four days covering a retirement, piling up the Fascist dead in front of their pos- ition. .

On the Aragon Front from August to October they upheld their great record. Much of the street-fighting at Quinto Was carried out by them. The first day they penetrated into the Cemetery and infiltrated i11to the first houses. Next day Benda, with a group of sixteen men made a sur-

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