Death in the Hills

1937 dawned over the golden sun kissed lands of Spain, upon a divided country and a vicious and bloody Civil War. The war had, originally, begun as a simple military coup, back in mid-July of the previous year. At first it looked as though it would carry the day, but due to the early up-rising in the Spanish protectorate of Morocco, the timing of the revolt on the mainland was thrown into disarray, and due to this certain areas didn’t commence their planned revolts at the designated time. In particular, the major cities of Barcelona and Madrid were both critically effected by the timing of these events, and the whole of the 18th July was spent in inactivity. It was this delay, to the originally planned timetable, that enabled the republican government, but more importantly, especially in Barcelona, the unions and other forces on the left, to organise some sort of resistance. It was this fact, which meant that they were able to defeat the rebellion in these, and several other vital towns and cities. By the end of the 20th July, after the first two days of the rebellion, and bitter fighting throughout the length and breadth of the country, the battle lines had been drawn, and Spain was a nation split into two basic zones. The areas that remained loyal, under the control of the government, and the rest of Spain, which was now under the command of the rebel’s or nationalist’s as they were to become known.