Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
El Mazuco & Sierra del Cuera
Llanes · Battlefield
The story
After Santander fell, the Nationalists pushed west into Asturias. At the El Mazuco pass and on the limestone heights of the Sierra del Cuera, about 5,000 Republican troops of the XIV Army Corps, many of them CNT militia, held off Navarrese brigades under José Solchaga. Those brigades were far stronger, at about 33,000 men, and were supported by the Condor Legion, Italian units and naval gunfire. The Condor Legion used some of its first carpet-bombing tactics here, but the rugged terrain blunted their effect. Peña Turbina, the highest point of the range, was the last main Republican position; it fell on 22 September, opening eastern Asturias.
What you can see today
A small mountain village below rocky heights. Hiking routes such as Alto de la Tornería–Los Resquilones cross the former front line, where informal traces of positions remain.
Plan your visit
About 16 km south of Llanes on the AS-115. Stout boots are needed for the karst hillsides; the bar in El Mazucu is the only service.
- Access
- Official walk Alto de la Tornería–Pico de los Resquilones: low difficulty, about 1 h 15 min return
Checked September 2026 from official sources: llanes.es. Things change, so check before you travel.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Mazucu
- es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalla_de_El_Mazuco
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_de_Cuera
- asturias.axtur.com/el-mazucu-ruta-alto-de-la-torneria-los-resquilones/
Nearby sites
- Ceares cemetery mass grave, Gijón · 67 km
- Simancas barracks siege memorial, Gijón · 67 km
- Oviedo front – Cerdeño bunker · 79 km
- El Salvador cemetery mass grave, Oviedo · 79 km
- Oviedo siege – the old town · 80 km
- Santander air-raid shelter (Refugio Antiaéreo) · 85 km
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The battlefields, trenches, ruined villages, shelters, museums and memorials of the Spanish Civil War across the whole of Spain, told fairly from both sides.
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