Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Estrecho Quinto bunker (Huesca front)
Loporzano / Tierz · Trenches & fortifications
The story
After July 1936, Nationalist-held Huesca was almost surrounded by Republican columns, and the siege lines around the city lasted until March 1938. In late 1936 Republican forces under Colonel Villalba built this machine-gun bunker at Estrecho Quinto to control the Huesca–Barbastro road. It formed one complex with the positions at Montearagón castle and trench lines nearby. The Huesca front saw costly Republican attacks, above all the June 1937 Huesca offensive, when General Lukács of the XII International Brigade was killed. George Orwell was wounded on this front in May 1937.
What you can see today
A well-preserved concrete machine-gun bunker beside the old road, with trench remains on the nearby hills.
Plan your visit
It is east of Huesca near Tierz and Loporzano. A quick stop of 15–30 min, freely accessible. There is a marked walking route from Siétamo.
Sources
- mapcarta.com/N4007989110
- culturadearagon.es/bienes/bunker-estrecho-quinto/
- mapcarta.com/N4007989110
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huesca_Offensive
Nearby sites
- Montearagón castle (Huesca siege lines) · 1 km
- Civil War in Aragon interpretation centre (Robres) · 32 km
- Ruta Orwell – Monte Irazo & Las Tres Huegas (Sierra de Alcubierre) · 39 km
- Barbastro – Claretian Martyrs Museum · 40 km
- Basílica del Pilar – the unexploded bombs (Zaragoza) · 70 km
- Bielsa museum – the Bielsa Pocket · 71 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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