Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Pingarrón hill, Jarama
San Martín de la Vega / Morata de Tajuña · Battlefield
The story
The 695 m Pingarrón dominated the Jarama battlefield and changed hands several times in hand-to-hand fighting. Nationalist troops took it in mid-February; Republican units, including Líster's men and the XV International Brigade, tried repeatedly to retake it. On 27 February the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, about 450 Americans under Robert Merriman, was ordered to attack without the promised artillery and air support and lost well over half its men, among them the Irish poet Charles Donnelly. The Nationalists kept the hill; the battle ended in stalemate, with both armies dug in facing each other until 1939.
What you can see today
Ridge-top trenches, stone parapets and nearby Republican positions (Cota 700, Cota 666) with views over the Jarama valley.
Plan your visit
Reached on foot by Morata's battle routes 5 and 6 (several km on farm tracks). Morata's route leaflet notes the hill itself is private property with difficult access, so keep to the public tracks. Rough ground: wear boots.
Sources
- mapcarta.com/es/N367865919
- mapcarta.com/es/N367865919
- morataturismo.es/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/9-Rutas-Restos-Batalla-Jarama.pdf
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jarama
Nearby sites
- Suicide Hill (Colina del Suicidio), Jarama · 2 km
- International Brigades memorials, Jarama · 4 km
- Museo de la Batalla del Jarama, Morata · 7 km
- Jarama bridges: Pindoque & Arganda · 12 km
- Los Yesares positions, Pinto · 15 km
- Cerro de los Ángeles · 18 km
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
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