Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Villanueva de la Cañada & Mosquito Ridge
Battlefield
The story
Villanueva de la Cañada, held by a small Nationalist garrison, resisted the Republican offensive through the first day at Brunete and fell only on the night of 7 July, after the XV International Brigade and other units had been pinned in the open wheatfields. North-east of the village, the Republican drive towards Boadilla stalled on the Mosquito Ridge (Loma de los Mosquitos), where the British and American battalions suffered heavily in repeated attacks under a scorching sun. The failure to take the ridge ended hopes of cutting the Nationalist lines west of Madrid.
What you can see today
A modern town; the ridge line and open country of the battle are visible from the Villanueva del Pardillo–Boadilla area, with scattered fortifications.
Plan your visit
Best seen by car from the M-600 and M-503 roads; no dedicated interpretation on site.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villanueva_de_la_Cañada
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brunete
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villanueva_de_la_Cañada
Nearby sites
- Brunete · 5 km
- Quijorna · 7 km
- Fresnedillas de la Oliva bunkers · 14 km
- Blockhaus 13, Colmenar del Arroyo · 17 km
- Cerro Garabitas, Casa de Campo · 19 km
- Puente de los Franceses · 21 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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