The formation of the 'British' Battalion Leading figures of the British Battalion in early 1937. From left to right: Battalion commander Wilf McCartney, Commissars Dave Springhall and Peter Kerrigan, Tom Wintringham and the Irish leader, Frank Ryan. By January 1937 the English speaking contingent at Madrigueras numbered around 450, enough to form a battalion. However, […]
The battle of the Jarama River, 12-14 February 1937 British Battalion officers at Jarama Very early in the morning of the 12th February, the British Battalion, and other members of the 15th International Brigade, were moved up to the heights overlooking the Jarama River at Arganda. Facing the rebels' crack troops from the Army of […]
The Battle of Brunete, July 1937 The 15th International Brigade at Brunete, July 1937 July 1937 saw the British Battalion, now under the command of Fred Copeman, thrown once more into battle as part of a major Republican offensive designed to relieve pressure on the northern front and break through the rebels at their weakest […]
Into Aragon British volunteers returning to the front from the hospital at Benecasim In mid-August 1937 the 35th Division, including the British Battalion, was transferred to the Aragon front, as part of a Republican campaign aimed at capturing Saragossa, and diverting Franco's attention from the northern front where, following the bombing of Guernica and the […]
