Valle del Jarama Review

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Valle del Jarama

Fodor's Review:

East of the M311 runs the river Jarama. The stretch known as Valle del Jarama between the A3 and Ciempozuelos was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Spanish Civil War. American volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, part of the 15th International Brigade (comprised of volunteers from 26 nations), which fought with the democratically elected Spanish Republican government against Franco's military insurgency, were mauled here in a baptism of fire. Between 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers from both sides lost their lives on the river banks in a 20-day battle. Folk singer Pete Seeger immortalized the battle with "There's a valley in Spain called Jarama." The trenches are still visible, and bits of rusty military hardware can still be found in the fields.

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