Hello and welcome to the trenches at Barranc dels Fornets.
Here we can find a closed system of fortification built in 1939 during the Spanish civil war. Its design was conceived to control and defend the dirt road that connects the river with the mountain heights inland. It should be noted that this space, practically unharmed during the Battle of the Ebro, suffered violent clashes some months earlier, because the Xerta area was one of the places where the Republican army set up a stronghold in order to delay the arrival of the pro-Franco troops at the sea, making it possible for the government forces to withdraw in an orderly fashion.
Conquered by the fascists, the stabilization of the Ebro war front forced both sides to prepare the ground for defence, building trench structures, sniper pits and machine gun nests, in order to protect their own river bank– the Republicans, on the left bank, and the Francoists, on the right one.
Besides, Barranc dels Fornets was one of those avant-garde spaces that made access to the interior possible. Then it is not surprising that the site was fortified by the Italian troops of the Blue Arrows Division or on the initiative of the First Brigade of the Francoist Division 105.
Following the perimeter of the hill, the trench has a constant height of 110 cm, with a width of 60 to 70 cm in most sections. The trench had up to eleven sniper pits. The study of the best preserved cartridges confirms the presence of Mauser rifle ammo headstamped PS 1931 and 1937; that is bullets manufactured by Fábrica de Pirotecnia Militar in Seville, which supplied the fascists.
If you wish to learn further details about the Spanish civil war in Xerta, listen to the next track.