Frontline Madrid
Subtitle: Battlefield Tours of the Spanish Civil War
By: David Mathieson
Publisher: Interlink Books
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Northampton, Massachusetts
Language: eng
Number of pages: 237
ISBN-13: 9781566560863
Subjects: Battlefields; Guidebooks; Tours; Historic sites; History
First sentence: It is now nearly eighty years since the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, which savaged much of the country between 1936 and 1939.
Description: In July 1936 insurgent Spanish troops organized a military coup to oust the elected Republican government in Madrid. The rebel generals expected to force a quick, clean regime change but they failed. The botched uprising turned into a bloody civil war. Hundreds of thousands died in a bitter conflict which tore the country apart and rapidly turned into the prelude for an even greater conflict yet to come: World War II. The world watched and waited for the city to surrender as General Franco's Nationalist army backed by Hitler and Mussolini, closed in on the Spanish capital. But Madrid did not fall.

Despite its central role in twentieth-century history, the siege of Madrid is an episode largely hidden from today's visitor. There is no guide to the war sites and few clues for the inquisitive traveler who wants to know more. *Frontline Madrid* fills that gap. This unique guide book explains what life was like in the city under siege and what happened in the battlefield dramas. The simple to follow maps and diagrams make it easy to visit the frontline sites. The vividly written descriptions bring events and people compellingly to life. The role of prominent individuals, American and British —Orwell, Hemingway, John Cornford— is explored. Frontline Madrid retraces the footsteps of those who lived through the conflict to take the reader on a tour in time. The usual tourist traps are left far behind to enter the gripping world of a war which shaped modern European history.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Foreword  by Jon Snow
pagenum: vii; title: The Spanish Civil War and Siege of Madrid
pagenum: 1; title: A quick guide to the international brigades in 20 questions and answers
pagenum: 17; title: 20 Spanish Civil War sites in Madrid City Centre : a quick guide
pagenum: 31; title: The massacre at the Montaña Barracks
pagenum: 60; title: Madrid's Western Front : the Casa de Campo, Parque del Oeste and university campus
pagenum: 76; title: The Battle of Jarama : General Franco's Plan C
pagenum: 112; title: Hemingway's war : Guadarrama, Valle de Los Caídos and El Escorial
pagenum: 150; title: The Battle of Brunete : if not here, then where?
pagenum: 185; title: Delving deeper : top ten books, top ten websites.
pagenum: 224; title: Acknowledgments
pagenum: 231; title: Index
pagenum: 234