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107-582: Because the Canadian government passed Foreign Enlistment Act in 1937 prohibiting citizens from participating in a foreign war, surviving veterans were not recognized in national military institutions or history. Since the late 20th century, three monuments have been installed in Canada that commemorate this battalion, including one commissioned by the government that was installed in Ottawa in 2001. The names of all

214-439: A famous farewell speech, Dolores Ibárruri , "La Pasionaria", declared: "You are history. You are legend. You are the heroic example of democracy's solidarity and universality in the face of the vile and accommodating spirit of those who interpret democratic principles with their eyes on hoards of wealth or corporate shares which they want to safeguard from all risk." Surviving Americans from across Spain were sent to Ripoll, where

321-704: A full-scale propaganda campaign supporting the Popular Front. The Communist International soon joined the activity, sending to Spain its leader Georgi Dimitrov , as well as Palmiro Togliatti , the chief of the Communist Party of Italy . The Soviet Union began supplying aid to the Republicans in August 1936. Over one ship per day arrived at Spain's Mediterranean ports carrying munitions, rifles, machine guns, hand grenades, artillery, and trucks. With

428-669: A journalist, and a former militiaman. Cecil-Smith commanded the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion for most of its existence. The soldiers who made up the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion came from both Canada and the United States. Initially, there was discussion as to whether a third American battalion should be formed: in the beginning the Americans outnumbered the Canadians 2 to 1. Later, Canadians made up about half of

535-582: A juried competition by the organizers. It shows a figure of Prometheus raising his arm towards the Sun, cut out of a five-metre-high (16 ft) sheet of steel. A 12-metre memorial wall is inscribed with volunteers' names. Dr. Norman Bethune , who greatly developed the use of mobile army medical units for the Republican side, is one of the few Canadians to be recognized for his service in Spain. There exists

642-524: A separate battalion began to organize for the Canadians in Spain. When it was formally organized at Albacete , Spain in July 1937, the volunteers named it for William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau . These men had led the Rebellion of 1837–1838 in Canada. They became noted politicians in the 19th century, standing for a clean and responsible government. The Canadian volunteers chose this name as

749-420: A serpent and runs away to the woods, afraid that her father will be angry. Alone, she pours out her story to the trees, attracting the attention of wild beasts who tear her to pieces. After his victory over Geryon, Hercules passes through the kingdom of Bebryx again, finding the girl's lacerated remains. As is often the case in stories of this hero, the sober Hercules responds with heartbroken grief and remorse at

856-542: A song sung by the Canadian band Hudson Valley Sally incorrectly titled "The Mackenzie-Papineau Brigade." The song details the adventures of the battalion and their fight in Spain . Abraham Lincoln Battalion The Lincoln Battalion ( Spanish : Batallón Abraham Lincoln ), the major component of what came to be known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade , was the 17th (later the 58th) battalion of

963-429: A symbol of their national identity and commitment to the Republican government’s side. At their first battle at Fuentes de Ebro , the battalion was initially commanded by American Robert G. Thompson . By November 1937, however, the battalion had its first Canadian commander, Edward Cecil-Smith . From Toronto, Cecil-Smith was a member of the Communist Party of Canada , an author of the banned play, Eight Men Speak ;

1070-484: A veteran of the battalion, recalled in 2006, "Some men were running away from bad marital or love situations, but what united all of us was that we hated fascism." Anti-fascism, more than any other single factor, is what motivated and united the volunteers of the Lincoln Battalion. An American company served in the 20th International Battalion that was attached to the 86th Mixed Brigade . This unit fought on

1177-592: Is an astronomical observatory located at 2877 metres on top of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre in the French Pyrenees. Construction of the observatory began in 1878 and the 8-metre dome was completed in 1908. The observatory housed a powerful mechanical equatorial reflector which was used in 1909 to formally discredit the Martian canal theory. A 1.06-metre (42 in) telescope was installed in 1963, funded by NASA and

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1284-510: Is in this part of the chain that granitic masses prevail. Also moving from west to east, there is a change in the composition of the flora, with the change becoming most evident as one passes the centre of the mountain chain from which point the Corbières Massif stretch north-eastwards towards the central plateau of France. Though the difference in latitude is only about 1°, in the west the flora resembles that of central Europe while in

1391-472: Is insufficient snowfall to cause their development. Glaciers are confined to the northern slopes of the central Pyrenees, and do not descend, like those of the Alps, far down into the valleys but rather have their greatest lengths along the direction of the mountain chain. They form, in fact, in a narrow zone near the crest of the highest mountains. Here, as in the other great mountain ranges of central Europe, there

1498-407: Is observed at least 50% of the time above 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) between December and April. A still more marked effect of the preponderance of rainfall in the western half of the chain is seen in the vegetation. The lower mountains in the extreme west are wooded, but the extent of forest declines as one moves eastwards. The eastern Pyrenees are peculiarly wild and barren, all the more since it

1605-456: Is substantial evidence of a much wider expanse of glaciation during the glacial periods . The best evidence of this is in the valley of Argeles Gazost, between Lourdes and Gavarnie, in the département of Hautes-Pyrénées. The annual snow-line varies in different parts of the Pyrenees from about 2,700 to 2,800 metres (8,900 to 9,200 ft) above sea level. In average the seasonal snow

1712-429: Is the complete list of the summits of the Pyrenees above 3,000 metres: Both sides of the Pyrenees are popular spots for winter sports such as alpine skiing and mountaineering . The Pyrenees are also a good place for athletes to do high-altitude training in the summertime, such as by bicycling and cross-country running. In the summer and the autumn , the Pyrenees are usually featured in two of cycling's grand tours,

1819-760: The American Peace Mobilization in protesting American support for Britain and France against Nazi Germany. Others persisted with the anti-Fascist line which they had followed to Spain. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the VALB changed its stance and fully backed the war. Former Lincoln-Washington commander Milton Wolff volunteered in 1940 for the British Special Operations Executive and arranged

1926-651: The Aragon Offensive (March–April), more commonly known to the Republican forces as the "Retreats." The Finnish-American machine gun companies successfully repelled the Nationalist forces, but the collapse of the front on their flanks forced them to join the withdrawal. Their final engagement was the Battle of the Ebro (July–September). This decisive Nationalist victory broke the back of the Republican forces. In

2033-665: The Ariège area, the mean elevation is remarkably uniform until a sudden decline occurs in the easternmost portion of the chain known as the Albères . Most foothills of the Pyrenees are on the Spanish side, where there is a large and complex system of ranges stretching from Spanish Navarre , across northern Aragon and into Catalonia, almost reaching the Mediterranean coast with summits reaching 2,600 m (8,500 ft). At

2140-485: The Ku Klux Klan ." Though the Lincoln Battalion was predominantly white, it was integrated. Most of the original volunteers in the Lincoln Battalion were communists or Soviet sympathizers. It is difficult to list exactly how many members of the battalion were communists because political ideology was not a litmus test for serving in the war. Historians and veterans of the battalion estimate that between 50 and 80% of

2247-535: The Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum altitude of 3,404 metres (11,168 ft) at the peak of Aneto . For the most part, the main crest forms a divide between Spain and France, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between. Historically, the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre extended on both sides of the mountain range. In Greek mythology , Pyrene is a princess who gave her name to

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2354-740: The Pyrenees National Park ). The independent principality of Andorra is sandwiched in the eastern portion of the mountain range between the Spanish Pyrenees and French Pyrenees . Physiographically , the Pyrenees may be divided into three sections: the Atlantic (or Western), the Central, and the Eastern Pyrenees. Together, they form a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System division. In

2461-519: The Spanish Republican forces against the Nazi -supported forces of General Francisco Franco and his Nationalist faction . Unlike the segregated U.S. Army in the 1930s, the Lincoln Battalion integrated white and black soldiers on an equal basis. Of the approximately 3,000 American volunteers who went to Spain, 681 were killed in action or died of wounds or sickness. The Spanish Civil War

2568-680: The Tour de France held annually in July and the Vuelta a España held in September. The stages held in the Pyrenees are often crucial legs of both tours, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators to the region. Three main long-distance footpaths run the length of the mountain range: the GR 10 across the northern slopes, the GR 11 across the southern slopes, and the HRP which traverses peaks and ridges along

2675-716: The XV International Brigade which fought in the Spanish Civil War . Named after United States President Abraham Lincoln , the battalion was organized by the Communist International . The XVth Brigade was one of many mixed brigades that comprised the International Brigades . The Lincoln Battalion was formed by American volunteers who served as soldiers, technicians, medical personnel, and aviators alongside

2782-509: The caverns of Ariège, the principal genera of which are Anophthalmus and Adelops . The Pyrenean ibex , an endemic subspecies of the Iberian ibex , became extinct in January 2000; another subspecies, the western Spanish ibex , was introduced into the area, with the population numbering over 400 individuals as of 2020. The native brown bear population was hunted to near-extinction in

2889-620: The 129th International Brigade. The battery commander was Nathan Budish, and his Commissar was Sid Kaufman. Organized by Dr. Edward K. Barsky , the American Medical Bureau (AMB) recruited doctors, dentists, nurses, administrators, and ambulance drivers to support the Spanish Republic. In its fundraising events, the names 'American Medical Bureau to Save Spanish Democracy' and 'Medical Bureau & North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy' were also used. In

2996-501: The 1990s, but its numbers rebounded in 1996 when three bears were brought from Slovenia . The bear population has bred successfully, and there are now believed to be about 15 brown bears in the central region around Fos , with only four native ones still living in the Aspe Valley . Principal nature reserves and national parks: In 1997, part of the Pyrenees (including Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park and Pyrenees National Park)

3103-843: The Abraham Lincoln Battalion, the George Washington Battalion, and the John Brown Battery. Other countries used similar patriotic names, e.g., the Garibaldi Battalion from Italy. Besides the Americans who volunteered as soldiers, another 125 men and women served with the American Medical Bureau as nurses, doctors, and ambulance drivers. Seeking help to defeat the armed rebellion, the Republicans asked for volunteer fighters worldwide. The American volunteers, many of them Communists, started arriving in Spain in late 1936. Utilizing

3210-526: The Atlantic Ocean over the Bay of Biscay . After dropping its moisture over the western and central Pyrenees, the air is left dry over the eastern Pyrenees. The winter average temperature is −2 °C (28 °F). Sections of the mountain range vary in more than one respect. There are some glaciers in the western and snowy central Pyrenees, but there are no glaciers in the eastern Pyrenees because there

3317-587: The Battalion gathered on the far side of the Ebro River , where they were slowly reconstituted with a limited number of international volunteers from the hospitals and rear areas. Spanish troops, many young conscripts, were drafted into the XVth Brigade's battalions to bring them fully up to strength. Spaniards were integrated into the Lincoln Battalion as early as Jarama. Spanish companies were added to

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3424-530: The Bell Tolls ), was the chairwoman of the extensive San Francisco branch of the organization. She and Fredericka Martin were the only women to receive officer commissions from the Spanish Republic. Evelyn Hutchins, an active member of the AMB, agitated for years to be a hospital driver on the front-lines. Still, Spanish Republican policies prevented women from serving on the front-lines until 1938, when Hutchins won

3531-686: The Canadian government did not participate in the Spanish Civil War, the volunteers do not have status in military institutions or such national memory. The Canadians who died in the Spanish Civil War are not included in the Books of Remembrance in the Peace Tower . Their sacrifice is not commemorated on federal war memorials or in Remembrance Day services. Those who survived the war are not entitled to veterans' benefits. But since

3638-677: The Cordoba Front. Most of the American volunteers were transferred from the unit to the XVth Brigade before the Brunete Offensive. The Washington Battalion was the second American battalion. The unit was merged with the Lincoln Battalion during the Brunete Campaign. It was commanded by Mirko Marković, and its commissar was Dave Mates. The Mac Paps, as they were known, formed as the number of Canadiens fighting in

3745-600: The Earth's crust first affected the eastern part and moved progressively to the entire chain, culminating in the Eocene Epoch. The eastern part of the Pyrenees consists largely of granite and gneissose rocks, while in the western part the granite peaks are flanked by layers of limestone . The massive and unworn character of the chain comes from its abundance of granite, which is particularly resistant to erosion , as well as weak glacial development. The upper parts of

3852-568: The Elder connects the story of Hercules and Pyrene to Lusitania , but rejects it as fabulosa , highly fictional. Other classical sources derived the name from the Greek word for fire, Ancient Greek : πῦρ (IPA: /pŷːr/ ). According to Greek historian Diodorus Siculus "in ancient times, we are told, certain herdsmen left a fire and the whole area of the mountains was entirely consumed; and due to this fire, since it raged continuously day after day,

3959-749: The Foreign Enlistment Act. They depended on friends and family to collect the money to get them home; some men were arrested in France. It was not until January 1939 that the government agreed the veteran combatants could return to Canada. Upon their return, many were investigated by the RCMP because of communist party affiliations. Some were denied employment. Many Mac-Pap veterans volunteered to fight in World War II , but some were rejected as "politically unreliable" due to their history. Because

4066-615: The International Brigades were no longer of military value, Although he maintained a vain hope that the Nationalists would withdraw their German and Italian troops, Franco kept his German and Italian forces until the war's end. On 1 November 1938, International Brigadists received a warm farewell from the people in Barcelona, where 250,000 people gathered to say goodbye to the international brigades for freedom. In

4173-544: The International Red Cross and the US government verified their nationality before repatriating them. Many were able to participate in the farewell activities, including a parade in Barcelona where the International Brigades were officially disbanded. Most American volunteers returned to the US between December 1938 and January 1939. American POWs were released after the fall of the Republican government, although

4280-532: The Lincoln and Washington battalions grew. Established on July 1, 1937 (Canada Day) at first there were more American soldiers in the ranks than Canadiens, but that 3-1 ratio soon shifted and the Mac Paps ended with a roll call of over 1500 Canadiens. Its first commander was Robert Thompson, an American veteran of the Lincoln Battalion. Joseph Dallet , also American, was the first Commissar. The Regiment de Tren

4387-459: The Lincolns suffered 136 deaths. The battalion remained in combat and was slowly rebuilt while maintaining its front-line positions. The unit was finally pulled out of the lines for a brief rest before the offensive at Brunete . Joined by the newly trained George Washington Battalion, the XVth Brigade took action at Villanueva de la Cañada on the second day of the Brunete Offensive and secured

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4494-532: The Nationalist forces quickly rallied, and the offensive stalled. The Republican troops returned to the defensive, contesting the area captured in the offensive. On 21 September 1938, Juan Negrín , the Spanish prime minister , announced to the League of Nations the unilateral withdrawal of the International Brigades from battle. Juan Negrín was trying to negotiate peace as his only hope. He had been informed that

4601-462: The Nationalists attempted to overthrow the elected Republican government. On 26 July, less than ten days after the coup started, an international Communist conference was held in Prague to formulate plans to assist the Republicans. The conference attendees decided to raise a multinational brigade of 5,000 men and a fund of one billion francs. At the same time, Communist parties worldwide launched

4708-478: The Northwest margin of Gondwana , where they formed a lateral continuity of neighbouring areas, such as the Montagne Noire and the Mouthoumet massifs and Southwestern territory of Sardinia . Between 100 and 150 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous Period, the Bay of Biscay fanned out , pushing present-day Spain against France and applying intense compressional pressure to large layers of sedimentary rock . The intense pressure and uplifting of

4815-415: The Pyrenees contain low-relief surfaces forming a peneplain . This peneplain originated no earlier than in Late Miocene times. Presumably it formed at height as extensive sedimentation raised the local base level considerably. Conspicuous features of Pyrenean scenery are: The highest waterfall is Gavarnie (462 m or 1,515 ft), at the head of the Gave de Pau ; the Cirque de Gavarnie , in

4922-481: The Pyrenees. The Greek historian Herodotus says Pyrene is the name of a town in Celtic Europe . According to Silius Italicus , she was the virgin daughter of Bebryx , a king in Mediterranean Gaul by whom the hero Hercules was given hospitality during his quest to steal the cattle of Geryon during his famous Labours . Hercules, characteristically drunk and lustful, violates the sacred code of hospitality and rapes his host's daughter. Pyrene gives birth to

5029-509: The Romans), statuary white marbles as well as coloured marbles used to decorate the royal palaces of the Louvre and Versailles in France and the Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain. Mineral springs are abundant and remarkable, and especially noteworthy are the hot springs . The hot springs, among which those of Les Escaldes in Andorra, Panticosa and Lles in Spain, Ax-les-Thermes , Bagnères-de-Luchon and Eaux-Chaudes in France may be mentioned, are sulfurous and mostly situated high, near

5136-550: The U.S. Government was not issuing visas to Spain as part of a non-intervention policy regarding the Spanish Civil War. Few American volunteers arrived after September 1937. Battalion members fought for many different reasons. For the 85 African-American members of the battalion, the Nationalist forces represented some of the same injustices they faced back in the U.S. The Nationalist army primarily consisted of colonial troops from Spain's African colonies or of conscripted blacks who were desperate to escape poverty. Furthermore, Franco

5243-540: The United States, the AMB staged events to shift public opinion away from supporting the aid boycott to the Spanish Republic imposed by the American government following the agreements of the Non-intervention Committee . In Spain, the AMB was assigned to hospitals and medical centers of the Spanish Military Medical Services ( Cuerpo de Sanidad ), such as the Gómez Ulla Military Hospital in Madrid, and also to front-line locations. AMB members, who also included women, treated both international as well as Spanish combatants. By

5350-413: The Western Pyrenees, from the Basque mountains near the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean, the average elevation gradually increases from west to east. The Central Pyrenees extend eastward from the Somport pass to the Aran Valley , and they include the highest summits of this range: In the Eastern Pyrenees, with the exception of one break at the eastern extremity of the Pyrénées Ariégeoises in

5457-432: The XVth Brigade attacked a series of Nationalist fortifications at Segura de los Baños . While the attack succeeded, the Nationalist forces did not transfer any forces away from Teruel. March found the Lincoln-Washington in reserve positions in Aragon . Their rest proved short-lived as the XVth Brigade was swept up in the disaster known as "The Retreats". Nationalist forces punched through the Republican lines and drove to

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5564-402: The XVth Brigade out of Teruel. The XV BDE, including the Lincoln-Washington Battalion, were pulled out of the line for rest after three weeks in the lines. But before the units could get to the rest areas, their trains and trucks were stopped, and they were redeployed to the front, where they participated in an offensive that was expected to relieve some of the pressure on Teruel. In a dawn attack,

5671-463: The XVth Brigade was pulled back to a reserve position, receiving its first extended period of rest and relaxation since going into combat at Jarama . In late December, the Lincoln-Washington Battalion was alerted for service at Teruel . The XVth Brigade was deployed to hold the recently captured city of Teruel against the expected Nationalist counterattack. The winter of 1937/38 was among the coldest on record, and many troops suffered frostbite during

5778-407: The actions of his darker self, and lays Pyrene to rest tenderly, demanding that the surrounding geography join in mourning and preserve her name: "struck by Herculean voice, the mountaintops shudder at the ridges; he kept crying out with a sorrowful noise 'Pyrene!' and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back 'Pyrene!' ... The mountains hold on to the wept-over name through the ages." Pliny

5885-420: The age of 100. Members of the XV International Brigade adapted a song by Alex McDade to reflect the losses at the Battle of Jarama . Sung to the tune of the traditional country song Red River Valley , it became their anthem. In 2007, the exhibit Facing Fascism: New York and the Spanish Civil War at the Museum of the City of New York examined the role that New Yorkers played in the conflict, as well as

5992-401: The area are Spanish, French, Aragonese , Catalan (in Andorra and in Northern and Southern Catalonia ), and Basque . Also spoken, to a lesser degree, is the Occitan language , consisting of the Gascon and Languedocien dialects in France and the Aranese dialect in the Aran Valley . An important feature of rural life in the Pyrenees is ' transhumance ', the moving of livestock from

6099-529: The armed forces. After World War II ended, veterans of the Lincoln Battalion were denied military enlistment and government jobs. The House Un-American Activities Committee blacklisted the names of all veterans of the Lincoln Battalion. The Brigade was also included in the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations on April 29, 1953. Veterans were fired, spied upon, harassed, labeled communists to employers, denied housing, and refused passports for decades. The FBI has denied that it maintained any files on

6206-404: The battalion were actively communist. It is certain, though, that the vast majority of the commanding officers were communists. Unlike most of their European counterparts, the Americans in the International Brigade were more likely to be students who had never seen military service before the Spanish Civil War. Not all combatants were motivated by ideological or political concerns. As Mo Fishman,

6313-453: The campaign. The Lincoln-Washington's initially held positions overlooking Teruel that they called the North Pole. Later, they moved down into the city. During January, the Nationalists launched coordinated attacks against the Republican defenses. The XVth Brigade's British Battalion and MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion both lost an entire company attempting to hold the territory. Nationalist superiority in both numbers and materiel eventually pushed

6420-412: The cargo came Soviet agents, technicians, instructors, and propagandists. The Communist International quickly started to organize the International Brigades , taking care to conceal or minimize the Communist character of the enterprise. In keeping with Popular Front culture, the Republican cause was portrayed as a struggle for progressive democracy, and the American soldiers in Spain named their units

6527-431: The conflict in Spain, and about the possible repercussions for Europe and the world. Many other groups also supported the Spanish Republicans and organized the Committee to Support Spanish Democracy. A good percentage of those Canadians who enlisted had been born in Europe, the two largest groups being Finns and Ukrainians . As casualties mounted in Spain, many Spanish volunteers and later conscripts were incorporated into

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6634-410: The contact of the granite with the stratified rocks. The lower springs, such as those of Bagnères-de-Bigorre ( Hautes-Pyrénées ), Rennes-les-Bains ( Aude ), and Campagne-sur-Aude (Aude), are mostly selenitic and not hot. The amount of precipitation the range receives, including rain and snow, is much greater in the western than in the eastern Pyrenees because of the moist air that blows in from

6741-473: The east it is distinctly Mediterranean in character. The Pyrenees are nearly as rich in endemic species as the Alps, and among the most remarkable instances of that endemism is the occurrence of the monotypic genus Xatardia (family Apiaceae ), which grows only on a high alpine pass between the Val d'Eynes and Catalonia . Other examples include Arenaria montana , Bulbocodium vernum , and Ranunculus glacialis . The genus most abundantly represented in

6848-476: The eastern end on the southern side lies a distinct area known as the Sub-Pyrenees . On the French side the slopes of the main range descend abruptly and there are no foothills except in the Corbières Massif in the northeastern corner of the mountain system. The Pyrenees are older than the Alps : their sediments were first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. During Ediacaran to Ordovician times, Pyrenees were located at

6955-573: The effect of thermal shocks. No big cities are in the range itself. The largest urban area close to the Pyrenees is Toulouse ( Haute-Garonne ), France with a population of 1,330,954 in its metropolitan area. On the Spanish side Pamplona ( Navarre ) is the closest city, with a population of 319,208 in its metropolitan area. Inside the Pyrenees the main towns are Andorra la Vella (22,256) and Escaldes-Engordany (14,367) in Andorra, Jaca (12,813) and La Seu d'Urgell (12,252) in Spain, and Lourdes (13,976) and Foix (10,046) in France. The following

7062-531: The end of the war, a majority of both the Spanish aid committees and the leadership councils of the AMB were women. Many women leaders in the aid movement were wives of prominent American leftists or soldiers in the Lincoln Battalion. Katherine Duncan, wife to Governor La Follette's secretary, and Peggy Dennis, a communist party leader, were leaders in the active Madison, Wisconsin chapter. Marion Merriman, wife to Abraham Lincoln Battalion commander Robert Merriman (the supposed inspiration of Hemingway's hero in For Whom

7169-411: The end, Spanish Prime Minister Negrín ordered the International Brigades withdrawn on September 21, 1938. Madrid fell six months later on March 28, 1939. By the end of the war, 721 had died of the 1,546 Canadians known to have fought in Spain. The return of survivors to Canada was arduous. The Canadian government continued its policy of ignoring or prosecuting the veterans of Spain, in accordance with

7276-443: The farms in the valleys up to the higher grounds of the mountains for the summer. In this way the farming communities could keep larger herds than the lowland farms could support on their own. The principal animals moved were cows and sheep , but historically most members of farming families also moved to the higher pastures along with their animals, so they also took with them pigs , horses and chickens . Transhumance thus took

7383-537: The foot of Canigou in Pyrénées-Orientales long ago. Coal deposits capable of being profitably worked are situated chiefly on the Spanish slopes, but the French side has beds of lignite . The open pit of Trimoun near the commune of Luzenac (Ariège) is one of the greatest sources of talc in Europe. There are many marble quarries in the Pyrenees, most of which were opened by the Romans in ancient times. Quarried intermittently, they provided prestigious marbles such as Grand Antique (used in Rome and Constantinople by

7490-456: The form of a mass biannual migration, moving uphill in May or June and returning to the farms in September or October. During the summer period, the families would live in basic stone cabins in the high mountains. Nowadays, industrialisation and changing agriculture practices have diminished the custom. However, the importance of transhumance continues to be recognised through its celebration in popular festivals. The Pic du Midi Observatory

7597-405: The headquarters for the operation, located at Queen and Spadina streets. Applicants were screened. For the most part anyone intending to enlist had to have had a history of working for the left. Drunken and adventurous types were weeded out, leaving those who were ideologically committed to the politics of the fight against fascism . These factors, together with the comparatively mature age of

7704-498: The high rate of casualties, the Lincoln and Washington Battalions were merged. Thereafter, the unit was officially known as the Lincoln-Washington Battalion, though it was more commonly referred to as the Lincoln Battalion. From August–October 1937, the Lincoln-Washington Battalion fought in a series of battles in the Aragon Offensive . It fought well at both Quinto and Belchite . The engagement at Quinto

7811-612: The international battalions as the flow of volunteers from North America decreased. After the Retreats, Spanish troops were integrated across all battalions and comprised most of the XVth Brigade's strength in its last action. In July 1938, the rebuilt Lincoln-Washington Battalion participated in the Ebro offensive . The XVth Brigade crossed the Ebro and rapidly advanced across the territory they had retreated through in March and April. However,

7918-535: The known volunteers are listed there. By the summer of 1937, some 1,200 Canadians were involved in the Spanish conflict. The Canadians had traveled secretly to reach Spain; some of the early volunteers were dispatched mainly with the volunteer Abraham Lincoln Battalion of Americans. Later they traveled with the North American George Washington Battalion , with about forty Canadians serving in each group. In early May 1937,

8025-529: The largest telescope in France. Overtaken by the giant telescopes built in recent decades, today the observatory is widely open to amateur astronomy. The Odeillo solar furnace is the world's largest solar furnace. It is situated in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales , in south of France. Built between 1962 and 1968, it is 54 metres (177 ft) and 48 metres (157 ft) wide, and includes 63 heliostats. The site

8132-524: The last POWs did not arrive in the United States until September 1939. 3,015 Americans manned the Lincoln Battalion and its successor, the Lincoln-Washington Battalion. While several of these volunteers also held citizenship in other countries, they identified primarily as Americans. Approximately 1,681 also served in the Mackenzie-Papineau ("Mac-Pap") Battalion once massive losses in both battalions led to mergers and transfers of men. Many of

8239-518: The late 20th century, a group known as the Veterans and Friends of the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion have gained government permission and installed three monuments to commemorate these veterans. The first monument was erected in Toronto on June 4, 1995 at Queen's Park . The monument is a large boulder transported from the battlefield of Gandesa , Spain. Attached to the boulder is a federal plaque from

8346-629: The name of Abraham Lincoln, they formed the Lincoln Battalion in January 1937 as part of the XV International Brigade . The battalion initially fielded three companies: two infantry and one machine gun. Sections of Latin American and Irish volunteers were also included, organized as the Centuria Guttieras and the Connolly Column , respectively. After less than two months of training, the Lincolns took action in February 1937. Many of

8453-615: The national Historic Sites and Monuments Board, reflecting the status of the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion as a National Historic Event. A monument to the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion was unveiled February 12, 2000 in Victoria, British Columbia . There is a monument to the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion in Victoria, British Columbia . [1] Another monument to the Mac-Pap veterans was erected in Ottawa in 2001 on Green Island Park. This effort

8560-597: The passes at Somport, Envalira, and Puymorens and new routes in the center of the range at Bielsa and Vielha . A notable visual feature of this mountain range is La Brèche de Roland , a gap in the ridge line, which – according to legend – was created by Roland . The metallic ores of the Pyrenees are not in general of much importance now, though there were iron mines at several locations in Andorra , as well as at Vicdessos in Ariège, and

8667-495: The political and social ideologies that motivated them to participate in activities ranging from rallying support, fundraising, and relief aid, to fighting—and sometimes dying—on the front lines in Spain. Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain . They extend nearly 500 km (310 mi) from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on

8774-619: The provision of arms for the European resistance organizations . During the Second World War , the U.S. government considered former members of the brigade to be security risks. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover requested that President Roosevelt ensure that former ALB members fighting in U.S. Forces in World War II not be considered for commissioning as officers or to have any positive distinction conferred upon them. In 1947,

8881-698: The range is that of the saxifrages , several species of which are endemic here. In their fauna the Pyrenees present some striking instances of endemism . The Pyrenean desman is found only in some of the streams of the northern slopes of these mountains; the only other desman , the Russian desman , is confined to the Volga river basin in southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The Pyrenean brook salamander ( Calotriton asper ), an endemic amphibian, also lives in streams and lakes located at high altitudes. Among other peculiarities of Pyrenean fauna are blind insects in

8988-682: The right to serve as a driver. During and after the Spanish Civil War, members of the brigade were generally viewed as supporters of the Soviet Union . After returning to the United States, many joined the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB). However, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact caused a division among the Lincoln Brigade veterans. Some of them, adopting the official Communist line, joined with

9095-429: The same valley, together with the nearby Cirque de Troumouse and Cirque d'Estaubé , are notable examples of the cirque formation. Low passes are lacking, and the principal roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees, near sea level. The main passes of note are: Because of the lack of low passes a number of tunnels have been created, beneath

9202-512: The sea, cutting the Republic in two. The Lincoln-Washington Battalion was dispersed, reformed, and dispersed again in a confused series of holding actions and retreats in which it lost most of its personnel killed, captured, or missing. Robert Merriman and Dave Doran, two of the highest-ranking American officers in the XVth Brigade, were presumed captured and executed as Nationalist forces normally executed all international prisoners. The remnants of

9309-571: The soldiers – 61.5% were over thirty – resulted in a powerful and committed force. From Toronto they traveled to Montreal or, more frequently, New York City , to depart by ships for travel across the Atlantic Ocean to France . They continued to Spain by ship or on foot across the Pyrenees . Over the next year, the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Teruel (December 1937 – March 1938) and

9416-730: The surface of the earth was also burned and the mountains, because of what had taken place, were called the Pyrenees." The Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces , from east to west: Girona , Barcelona , Lleida (all in Catalonia ), Huesca (in Aragon ), Navarra (in Navarre ). The French Pyrenees are part of the following départements , from east to west: Pyrénées-Orientales (also known as Northern Catalonia ), Aude , Ariège , Haute-Garonne , Hautes-Pyrénées , and Pyrénées-Atlantiques (the latter two of which include

9523-583: The town after hard fighting. The Washingtons attacked the north end of the village, while the British and Dimitrov battalions attacked from the south. The XVth Brigade then deployed against "Mosquito Ridge", but despite repeated assaults, they could not dislodge the Nationalist troops holding that critical piece of terrain. The Lincoln Battalion's commander Oliver Law —the first black commander of an integrated American army unit —was killed during this action. The XVth Brigade again sustained severe losses. Due to

9630-410: The unit lost two-thirds of its forces, including commander Robert Hale Merriman (who was badly wounded) in a futile assault on Nationalist positions. Merriman had begged Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Ćopić (described as "rather inept") not to launch the attack, fearing slaughter. Ćopić insisted it proceed and promised air and armored support, which never came. Merriman was almost immediately wounded, and

9737-554: The unit. Canadians who wanted to serve in Spain had to travel under false pretenses. The Parliament had passed the Canadian Foreign Enlistment Act in April 1937, and formally applied it to Spain in July 1937, prohibiting such volunteering in a foreign war. Even before this prohibition, recruits were generally gathered and transported in secret. Volunteers usually went first to Toronto , where they met at

9844-481: The unit. Unlike volunteers from Britain and the United States, who included a significant number of college students and intellectuals, the Canadian contingent was almost wholly working class . Labourers had been attracted to the left by the collapse of capitalism during the Great Depression . Many Canadian volunteers were members of the Communist Party of Canada . In general, they were self-educated about

9951-573: The veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were placed on the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations. The veterans would be one of only five groups that would stay intact to at least 1970 after receiving this designation. Once the United States entered World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recommended that all veterans of the Lincoln Battalion be denied military promotion to prevent communists from rising in

10058-495: The veterans of the Lincoln Battalion, but veterans groups claim that the federal government is merely covering up its crimes. In 1985, in an interview with Scripps-Howard editors, President Ronald Reagan said that most Americans believed that their fellow Americans who fought with the Loyalist forces were on the wrong side. The last known surviving member of the Lincoln Battalion, Delmer Berg , died on February 28, 2016, at

10165-444: The volunteers in the "Mac-Paps" were Americans. On 13 October 1937, the XVth Brigade fought at Fuentes de Ebro . Men from the brigade's 24th (Spanish) Battalion rode Russian tanks into the attack. The remaining battalions were supposed to follow the tanks, but the attack fell apart because they did not coordinate their advance with the infantry. Casualties were especially heavy in the 24th and MacKenzie-Papineau Battalions. After Fuentes,

10272-399: The volunteers recalled that training was rudimentary: "They give me a gun, and they give me 100 bullets, and they send me to fight." The International Brigades were usually deployed as shock troops , resulting in high casualties. As an example, the Lincoln Battalion lost 22.5% of its strength by war's end. The Lincolns were especially depleted by the Battle of Jarama . On 27 February 1937,

10379-417: The volunteers were either first or second-generation immigrants, and the battalion was overwhelmingly white. The average age of Americans who served in Spain was 27. Still, there were volunteers as young as age 16. The volunteers came from 46 out of 48 states in the U.S. New York City provided the single largest number of recruits, with 1/5th to 1/3rd being of or formerly from the city before going to Spain. Of

10486-596: The volunteers who could speak Spanish, most were from either New York City or Ybor City located in Tampa, Florida . Americans who applied were screened by the Communist Party USA with an in-person interview by a special committee. The committee tried to filter out "adventurers" and those who "lacked a political understanding of the anti-fascist struggle." In the Communist Party, joining the brigade

10593-441: Was a combined arms action as the Lincoln-Washington Battalion was led into their second assault on the town by Soviet tanks, T-26 tanks, and Soviet crews. Belchite was a hard battle with house-to-house fighting that produced heavy casualties. After Belchite, the XVth Brigade was again reorganized. The newly formed Canadian MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion joined the brigade, and the veteran Dimitrov Battalion departed. A majority of

10700-458: Was a transportation unit supporting the Republican forces. The Second Squadron was predominately American. The commander was Durward Clark. This unit's official title was the 14th Battery, 2nd Group, 11th Regiment. It was a heavy artillery unit operating 155mm guns. The battery commander was Arthur Timpson, with Jack Waters as Commissar. Initially, this unit operated 155mm guns but was later equipped with 45mm anti-tank guns, which were included in

10807-412: Was also organized and funded by Veterans and Friends of the Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion. The monument includes the names of the 1,546 Canadian volunteers who served in Spain. This number includes all those who served in the Mac-Pap battalion; the medical, communications, transportation and translation corps; or in other brigades. The monument was designed by architect Oryst Sawchuck of Sudbury, selected in

10914-437: Was chosen because of the length and the quality of sunshine with direct light (more than 2,500 h/year) and the purity of its atmosphere (high altitude and low average humidity). This furnace serves as a science research site studying materials at very high temperatures. Temperatures above 3,500 °C (6,330 °F) can be obtained in a few seconds; in addition, it provides rapid temperature changes and therefore allows studying

11021-785: Was fought from 17 July 1936 to 28 March 1939. The combatants were the Republicans—a political alliance referred to as the Popular Front , which was loyal to the Spanish Republic (hence, also referred to as the Loyalists)—and the Nationalists , a rebel movement led by General Francisco Franco, which was backed by the fascist countries in Europe . The Spanish Civil War's triggering event was the coup of July 1936 in which

11128-509: Was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its spectacular geologic landforms and testimony to the unique " transhumance " agricultural system. The Pyrenean region possesses a varied ethnology, folklore and history: see Andorra ; Aragon ; Ariège ; Basque Country ; Béarn ; Catalonia ; Navarre ; Roussillon . For their history, see also Almogavars , Marca Hispanica . The principal languages spoken in

11235-414: Was never mandatory. Secrecy was a high priority, and volunteers were given minimal information by Party leaders and only obtained information regarding their passports when they had passed their examination. The committee recommended that volunteers supply false information to customs and border officials about where they were travelling. Americans usually entered Spain by first emigrating to France because

11342-590: Was supported by the Italian army and air force, which had only recently conquered the African nation of Ethiopia. Several leaders characterized the war as a crusade against the "Africanization" of Spain, although it was the Nationalists who relied on African fighters. Langston Hughes , a journalist for the Baltimore Afro-American at the time, wrote, "Give Franco a hood, and he would be a member of

11449-503: Was used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the Moon in preparation for the Apollo missions. Other studies conducted in 1965 provided a detailed analysis of the composition of the atmospheres on Mars and Venus, this served as a basis for Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists to predict that these planets had no life. Since 1980, the observatory has had a 2-metre telescope, which is

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