Merriman finished his thoughts on September 29 by saying that the Lincolns and the Mac-Paps were coming along nicely now but that the British still remained a problem.  Jim Bourne and Pete Hampkins were still in Valencia at the gathering there and Merriman was worried about when they would get back.  He had noticed that the Fascists had broken the hold of the Brigades on the road between Huesca and Zaragosa and that they would soon move up to counterattack and try to take back the road.  He gives us the route that they would take from Almochuel to Torralba de Aragón which was a distance of 135 kilometers (See the map below).

The plan was to move in 32 trucks on this route which circled the Aragon front at the end of September.  Merriman says that the drivers took a day and a half to get to them and when they arrived,  the drivers were beat.  They wanted to start out but the trucks were out of gas and the ones that had mechanical problems had no mechanics to fix them.  “No nothing”.

On the 30th of September, they started out with Merriman in Dave Doran’s car.  Because the Fascists had counterattacked north of Zaragosa, they had to swing further east and the route is shown in the next Google Maps® image.

Merriman meets with, we believe, Arturo Denis, the Chief of Staff of the 35th Division, who explained the transportation situation to him.  They were waiting on more trucks and Denis wondered where the trucks that Merriman had came from.  It should be noted that in the last two weeks in September, the Ministry of Defense was critically reviewing the number of cars in the field and reassigning vehicles to the officers who needed them.  When the Dimitrov Battalion was separated from the XVth, Copic demanded that they be stripped of their weapons and Merriman fought that as he did not want to leave them defenseless.  However, there is a command order of the 35th Division in late September which removed 14 vehicles from the Dimitrovs.  This is probably the source of Merriman’s trucks.  Denis told him to hold the trucks and don’t give them up because the XVth Brigade was going into reserve positions and might have to run back to Mediana (retracing the steps they just took) if the fighting there degraded.

Merriman places the men in Senes which is a few kilometers southwest of Robres and awaits orders.   He finds a headquarters on the second floor of a building.  There are not many homes in Senes and fewer with two floors.  It is likely that it was one of the ones on the right.   Copic is sick and is out of action.   The Brigade was bombed on the 30th but had support from a Czechoslovakian anti-aircraft battery (probably the Gottwald battery which had been based in Caspe).

Art Landis gives an overview of the next week:

On September 24, while Modesto fought before Fuentes and Sillero, the mixed Italian-Spanish Flechas (Arrows) Division, under the Italian colonel Isasi, attacked strongly in the direction of Zuera.  Isasi had the use of five squadrons of planes, many artillery batteries, and a complete company of tanks.  His objective was the Republican bridgehead across the Gallego River, which had severed the rail and road connections between Zaragoza and Huesca.  By September 29, since no attempt was made to re-enforce the exhausted men of Trueba’s 27th Division, most of Isasi’s objectives were realized.

…..  At the same time, a sweeping Republican victory was in the act of being won by a well-coordinated Catalan effort in the vicinity of the border city of Jaca.  …. But the Catalans not only held; they also began additional attacks to the south of Jaca and above Huesca.

It was at this time that the 15th Brigade was rushed to Grañen, in the area below Huesca.  It was supposed that it would be used either to implement and further the advance of the Catalans or to aid the troops of Trueba against the mixed Spanish-Italian division pushing from recaptured Zuera.¹

Merriman finishes off the entry for September 30 with the note that the old woman whose house they were using in Senes complained that things were quiet there and now that the Brigade has arrived, they will be bombed and killed.   Merriman confirms that the 35th Division hospital is now in Grañén and that Doctor Irving Busch is in charge of that hospital.  Busch, a long timer now in Spain, was influential in the International Brigades and could get things done politically as well.

(More to follow in future posts).

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¹Landis, The Abraham-Lincoln Brigade, ibid. pp 312-3.

 

On the September 19 and 20 diary page, Merriman ran out of room in his first diary.  He sent the first diary off with Marion to protect it and he started a new diary.  The first date in the new diary is September 29th in Almochuel and Merriman has a lot to get off his chest.   Diary #2 was transcribed by Alan Warren and thanks go to him for the effort in doing so.

We play these 12 pages back as a group and will discuss them below.

Merriman starts his replay of the days since September 19 in rather routine order and most of it is self-explanatory.  But as he writes he gets more and more worked up about the events in Belchite and how he did not get the respect that he felt he deserved for that Battle.  He mentions that Bill Lawrence came to Almochuel to encourage more Party work with the Brigade.  Merriman says that he and Dave Doran were already started on that.  He mentions that Company secretaries are to be appointed and that a Brigade Secretary would also be appointed.   The latter role was assigned to Jim Bourne.

Merriman revisits the “English question” which revolved around repatriation of the longest serving comrades.  Vladimir Copic has a different recollection of previous decisions than does Merriman.  Merriman says that many good comrades are being removed for repatriation.  Steve Nelson was one of them.  On the way out, Nelson made a speech in Valencia where he took Hans Amlie to task for his behavior at Belchite and comments he made there.  Robbie Robinson will stay with the Brigade and Merriman says that Carl Bradley is to go.   Bradley returns to the US in November 1937.   Copic does not agree with the repatriation of Nelson but is obviously overruled by Valencia.

Marion Merriman’s short visit to the Brigade ends and she went back to Albacete (with Merriman’s first diary).  She had news that they were invited to go to Valencia but because of orders, they deferred the visit and sent Jim Bourne instead.   Bourne was to get the pay money for the end of September but by the 29th, he had not returned with the money or Pete Hampkins or the car.  Merriman’s irritation shows through.  Finally, Moises Sapir shows up with 500,000 pesetas to pay the Brigade.  This is clearly the point where the smiling Merriman is seen with Sapir in Almochuel.

Sapir tells Merriman “the dope about Schmidt in Madrid”.  We have not tracked down this story at this point.  Interestingly, there is a photo of Hans Kaltschmidt who is listed as being the Adjutant to the Chief of the Brigade (that would be Merriman).  One wonders if Merriman called him Schmidt or if that is the name he went under.  There also will be an upcoming discussion on “Hans” who promotes himself without permission.

Will Paynter, Bob Kerr, and Malcolm Dunbar wrecked their car in a place that looks like Cambronette (although this is not a Spanish location.  It may be the model of a type of car.  A Cambronetta was a type of carriage in the 1800’s.  Camionette is the name used for Citroen and other French small vans).   Paynter discusses the Aitken/Cunningham affair where they were removed and sent back to England.  Paynter seems to now criticize Cunningham, but perhaps because he is in Merriman and Copic’s camp at this point.   Paynter felt that George Aitken did the best he could.  Wally Tapsell, however, has burned his bridges with criticism of the Soviet Union.    Paynter brings in 42 new British comrades and takes out 20.   Vladimir Copic apparently makes no objection now and Merriman and Doran feel that this is the solution that they had originally suggested…. just let them go.   Merriman suggests that this rotation out of troops has greatly helped morale.

Merriman has been slaving over the paylists and the promotion lists and Copic keeps bouncing the suggestions back.  Apparently after six days, Copic agreed with Merriman and Doran’s original suggestions.  Merriman’s blood begins to start boiling at this point and he will work himself up over the next few pages.   He mentions that the policy that 2% of the Battalion should be on leave at any one time has been put into effect and that Jose Amano (or so the name looks) has been made Copic’s Adjutant.  Merriman says that Amano’s prestige has been lifted and this should have been done for more Spanish colleagues.  Merriman says that in the paper shuffling, many opportunities to send the Brigaders on leave were lost.

One wonders about Copic’s leadership style throughout these diaries.  One pictures a manipulative leader who will play groups of his staff off against one another.  He doesn’t seem to concentrate on the day-to-day issues but rather creates make-work while he himself entertains guests and travels about.   During this period, Copic’s wife was seen with him in photos of Codo and Belchite and Copic spent considerable time in his Benicassim villa.   Merriman says that one of these days he will blow his top and tell Copic and Walter what he thinks.  But he doesn’t.  Up until his death in April, 1938, Merriman continued to serve these men.   He mentions again that Walter promised promotions during the fight if Merriman could get people moving, which he did.   The promises of new ratings are not forthcoming.

Dart, as a special operations officer, Malcolm Dunbar and Radomir Smrcka are mentioned as coming to the staff of the Brigade.  These men will be with the Brigade leadership until the end of the war.  Two of the three are seen on the right of the photo on the left.  This photo was believed to have been taken in Ambite.

In a small section of the diary, we realize that the war continues on the Aragon front.  The 11th and 32nd Brigades move up to the second lines, probably in the area of Mediana.  Copic is off showing a Jugoslav delegation the sites and the XVth Brigade is caught with the order that the 11th Dimitrov Battalion is now to move over to the 45th Brigade.   Copic has fought this and he has even written letters to the party central committee to protest, but while he is away, they are moved.   Copic left orders that they have to leave their weapons with the XVth.   Merriman implies here that they cannot be just left defenseless and the weapons will go with them, on the order of the Albacete Base who bawl out Copic.   Merriman says that the men of the 11th don’t want to leave the XVth, except for Chapayev (who Copic sent off to Valencia to get out of the decision-making process for the Dimitrovs).   Given Merriman’s displeasure with Copic, it would be very interesting to find Chapayev’s views on this move and his relationship with Copic.   Copic replaces Chapayev with a Schuster and what looks like Kagan as political commissar.  Paul Schuster was listed as an Australian comrade by Martin Sugarman, but this is unlikely.  He perhaps is an Austrian comrade which would make more sense for him being in the Thaelmann Battalion as listed by Sugarman.¹

Orders come down for promotions of the heroes of Quinto and Belchite and Carl Bradley and Phil Detro  make Captain, Canadian Bill Skinner makes Lieutenant, John Tsanakas makes Lieutenant.   Steve Nelson is singled out for great valor and make Lieutenant Colonel.  This would make Nelson equal in rank to Copic and jump him over Merriman who is a  Major. Nelson’s photo on the ALBA page, linked above,  shows him with Lieutenant Colonel stripes.  Three more brigadistas make Captain, an Andre Kobel, J. C. Wattis, and David Kamy.

The next three pages of the diary are a fascinating glimpse into Merriman’s real feelings about Copic.  They can easily be read without comment or interpretation.

Finally, Merriman says that a “Burt” (likely to be Bert Williams) and what looks like “Vorhees” came to talk with Merriman and Doran about what happened in Valencia.   Merriman seems like the last two work well together.

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¹  Martin Sugarman, Against Fascism – Jews who served in The International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, ibid., page 17.