Los Yesares fortification complex
Located in Pinto
Set of fortifications of Los Yesares, Pinto
The set of fortifications of Los Yesares, in Pinto, corresponds to the position "Vega Baja" belonging to the VI resistance nucleus called "Cerro de los Ángeles resistance center", which was occupied until the end of the war by the troops of the 18 division. Four mixed concrete pillboxes and a set of structures excavated in the terrain including trench coats, shooter pits and a shelter have been documented. The remains that have survived to this day correspond to the "fossilization" of the front at the end of the war. Due to its didactic value, the whole is part of the Visible Site Network of the Community of Madrid.
The position of Los Yesares corresponds to the "Vega Baja" position belonging to the VI resistance nucleus called "Cerro de los Ángeles resistance center", which was occupied until the end of the war by the troops of the 18 Division.
It is a small gypsum hill located on the right bank of the Culebro stream and the Cañada Real Galiana. Four mixed concrete pillboxes and a set of structures excavated in the terrain including trench coats, shooter pits and a shelter have been documented. All the structures are integrated in a network of trenches from which a length of 1308 m has been preserved. In very good condition. These remains form a clear example of how to organize and prepare the ground for combat according to the manuals of the General Direction of Campaign Preparation of 1927.
The forts are called mixed type because they result from the union of a circular fort and a quadrangular fort.
The shelters are quadrangular in shape and variable in size, with the floor and the back wall in plan and they had a cover made with different construction materials, such as uralite, tile and brick. Although they are built independently, they all have nearby trench branches that allowed safe access to them.
The shooter's wells consist of excavated posts at the end of a small trench branch in which the soldiers were posted to shoot. A total of 46 wells have been documented, of which 9 are simple wells at the end of a trench branch, 1 is a simple well integrated into the side of a trench and 36 are double "T" shaped wells.
Three fortified roads / anti-tank ditches have also been documented. Its purpose was to prevent the advance of all types of vehicles through the most accessible areas for them, while serving as a “link line” through which to travel quickly and safely.
Another structure is a shelter located on the upper part of the western slope. It presents an access by means of a small trench and a vaulted chamber excavated in the plaster rock and could correspond to a shelter for the officers.
Regarding the material recovered in this area during the prospecting and excavation tasks, a set of 139 objects related to daily life on the front and war material were collected.
The republican government planned the defense of Madrid by devising four concentric rings fortified by numerous concrete forts. The second ring known as "Plan Masquelet"It passed through the Brunete line - Villaviciosa de Odón - Fuenlabrada - Pinto - San Martin de la Vega. But the plan hardly developed, building a few fortifications in Madrid, Getafe and Cerro de los Angeles.
After the occupation of the towns in the north of the province of Toledo, in November 1936 the fighting began in the surroundings of Madrid. Pinto, Getafe and Fuenlabrada were occupied on day 2. The remains associated with these first moments that have survived in Pinto are scarce, and are located in the urban area, related to the occupation, the establishment of logistical infrastructures and the quartering of troops. Although it should be noted that one of the areas in which vestiges are preserved, the Cerro Cabeza Fuerte, began to be fortified by the Republican troops at this time, with the work continued by the Francoists after their subsequent occupation.
In mid-January of 1937 both sides were aware of the importance of the Madrid-Valencia highway. The Republican troops took the positions of Cerro de los Ángeles on January 19, with the aim of moving the defensive lines from Villaverde to the other side of the Manzanares. Attack plans slowed down for various reasons, so five brigades were stationed on the north-south axis that formed the road to Andalusia, in the towns of Pinto and Valdemoro. In mid-February, four of these brigades set out to attack, while one remained in reserve. The brigade of Colonel Rada was the first to start the advance, occupying various dominant levels between the highway of Andalusia and the confluence of Manzanares and Jarama, including Los Yesares. Its mission was to protect the northern flank of the Francoist offensive against any republican response that came from the south of the capital.
The front line in this zone remained from this stable moment until the end of the war, with only fortification tasks and sporadic attacks. The most intense fighting on the northern flank of the Francoist advance was concentrated mainly in the places of La Marañosa and Coberteras, while the area under attack bombed artillery and starred in some "discovery" of troops in the north but no impact .
Image gallery
Posters with augmented reality implemented from the Los Yesares deposit
Virtual reconstruction of a Los Yesares shooter's well
Glass material found during the Los Yesares exploration.
Distribution of prospected areas
Typed pit typologies
Example of shelter of Los Yesares
Military material found during the Los Yesares survey.
Archaeological performance
At the end of the 2013 year, a first phase of intensive archaeological prospecting was carried out. Although the location of the larger structures was known in advance, work was done in large areas that included the sites of Los Yesares, Cerro Cabeza Fuerte, Puerto de las dos Caras, Valdecantos, Valdegrima and Valdeciervos, all of them located in the northeast and east of the municipality of Pinto. The total computed surface area was 108,739 Ha.
After the documentation phase, a second phase of archaeological excavation was carried out in the western area of the southern slope of Los Yesares.
With this intervention, the deposit became part of the Network of Visible Sites of the Community of Madrid in December of 2015. The visit to Los Yesares has become the main axis of the Galiana Didactic Program. There are numerous guided tours with which seeks to socialize with the history and heritage of the Civil War in an attractive and entertaining.
After the interest aroused by the general public and thanks to the dynamisation activities designed by the consistory, a second excavation phase focused on the trenches and coats for the troops took place at 2017.
Archives
interpretcion_los_yesares.pdf (164.64 KB) los_yesares.pdf (3.21 MB)