By José Manuel Serrano Esparza. LHSA. Espejo (Córdoba). 16 de Junio 2009
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009First of all I do wish to congratulate Professor José Manuel Susperregui and publicly proclaim my error: I firmly believed that Capa made his famous Falling Soldier picture depicting the instant death of a Republican militiaman in Cerro de La Coja, a little hill on the east outskirts of Cerro Muriano village.
Photo: Robert Capa/© ICP
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009

Vast majority of researchers coincided on it. The resemblance between one point of the slope of Cerro de La Coja little knoll and the background of the Falling Soldier photograph is great, including the shooting ground and the Cerro de Los Santos, which feature a high similarity with the lowest right angle of Capa´s most famous picture.
There have also been some documentary films, above all Los Héroes Nunca Mueren, directed by Jan Arnold, in my viewpoint the best one made till now on this topic, in which the certainty that Capa´s most famous picture was made on Cerro de La Coja slope was expressed, something on which coincided Francisco Moreno Gómez, Patricio Hidalgo Luque and Fernando Penco Valenzuela, three very important investigators having made in-depth studies on Robert Capa in Cerro Muriano on September 5th 1936.
Photo: Robert Capa/© ICP
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009
Point of Cerro de La Coja on which it was believed that Capa made the Falling Soldier photograph.
In the same way, most inhabitants of Cerro Muriano and Obejo village, specially the oldest ones, are convinced that the famous picture was taken in Cerro de La Coja, to such an extent that there are currently two conmemorative signposts on Cerro de La Coja in remembrance of the Falling Soldier photograph, and a lot of people - including me- thought that it had been made there.
On the other hand, there isn´t any doubt and it has been proved that Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were in Cerro Muriano area on September 5th 1936 practically the whole day, from early in the morning (progressively being in Cerro de La Coja area, Piedra Horadada, the Old Foundry of the Córdoba Copper Company Ltd, Cerro Muriano village, Las Malagueñas, etc), as verified by Clemente Cimorra´s chronicle in La Voz Madrid newspaper in which he describes his encounter with Robert Capa and Gerda Taro on Las Malagueñas hill (4th Part of my research, together with the previous discovery of this chronicle by Francisco Moreno Gómez in mid eighties and the important restudy of it by Dr.Catherine Coleman - this chronicle appears on page 63 of the ICP/STEIDL book This is War! Robert Capa at Work - .
On the other hand, there isn´t any doubt and it has been proved that Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were in Cerro Muriano area on September 5th 1936 practically the whole day, from early in the morning (progressively being in Cerro de La Coja area, Piedra Horadada, the Old Foundry of the Córdoba Copper Company Ltd, Cerro Muriano village, Las Malagueñas, etc), as verified by Clemente Cimorra´s chronicle in La Voz Madrid newspaper in which he describes his encounter with Robert Capa and Gerda Taro on Las Malagueñas hill (4th Part of my research, together with the previous discovery of this chronicle by Francisco Moreno Gómez in mid eighties and the important restudy of it by Dr.Catherine Coleman - this chronicle appears on page 63 of the ICP/STEIDL book This is War! Robert Capa at Work - .
In my opinion, Cerro Muriano and Obejo inhabitants can go on being greatly in the same way as before and very proud of their history, because though we know now that the Falling Soldier Picture was made in Espejo (another village of Córdoba province), Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were in different points of Cerro Muriano area on practically the whole September 5th 1936 when General Varela´s three columns attacked the Republican forces defending the area with eclectic forces made up with loyalist officers and militiamen, specially anarchists who had arrived from Alcoi and who would reach fame because of their fierce fight against the Moroccan Tabor of Regulares soldiers when the latter tried to assault Las Malagueñas hills.
And to add more conviction to the topic, there have been through years a lot of authentic testimonies of survivors of that September 5th 1936, stating that there were Alcoyanos Republican militiamen that day making drills and sleeping from very early on different areas of Cerro de La Coja knoll and above all defending Las Malagueñas hill, where the Republican headquarters was in the Casa de Las Malagueñas mansion on top of it.
Likewise, there have been very old inhabitants of Cerro Muriano (who were children that September 5th 1936, some of them appearing in the documentary film Los Héroes Nunca Mueren) who remember very well to have seen the Moroccan Tabor of Regulares soldiers of Sáenz of Buruaga´s column arriving at the surroundings of Cerro de La Coja in the morning of that day, going on their march through one side of the Old Foundry of the Córdoba Copper Company Ltd to fulfil the encircling manoeuvre and attack Las Malagueñas hill. Even, some of these very old men and women remember the tremendous fight brought about between the
Alcoyanos anarchist militiamen and the Tabor of Regulares men.
At the same time, elrectanguloenlamano proved a few months ago that the hypothesis of Patricio Hidalgo Luque regarding that the two photographs (two, not one as usually said) in which appear a Republican soldier with helmet and Gerda Taro behind him, had been made in the Old Foundry of the Cordoba Copper Company Ltd in Cerro Muriano (very near Cerro de La Coja and Piedra Horadada) was true:
http://elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com/2009/05/robert-capa-in-cerro-muriano-day-in.html
On the other hand, Capa made around midday of September 5th 1936 one picture of refugees in the south area of Cerro Muriano village near the level crossing and fleeing from the nearby cortijos in Torreárboles zone; another picture in a street of Cerro Muriano village of Josefa and his son Juanito on a donkey, together with a walking girl eating something around three o´clock in the afternoon, and some more pictures of refugees abandoning Cerro Muriano in north direction towards Obejo Train Station and El Vacar. Most of the spots where Capa made these photographs of the refugees were discovered by elrectanguloenlamano and are explained in the Chapter 2 of our research.
In any case, Robert Capa´s famous Falling Soldier picture was not made in Cerro Muriano area, but in Espejo, and the historical merit of this discovery belongs to Professor José Manuel Susperregui.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009
AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY BY JOSÉ MANUEL SUSPERREGUIJosé Manuel Susperregui, Professor of Audiovisual Communication at the País Vasco University, has made an important discovery, finding in Espejo (a village of Córdoba province) the skyline appearing in an until recently unknown picture made by Robert Capa, belonging to the Falling Soldier series, and recently unveiled by the ICP, including it (among some dozens new ones) both in the itinerant exhibition This is War! Robert Capa at War and the catalogue book of the exhibition bearing the same title.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009There isn´t any doubt that Professor José Manuel Susperregui is right regarding the location of the picture in Espejo as the place where Capa made the picture, though we don´t agree at all with respect to his statement that the picture is false and The Falling Soldier got up again after Capa made the photograph.
For elrectanguloenlamano, both the authenticity of the picture and the real death of two men (one of them instantly - the first and most famous Falling Soldier because of a 7 x 57 mm bullet shot by a Tabor of Regulares sniper piercing his heart- and a second one - the second falling soldier being shot by a second 7 x 57 mm bullet fired by the same Tabor of Regulares sniper with his Spanish Mauser 1893 long barrel rifle, not being instantly killed, but very seriously injured and dying within a few minutes as we know now-) go on being very clear, even more than before, and Robert Capa didn´t use any trick, ruse or tripod to make his famous Falling Soldier picture.
For elrectanguloenlamano, both the authenticity of the picture and the real death of two men (one of them instantly - the first and most famous Falling Soldier because of a 7 x 57 mm bullet shot by a Tabor of Regulares sniper piercing his heart- and a second one - the second falling soldier being shot by a second 7 x 57 mm bullet fired by the same Tabor of Regulares sniper with his Spanish Mauser 1893 long barrel rifle, not being instantly killed, but very seriously injured and dying within a few minutes as we know now-) go on being very clear, even more than before, and Robert Capa didn´t use any trick, ruse or tripod to make his famous Falling Soldier picture.
Photo 07b: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009

Photo 07: In the background, slope by Espejo on which Robert Capa made his famous
picture Death of a Loyalist Militiaman. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
It´s not a coincidence that the three last photographs of the Falling Soldier series are the Falling Soldier itself, the second militiaman shot very seriously wounded on the wheat covered ground the slope, and this same second militiaman shot already dead with his corpse having been taken to a lower area of the slope and his Mosquetón Mauser 1916 caliber 7 x 57 mm crossed on his belly and grabbed by his left hand, probably with propagandist aims, something common in both sides during the Spanish Civil War.
Elrectanguloenlamano travelled to Espejo (Córdoba) and after a strenuous research on the spot under brutally harsh conditions in the middle of a scorching sun and temperatures of 42º C, (this is one of the hottest areas of Spain together with Ecija) we were able to utterly verify from a number of different angles and distances Professor José Manuel Susperregui´s significant finding: the skyline with Sierra de Cabra mountains beyond Llano de Banda area coincides exactly with the background appearing in the last picture of the Falling Soldier series unknown till now until it was unveiled by the ICP photographic itinerant exhibition This is War! Robert Capa at War.
This already aforementioned picture shows the corpse of the second falling soldier (not instantly killed as the first and most famous one, but very seriously injured and dying within a few minutes as we know now), already dead and lying on the wheat covered ground of the slope, with his Mosquetón Mauser having been crossed by somebody on his belly and with its buttock leaned on the terrain, while the left hand fingers of the body have also been put holding the rifle.
Professor José Manuel Susperregui´s discovery is also important because it adds even more drama to the events, since Espejo was the place where on September 23, 24 and 25 1936 one of the most fiercely fought battles of the Spanish Civil War took place between two Francoist columns under the command of majors Sagrado and Baturone ( with a lot of years of previous combat experience in Africa, featuring high tactics knowledge, discipline and morale) and the legendary loyalist Republican officer major Pérez Salas, sporting an impressive talent to use artillery with high levels of accuracy against rebel troops, along with the Battalion of Anarchist militiamen from Alcoy, which faced bravely against the Tabor of Regulares men on the quoted three days, dying to the last man on their posts.
EXACT LOCATION OF THE FALLING SOLDIER PICTURE
Llano de Banda is the great plain appearing in the background of the picture showing five militiamen simulating to open fire against non existing enemy forces, with the mountains of Sierra de Cabra in the background.
This great plain also appears clearly discernible in the last picture of the Falling Soldier series depicting the corpse of the second falling soldier on the wheat covered slope, having being taken to a lower area of the little hill and appearing with his Mosquetón Mauser 1916 Model having been put leaned on his belly and left hand by somebody, probably because of propagandist reasons, something common to both sides during the whole Spanish Civil War.
Capa made his famous Falling Soldier picture on Senda de Hornijeros, a point of the big slope by the south of Espejo village, currently full of olive trees, which in 1936 was covered by wheat (the village of Espejo was completely surrounded by wheat fields until approximately 30 years ago, when olive trees were planted everywhere because of their greater income yield capacity).
ELRECTANGULOENLAMANO DISCOVERS THE WHITE HOUSES IN THE BACKGROUND IN CAPA´S PHOTOGRAPHS
None of the white houses currently seen in the background on Llano de Banda from Senda de Hornijeros or Espejo village itself are the white colour houses which can be observed in the background of the pictures of page 77 and 85 of This is War! Robert Capa at Work ICP/STEIDL exhibition catalogue book.
The same applies to the picture appeared in The Observer on Sunday 14 June 2009 (in my opinion an online newspaper having the merit of having firstly reported about Professor José Manuel Susperregui´s significant finding of the skyline to spot the location where Capa made the picture, which was undoubtedly Espejo). The white houses which can be discerned now from the distance on Llano de Banda are modern.
After a very hard research on the spot with exceedingly high temperatures and a scorching sun present at every moment, elrectanguloenlamano has very recently identified the old houses visible in the background of the quoted pictures:
a) The big house appearing on top of page 77 picture (the one showing five militiamen with one knee on the wheat covered slope and simulating to aim at non existent attacking rebel troops) just on the right of the dark cap of the fourth Republican militiaman from the left is the CORTIJO DE CASALILLA, a very old Andalusian country home, currently abandoned and deteriorated, greatly in ruins, with its roof having disappeared, its main walls presenting huge gaps, the layer covering the stones of its structures having been highly spoilt, the supporting timber beams either visible or scattered on the inner ground, curved roof tiles everywhere, and a very dense vegetation invading the whole place.
In any case, and in spite of its bad condition, this classical Andalusian cortijo oozes impressive charm and you feel that it has been witness of a lot of stories and personal experiences through centuries.
Very important image to understand Capa´s shots with his Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) and a Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2. Picture taken by elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com
from inside the old Cortijo de Casalilla. In the far background can be seen the slope
by Espejo village on which Robert Capa made his famous photograph The Falling
Soldier in 1936 and the rest of pictures taken that day, including the one depicting
five militiamen with one knee on the ground of the then wheat covered slope, holding
their rifles and simulating to be aiming at really non existing attacking Francoist troops.
Impossible to express with words the more than strong emotion and thrill felt by
elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com on verifying Bob´s diagonal shot trajectory
once he aimed with his rangefinder camera at the five militiamen with this Cortijo
de Casalilla and the three Oil Mills in the background. This picture taken
on June 16 2009 by elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com, together with other ones made from Senda de Hornijeros and from the
second Oil Mill (currently the best preserved, only existing nowadays two of
them), verified without any doubt that Robert Capa made the Falling Soldier photograph in
Espejo and not in Cerro Muriano as believed till now.
For a lot of years, I had thought that Capa made the picture in Cerro de la Coja,
so this instant also verified my error. Photo: José Manuel Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
There were three mills, visible in Capa´s picture and very near one another.
Currently only two of them have survived:
One is in very good condition bearing in mind the 73 years elapsed and still preserving the stateliness and grandeur it featured in its halcyon days with many of its structures and walls being a treat to watch and a kind of almost three quarters of a century frozen time when you climb and glance inside it. Definitely, this place exerts enthralment.
Los Molinos del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mills). Approaching to the middle one and currently best preserved. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
The middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill). Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
Image taken with the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill) behind the camera. In the far background can be seen
the slope by Espejo village on which Robert Capa made the Falling Soldier
picture. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
The middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill) is surrounded and partially concealed by olive trees in a wide percentage of its
surrounding area. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
A big olive tree greatly hiding a lateral view of the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill), whose walls and roof tiles are in acceptable
good condition bearing in mind the 73 years elapsed since 1936.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
Three olive trees frame a lateral section of the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill).
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
View of the corner of a lateral section of the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill), with a vertical crack visible on the right,
along with some bricks and stones in the open air, mainly on the lower area.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
Some very old broken tiles fallen on the ground by a wall of the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill).
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
Another image showing more very old broken tiles on the ground by a wall of the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill).
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de junio de 2009.
One more image of a lateral section of the wall of the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill), on which three air intakes
can be seen. Needless to say that summer temperatures in this area of
Córdoba province are exceedingly scorching, usually oscillating between 40º C
and 46ºC. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
A more spoilt zone of the wall of the middle one currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill), with part of its top torn up, a large percentage of its
mortar in the open air and surprisingly well preserved timber beams on top right.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
A further view of a lateral wall of the best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill). Though most of the white colour paint has disappeared and the appearance
is somewhat filthy, the condition of it is rather acceptable, though now and then the 73
years elapsed are revealed with patches on which bricks and rocks of the mortar are
visible. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
One of the corners of the wall of the best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill). Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009
A longitudinal view of one of the lateral walls of the best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill). Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
The only broken gap in the aforementioned lateral wall. A lot of vintage bricks and rubble are visible. To peer inside through this spot was something amazing and very thrilling, since it is greatly as it was in 1936, 73 years ago. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009.
A close-up of the quoted broken gap in the aforementioned lateral wall. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio 2009
Looking inside. Classical olive treatment facilities, silent witnesses of its halcyon days. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio 2009
An astounding freezing in time. A wide perspective of the olive treatment facilities inside the best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite, in 1936 a thriving rural production center, nowadays abandoned but in spite of the widespread weeds, grass and plants having grown everywhere since 1936, it still keeps on exuding charm and history. Of yore, a lot of people worked here. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio 2009.
Close-up of a stone made olive treatment device, rather well preserved. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio 2009.
Detail of a house used as a storehouse inside the currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite. It´s in very good condition, including its roof tiles, though a large
stretch of white paint on the right has disappeared.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
Panoramic view of the best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill) in all its extension. On the right far background can be seen the slope on which Robert Capa
made the Falling Soldier photograph and also the one with the five militiamen simulating
to be aiming against non existing Francoist troops attacking. In this latter photograph
both the Cortijo de Casalilla and the three Molinos del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mills)
of which this currently preserved one is the middle one (the second one being nowadays
rather spoilt and the third one - which was then the nearest to Espejo village- not existing
any more, appear in the background of the quoted image, along with the Sierras of
Montilla and cabra, which are the mountain ranges visible in the distance.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio 2009.
Another wide panoramic view of the currently best preserved Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill) on the right of the image. Immediately on its left, in the far background
we can see the slope by Espejo village, discovered by elrectanguloenlamano, on which
Robert Capa made his famous Falling Soldier picture and also the aforementioned one
depicting five militiamen holding their Mauser rifles, with the Cortijo de Casalilla and
Los Molinos del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mills) appearing in the background. We
can realize the diagonal trajectory of Capa´s shot with his Leica III (Model F 1933-1939)
with a non coated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 lens.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
quoted, is highly deteriorated and greatly hidden by surrounding trees and lavish vegetation.
Approaching to the third old Molino del Campo or de Aceite, currently very spoilt and abandoned, in the same way as the second one (being in the middle of the three in
Capa´s picture of the five militiamen, the first one nearest to Espejo not existing today).
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
Another view of the third old Molino del Campo or de Aceite. It´s in a very bad condition, with its architectural profile visible, but highly torn up and covered and surrounded by
a wide range of weeds, trees and vegetation everywhere.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
View of a lateral wall of the third old Molino del Campo or de Aceite, greatly hidden by olive trees. Temperature at this spot was very scorching and almost unbearable.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio 2009.
Another view of a lateral wall of the third old Molino del Campo or de Aceite, fairly concealed by olive trees. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de junio 2009.
The inner area of this third old Molino del Campo or de Aceite has almost completely disappeared and is overcrowded by all kind of lavish weeds, trees, branches and
vegetation making difficult to walk. No trace of the olive treatment devices which
had to exist inside.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza.
A further view of the inside of the third Molino del Campo or de Aceite, with plentiful vegetation, weeds and trees reigning supreme. Only occasional bricks and rubble
on the ground are testimony of its blossoming past activity in 1936.
A very interesting image, taken with the third Molino del Campo or de Aceite (Oil Mill) just behind the camera. On the right, we have the second Molino del Campo or de
Aceite, the one currently best preserved, and in the background the slope by Espejo
village on which Robert Capa made his famous The Falling Soldier picture along with
the rest of images made by him and Gerda Taro. On that slope Capa made also the
two decisive pictures who have made possible the identification by Professor Susperregui
of Espejo as the village in which Capa made the Falling Soldier Picture.
In one of them (page 77 of the This is War! Robert Capa at Work ICP/Steidl exhibition
catalogue book), there are five militiamen holding their rifles and simulating to be aiming
at really non existing Francoist attacking troops, being visible in the background the
Cortijo de Casalilla (on top middle of the picture, on the right of the dark cap of the second
militiaman from right), the three Molinos del Campo or de Aceite (on the cap of the third
militiaman from right) and barely discernible the Casilla de Los Taladores, far on the
background, on the left of the three Molinos del Campo or de Aceite (of which the first one
nearest to the five militiamen doesn´t currently exist) and the mountain ranges of Montilla
and Cabra in the horizon, the other decisive picture being the one on page 85 of the
aforementioned ICP/Steidl catalogue book in which appears the body of a loyalist
militiaman on the ground of the then wheat covered slope by Espejo village, with his
Mosquetón Mauser 1916 model caliber 7 x 57 mm crossed on his belly and resting on
his left hand and being visible in the background the three Molinos del Campo or de
Aceite on top right, the Casilla de los Taladores barely discernible. Also, in the horizon
you can see the mountain ranges of Montilla and Cabra.Bearing in mind the shadows in the two aforementioned pictures, Capa had to make
the photographs approximately at 17:30 h in the afternoon, because the sun rises
from the right corner of the 71. jpg image and Capa makes the pictures pointing the
non coated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 lens of his Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) towards
the southeast. Therefore, when Capa makes the pictures, the sun is on the left upper
half of the 71.jpg image.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
Highly profuse vegetation swaddles the third Molino del Campo or de Aceite. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
Another wider view of the third Molino del Campo or de Aceite, with the wrapping weeds, vegetation and trees. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza.
A diagonal view of one lateral section of the third Molino del Campo or de Aceite, literally encircled by trees, weeds and highly plentiful vegetation.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 Junio de 2009
A highly spoilt inner area of the third Molino del Campo or de Aceite, full of invading trees and vegetation. A naked aluminum pipe can be seen protruding from the wall, along with
rubble in the open air next to it. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio 2009
An image epitomizing the rather torn up condition in which the third Molino del Campo or de Aceite is currently. Both the arch and the ground by it are utterly overcrowded by
weeds and vegetation having grown there after 73 years having elapsed since Capa and
Gerda Taro were in Espejo. Some naked aluminum pipes protrude from top of the arch,
the rubble of the mortar appears visible and very torn up and the white paint over the arch
has vanished. Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009
ago and only very few and small scattered remnants of its walls, curved roof tiles, etc, can be tracked paying top attention to the ground. This mill was around fifty meters walking from the
aforementioned second one in rather good condition.
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009
Photo: José Manuel Serrano Esparza. 16 de Junio de 2009Now we know with 100% certainty that the man really dying in the Falling Soldier picture made by Robert Capa in Espejo (Córdoba) is not Federico Borrell García.
Nevertheless, the historical merit of dicovering that the Falling Soldier is not Federico Borrell García belongs to Miguel Pascual Mira, a Spanish Civil War historian from Alcoi (Alicante), currently in my opinion the highest authority in the world regarding the knowledge of anarchist militias and anarchism in Alcoi during thirties.
Miguel Pascual Mira, the historian from Alcoi who discovered in 2004 that the man appearing in the photograph Death of a Militiaman made by Robert Capa was not Federico Borrell García, something which he said for the first time in the documentary film Los Héroes Nunca Mueren directed by Jan Arnold.
In 2004, Miguel Pascual Mira discovered inside the Alcoi Archive (whose director is José Luis Santonja) a very important obituary letter written by the anarchist militiaman Enrique Borrell Fenollar in Puerto Escandón (Teruel) in remembrance of his comrade Federico Borrell García sent to Alcoi (Alicante) and published in the anarchist newspaper number 13 Ruta Confederal of October 23th 1937, one year and thirty eight days after his death. This newspaper was shown for the first time by Miguel Pascual Mira in the documentary film Los Héroes Nunca Mueren, directed by Jan Arnold.Both the content of this obituary letter sent by Enrique Borrell Fenollar and the decisive role performed by Miguel Pascual Mira as the researcher who discovered that the man appearing in the Falling Soldier picture is not Federico Borrell García, are explained in:
http://elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com/2009/06/robert-capa-in-cerro-muriano-day-in_8173.html
The brilliant discovery of Professor José Manuel Susperregui has also had an added benefit: it has utterly proved that the Alcoi historian Miguel Pascual Mira was right: the Falling Soldier is not Federico Borrell García, but another anarchist militiaman.
I go on thinking that the militiaman appearing in the Falling Soldier picture, was killed in Espejo by a 7 x 57 mm bullet shot by a Tabor of Regulares sniper with his Mauser 1893 Model rifle.
CAMERA AND LENS USED BY CAPA TO MAKE THE FALLING SOLDIER PICTURE
Robert Capa didn´t use a Leica II during the Spanish Civil War.
He used a Leica III (Model F 1933-1939), very similar to the Leica II (Model D 1932-1948), but with the addition of slow shutter speeds, which are controlled by a dial mounted on the camera front and cover the range 1 second to 1/20 second, without forgetting two new important features: the rangefinder magnification was increased to 1.5X and carrying strap lugs were also
incorporated for the first time.
The Leica II doesn´t sport carrying strap lugs.
There´s an important picture showing Gerda Taro in Guadalajara Front during 1937, in which she appears holding a Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) and a rigid Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 lens.

I´m persuaded this is the same camera and lens used by Robert Capa to make the Falling Soldier famous photograph ten months before in Espejo (Córdoba), with the tremendous levels of dramatism it adds, since Gerda Taro would be soon rolled over by a tank in Brunete (a village of Madrid province) dying two days later in El Escorial hospital as a consequence of her wounds, with Robert Capa being by her.
Body of Leica III (Model F 1933-1939), the 35 mm rangefinder camera with which Robert Capa made his famous picture Death of a Loyalist Militiaman in Espejo. We can clearly see the carrying strap lugs incorporated in this model and non existent in the Leica II (Model D).Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) with a collapsible non coated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2.
I don´t believe at all that this picture was made by Capa with Gerda Taro´s Rolleiflex Standard medium format camera as suggested by Professor José Manuel Susperregui´s theory on this respect appearing in his book Sombras de La Fotografía, because a 6 x 6 cm b & w negative would render more image quality regarding level of detail, lack of grain, tonal range, etc, always understanding that apparent losses of quality are produced from the very moment of printing on photographic paper from the original 2 1/4 x 2 /14 square inches negative, and even more on transferring the image of that first copy on b & w photographic paper copy to the newspaper or magazine photomechanic machines (in 1936 it was very frequent to work from copies on black and white photographic paper which were made from the original negative to their distribution; id est, newspapers and magazines often didn´t work with original negatives, but with paper copies; without forgetting that the texture of the newspapers and magazines like Vu in 1936 and Life in 1937 had a powerful influence on even a further loss of quality, it all being enhanced by the blur of the photograph, so a number of different factors affect the final image quality of the published images.Another beautiful view of the same Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) with the collapsible non coated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2.
It´s true that in 1936 all b & w emulsions available, both for 35 mm format and 6 x 6 cm format were rather grainy, but for obvious reasons of difference in negative surface size, it affected more to 35 mm emulsions than 120 monochrome roll films.But in any case, it seems clear that Capa made the famous Falling Soldier picture with his Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) rangefinder 35 mm camera and an uncoated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2.
Back view of the same Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) rangefinder camera model.
In my opinion, and always understanding that the Falling Soldier picture is slightly out of focus, the very abundant grain observable on the right arm and leg, black leather beltings, a kind of big wallet on his right side and the trousers of the militiaman, together with the rather limited grey scale don´t seem actually to have been yielded by a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Rolleiflex Standard medium format camera featuring an uncoated Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 7,5 cm f/3.8 taking lens, the sameobjective used by the 1937 medium format 6 x 6 cm camera Zeiss Ikon Ikonta B 521/16 on 120 film, though there´s also the possibility that Taro´s Standard Rolleiflex had a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 75 mm f/4.5 lens also shared by the 4.5 x 6 medium format camera Zeiss Ikon Ikonta A 520 from early thirties.
Close-up of the collapsible non coated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 of the Leica III Model F (1933-1939). We can observe on the left the dial mounted on the camera front for slow shutter speeds between 1 sec and 1/20 sec, another new feature introduced with this model and non existing in the Leica II (Model D) either.
In spite of being a non coated lens, the impeccable centering of the objective and the big surface of negative (a 400% bigger than 35 mm format) make that both the Rolleiflex Standard 6 x 6 cm medium format camera used by Gerda Taro and the Zeiss Ikon Ikonta B 521/16 on 120 film, deliver much higher quality than a Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 lens with 24 x 36 mm film, specially in terms of little grain, capturing of detail and tonal range, even when these vintage medium format cameras from thirties (both the binocular and folding ones) usually sported resolving powers in the range of 35-45 lines per millimeter. The much bigger size of negative surface hada very significant influence for a superior image quality when compared with 35 mm format.
Collapsible non coated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 lens.
Definitely, I don´t think at all that Robert Capa used Gerda Taro´s Rolleiflex Standard to make the picture of the Falling Soldier.It was a rangefinder Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) camera with an uncoated non collapsible Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 standard lens and 35 mm b & w Kodak nitrate panchromatic film featuring a sensitivity approximately equivalent to a modern ISO 40 film - though in that period there weren´t asa, iso or din systems, but Weston scale-.
On the other hand, the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 7, 5 cm lens of Gerda Taro´s Standard Rolleiflex, is a very classic lens belonging to the legendary family of the Tessar 4 elements in 3 groups design created by Paul Rudolph of Carl Zeiss in 1902, featuring a moderate luminosity but great sharpness and excellent optical qualities, that evidently don´t have anything to do with the Falling Soldier picture, an extraordinary and very important photograph, but whose image quality regarding resolving power, contrast, sharpness, tonal range attained, etc, is poor.
Rigid non coated Leitz Summar 50 mm f/2 lens.
For example, in Gerda Taro´s right picture of page 74 of the This is War! Robert Capa at Work ICP/STEIDL book, we can see what the Carl Zeiss Tessar 7,5 cm f/3.5 4 elements in 3 groups lens of Gerda Taro´s Rolleiflex Standard is able to do paying attention to the great level of detail rendered on the ammunition leather poach, tendons of his arm, veins of his hand and foldings on his turned up sleeves and the top wrinkles of his trousers in the CNT anarchist militiamen from Alcoi nearest to the camera.THE TOPIC OF THE DIFFERENT FORMATS IN WHICH THE FALLING SOLDIER PICTURE WAS REPRODUCED ON VU SEPTEMBER 23ND 1936 AND LIFE JULY 12TH 1937 MAGAZINES
Professor Susperregui´s Theory of Capa using the Rolleiflex Standard to make the Falling Soldier photograph is greatly based on the fact that the Falling Soldier picture included inside Vu magazine of September 23th 1936 is very rectangular and horizontally elongated in such a way that it hasn´t got a 3:2 Leica 24 x 36 mm ratio, but a 3.75 : 2.15 one, while this same picture appearing in Life magazine July 12th 1936 has got a 13:10 ratio still rectangular but approaching much more to a square than the photograph of Vu magazine.
Professor Susperregui states that the editors of the magazines made the different cropping adjustments from an bigger original than the published versions and that if Capa had used his Leica the adjustment made by Vu magazine was possible but the one made by Life was impossible because the 24 x 36 mm black and white negative (because of its 3 : 2 ratio) wouldn´t contain the top area of sky appearing in the Falling Soldier picture reproduced in Life magazine.
I don´t agree with this theory, because of two hypotheses highly making sense:
a) I do believe that both Vu magazine of September 23rd 1936 and Life magazine July 12nd 1937 didn´t work from the original 35 mm negative of the Falling Soldier, but with a medium size copy made on b & w photographic paper, because in that time it was very frequent to make different copies on paper from the original negatives, positives which were distributed to different newspapers, magazines, etc.
The original 24 x 36 mm black and white negative of the Falling Soldier picture was probably bigger on the right and higher on top than the image appearing in Vu and Life magazines which are the ones more or less known by everybody.
I do believe that Csiki Weisz, the expert darkroom man working for Capa in Paris, took the decision of cropping the proportions of the 2: 3 ratio original negative ( featuring more surface on the right and on top than the iconic image we know) on working with the enlarger in order to make several copies in four thirds proportion on black and white photographic paper.
It all spins around the four thirds format, without any doubt the most suitable for newspapers and magazines reproduction of pictures.
And from two of these 4:3 format paper copies both Vu and Life magazines editors worked, obviously having been bigger the cropping made by the French magazine editor than that implemented in the American one.
In any case, this would explain that both the 3.75 : 2.15 ratio Falling Soldier picture appearing in Vu magazine and the 13:10 ratio Falling Soldier picture appearing in Life magazine keep identical lower area of the image while at the same time the Life magazine photograph has got a much larger sky area over the head of the Falling Soldier which would evidently be impossible if the two pictures had been made from an original 35 mm negative featuring a 24 x 36 ratio coinciding exactly with the lower area of Vu and Life magazines.
This probable hypothesis of an original 35 mm negative of the Falling Soldier having more exposed surface (which was cropped to make the copies on b & w photographic paper in a four thirds ratio much suitable for the newspapers and magazines of the period) on his right and top than what we see in the images of Vu and Life magazines, would mean approximately a 30% bigger original image both horizontally on the right and vertically really captured by Capa in Espejo during the photographic act, which was subsequently cropped by Csiki Weisz on using the enlarger in his Paris darkroom to make some 4:3 format copies on paper for their distribution to different media. And subsequently, on their turn, the editor of each magazine chose his own paging criteria to make further crops in different ratios or leaving it as it was.
b) It can´t be excluded at all a second hypothesis, maybe more probable than the first one: that Life magazine, even having a medium size 3:2 aspect ratio copy on b & w photographic paper made from the original 24 x 36 mm Falling Soldier negative exposed by Robert Capa, extended the top area by cloning sky through some printing, retouching or photomechanic technique over the high border limits of the 3 : 2 proportions of this hypothetical copy on paper in order to adapt it to the 4:3 aspect ratio of picture needed by Life.
Obviously, there wasn´t any photoshop or digital media to implement such a filling of sky over the proportions of an original 24 x 36 mm or copy on paper respecting the 3 : 2 ratio, but we know that from around the times of the Russian revolution it was a common practice to use different methods to add or remove things in important photographs. And this was a very important picture.
I´m not saying at all that if this happened it was a serious manipulation, because we´d be speaking about cloning sky by means of an analog technique or retouching, increasing it upwards beyond the top boundary of a 24 x 36 mm original negative or copy on paper in 3 : 2 ratio until attaining a four thirds image necessary for Life magazine, something very different for instance to the extensively frequent manipulation of photographs made during the Stalinist regime in Russia (erasing of Trotsky in some pictures being by Lenin - celebrating the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution in Red Square and in other picture in which he´s in uniform beside a wooden pulpit on which Lenin rallies the troops to fight Poland-; removal of Nikolai Yezhov, chief of the Soviet secret police of the original picture in which he appears walking by the Moscow Volga Canal with Stalin, Molotov and Voroshilov on left of the image; etc.
AN AUTHENTIC PHOTOGRAPH
The Falling Soldier is too on the left in the image we all know. This is an authentic photograph, not a fake, stage, ruse using a tripod or anything like that, and the man appearing in it (independently on the location where the picture was taken and his real identity) is killed because of a high velocity 7 x 57 mm bullet.
If it had been a stage, fake, etc, made with a tripod - or without it-, the militiaman wouldn´t be so on the left, everything would be more perfect and the cut of the lower border of the frame wouldn´t be so tight almost cutting the feet. And the photographer wouldn´t have cut part of the butt of the Mauser 1893 Model 7 x 57 mm caliber rifle being held by the militiaman´s right hand.
It´s absolutely evident that Capa didn´t use a tripod to make the Falling Soldier picture and the following one (the second militiaman shot and not instantly killed but very seriously injured) and there wasn´t any tripod either when Capa made the previous photograph to the Falling Soldier in which there are other three militiamen running down the wheat covered slope on a near point, but with Capa grabbing with his hands his Leica III Model F (1933-1939) more horizontally.
In both the Falling Soldier picture and the immediately previous photograph, Capa strives after getting the best pictures he can do, moving his camera and making a kind of panning following the militiamen and searching for the best framing feasible, until he decides pressing the shutter release button of his 35 mm camera.
Capa doesn´t wait until the Falling Soldier (and the other three militiamen of the previous picture) enters the frame, but strives after following him with the rectangular viewfinder to frame him while he´s in motion.
It seems clear that the Falling Soldier comes running down the slope and is very near Capa (though not as near as the previous three militiamen running down - two of them visible, while we can only see the barrel tip of the Mauser rifle of the third one protruding on top left of the image- ) when he makes him the picture.
Bearing in mind that Capa was using his Leica with a 50 mm lens when he made this picture, he had to act very quickly to make the picture of the Falling Soldier who came running down near him.
That´s why the Falling Soldier is so on the left. Very clearly this is not any kind of stage or posing. This is a highly instinctive picture taken by Capa as fast as he could, because on being using a 50 mm lens, waiting only a split second more would have rendered an image with lower area of the legs and the feet under the bottom border of the frame, id est, out of the picture. Photographic instinct and talent.
The famous militiaman comes very quickly towards Capa, and the best war photographer of al time needs to press the shutter release button of his Leica camera as soon as possible, because the margin of manoeuver of a standard 50 mm lens in this context is more limited than a 35 mm or 28 mm wideangle lens.
This is rather an imperfect and bad quality picture to be a stage, beginning with the highly significant fact that the features of the Falling Soldier can´t be discerned, along with the aforementioned location of the body excessively on the left, with part of the Mauser rifle butt cropped.
Capa wasn´t a photographer following the steps of Henri Cartier-Bresson regarding masterful composition and geometric balance or infused with highly stylist ways of making things like Edward Steichen or Cecil Beaton.
Capa´s way of working was essentially based on a tremendous sense of timing (perhaps the most gifted war photographer ever in this regard along with Marc Riboud) and always approaching to the limit with respect to the human beings he photographed, along with great speed of movements, framings and pressing of his cameras shutter release buttons, thanks to his remarkable athletic condition and a tremendous steady yearning for being at the most suitable moment in the best possible spot to make the picture and above all taking to the limit the gist of his photography: maximum approach to his subjects and capturing of the most interesting instants with lenses between 28 and 50 mm, the core of legendary top-notch photojournalism.
We´ve got a lot of examples epitomizing this: his picture on November 7th 1938 during the Republican offensive on Rio Segre, of a Republican soldier in the throes of death on a stretcher, covered by a blanket, with a big bloodied dressing and his left cheek and nose even more bloodied, saying his last words to his relatives before dying while a comrade is writing them down on a notebook; the Chinese child killed while trying to save his chicken and piglet during the Battle of Tai´erzhuang, on the Xuzhou Front (China), in 1938 during the war between China and Japan; the highly confused old woman walking mislead around a carriage after the caravan of refugees escaping from Tarragona to Barcelona has just suffered a fascist air attack on January 15th 1939; covering the D-Day landing on June 6th 1936 going among the troops and risking his life once more; the famous "Last Shot" picture made by Capa in Leipzig in an apartment at the corner of Lütznerstrasse and the Jahnalle on April 18th 1945 while he was accompanying a platoon of machine gunners showing an American soldier dead on the ground with a blood puddle immediately after being shot by a German sniper (this killed American machine gunner and some more had been previously photographed by Capa for some minutes while they installed a machine gun on the balcony of the apartment. Capa made the pictures with both a 35 mm Contax camera and a medium format 6 x 6 cm Rolleiflex. Needless to say that of course Capa didn´t use any tripod), etc.
I don´t think at all that the Falling Soldier picture made in Espejo was a fake, stage, tripod mounting ruse or anything like that. And indeed it wasn´t that way.
The picture is authentic and the man appearing on it was really killed by a high velocity 7 x 57 mm bullet shot by a sniper.
THE HYPOTHESIS OF THE SNIPER GAINS EVEN MORE MOMENTUM
As proved by elrectanguloenlamano in http://elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com/2009/06/robert-capa-in-cerro-muriano-day-in_21.html there weren´t any Francoist troops attacking the Republican militiamen while Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were taking all the pictures belonging
to the Falling Soldier series (both the already known and the new ones unveiled by ICP with the exhibition This is War! Robert Capa at War in its chapter devoted to the Falling Soldier famous photograph).
And it is highly evident that they didn´t try to deceive future observers of the pictures into believing that there was real fight against rebel forces, something very apparent in a high percentage of the quoted photographs (a total of approximately 40 between Capa and Taro).
The Republican militiamen, many of them anarchists from Alcoi, are infused with revolutionary spirit, and because of the great expectation raised in them by two foreign photographers - Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, an attractive woman who is with him -, from the moment the two photojournalists approach them, the militiamen begin to make all kind of simulating of firing (both from the border of trenches and outside them with a knee on the ground), running in different directions, jumping over trenches or the wheat covered slope, etc, as we see in a lot of different pictures of the series, because they do highly wish to be photographed and appear as good as possible in the pictures.
Both Robert Capa and Gerda Taro are there and take the pictures to capture this very special revolutionary and overjoy experienced by the militiamen during those moments.
I don´t agree at all with José Manuel Susperregui´s statement saying that all the photographs of the Falling Soldier pictures are staged, if we mean with "staged" that they all were arranged by Capa and Taro who were placing the militiamen, photograph by photograph, previously to each picture.
I don´t think so, specially after having seen the 21 b & w contacts recently unveiled by ICP in the excellent ICP/Steidl book This is War! Robert Capa at Work and made from the 21 original 35 mm existing negatives of the Falling Soldier series made by Robert Capa with his Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) 35 mm rangefinder camera.
It seems clear that in a very high percentage of the photographs the militiamen moved very quickly, being crazy to be photographed, and Capa and Taro did what they could to capture all that madness of runnings, simulating of aiming against non existing enemy troops attacking them, other militiamen pretending to be cocking the bolts of their Mauser 7 x 57 mm rifles, onslaughts holding their rifles with both hands against Francoist soldiers, occasional posings with their rifles pointing upwards, other groups of militiamen arranged in chaotic formation simulating to aim at the enemy with one knee on the ground and the barrels of their guns pointing in the most various directions.
In this regard, the middle left picture of This is War! Robert Capa at War ICP/STEIDL book in which we see six militiamen simulating to aim and shoot in front of Capa´s Leica, is very enlightening to explain what was happening while Capa and Taro made the pictures, without forgetting Taro´s picture on the left in page 74 of this book showing a slightly out of focus militiaman on the right aiming his rifle (out of image) at the sky, and a background in which we can see in smaller size the Falling Soldier aiming his Mauser 1893 Model 7 x 57 mm rifle diagonally at the sky, while just on the right of him we can observe another militiaman holding his Mauser rifle vertically with its barrel pointing at the sky (this militiaman is the same being second from left in the page 61 picture of the book -which is very important to explain the context in which Capa and Taro make the Falling Soldier series as we´ll see now- being between the Falling Soldier instantly killed by a 7 x 57 mm bullet and the second falling soldier not instantly killed but dying within minutes because of a second 7 mm Spanish Mauser shot by the same sniper).
No soldiers on earth would behave this way if enemy soldiers are attacking them. It´s impossible that Capa and Taro want to deceive anybody into believing that there´s real combat in these two mentioned pictures. There are many more in which similar things happen and whose details are reported in Chapter 9 of elrectanguloenlamano research.
Through recent years, there have been a lot of people stating or suggesting that the pictures are not authentic, that they were fakes previously arranged by Capa and Taro, picture by picture, having given instructions to the militiamen in advance before each image.
But evidently, it didn´t happen that way with the immense majority of images making up the Falling Soldier series, the only exceptions being perhaps three pictures (pages 80, 81 and 82 of the book) in which Capa is inside the trench and clearly prepared in advance to make the pictures from bottom to top of the jumping militiamen, though there´s a high probability that Capa didn´t make things utterly 100% on his own, at free will, in these three pictures either.
Professor Susperregui´s discovery of Espejo as the location where Robert Capa made the Falling Soldier picture (and the rest of images making up the series, including the 21 b & w aforementioned 35 mm contacts) highly increases the hypothesis that there was at least one high rank loyalist officer and a political anarchist chief while Capa and Taro made the pictures, because there were very important Republican forces in Espejo, specially one part of the Alcoi Column -which had departured from Alcoy on August 7th 1936 going to Córdoba front, and which on arriving at Pedro Abad village was splitted into two: one marching towards Cerro Muriano (Córdoba) and the other one towards Espejo (Córdoba)- along with other units made up by both militiamen and loyalist regular troops, all of them under the command of major Perez Salas who had some light and heavy cannons.
In the important photograph of page 61 of This is War! Robert Capa at Work catalogue book, we can see ten militiamen (the Falling Soldier being the first from left) brandishing rifles on the trench, a loyalist Republican officer behind them wearing an army cap, and the sixth man from the left (only part of his head can be seen) who also appears in the 35 mm b & w contact number 869 of page 67 of the book with his Mauser rifle leaned on the trench border on his right while he´s got his right arm raised at the height of his head and apparently saying some words or giving instructions to other militiamen who are simulating to aim at attacking Francoist troops.
Though this man is clad in fatigue clothes and has got his sleeves turned up, his appearance and behaviour in the only two pictures in which he appears suggests a high probability that he can be a kind of political local chief or anarchist comissar.
It´s very important to bear in mind that during the Spanish Civil War, both sides used photographs with propagandist aims, and those made by Capa and Taro were no exception in this regard.
Actually, both foreign photographers had got special press authorizations and documents allowing them to travel across Spain without any problem on an official press car with a driver working for them.
But it doesn´t mean necessarily that Capa and Taro had 100% full powers to do what they wanted at every moment and everywhere, and I think that apart from the key factor of the overjoyed militiamen yearning after being photographed and making all kind of movements and runs to attain it, both the quoted loyalist officer and the other man perhaps having a political post inside the anarchist forces in Espejo, probably gave instructions at some moment for the militiamen to fulfil, maybe including the three photographs made by Capa from inside the trench and different militiamen jumping over the trench.
In any case, bearing in mind the previous circumstances, I´ve got a lot of doubts about the accuracy of calling "staged pictures" to the immense majority of photographs made by Capa and Taro on the wheat covered slope, because in my viewpoint they didn´t need to give any instruction or order the militiamen to make the pictures, but simply to pay top attention to their movements, running and overjoy, trying to capture the best moments depicting the unique atmosphere they were seeing.
All hints indicate that Robert Capa and Gerda Taro made the approximately 40 pictures of the Falling Soldier series in Espejo at the end of August 1936 or between 1-4 september 1936.
Even, there are 27 b & w original nitrate 35 mm Kodak panchromatic negatives appeared inside the Mexican case containing images of a lot of Republican militiamen - some of them exceedingly young - utterly exhausted after combats and sleeping on the ground by their weapons. These recently unveiled pictures would indicate that Capa and Taro really arrived at Córdoba front during the last week of August 1936, shortly after Miaja´s forces had been about to take the city on August 20th, and both of them were making pictures of Republican militiamen in the area between Córdoba capital and Cerro Muriano comprising Pedroches, Orive Bajo, Los Pradillos, Torreárboles, etc, because the city of Córdoba was highly menaced by Republican forces until September 5th 1936 in which fascist forces began its attack on Cerro Muriano which would end with the capture of the village on September 6th 1936.
In any case, it´s very difficult to pinpoint the exact spot near Córdoba city where Robert Capa made the quoted twenty-seven photographs in which most of the militiamen seem to Andalusian ones, different men and different place to the ones photographed by Robert Capa and Gerda Taro in the Falling Soldier series on the wheat covered slope of Senda de Hornijeros in Espejo, the latter being above all anarchist militiamen from Alcoi (Alicante).
And there are still more pictures made by Capa probably during the last week of August:
- A Republican militiaman appearing sat on a chair tilted backwards and leaned on a white wall, while the man holds vertically with his legs a rifle whose barrel tip has got a rose and a second chair can be observed on his right. This is a mysteryous photograph appearing on page 69 of the book Robert Capa Cuadernos de Guerra en España (1936-1939) Colección Imagen, whose original negative hasn´t appeared till now.
- A standing Republican officer clad in fatigue clothes making a speech for a lot of militiamen around him. His head is oriented towards the left of the image. There´s a car with its doors opened in the left background, and the whole photograph is framed on its top area by the leaves of an oak. This is a very eclectic group of men: there are a number of anarchists from CNT and FAI, a loyalist officer with army cap (on the left of the picture), a loyalist regular soldier with metal helmet (also on the left of the image, in the background), some Andalusian militiamen with the typical large hat of this area of Spain, some Andalusian peasants wearing bonnets, etc.
The original negative of this picture hasn´t appeared till now either.
So, the new discovery of Espejo as the real location where the Falling Soldier series of pictures was (including the 21 b & w contacts of the This is War! Robert Capa at Work ICP/STEIDL book) made, the two aforementioned photographs and the twenty-seven images of overexhausted and sleeping on the ground militiamen appeared in the Mexican case, would clearly prove that the various sources having stated for years that Capa and Taro arrived at the Andalusian front on September 5th 1936, after having departured the day before from Madrid, going to Montoro and subsequently to Cerro Muriano are wrong.
There was some error in the origin of that piece of information.
It seems clear now that unlike Clemente Cimorra, Hans Namuth and Franz Borkenau, (who arrived by Republican press cars in Montoro and then Cerro Muriano on September 5th 1936), Robert Capa and Gerda Taro arrived at Córdoba Front during the last week of August 1936, going firstly to the north surroundings of Córdoba city (to make pictures of the Republican forces still besieging the capital of the High Guadalquivir) making the photographs of the exhausted mostly Andalusian militiamen, then to Espejo where was approximately the 60% of forces of the Columna Alcoyana with its famous anarchist militiamen, and from there to Cerro Muriano (a village 15 km in the north of Cordoba city) where they arrived on September 5th 1936, being there the whole day making pictures in different areas.
From a theoretical viewpoint, it would be impossible the real death of the Falling Soldier in Espejo the day Capa took the picture ( most probably during the last week of August 1936 or between 1-4 September 1936), because on those dates there weren´t any combats between Republican and Francoist units in Espejo.
The battle between attacking fascist troops and Republican defenders of Espejo didn´t happen until September 22nd 1936.
As reported by José Manuel Martínez Bande (the top specialist on Spanish Civil War in Andalucia together with Francisco Moreno Gómez), on September 21th 1936, colonel Sáenz of Buruaga, high commander of the Francoist troops in the area, organized two columns under the commands of majors Sagrado and Baturone, who respectively departing from Córdoba city and Montilla, should conquer Espejo and Castro del Río (Castro del Río had already been unsuccessfully attacked by General Varela on August 6th and 7th 1936, but he had to stop the attack because of the fierce defense made by the militiamen).
On September 22th 1936, the rebel troops start their advance from Córdoba city, capturing the cortijo of Torres Cabrera without any resistance, while the Republican forces retreated to the village of Espejo.
On September 23th 1936, the combined movements of both rebel columns take place: major Sagrado´s one seizes Santa Cruz and Baturone´s one is fixed at a distance of two kilometers from Espejo, stopped by the fire of abundant militiamen and refular loyalist forces under the command of major Pérez Salas, who makes a highly skilful and accurate use of his light and heavy batteries, provoking a lot of casualties among the attacking forces.
This is one of the most tremendous fights of the Spanish Civil War, not with such high numbers of effectives as for instance Gandesa during Ebro Battle in 1938, but on a par with it regarding resolve by both sides.
The rebel forces know the great importance of capturing Espejo village as soon as possible, and majors Sagrado and Baturone´s columns begin a new full scale onslaught against Pérez Salas Republican forces on September 24th 1936.
The new attack is devastating, taking part in it abundant fascist artillery and aviation, with a more than fierce attack by the Squadron of Regulares of Melilla (inside major Sagrado´s column together with the " Gran Capitán Battalion", a squadron of volunteers from Córdoba, two centurias of Falange, a section of Guardias Civiles, a 75 mm battery and a sappers section) and the Tabor of Regulares of Melilla (inside Baturone´s column, together with an incomplete battalion of Cádiz Regiment, a hundred requetés, a section of Guardias Civiles, a 105 mm battery and a sappers section) as spearhead of the thrust.
A pitched battle happens: the Alcoyanos anarchist militiamen face frontally the Tabors of Regulares (at this moment the best infantry in the world together with the legionnaires) and die on their posts to the last man, fighting heroically and being almost 100% annihilated.
Major Pérez Salas directs the Republican batteries with high efficiency, bringing about a lot of casualties among the attacking Francoist forces, but the advance of both rebel columns is inexorable until they make contact, preparing for the definitive assault of Espejo village the next day.
On the morning of September 25th 1936, major Pérez Salas and all the Republican forces defending Espejo manage to stop all the rebel attempts to advance towards both the village and the 380 hill.
After some hours of stalemate, at 1:00 pm in the afternoon, the rebel commanders decide making use of all their available artillery and aviation, bombing Espejo village and the hills on its east, after which three rebel companies attack through the west of the village of Espejo, being followed by an attack by the squadron of Regulares through the northwest, overwhelming the Republican artillery and trenches and finishing the conquest of Espejo village on capturing the castle using hand grenades, with a total of 108 dead Republican men and 22 rebel ones.
Bearing in mind that the famous Falling Soldier picture made by Robert Capa appeared in the French Vu magazine of September 23th 1936, it is evident that there weren´t any Francoist troops attacking the militiamen captured by Capa in the different photographs belonging to the Falling Soldier series, including the twenty-one images of the page 67 contacts of the ICP/STEIDL catalogue book, the moment of death photograph and the rest of pictures.
On his turn, the pro rebel witness José Cirre Jiménez praises the bravery of the Republican forces in this battle, and reports that the fight for Espejo lasted four consecutive days (September 22, 23, 24 and 25 of 1936).
But José Cirre Jiménez adds another significant piece of information regarding the previous weeks: while the combats in Cerro Muriano area were taking place on September 5th and 6th 1936, Republican General Miaja was in his headquarters of Espejo, where very abundant forces of the loyalist regular army in Levante area along with militias from Andalucia had been gathered.
If we bear in mind that the famous Columna Alcoyana ( with a total of 1224 men made up by 534 loyalist regular soldiers belonging to the Infantry Regiment Vizcaya nº 12 from Alcoi and 687 anarchist militiamen - most of them from the CNT - ) had departed from Alcoi on August 7th 1936 and on arriving at the village fo Pedro Abad (Córdoba) on August 9th 1936 had split into two: one going to Cerro Muriano under the command of the second lieutenant Melquiades Valiente together with Enrique Vañó Nicomedes as Chief of Militias, and another one going to Espejo under the command of lieutenant Roberto García, we must add the latter as part of the strong Republican forces defending Espejo.
Id est, the anarchist militiamen appearing in the complete Falling Soldier series, both those made by Robert Capa (the previous picture to the Falling Soldier with three militiamen running down the slope, the Falling Soldier itself, the next photograph after the Falling Soldier picture in which we see another anarchist militiaman very seriously injured, the last photograph depicting the corpse of the second militiaman shot grabbing his Mosquetón Mauser, the pictures of different militiamen jumping the trench and leaning on it simulating opening fire, all the twenty one images recently unveiled of the existing 35 mm negatives of the Falling Soldier and the also recently unveiled photographs made by Gerda Taro on the same wheat covered slope) and Gerda Taro, were in Espejo since August 9th 1936.
José Cirre Jiménez also reports: "After capturing Cerro Muriano village on September 6th 1936, the rebel commanders decide to reduce a bulge concentrated on Espejo and Castro del Río, which menaced Córdoba capital and cut the road from Córdoba to Baena. The liquidation of this bulge would utterly clear the pressure on the Cordovan capital". And after this, he goes on making a description of Espejo Battle events between September 22 and 25 1936 similar to the one made by José Manuel Martínez Bande.
Therefore, only from September 22nd 1936 on there was real battle between defending Republican forces and attacking rebel ones in Espejo area.
So, if both Robert Capa and Gerda Taro made the pictures between September 1nd-5th 1936 or September 7th-16th 1936 (the only two possibilities enabling their photographs arriving in time for being inserted in Vu magazine of September 23th 1936 (where the picture of the Falling
Soldier appears for the first time) and Regards September 24th 1936 magazine, and on those dates there weren´t any Francoist troops attacking Espejo, should we infer that Capa ordered the Falling Soldier to fall backwards, and after taking him the picture (of course with the help of a tripod), the militiaman got up again?
And even more: should we infer that the same happened with the second militiaman shot (not instantly killed, but very seriously injured and dying within minutes as we know with the unveiling by ICP of the last picture of the Falling Soldier series depicting the corpse of this second militiaman shot on a lower area of the wheat covered slope): Did Capa give him instructions to fall backwards exactly on the same point as the Falling Soldier and after he took him the photograph (of course with the help of a tripod) , this second shot militiaman also got up?
DEFINITELY, I DON´T THINK SO.
THE TWO DEATHS WERE REAL, CAPA DIDN´T USE ANY RUSE WITH OR WITHOUT A TRIPOD TO MAKE THEM AND THE PICTURES ARE AUTHENTIC, THE TWO DEATHS BEING PROVOKED BY SHOTS MADE BY A SNIPER.
In order to properly understand the context in which combats took place in Andalusia at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, it´s very important to know that during July, August and September of 1936, the effectives of the feared troops of the Spanish Army of Africa were very few in numbers.
They had begun to be transferred mostly by plane and to a lesser degree by sea from the outbreak of the war.
An aerial bridge had to be improvised mainly taking Tabor of Regulares and legionnaires soldiers from Sania Ramel airdrome in Tetuán (Morocco) to the airdromes of Jerez de La Frontera, Cádiz and Tablada.
At the end of September of 1936, approximately 9,746 professional Spanish legionnaires and 9,183 Moroccan men belonging to Tabors of Regulares had arrived at Andalusia.That´s to say, a total of almost 20,000 troops, clearly a very low figure of men, who during the first three months of conflict were very often surrounded everywhere by overwhelmingly bigger quantities of Republican forces and the steady risk of being encircled and annihilated.
From the beginning, the rebel army commanders were forced to stretching lines to the maximum and thoroughly study in advance -often with weeks of anticipation- each area of future combats, spying the defensive Republican forces and the location of their trenches, doing their best to discern the best points of future attacks, because any error would be lethal due to the quoted very low number of effectives the Francoist troops had in Andalucia during the first months of the Spanish Civil War.
The accuracy of the best day and moment of attack was top priority and a question of survival for the Francoist forces in the south of Spain, who were isolated from the rest of rebel forces in the Iberian Peninsula and had great difficulties to replace their casualties.
These missions regarding the previous study of future combat operations zones, specially the
assault of villages defended by Republican forces (loyalist soldiers and officers and above all armed popular militias from CNT and FAI) was most times assigned to the Tabor of Regulares men, vast majority of them being great snipers attaining amazing levels of accuracy in long
distance shots with their long barrel Mausers 1893 model caliber 7 x 57 mm Mauser rifles.
On the other hand, these Moroccan Tabor of Regulares soldiers featured a huge experience of a lot of years making colonnial war based on advancing with a small column having few firing means (id est, with no artillery or only a few batteries) and going deeply into an enemy territory, so the column was in a steady risk of being encircled and wiped out.
And the war waged by the Army of Africa Francoist troops in Andalusia during the first year of the conflict in Andalusia was highly similar to that.
As aforementioned, the most experienced Tabor of Regulares men were constantly assigned the mission of spying with a lot of advance the Republican forces defending villages or strategic points and gather as much information as possible as to the quantity of enemy forces being there, exact location of the trenches, spots where batteries were deployed, levels of defence of the
vital (as we´ll see later) surrounding hills dominating the villages and strongholds in the hands of Republican troops, etc.
These Tabor of Regulares snipers checking enemy positions beforehand, had often a simultaneous role fixing enemy troops on their posts and preventing them from making any movement altering the lines, something which happened for instance during the whole September 5th 1936 in which the Francoist men didn´t assault Cerro Muriano village (they had some chances to do it), preferring to fix them with the Tabor of Regulares snipers of coronel Sáenz of Buruaga and waiting for the conquest of Las Malagueñas and Torreárboles hills to make a less risky and definitive coordinate assault between Tabor of Regulares and Varela´s and Baturone´s legionnaires during the dawn of September 6th 1936.
On the other hand, the Francoist troops from the Army of Africa, whose spearhead were the elite infantry made up by Moroccan Tabor of Regulares men and the legionnaires, did always their best to avoid purely frontal attacks, preferring to carry out the attack with different Tabors and from various directions, with the encircling manoeuvre as decisive goal.
Obviously, the quoted checking of the enemy missions performed by selected men belonging to
Tabor of Regulares small units called "mias" (companies on foot or on horses) were very risky, because the Moroccan scouters had to be prolongued elapses of time very near the enemy trenches, and if spotted, chances were of being killed, but they had got some important advantages:
- They were very skilful fighters on sloped and hill covered terrain.
- They had a great accuracy shooting with their 1893 Model Mauser rifles and their many years of combat experience in colonnial war enabled them to open fire very quickly keeping the precision even under the most stressful conditions, so if discovered, any enemy soldier trying to approach them would have been killed from a long or medium distance. The accuracy of the Moroccan Tabor of Regulares men had brought about a lot of fear since the times of Asturias Revolution in 1934, which was crushed by the Army of Africa in the middle of a great repression.
- They were highly deft camouflaging into the ground, and to spot them was not easy.
- The close combat factor: perhaps the most significant one, because nobody wished to fix bayonet against the Moroccan Tabor of Reguleres men, from a military viewpoint in 1936 the best infantry in the world also in this respect.
- The psychological factor: the Moroccan infantry of the Tabors of Regulares were very feared, and though the commanders of the Republican units knew that chances of proximity of Tabor of Regulares scouters spying them were high, wisdom made them to keep their own troops - both loyalist regular soldiers and militiamen- on their positions, since organizing sorties across open field trying to capture those Tabor scouters could be suicidal, in spite of having much higher own quantity of soldiers than them. The Moroccan snipers would undoubtedless have been able to make a very high number of casualties on any Republican troops going for them. To be on the trenches was definitely the most prudent action.
El control de la carretera que va de Córdoba a Baena y que pasa por Atalayuela, Torres Cabrera, Santa Cruz, Espejo, Castro del Río y Baena era un objetivo muy importante, así como el dominio y vigilancia de las carreteras secundarias que llevan a Nueva Carteya y Montilla.
Espejo and Castro del Río meant for the Francoist forces a dangerous cut between Córdoba city and Baena road, so they tried to reduce it from the first week of August 1936.
This way, general Varela made an attack trying to firstly capture Castro del Río and then Espejo, but the column attempting it (which had departed from Montilla) found a tremendous resistance by the anarchist militiamen, and had to come back to Montilla two days later.
But on 14th August 1936, two little rebel columns from Córdoba city and Ecija (in hands of Francoist troops) attacked on the west of Montilla (also under fascist rule) and conquered the villages of La Rambla, Montalbán and Santaella.
Bearing in mind that the important villages more in the south and west of Córdoba province
(Puente Genil, Aguilar de la Frontera, Moriles, Benamejí, Montilla, El Canuelo -on the north of Priego de Córdoba-, Castil de Campos -on the northeast of Priego de Córdoba-, Almedinilla -on the east of Priego de Córdoba, near the border with Jaén province-, Encinas Reales - in the south of Lucena, near the border with Málaga province-, El Tarajal - on the north of Priego de Córdoba-, Carcabuey -on the west of Priego de Córdoba-, Lucena, Rute, Priego de Córdoba) were in rebel hands since the beginning of the coup d´etat in July, and that other smaller villages in the south and east of Córdoba province were captured by rebel forces during the course of August 1936 (Fuente Tójar in the north of Priego of Córdoba, on 10th), Badolatosa (in the south of Puente Genil, on 11th ), Jauja (on the east of Badolatosa, on 13th), El Higueral (on the right of Rute and very near the frontier with Granada province, on 20th), Cuevas Bajas (in the south of Rute and beside the frontier with Málaga province, on 27th), El Remolino, Sotogordo -in the south of Puente Genil- and Palomar -immediately on the east area of Puente Genil- (on 29th), and after communication had been established on 24th between Rute and Iznájar (the latter being in the south east of Rute, very near the frontier with Granada province), it was clear that the next targets of Francoist troops would be Espejo and Castro del Río, two very important villages which meant two blocking spots on the vital Córdoba-Baena road, of top paramount significance for the fascist troops.
But this would be the maximum advance of Francoist troops on the south and southeast of Córdoba province during August, because their numbers of effectives were very low and top priority was to eliminate the pressure of general Miaja´s Republican forces trying to conquer Córdoba city and Alcolea from mid August, specially with assault attempts taken out from the north of the Higher Guadalquivir capital, with important loyalist effectives sparsed in Cerro Muriano village, Torreárboles, Las Malagueñas, etc, which were a constant threat for the city of Córdoba, so the onslaughts on Espejo and Castro del Río had tro be delayed until the end of September, because the Francoist troops hadn´t enough effectives to cover all the lines and at the same time defending the steady menace on Córdoba which would only be avoided from September 6th 1936 with the conquest of Cerro Muriano village.
Besides, the Republican forces in Córdoba province were very important in effectives, also having significant quantities of artillery and aviation supporting them: major Armentia on the north of Cerro Muriano, major Balibrea on Villafranca and Pedro Abad, major G. Vallejo and the socialist deputy Peris on the west of Bujalance, major Vigueira on the east of Torres Cabrera, major Pérez Salas in Espejo and lieutenant Roberto García in Castro del Río, the general Miaja´s Republican headquarters in Córdoba province being in Montoro.
This way, until mid September, the Francoist columns in Andalucia under the command of general Varela, coronel Sáenz of Buruaga, Baturone (who captured palma del Río on August 26th 1936), Sagrado would be dedicated - from the end of August- to relieve the capital of Córdoba from the constant menace of abundant Republican forces just in the north of the city, specially in Cerro Muriano area, Torreárboles and Las Malagueñas hill and after the conquest of both knolls and the village of Cerro Muriano itself on September 5th and 6th 1936.
But after this, general Varela and coronel Sáenz of Buruaga were forced to reorganize the columns for around two weeks, preparing them for future actions.
This way, if all updated evidence suggest that Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were in Espejo during the last week of August or between 1-4 September 1936 making all the Falling Soldier series pictures on the wheat covered slope of Senda de Hornijeros in the outskirts of the village, I´m firmly persuaded that the shots killing both the first anarchist loyalist militiaman (instant death) and the second one (very badly injured and dying within a few minutes) were made by a hidden Tabor of Regulares sniper belonging to a "mia" having been assigned a reconnaissance and fixing role between Espejo and Castro del Río, whose main task was to avoid any possible transfer or movement of Republican troops between those two villages, and above all to control the vital Córdoba-Baena stretch of road and also the one linking Espejo and Castro del Río with Nueva Carteya.
It was decisive for the rebel high command to have constant very updated info regarding the location and movements of Republican forces on the southeast of Córdoba province, above all in Espejo and Castro del Río where very strong and abundant Republican forces had been gathered (a powerful eclectic merge of loyalist officers, regular army soldiers, militiamen from different areas of Andalucia and Levante and the famous CNT and FAI anarchist militiamen from Alcoi always fighting to the death).
The Francoist high command was very worried thinking about the possibility of a southeast-north direction attack of these very abundant and highly equipped with artillery forces to rout the rebel forces engaged from August 20th 1936 in freeing the siege on Córdoba.
And because of the already very low figure of troops from the Army of Africa of the Francoist high command in Andalusia during the three first months of the war, it was impossible to properly defend this risk of attack from the southeast, mainly from Espejo and Castro del Río.
Furthermore, the very strong loyalist forces in Espejo and Castro del Río had very good high officers commanding them, to know: the famous major Pérez Salas (sporting a tremendous skill and accuracy using all caliber artillery, and whose feats are incredibly still very present in the memory of a lot of old and middle age inhabitants of Córdoba province) and the lieutenant Roberto García (a well prepared officer featuring great bravery and charisma among the confederal militias).
This way, the only provisional solution is to send very little contingents of Moroccan snipers from Tabor of Regulares, featuring extraordinary agility, mobility and shooting accuracy to watch the enemy in the area, the location of their trenches, how the hills dominating the villages are being defended and above all the vital stretches of the road Córdoba-Baena and Espejo-Castro del Río-Nueva Carteya being in the outskirts of Espejo.
For some reason, while Robert Capa is making the pictures with his Leica III (Model F 1933-1939), one of the hidden Moroccan snipers opens fire killing the first Falling Soldier and leaving the second one very seriously injured.
There are some experts stating that a few seconds elapse between the two 7 x 57 mm lethal bullets, and others saying that a few minutes elapse because of the very little changes in the background clouds, though it´s not easy to 100% ascertain it.
In any case, there are two real deaths, the first one being instantly because of a 7 x 57 mm bullet shot by the 1893 Model Mauser 7 x 57 mm long barrel rifle of a hidden Tabor of Regulares sniper piercing the militiaman´s heart and killing him instantly because of the shock (in-depth info on this topic in http://elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com/2009/05/robert-capa-in-cerro-muriano-day-in_29.html) brought about by the high velocity, stopping power and placing of the bullet which bring about a hydraulic effect.
There have been in recent times highly wrong statements regarding that to throw backwards a man running down you need to have a magnum pistol, etc.
First of all, the wheat covered slope appearing in the picture of the Falling Soldier is moderate, not steep.
Secondly, the properties of a magnum pistol or revolver caliber are very different to the ones featured by a high velocity rifle bullet like the 7 mm Spanish Mauser, whose stopping and killing power at medium and high distances is obviously much more devastating than a Magnum pistol or gun.
The quoted hydraulic effect provoked by the 7 x 57 mm bullet can sometimes even produce the death without touching a vital organ, so we can imagine the absolutely devastating effect of a shot on the heart of a man who is overconfident and overjoyed, not expecting at all the presence of enemy forces in the area, so natural defences are not oriented anyway as would happen in a real combat contexts with enemy units attacking and everybody tense, stressful and feeling the
fear to die.
Needless to say that a Spanish Mauser 1893 Model 7 x 57 mm caliber can kill an elephant if the hunter places the bullet on a vital organ, up to a distance of approximately 400 meters, because of the great penetration capacity and flat trajectory of this bullet. This lethal range increases considerably if we refer to a human target.
On the other hand, there have been people stating that the picture of the Falling Soldier is false because you can´t see any blood on the militiaman´s shirt.
That´s not true. We´d see the blood if it was a feature film, but Capa´s camera freezes the action in a split second which could be for instance 1/60th or 1/25th (bearing in mind that the 35 mm emulsion used was Kodak nitrate panchromatic b & w film equivalent to aprroximately iso 32 or 40), so everything is so quick that it hasn´t been enough time for the blood begin to sprout.
But you can be sure: immediately after real death of this militiaman, he had two points of blood exit because the 7 x 57 mm Mauser bullet pierced his heart at great speed (730 meters/sec).
Besides, I trust very much on captain Robert L. Franks (Chief Homicide Detective of the Memphis Police Department) forensic analysis of the Falling Soldier picture proving that the death is real, in the same way as his explanation of why the body of the first Falling Soldier doesn´t appear in the photograph of the next shot militiaman very seriously injured on the ground.
There´s no doubt: the two deaths were real and provoked by the shots of a sniper belonging to a very little contingent drawn from a "mia" of Tabor of Regulares having been assigned the reconnaissance and checking of enemy forces in Espejo village, along with the watching of the two quoted important roads, to report the situation as soon as possible to high officers.
And for some reasons this sniper decided to kill the two militiamen, probably because he got
nervous after having previously watched for a lot of minutes so many movements of Republican
militiamen on the trenches. I do believe that the shots had a psychological fixing role advising
the anarchist forces on the trenches not to advance in the direction of Llano de Banda or towards any of the aforementioned important roads.
It´s very clear that Capa didn´t use any tripod or ruse to make the pictures, something proved by the picture appearing on page seven of regards magazine September 24th 1936 with three militiamen running down the slope and also captured by Capa´s rangefinder Leica.
There were a total of five militiamen running down and not two as believed till now.
THE SMOKE CURTAIN THEORY
Another of the aspects in which I don´t agree at all with Professor José Manuel Susperregui is in his statement made on page 70 of his book Shadows of Photography, where he says: " the identity has only been a deceptive reasoning, a smoke curtain favourable to the interests of Magnum Agency and ICP ".
Sincerely, with all respect, I can´t understand this asseveration made by Professor José Manuel
Susperregui.
Obviously, I don´t think that either Magnum Agency or ICP have tried to implement "a smoke
curtain favourable to their interests" with the topic of the identity of Capa´s Falling Soldier.
My opinion is that there was probably an identification error by Federico Borrell García´s relatives, namely: his widow, his brother Evaristo and his niece Empar Borrell, who assured in 1996 that the man appearing in the Falling Soldier photograph was Federico Borrell García, when Mario Brotons Jordá showed them the famous picture which we know now that was made in Espejo and not in Cerro Muriano.
The ICP and Magnum Agency are legendary institutions which with their wisdoms and errors, like any organization, have given the world and the enthusiasts of top-notch photography many of the most important exhibitions and glorious moments in history, fulfilling a steady strenuous work to preserve the legacy of a high percentage of the best photographers of all time, whose pictures are a trove for the upcoming generations, and it´s widely known that Cornell Capa, the founder of the ICP, greatly renounced to his own career as a photographer to devote himself to the International Center of Photography in New York, created by him in 1974.
On its turn, Magnum Agency, since the most halcyon days of its foundation by Robert Capa, Chim, George Rodger and Henri Cartier-Bresson has had a high percentage of the best photographers in the world, with names like Inge Morath, Paolo Pellegrin, Eve Arnold, Antoine D´Agata, Leonard Freed, Elliot Erwitt, Constantine Manos, Erich Lessing, Rene Burri, Philippe Halsman, Richard Kalvar, Abbas, Werner Bischof, Ian Berry, Micha Bar-Am, Paul Fusco, Herbert List, Eve Arnold, etc.
This doesn´t seem to be the profile of "smoke curtains manufacturers" but of people having a great penchant for really top-notch photography, both making it and preserving it in its top expression, and of course doing their best to earn as much money as possible, as everybody, as well as struggling and putting a lot of werewithal from its funds to bring out extraordinary rediscoveries of long-lost negative archives as the recent Martin Munkacsi´s ones.
And along with Magnum Agency and ICP as institutions (the latter with its Ehrenkranz Director,
the Board of Trustees, the Honorary Trustees, etc), apart from what we could call the high officers, I do want to specially name people like Teresa Engle and Igor Bakht (out of this world printers), Tema Stauffer, Amy Jenkins and Elinor Carucci devoted to the Alkazi Collection Sepia Intimate Line, Anja Hitzenberger, lecturers like Andreas Rentsch, etc.
The ICP develops a praiseworthy activity bringing together people from all over the world to foster photography and the possibilities exploration of the visual images, and its comprehensive range of photographic programs are among the international cream.
After having had the chance of watching live some ICP and Magnum exhibitions (many fewer than I would like), I do think that entrance tickets and price of their catalogue books are cheap, even perhaps very cheap, if we bear in mind what they´re constantly offering worldwide to the treat of high quality photography enthusiasts and professionals alike.
It´s very hard and great wherewithal resources and hundreds of hours are necessary to prepare all the exhibitions, specially the worlwide itinerant ones.
THE MOST DECISIVE ASPECTS REGARDING THE FALLING SOLDIER PICTURE HAVEN´T CHANGED
But coming back to the main topic, the research on the Falling Soldier picture made by Robert
Capa has gone on for many decades and even with this new important discovery, in my viewpoint, things have changed little or nothing regarding the three most important aspects:
a) What the picture conveys and means as a universal icon of war.
b) The real death of the man appearing in it, irrespective of his identity and the location were the
picture was made.
c) The utter authenticity of the photograph. Sincerely, and with all respect towards Professor
Susperregui theory in this regard, I can´t imagine Robert Capa going to war with a tripod, and the picture on middle left of page seven of Regards magazine September 24th 1936 proves that Capa didn´t make any trick preparing a faked death of both the first and second falling soldiers, because there were really five militiamen running down the slope.
The three militiamen on middle left of page seven of Regards magazine September 24th 1936 are treading on a near area to the point where Capa makes the first and second falling soldier photographs ( these two last men of the series, falling very near one each other, but not exactly on the same spot) but clearly different and the inclination of Capa´s Leica III (Model F 1933-1939) on making the picture is different, being the ground approximately half sloping than in the Falling Soldier photograph and the triangular patch of cultivated land clearly visible on the lower right area of the Falling Soldier image is hardly noticeable in this immediately previous picture made by Capa on the same area of the slope.
I do think that simply there wasn´t any tripod. And apart from the evidence of the quoted picture of Regards magazine made just before the Falling Soldier one, it seems clear that the militiamen were overjoyed and running down the slope simulating going against a non existing enemy, until the unexpected first shot (followed by a second one). And Capa was there to take the pictures.









































































































































