Guernica and the Spanish Civil War: From Madrid to the Ebro

General Mola planned to attack on 8 November 1936 through the Casa de Campo park, a front only one kilometre wide, open country just across the river from the city centre. On the evening of 9 November General Kléber sent the XI International Brigade against the Nationalist positions in the park. The fight ran through the night and into the morning. The Nationalists retreated and gave up any direct assault through the Casa de Campo, but the brigade lost a third of its men.

Visitor guidance: Casa de Campo is a large public park in Madrid.

Gernika, 30 kilometres east of Bilbao, was packed on Monday 26 April 1937: market day, with more than 10,000 people in the former Basque capital. The first wave of bombers arrived around 16:30. Three-quarters of the town's buildings were reported completely destroyed. The Assembly House and the Gernikako Arbola, the oak that symbolises Basque freedoms, were among the things spared. The pin marks the oak; the raid hit the whole town.

Location precision: The raid struck the whole town; the pin marks the Tree of Gernika, not a single bombing site.

Visitor guidance: The oak and the Assembly House stand in Gernika-Lumo.

The Battle of Teruel was fought in the worst Spanish winter in 20 years. On 15 December 1937 Lister's Republican division attacked without any preliminary bombardment while snow fell. By evening it held the heights of La Muela and had encircled the city. The Nationalists came back in February: they entered the town on 20 February, and about 14,500 men were trapped as the Republicans withdrew.

Location precision: The fighting spread across the city and its surrounding heights; the pin marks Teruel itself.

Between 16 and 18 March 1938 Barcelona was bombed by Italian aircraft flying from Mallorca with Spanish markings. Bombers glided in silently at high altitude and restarted their engines only after releasing their bombs, so there was little warning. On the night of 18 March the working-class districts were badly hit. Up to 1,300 people were killed and at least 2,000 wounded.

Location precision: The raids hit many districts; the pin marks central Barcelona.

The Republicans' key target in the Battle of the Ebro was Gandesa, a crossroads town some 25 km west of the river. On 1 August 1938 the XV International Brigade attacked Hill 481 in front of the town and suffered huge casualties; the assault failed. By the end, the Republican army was destroyed as an effective force. Today Gandesa has a church with sculptures on its Romanesque porch and an old winery designed by Cèsar Martinell in 1919.

Location precision: The fighting covered hills and towns around the Ebro; the pin marks Gandesa.

Visitor guidance: Gandesa can be visited; the winery and the church porch are in town.

Picasso was commissioned by the Republican government to make a large work for the Spanish pavilion at the 1937 Paris exposition. Guernica was unveiled there in July 1937. It reached Spain in September 1981, and in 1992 moved to a purpose-built gallery at the Reina Sofía, near Atocha station. It is the museum's most famous masterpiece.

Visitor guidance: Museo Reina Sofía, near Atocha station in Madrid.