Sierra de Cuera ( ast, Sierra del Cuera), is a 30 km long mountain chain of the

Cantabrian Mountains , etymology=Named after the Cantabri , photo=Cordillera Cantábrica vista desde el Castro Valnera.jpg , photo_caption=Cantabrian Mountains parallel to the Cantabrian Sea seen from Castro Valnera in an east-west direction. In the background, th ...

. The ridge's highest point is Pico Turbina (1315 m). This mountain range is located at 6 km from the sea and runs parallel to the coast. It lies within the

Cabrales Cabrales is a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias, northwestern Spain. It is situated between the Sierra de Cuera and the Picos de Europa, and is a region famous for its Cabrales cheese. Important towns within the municipality ...

Llanes Llanes (the ''Concejo de Llanes'', ''Conceyu de Llanes'' in Asturian language) is a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bound ...

Peñamellera Alta Peñamellera Alta (in asturian: ''El Valle Altu de Peñamellera'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Llanes, on the west by Cabrales, on the east by Peñamellera ...

Peñamellera Baja Peñamellera Baja (in Asturian language, Asturian: '' El Valle Baḥu de Peñamellera'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is borderered to the north by Llanes and Ribadedeva, to the west by ...

and

Ribadedeva Ribadedeva (; Asturian language, Asturian and Cantabrian: Ribedeva) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. To the north is the Cantabrian Sea, while to the south lies Peñamellera Baja, to the west Ll ...

municipal terms.

Recent history

The mountains of the Sierra de Cuera were vital to the defence of Asturias during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

(1936 - 1939) and the key to the Sierra de Cuera was the pass of

El Mazuco El Mazuco is a village in the parroquia of Caldueño in the municipality of Llanes, in Asturias, northern Spain. Its population in 2004 was 67, in 25 dwellings. It is located at 355m above sea level in the Sierra de Cuera, at , which is 16&nb ...

. Following the fall of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

the troops supporting

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

's rebellion tried to advance by clearing the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

defenders from these mountains. In order to do this they planned a

pincer Pincer may refer to: *Pincers (tool) *Pincer (biology), part of an animal *Pincer ligand, a terdentate, often planar molecule that tightly binds a variety of metal ions *The List_of_Go_terms#Pincer, Pincer move in the game of Go See also

*Pinc ...

movement moving south-west from Llanes and west, along the Río Cares, from Panes towards Cabrales. On both fronts, however, the rugged terrain and the stiff resistance of the Republican loyalists halted the advance during what became known as the

Battle of El Mazuco The Battle of El Mazuco was fought between 6 and 22 September 1937, between the Republican and Nationalist armies during the Spanish Civil War as a part of the War in the North campaign. The Republican defence of El Mazuco and the surrounding ...

.Juan Antonio de Blas, ''El Mazuco (La defensa imposible)''. La guerra civil en Asturias, Tomo 2. Ediciones Júcar. Gijón. 1986. pp. 369–383.

References

External links

Página del Sistema de información ambiental del Principado de Asturias

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Military history of Spain Cuera Cuera {{asturias-geo-stub