‘Moor No Eating, Moor No Sleeping, Moor Leaving'

In 1957, a Spanish officer and veteran of the Civil War recounted an incident which he described as ‘very expressive of the character of the Moors’. During operations on the Andalusian front in early April 1937, a position that was defended by both Spanish Peninsular (the Sixth Granada regiment) and Moroccan Regulares soldiers was coming under heavy attacks and bombardments from the Republicans for a couple of days. During a moment of lull in the fighting, a Moroccan soldier, ‘one very young, who perhaps was no more than seventeen years old’, faced his commanding lieutenant and told him: ‘Moor no eating, Moor no sleeping, Moor leaving’. More than twenty-four hours had passed without any supplies coming in, and all the cold food provisions were spent. But despite of this, ‘no Spaniard had complained from such an exhausting situation’. The Moroccan took hold of his rifle and tried to translate his words into deeds. He was seriously reprimanded by his officer, while the enemy started their pre-attack fire. While the young Moroccan was walking to the rear, the officer threatened to apply disciplinary measures, and he prepared his pistol, as ‘the demoralization of one could infect the rest’. Then a more ‘mature’ Regular with a ‘copious black beard’ intervened and took the would-be deserter by the arm, bringing him back to his position and later telling the lieutenant, ‘I told him where the Spaniard stays without eating, drinking or sleeping, the Moor, his brother, has to stay’. ¹