The Falling Soldier

Federico Borrell García (January 3, 1912 - September 5, 1936) was a Republican soldier during the Spanish Civil War. He is primarily known as the subject of Robert Capa's iconic photograph “The Falling Soldier.” The full title of the photograph is “Loyalist Militiaman at the Moment of Death, Cerro Muriano, September 5, 1936.”

Robert Capa's famous picture of Federico Borrell's death at Cerro Muriano

File:Cerro muriano 1.jpg

Federico Borrell and Loyalist comrades at Cerro Muriano, September 5, 1936

File:Federico Borrell Garcia.jpg

Close-up of Federico Borrell shortly before he was killed

Federico Borrell was born in Benilloba (Alicante), Spain. Known to his friends as "Taino," he made his living as a mill worker in Alcoy and founded the local branch of the anarchist Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth (Spanish: Federación Ibérica de Juventudes Libertarias (FIJL)). He joined the local Loyalist militia, the Columna Alcoyana, to defend the Spanish Republic against the Nationalist forces of Francisco Franco.

On the morning of September 5, 1936, the 24-year-old Borrell was one of about fifty militiamen who arrived at the village of Cerro Muriano (Córdoba) to reinforce the militia’s front line against the Francoist forces commanded by General José Varela. That afternoon Borrell was defending the artillery battery in the rearguard of the Alcoy infantry when enemy troops infiltrated behind the Loyalist lines and began firing at them from behind as well as in front, hoping to squeeze the Loyalists in a vise. Borrell was fatally shot at about five o’clock on or near the hill known as La Loma de las Malagueñas. According to Spanish government records, he was the only member of the Columna Alcoyana to die in the fighting at Cerro Muriano that day.

Robert Capa's “The Falling Soldier” captures the moment of Borrell’s death. The soldier is seen collapsing backwards after having been shot. He appears in civilian-looking clothing but wearing a leather cartridge belt, and the rifle he has been holding is slipping out of his right hand. Photographs taken earlier in the day appear to show Borrell in life standing alongside his comrades in the Columna Alcoyana. Capa’s photographs of the Loyalist militia at Cerro Muriano, including the picture of Borrell’s death, were first published in the September 23, 1936, issue of the French magazine Vu. Since then "The Falling Soldier" has been reproduced many times and has become an instantly recognizable symbol of the Spanish Civil War. It is also one of the most famous war photographs of all time.

There has been debate in recent years over whether “The Falling Soldier” was a staged photograph, but subsequent investigations confirmed that it is indeed authentic.