In January 1938, during the Battle of Teruel in the Spanish Civil War, a Republican soldier laying telephone lines was shot by a Francoist sniper. Photographed by war photographer Robert Capa as a frozen, immobile soldier against the winter sky.

　　In January 1938, during the Battle of Teruel in the Spanish Civil War, a Republican soldier laying telephone lines was shot by a Francoist sniper. His agonized expression and hand clutching a twig were captured by war photographer Robert Capa as the frozen, immobile soldier against the winter sky. The Battle of Teruel, lasting from December 15, 1937, to February 22, 1938, was one of the most brutal battles of the Spanish Civil War. Although the People's Army combat units launched an offensive, the Republicans were defeated, and irreplaceable elite units were destroyed. 

　　Teruel had fallen to the rebels early in the Spanish Civil War. By late 1937, Republican forces had encircled Teruel on all sides except the northeast. Fearing Franco's forces would consolidate the northern front and launch a major assault on Madrid, the Republicans attacked Teruel in the dead of winter. They initiated the assault with superior numbers and supplies. Worsening weather, heavy snow, and sub-zero temperatures favored the Francoist defenders. Thousands of rebel soldiers and volunteers mounted fierce resistance in hand-to-hand combat within Teruel's heavily fortified center. The fighting and shelling resulted in heavy civilian casualties. Francoist reinforcements failed to arrive in time. The situation became desperate. Isolated in a few buildings and running out of food, the rebel forces surrendered on January 8, 1938.

　　Teruel was the first provincial capital captured by the Republicans, and the victory was widely celebrated. The Francoists halted their advance on Madrid, concentrating their forces to retake the lost city. The counterattack began in mid-January, with fierce fighting resuming amid harsh weather. Early February saw a dramatic shift when Republican forces suffered a devastating defeat at the Alfombra River northeast of the city. Thousands of Republican soldiers were killed or captured. The rebels forced the Republicans to withdraw from Teruel on February 22, with both sides suffering enormous casualties. Forty thousand were killed, and thousands more were wounded or suffered frostbite. The Battle of Teruel cost the Republicans heavy personnel and material losses, including the loss of their elite units, and determined the course of the Spanish Civil War. Franco's forces, superior in numbers and equipment, launched a full-scale offensive across Aragon towards the Mediterranean.