Homage to Catalonia: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

One afternoon, Benjamin asks for volunteers to join him in an attack on the Fascist position and Orwell decides to take part in the operation. Kopp explains the plan: the men are to drive the Fascists out of a section of their parapet with bombs and seize it before they can react. The militiamen are to be led by Benjamin and battalion commander Jorge Roca. After enthusiastically waiting for coffee with brandy only to discover that the rumor was false and that there was in fact no coffee, the volunteers are led out into the rain.

The men walk through deep mud, often falling in the process. In the rain, Orwell raises his head to observe the line of men behind him, but Benjamin urgently tells him to keep his head down—an order that, for Orwell, makes little sense, since in the darkness people are barely visible, whereas speaking is more likely to reveal one’s presence to the enemy. In the rain and the mud, however, it is impossible for the men’s movements to be entirely quiet.

In the darkness, Orwell is anxious to reach their destination. He feels that Fascist sentries could shoot them with their machine-guns at any moment. The walk seems to stretch on and on, and Orwell begins to wonder if they have gotten lost. However, the Fascist parapet soon comes into view and Jorge cuts the first line of wire protecting it. In his nervousness, Orwell is convinced that they are making a terrible amount of noise, but they still manage to make it through unnoticed.

All at once, there is a loud bang and it becomes apparent that the Fascist sentry has finally heard Orwell’s company. Jorge throws a bomb over the parapet and multiple rifles are fired, all at once, from the Fascist side. The Fascists, Orwell concludes, had in fact heard them and been expecting them. Orwell is terrified and blinded by the bombs that are being thrown. He crawls down, throws a bomb himself, misses his target, and lies down on the ground in order to avoid the explosions. He hears a few men behind him announce that they have been hit.

When the firing suddenly stops, the men charge forward. They attempt to run but only manage to crawl clumsily through the mud. Orwell expects to see Fascists waiting for them at the position. When he arrives, he is surprised to note that no one is there. Suddenly, he sees a Fascist running away and runs after him in the dark, trying to hit the man with his bayonet, which Orwell remembers as a comic memory, although he supposes that it was probably terrifying for the pursued soldier. Finally, thanks to his better knowledge of the terrain, the man manages to escape.

The militiamen are told to search the position and gather anything worth saving. The men find ammunition, although what they actually need are usable rifles. Orwell pays no attention to the few dead men in the position. He is busy searching for the machine-gun and, when he reaches the machine-gun spot, is disappointed to realize that the Fascists must have taken it away with them when they fled. In general, Orwell is shocked that the Fascist position seems entirely lacking in personal objects such as books or food. The unpaid conscripts, Orwell notes with dismay, must own nothing but the very bare minimum needed to survive.

Suddenly, the men come across an object that they mistake for a machine-gun case: a telescope, a precious object that is desperately needed at the front. At that moment, a voice announces that the Fascists are returning to attack, and Orwell and his companions quickly build a barricade to protect themselves. As he brings heavy sandbags to the barricade, Orwell realizes that he is horrified by the chaotic situation he finds himself in.

A few men from the Shock Troopers appear, leading Orwell’s companions to hope that reinforcements have finally arrived. Soon, however, they learn that most of the Shock Troopers who were on their way to help Orwell’s group got lost and were shot by the Fascists. At the parapet, the Fascists begin using their machine-gun and Orwell hides behind the barricade they have built. Despite the dangers he is facing, he begins to find the entire situation rather fun. He has time to think and, upon reflection, decides that he does not feel fear. He presumes that, had he found himself in a less dangerous situation that would have given him more time to think properly, he probably would have been completely terrified.

By throwing bombs, the militiamen manage to drive the Fascists back for a while. They are then told, suddenly, to retreat at once. In the hurry to escape, they are forced to abandon the precious telescope. As soon as they leave the parapet, they find themselves under enemy fire and they run away in the darkness as fast as they can, but soon, in their confusion, they realize they might be lost. They come into view of a parapet that they don’t recognize. However, after an exchange of cries, they realize it is their own and they are able to crawl back into safety.

The wounded have been taken away on stretchers, but Jorge and another wounded man are still missing. Distraught, Kopp asks for volunteers to go search for Jorge, his personal friend and one of his best men. Orwell joins the expedition. Darkness is fading away and, as they come near the Fascist parapet, they are shot at and forced to run away at full speed. Orwell is surprised to realize that, in a situation of life or death, regardless of how muddy the terrain or how heavy their equipment might be, men are always able to run fast.

Orwell later goes off on his own to look for Jorge, but finds no trace of him. Later, they learn that Jorge and the other wounded man had been taken away earlier to receive treatment. As dawn arrives, Orwell notices how desolate and exhausted the landscape and his companions look. He returns to his dug-out and makes a tiny fire, lighting a cigar that he had been saving carefully. Later, the men learn that their night attack, which was meant as a diversion for the Anarchists to attack a more important area near Huesca, was considered a success. Nevertheless, Orwell still feels sorry for having lost that precious telescope.