From August 24 to September 7, 1937, the Battle of Belchite was fought in the small town of Belchite in Aragon, as the Republican Army launched an offensive toward Zaragoza. The battle was a tactical Republican victory, with the International Brigades playing a significant role in the street fighting that destroyed much of the town. However, the offensive failed to capture Zaragoza, and the Nationalist advance in the north continued unabated, making the victory a hollow one.

The Battle of Belchite became a symbol of the Republic's desperate offensives, and the ruined town remained a memorial to the war's destruction. The battle was chronicled in the poetry of the International Brigades, including works by British and American volunteers who wrote of the savage street fighting. The town of Belchite itself, left in ruins as a monument, became a recurring image in later Spanish poetry, symbolizing the enduring scars of the war.