there was the Manzanares' river bed, which in 1936 had abundant vegetation proceeding from the Pardo mountain. The Manzanares' was channeled from the Toledo bridge to the Franceses bridge, which meant that from the Franceses' until San Fernando's bridge was not channeled. The channeled zone was heavily defended, was very dangerous for the attacking forces' infantry, and made the passing of the tanks difficult. It was because of these reasons that the channeled zone was avoided, advancing a few meters up from the Franceses' bridge, where it was relatively easier for attacking forces to advance. This configuration of the unchanneled river was what directed the combat definitively towards the Ciudad Universitaria on 15 November 1936. The Manzanares' river, which had a small river flow in summer, on the contrary, is on its highest influence during autumn. On the Manzanares' two banks there were two wide roads. The one on the right bank was the road to Castilla, the one on the left bank lowers through the Parque del Oeste and continues until the Puerta de Hierro and formed part of the National Circuit of Firmes Especiales. The two banks are connected by various bridges of important strategic valor. The three bridges closer to Ciudad Universitaria are the San Fernando (the road to A Coruña), the Nuevo bridge (for railway use) and in parallel, just a few meters away, the Franceses (roadway to Irún). The rest of the bridges were immersed in the center of dispersed populations that still were part of Madrid. There were also a few footbridges all along the river. Some protagonist bridges in the battle were made viaducts to save the slope of the roads and the roadway systems. For example, the viaduct of the Quince Ojos that supported the road to La Coruña (surpassing the slope of the Cantalasranas stream), just like the Aire bridge. The battle took place in the first months of the Civil War in the University City of Madrid, at the new campus of Madrid's Complutense University. It lasted for about a week, between 15 and 23 November 1936, after which the front stabilized until the end of the war. The aim of the Republican militias was to defend the capital at any price, stop the advances of General José Varela columns, and prevent the fall of Madrid into Nationalist hands. On the other hand, the attacking armies of the military rebellion