After the fall of the Aragon front, a Republican division, in April 1938, was surrounded by the Nationalists in the Cinca River Valley.

After the Battle of Teruel, the Nationalists led by the general Fidel Dávila, launched an offensive in the Aragon front in March 1938.

One republican division was isolated by the Nationalist advance in the valley of the Alto Cinca river, near the French Frontier.

By the end of March, the 43rd division of the Republican Army, led by Antonio Beltran, nicknamed El Esquinazado (The Dodger), was surrounded by the Nationalist troops in the Cinca River Valley.

This battle had no military importance, but the resistance of the Esquinazado division, after the disaster of the Aragon retreat, was a morale boost for the Republicans.