This is a photograph known as "General Miaja's Militiamen Writing Letters", taken in 1937. Upon first looking at the image, we notice that two men are in the process of writing. One of the gentleman is seemingly fully dressed, while the other is wearing what appears to be clothes for sleeping. Next to them is a large sack, with a bundle of papers which may well be envelopes. There seems to be a board for writing on, as they do not appear to be near any buildings or accommodations. They seem to be in a structure built from grass and sticks, with a rock at the entrance. Near them are some upright rifles and a loose helmet. Also of note is that the gentlemen appear to be Hispanic.
One can surmise from this photo that there is some type of conflict going on, just from seeing the rifles nearby and seemingly at the ready. The nature of their shelter also suggests that while they are currently at rest, they are most likely prepared for or already involved in some military engagement. The rifles and the black and white color scheme of the photo suggests that this is from some earlier point in history, and researching the history of the photograph and the name of general confirms this.
A search for the generals name provides a wikipedia page for José Miaja Menant, a commander during the time of the Spanish Civil War. According to the details page of the art exhibit, photographs such as this one were an important source of information about the war internationally. In fact, the time period of the Spanish Civil War saw the burgeoning of photojournalism.
The conflict was the subject of a BBC documentary video series available online. The first part is linked below:
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