Spanish Civil War chronology 1936
Encyclopedia
The Spanish Civil War
(1936–1939) broke out with a military uprising in Morocco
on July 17, triggered by events in Madrid
. Within days, Spain was divided in two: a "Republican" or "Loyalist" Spain consisting of the Second Spanish Republic
(within which were pockets of revolutionary anarchism
and Trotskyism
) and a "Nationalist" Spain under the insurgent generals, and, eventually, under the leadership of General Francisco Franco
.
By the summer, important tendencies of the war become clear, both in terms of atrocities on both sides and in the contrast between the Soviet Union's intermittent help to the Republican government and the committed support of Fascist Italy
and Nazi Germany
for the Nationalists.
In the early days of the war, over 50,000 people who were caught on the "wrong" side of the lines were assassinated or summarily executed. In these paseos ("promenades"), as the executions were called, the victims were taken from their refuges or jails by armed people to be shot outside of town. Probably the most famous such victim was the poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca
. The outbreak of the war provided an excuse for settling accounts and resolving long-standing feuds. Thus, this practice became widespread during the war in areas conquered. In most areas, even within a single given village, both sides committed assassinations.
Any hope of a quick ending to the war was dashed on July 21, the fifth day of the rebellion, when the Nationalists captured the main Spanish naval base
at Ferrol in northwestern Spain. This encouraged the Fascist nations of Europe to help Franco, who had already contacted the governments of Germany and Italy the day before. On July 26, the future Axis Powers
cast their lot with the Nationalists. German assistance, channeled through Franco rather than to the Nationalists in general, consolidated his leadership position of the insurgency.
In the north, a rebel force under Colonel Beorlegui
, sent by General Emilio Mola
, advanced on
Guipúzcoa. On September 5, after heavy fighting
it took Irún
closing the French border to the Republicans. On September 13 the Basques surrendered San Sebastián
to the Nationalists who then advanced toward their capital, Bilbao
but were stopped at the border of the province. The capture of Guipúzcoa had isolated the Republican provinces in the north.
Nationalist forces under Franco won a great symbolic victory on September 27 when they relieved the besieged Alcázar
at Toledo
. Two days after relieving the siege, Franco proclaimed himself Generalísimo and Caudillo
("chieftain"); he would forcibly unify the various Falangist
and Royalist elements of the Nationalist cause.
In October, the Nationalists launched a major offensive toward Madrid
, reaching it in early November and launching a major assault on the city on November 8. The Republican government was forced to shift from Madrid to Valencia
, out of the combat zone, on November 6. However, the Nationalists' attack on the capital was repulsed in fierce fighting between November 8 and 23. A contributory factor in the successful Republican defence was the arrival of the International Brigades
, though only around 3,000 of them participated in the battle. Having failed to take the capital, Franco bombarded it from the air and, in the following two years, mounted several offensives to try to encircle Madrid. (See also Siege of Madrid (1936-39)
)
On November 18, Germany and Italy officially recognized the Franco regime, and on December 23, Italy sent "volunteers" of its own to fight for the Nationalists.
electoral victory.
is murdered by four fascist gunmen who awaited the recently married lieutenant in the afternoon hours in front of his house. He was a member of the UMRA
, an antifascist organization for military members, and also worked with socialist youth.
July 13: In retaliation, around 3am, Calvo Sotelo
, leader of the right-wing monarchist party, is murdered by police officers. Only a few hours after the assassination of Castillo, his close friend Police Captain Fernando Condes and other police officers arrest Calvo Sotelo in his house. Paul Preston
has speculated that the police officers may have acted of their own accord. This was one of the key factors in the uprising of 18 July. Driving with him in a police car of the Assault Guard (Guardia de Asalto
) police officer Luis Cuenca shot him in the back of the neck. His dead body is given to a municipal undertaker.
July 14: Shootout between Police Assault Guard and fascist militias in the streets surrounding the cemetery of Madrid, where the burials of José Castillo and Calvo Sotelo are taking place. Four people killed.
July 17: Army uprising in Morocco
. Military uprising of the Spanish Foreign Legion in Morocco. General Manuel Romerales, commanding officer of the East Army, is murdered by rebels, who also imprisoned commanding General Gomez in the late afternoon. Loyal police troops from the Guardia Civil and Guardia de Asalto hold the cities Tetouan
and Larache
, but come under heavy attack by the rebels. General Franco
orders the killing of his nephew, a major in Tetuán, for staying loyal to the government.
By late evening, all of Morocco is in the hands of the rebels. From the Canary Islands
, Franco declares a "state of war
" for all of Spain. Prime Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga
spends the whole day telephoning different regional military administrations to clarify the situation. Pamplona
, Zaragoza
, Oviedo
, Salamanca
, Ávila, Segovia
, and Cadiz
are already in rebel hands.
July 18: The rebels gain control over about one third of Spain.
July 19: Franco flies from the Canary Islands to Tetuán and takes command of the army in Africa.
Casares Quiroga resigns as chief of the Republican government.
Diego Martínez Barrio
tries to form a new government, but cannot obtain broad enough parliamentary support.
José Giral
forms a government, which orders that arms be issued to the general populace.
Seville, one of the most important cities in the south, is unsuccessfully defended by local police troops and a poorly armed workers' militia. While the heaviest weapons police possess are machine guns, the rebel General Queipo de Llano sends in artillery and heavily armed troops. Seville falls to the rebels.
This is the day the People's Olympiad
was scheduled to open in Barcelona
, as a protest against the official 1936 Summer Olympics
in Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany
. The games have now been cancelled due to the war.
In Barcelona, heavy streetfighting breaks out between police, workers militias and loyal troops on one side and around 12,000 rebel soldiers on the other. After it becomes obvious that Civil Guard, Assault Guard and City Police would not be enough to keep control of the city, the Generalitat
(regional government of Catalonia
), decide belatedly to arm the people.
July 20: Rebels defeated in Madrid and Barcelona, but they take Majorca. In Madrid, around 10,000 citizens, among them police officers and soldiers, attack the Montana Barracks, held by rebel General Fanjul
and around 2,500 soldiers. Some soldiers in the Barracks want to surrender and wave a white flag. The crowd moves towards the barracks, while the soldiers who wanted to surrender are overwhelmed by the rebels. The rebels then immediately fire heavy machine guns and grenades into the masses, leaving many wounded or dead. The crowd storms the Barracks and massacres the defenders. General Fanjul is among the few captured alive.
Barcelona: The combined forces of local police troops, workers' militias and citizens gain back control over the city in a dramatic two-day barricade fight.
Majorca: After heavy resistance, especially at the Air Base, the rebels gain control over Majorca.
The official leader of the uprising, General Sanjurjo, dies in an air accident in a small aircraft bringing him back to Spain from his exile in Portugal. He had insisted, against the advice of the pilot, on taking all of his possessions with him. The overloaded aircraft crashed taking off.
July 21: Start of the Siege of the Alcázar
de Toledo.
The Nationalist insurgent
s have control of the Spanish zones of Morocco, the Canary Islands, the Balearics
(except Minorca
), the part of Spain north of the Sierra de Guadarrama
and the Río Ebro
(except Asturias
, Cantabria
, the north of the País Vasco (Basque Country), and Catalonia
). Among the major cities, the insurgents hold Seville
, but the Republicans retain Madrid and Barcelona.
Toledo: After three days of street battles against forces loyal to the government, about 1000 Civil and Assault Guards, Falangists (comparable to the German S.A.
), and a handful of infantry cadets, under the leadership of Colonel Moscardo, retreat into the Alcázar de Toledo, a stone fortress set on high ground overlooking the Tagus River and the city. They take with them their own families, plus a few hundred women and children as hostages, most of them families of well known leftists.
July 22: Vallehermoso, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
in La Gomera
, a village of 4,000, is the last place in the Canary Islands to fall to the rebels. Police Officer Francisco Mas García organized the hopeless resistance. The actual battle for the town lasted several hours. The councilor, the police officers and the leader of the local workers' council
were condemned to death. In the hour before his execution, police chief Don Antonio wrote to his wife: "I die calm, because I believe in the justice of God".
The navy and air force remain loyal to the government. Thanks to the initiative of noncommissioned officer Benjamin Balboa, most of the Navy stayed loyal to the Republic. He was on duty in the central military radio station. As soon as he got notice of the uprising he informed the Naval Ministry and arrested his commanding officer, Captain Castor Ibáñez, then spent the night informing navy ships about the uprising. The sailors on the ships formed councils and gained control of the ships, despite heavy resistance from the officers. Spain lost three quarters of its navy officers that night, but the Navy was saved for the Republic. The officers of the Spanish Air Force are traditionally very Republican, but the air force has only a few obsolete planes.
July 23: The Nationalists declare a government in the form of the Junta de Defensa Nacional, which meets for the first time in Burgos
.
July 24: Start of French aid to the Republican side. For the moment, the help only involves sending a handful of obsolete aircraft for the Spanish Republican Air Force, but the very fact that France seems willing to help is eminently morally important for the supporters of the Republic.
The Durruti Column
, around three thousand men, mostly workers, led by Buenaventura Durruti
are the first volunteer militia to leave Barcelona, heading for the Aragon
front.
July 28: First arrival of German and Italian planes in aid of the Nationalist side. In the world's first major military airlift, German and Italian planes transport troops from Morocco to Spain, bypassing the naval blockade.
, collectivizations. (See Spanish Revolution
)
August 1: Under British pressure, France reverses its policy of helping Republican Spain, and together both nations found the Non-Intervention Committee
.
At the pleading of the Marqués de Viana and the exiled ex-king of Spain, Alfonso XIII, Benito Mussolini
sends aircraft in support of the rebels. Mussolini wants money for this help; the Spanish billionaire
Juan March pays for the Italian aircraft. Because Franco has no air personnel or pilots, Mussolini sends the aircraft with Italian pilots. After two of the aircraft crash on their way in French Morocco
, the world becomes aware of this clear breach of nonintervention.
August 2: Troops of the rebellious Spanish Foreign Legion
, led by Colonel
Asensio
and Major
Castejón
, start their advance from Seville towards Madrid.
August 6: Josep Sunyol
, an ERC deputy and president of FC Barcelona
, is caught in an ambush in the Sierra de Guadarrama
and is killed by pro-Franco troops.
August 8: France closes its border with Spain.
While Majorca is still in hands of the nationalists, Ibiza
and Formentera
are back in Republican hands.
August 10: The Nationalists take
Mérida
on their way to Madrid cutting off the Republicans in Badajoz
. The well-known female Republican activist Leiva
is executed by the Nationalists. Major
Tella
defeats a Republican counterattack on the city.
August 14: Nationalist forces under Colonel Juan Yagüe
attack and conquer Badajoz
, uniting the two parts of the Nationalist territory. The Republican commander, Colonel
Puigdendolas
, flees to Portugal. Around 4,000 people die during and after the attack in Badajoz. In the local bullring, thousands of people are shot down by the Nationalists with machine guns. See Massacre of Badajoz
.
August 16: The Republican Army land on the coast of Majorca
, under heavy bombardment by Italian planes. Captain Alberto Bayo
establishes a small base on the coast.
August 19: Viznar, Granada: Federico García Lorca
, among others, is murdered by members of the fascist Escuadra Negra. Before being killed, they are forced to dig their own graves. Later, the official excuse for the brutal assassination of García Lorca will be that he was homosexual.
August 24: Italy and Germany join officially the Non-Intervention agreement. This gives them the possibility to participate in the international blockade of Spain: Italian and German warships are now allowed to stay in Spanish territorial waters and prevent other ships from reaching the Spanish shore.
September 4: Prime Minister Francisco Largo Caballero
presents new government: six Socialists, four Republicans, two Communists, one Catalan Republican, and one Basque Nationalist.
September 5: After heavy fighting, the Basque city of Irún is taken by the Nationalists. Anarchist militias, defending the city, destroy most of the government buildings with dynamite to prevent their use by the Fascists. The Fascists control now a large and contiguous portion of Spain. The Basque Country is separated from the rest of the Republic, the Basque coastline is already blocked by warships of the "Non Intervention" states, and eventually even its supply lines over the French border are cut off.
September 9: 23 countries attend first official meeting of the Non-Intervention committee in London. The psychological effect on the Republican side is horrible. Instead of helping the legally elected democratic government, the democratic nations turn away, in favor of the Insurgents. "One country alone reacted without fear, and with great generosity, towards the plight of the Spanish republic. Mexico supported fully and publicly the claim of the Madrid government. Mexico refused to follow the French-British Non-Intervention proposals, recognizing immediately the great advantage they offered the Insurgents. Contrary to the United States, Mexico did not feel that neutrality between an elected government and a military junta was a proper policy.[...] Mexico's attitude gave immense moral comfort to the Republic, especially since the major South American governments - those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru - sympathized more or less openly with the Insurgents." But Mexican aid meant relatively little in practical terms if the French border were closed and if the dictators remained free to supply the Insurgents with a quality and quantity of weapons far beyond the power of Mexico.
Nationalists have been under siege in the Alcázar de Toledo since July 21. Today, Lt. Colonel Vicente Rojo Lluch
enters the Alcázar under a flag of truce to try to obtain its surrender, and failing that, the release of the hostages. Colonel Moscardo refuses both proposals.
September 13: The Basques surrender San Sebastián to the Nationalists rather than risk its destruction. Anarchist militias wanting to set the town ablaze are shot. The Nationalists now advance in the direction of the Basque main city, Bilbao.
The government agree to send part of the national gold reserves to the Soviet Union. The gold is sent as security for future buying of war material from the Soviet Union.
September 14: Pius XI condemns the Republican Government for their "satanic hate against God", reacting to the news that Father Josep Samsó PP of Santa María de Mataró near Barcelona, who had been imprisoned for being a priest, was taken from jail and executed in the local cemetery on the 1 September.
September 19: The Nationalists take the island of Ibiza while the rebellion succeeds in the island of Fernando Poo (Spanish Guinea
).
September 24: Against the recommendation of his German advisors, Franco postpones the advance on Madrid in order to aid the insurgents in the Alcázar of Toledo. The siege has taken on immense symbolic importance for both sides.
September 26: The new Catalan government (Generalitat de Catalunya
) includes now the groups who gained power resisting the military rebellion. The Trotskyist POUM
and the Anarchist CNT
/FAI
send ministers.
September 27: Toledo falls to the Nationalists. Some hundred militia man try to stop the Nationalist advance into the city and were all killed by Foreign Legion and Moroccan mercenaries, the "Moros". Around 40 anarchists, running out of ammunition, set fire to the building they were defending and are burned alive rather the be taken as prisoners. The Nationalists murder the doctor and the nurses in the hospital of Toledo; unarmed, wounded militiamen are killed in their beds. It transpires that the hostages taken by Nationalist Colonel Moscardo were killed in the beginning of the siege, which explains why Moscardo refused to handle them over on September 9.
September 27: The Non-Intervention committee refuses to hear charges against Portugal for its open support of the insurgents and the clear defiance of the blockade.
September 29: The Fascist junta in Burgos declare Franco Generalísimo. A Nationalist naval squadron breaks the Republic's hold over the Strait of Gibraltar
at the Battle of Cape Espartel
; a Republican destroyer is sunk and another one is damaged.
Comintern
approves the creation of the International Brigades
.
The Republican government concedes autonomy to the Basque Country (in practice, Biscay
and Guipúzcoa) as Euzkadi, with José Antonio Aguirre as its president.
October 3: In order to legitimise the fascist rebellion inside and outside Spain, Franco establishes a civil government for the "National Zone". This Civil Junta has practically no say in any matter, because at the beginning of their uprising the insurgent generals declared a State of War covering all of Spain.
October 6: The Soviet Union declares it will be no more bound by Non-Intervention than are Portugal, Italy, and Germany. The Spanish Republic will now, three months into the uprising, be able to buy armaments and ammunition. Unlike the "National Zone", which is supplied openly over the Portuguese border, the Republic still suffers under the closed French border and the "Non-Intervention" blockade at sea.
October 7: The first International Brigades
are founded in Albacete
. The Italian Communist chief Palmiro Togliatti
and the French Communist André Marty
are the effective organizational heads.
October 9: Foundation of the "Popular Army" in the Spanish Republic. The plan is to organize the loyal portion of the former army, along with the militias, under a modern and efficient officers corps with a central command.
October 12: Miguel de Unamuno
opposes Nationalist General Millán Astray. During a celebration in the University of Salamanca
(National Zone), with guests including Franco's wife, world famous philosopher and chairman of the university, Miguel de Unamuno, speaks out against General Millán Astray, first commander of the Foreign Legion. Until now a supporter of the Nationalist Rebellion, he says that listening to the official speech of Millán Astray he has come to realize the inhuman and ignoble nature of the uprising. Meanwhile, supporters of the General are shouting "Long Live Death". Unamuno says in a loud voice to the general that they have not only to win (vencer), but to convince (convencer), that he doesn't think they were fit for the latter task, and that the general himself, a cripple who lost an eye and an arm in a former war, is also a cripple in his mind, and therefore his hatred wants to cripple all others. The choleric General becomes so furious that he wants to strike Unamuno, shouting "Death to Intelligence". Only the intervention of Franco's wife prevents this. Unamuno is removed as rector of the university. Because of his international fame and the trouble after the assassination of poet García Lorca, Franco refuses his own and Millán Astray's wish to execute Unamuno. Instead, he is confined to his house and is not allowed to express himself in public. He will die of chagrin in December. The day he dies, his two sons enlist themselves in the Republican Militias.
October 14: Rebel troops from the Canary Islands disembark at Bata
and take control of the continental part of Spanish Guinea
.
October 24: First shipment of the Spanish Gold
Reserves to the Soviet Union, which insists on having a security for selling armament and ammunition. Spain will ultimately send more than half its gold reserve to the USSR; at $35 per troy ounce the shipment was worth US$578,000,000.
October 27: The first Russian tanks arrive in Madrid. The heavily armored T-26 tanks, which weigh more than 10 tons apiece, drive from the central train station directly into battle. The defenders of Madrid, who until now had to use Molotov cocktails (glass bottles filled with gasoline and burning cloth) against the German and Italian tanks on the Nationalist side, gain the ability to slow the Nationalist advance.
October 27: 16 people dead and 60 wounded in fascist air raid against Madrid. Six bombs detonate in the Plaza de Colón, in the middle of the City. One bomb falls into a queue of women waiting for milk for their children. This is the first bombing in modern history without any military purpose, other than to spread terror among the civilian population. The air raid was made by German pilots in Junkers Ju-52. Madrid has no air defenses to prevent enemy aircraft from flying over the city.
November 2: The first Russian aircraft over Madrid surprise the Nationalist bombers. The Republican aviation had till now only a handful of obsolete machines, but today the people of Madrid can see the first Russian "Chatos" defending the city. Citizens stand in the streets and watch the sky, ignoring the alarms and the calls for shelter. Several attacking aircraft are shot down; some Russian aircraft are also shot down by Italian Fiats guarding the bombers. One Russian pilot suffers a horrible death: After his machine is destroyed by an Italian Fiat he saves himself with a jump out of his burning plane, his parachute brings him safely to the city, but he is lynched by a mob of furious citizens, who think he is a German Fascist from the Condor Legion.
November 4: Four Anarchist ministers join the Republican government: Federica Montseny
- portofolio of education, Juan Garcia Oliver
- law, Juan López
, and Joan Peiró
. By this means, Largo Caballero brings figures from what is by far Spain's largest mass movement into the government.
The Nationalists take the Madrid suburb Getafe. After a heavy attack by Moorish cavalry, tanks, and aircraft, the defenders are completely defeated. The wounded are walking disorientated over the battlefield, the organization of the defense in this area breaks down. Fascist General Varela tells foreign journalists in a press conference: "You can tell the world, Madrid will fall within one week." General Mola plans the attack route: over the Casa de Campo and the practically unpopulated university quarter, to avoid heavy losses in the fierce street fight he would anticipate if he had to enter through the south suburbs, traditionally strong districts of the working class. Nationalist casualties are mounting but still tolerable: 115 men today.
November 5: For the first time, the Republican air force forces attacking bombers and their escort to break up the attack on Madrid before they even reach the city.
November 6: After heavy fighting which causes his forces 426 casualties, Yague occupies the suburb Carabanchel and the strategically important hill Cerro de los Angeles. With that, the Nationalists are standing on the door to Madrid, whose defense is organized under the newly created Junta de Defensa directed by General Jose Miaja
.
The Republican government moves to Valencia.
November 7: The attack on Madrid. Nationalists gain important bridges on the way to the inner city. General Varela's troops enter Casa de Campo and the University Quarter in fierce man-to-man and house-to-house combat. Both sides suffer heavily. Yague loses today 313 men, mostly Legionnaires and Moors; he is seriously worried by the mounting casualties to his Africa veterans. Franco declares that he will be listening the very next day the holy measures in the cathedral of Madrid.
November 8–9: All-out assault on Madrid. The International Brigades arrive. The defenders are running out of ammunition; on several points the front is close to breaking; in the university quarter the enemy pushes through the Republican lines. This is the moment when the first "Internationals" arrive in Madrid. The shocked citizens think in the first moment that the Nationalists are in the inner city when they see 3,000 uniformed and disciplined soldiers marching in. The members, mostly German, Polish, and Italian veterans of World War I and of German concentration camps, start to sing revolutionary songs and the "Internationale". The citizens rush out of their houses and sing and shout for joy. The "Brigadistas" march immediately to the front, and throw themselves unflinchingly into battle. 2,000 of them die or are wounded within 48 hours. In the War Ministry of Madrid, telegramms are arriving congratulating General Franco on his victorious entry, but only Republican officers are there to read them. When the Moroccan mercenaries of Franco break through the Republican lines in direction of the Model Prison, General Miaja himself drives to the threatened sector, takes his pistol in one hand and shouts at the retreating soldiers: "Cowards! Die in your trenches. Die with your General." This encourages his men, the gap is closed. All over the city, citizens, women as well as the men, are reinforcing the trenches, taking the rifles from dead or wounded soldiers. The Nationalist Ejército de África loses a further 282 veterans in these two days.
Around 1,000 mostly political prisoners are massacred by their Republican Militia guards today in Paracuellos del Jarama
. The prisoners, most of them accused Nationalists, were to be evacuated from Madrid to prevent their liberation by Nationalist troops. Their Guards decide to join the defense of Madrid, kill all of the prisoners and return to Madrid.
November 10: Front line established in Madrid, the university quarter back under Republican control. Nationalist casualties are 155. The famous Anarchist Buenaventura Durruti arrives today with the 3,000-man "Durruti Column". They left the Saragossa Front to help defend Madrid.
November 18: Italy and Germany recognize the Franco government. Everybody expects the fall of Madrid within hours. Franco throws everything he has into the battle, German aircraft are fighting over Madrid, and both countries expect this diplomatic step to strengthen the position of Franco and weaken the stand and the morale of the Republic. The Durruti Column has been fighting in the University City without rest since the 15th, only 400 of the 3,000 survive, and those are completely exhausted. Durruti will launch an attack at the University hospital the next day. Between the 11th and the 18th, the Nationalist attackers have suffered 1,290 casualties; they have forced a wedge inside the Ciudad Universitaria but failed to control it or to advance into the capital.
November 19: Anarchist
leader Buenaventura Durruti
is gravely wounded during the fighting in Madrid. The Durruti Column launches their attack on the University hospital, held by the Nationalists. Around 2 p.m., Durruti is hit by a bullet on the right side of his breast, which passes through his chest and lungs. It is suspected that he may have shot from behind by one of his men, either by accident or possibly in an intentional effort to stop the suicidal attack. What actually happened remains controversial. Nationalist casualties today are 262 with no terrain won at all; the offensive has stalled and turned into what Mola and Yague most feared, a close-quarters fight in urban environment.
November 20: Buenaventura Durruti dies at 6 a.m. The Nationalists suffer a further 294 casualties while repulsing furious counter-attacks against Carabanchel and Vertice Basurero. José Antonio Primo de Rivera
, son of dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera
and founder of the Falange, is executed in a jail in Alicante
, where he has been a prisoner since before the insurgency. The execution is carried out by the new Communist civil governor of Alicante, without awaiting the confirmation of sentence by the government. This breaking of the law and insubordination angered Largo Caballero, but the Republic is already dependent on Soviet supplies and the Spanish Communist Party. This Party starts to act as a state within the state.
November 23: Battle of Madrid ends; with both sides exhausted, a front stabilizes. After 2 weeks, Franco has to give up his plans of taking the city. He now begins preparing himself and his allies for a long and expensive war.
December 11: Alvarez del Vayo complains today before the League of the Nations in Geneva about the support of Portugal, Italy and Germany for the Rebels and the political and economic isolation of the Spanish Republic by the Democratic Nations and the Non-Intervention Committee.
December 17: New government constituted in Aragon. The new Consejo de Aragon has a clear majority of Anarchists. The front-line in Aragon is basically formed by Anarchist and Socialist militia. Some areas and villages in Aragon start immediately with the "revolution", what means the reorganization of public life under Anarchist ideals, foundation of communes and self-organization of factories and farms. Some of the villages replace money with coupons handed out by the local authorities. In Aragon, the world can see the most radical reformation of public life and a true people's revolution.
December 22: Thousands of Nationalist Italian volunteers land in Cadiz, the Nationalist port.
December 24: Thousands have to spend the Christmas days in the trenches on the front. Many refugees have nowhere to go and have to stay at subway stations and refugee camps.
December 30: George Orwell
enlists himself in a Republican P.O.U.M.
Militia to fight against fascism.
December 31: Miguel de Unamuno dies in his House in Salamanca. As soon as they got notice of the death of their father, his two sons enlist themselves in the Antifascist Militias.
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
(1936–1939) broke out with a military uprising in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
on July 17, triggered by events in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Within days, Spain was divided in two: a "Republican" or "Loyalist" Spain consisting of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
(within which were pockets of revolutionary anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
and Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
) and a "Nationalist" Spain under the insurgent generals, and, eventually, under the leadership of General Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
.
By the summer, important tendencies of the war become clear, both in terms of atrocities on both sides and in the contrast between the Soviet Union's intermittent help to the Republican government and the committed support of Fascist Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
for the Nationalists.
In the early days of the war, over 50,000 people who were caught on the "wrong" side of the lines were assassinated or summarily executed. In these paseos ("promenades"), as the executions were called, the victims were taken from their refuges or jails by armed people to be shot outside of town. Probably the most famous such victim was the poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
. The outbreak of the war provided an excuse for settling accounts and resolving long-standing feuds. Thus, this practice became widespread during the war in areas conquered. In most areas, even within a single given village, both sides committed assassinations.
Any hope of a quick ending to the war was dashed on July 21, the fifth day of the rebellion, when the Nationalists captured the main Spanish naval base
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
at Ferrol in northwestern Spain. This encouraged the Fascist nations of Europe to help Franco, who had already contacted the governments of Germany and Italy the day before. On July 26, the future Axis Powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
cast their lot with the Nationalists. German assistance, channeled through Franco rather than to the Nationalists in general, consolidated his leadership position of the insurgency.
In the north, a rebel force under Colonel Beorlegui
Alfonso Beorlegui Canet
Alfonso Beorlegui Canet was a Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry in the Spanish Army. In the Spanish Civil War, he led the Nationalist campaign to capture Guipúzcoa in August and September 1936....
, sent by General Emilio Mola
Emilio Mola
Emilio Mola y Vidal, 1st Duke of Mola, Grandee of Spain was a Spanish Nationalist commander during the Spanish Civil War. He is best-known for having coined the term "fifth column".-Early life:...
, advanced on
Campaign of Guipúzcoa
The Campaign of Gipuzkoa was part of the Spanish Civil War, where the Nationalist Army conquered the northern province of Gipuzkoa, held by the Republic.-The campaign:...
Guipúzcoa. On September 5, after heavy fighting
Battle of Irún
The Battle of Irún was the critical battle of the Campaign of Gipuzkoa prior to the War in the North, during the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist Army, under Alfonso Beorlegui, captured the city of Irún cutting off the northern provinces of Gipuzkoa, Biscay, Santander, and Asturias from their...
it took Irún
Irun
Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...
closing the French border to the Republicans. On September 13 the Basques surrendered San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
to the Nationalists who then advanced toward their capital, Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
but were stopped at the border of the province. The capture of Guipúzcoa had isolated the Republican provinces in the north.
Nationalist forces under Franco won a great symbolic victory on September 27 when they relieved the besieged Alcázar
Siege of the Alcázar
The Siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic Nationalist victory in Toledo in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. The Alcázar of Toledo was held by a variety of military forces in favor of the Nationalist uprising. Militias of the parties in the Popular Front began their siege on July 21...
at Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
. Two days after relieving the siege, Franco proclaimed himself Generalísimo and Caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
("chieftain"); he would forcibly unify the various Falangist
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
and Royalist elements of the Nationalist cause.
In October, the Nationalists launched a major offensive toward Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, reaching it in early November and launching a major assault on the city on November 8. The Republican government was forced to shift from Madrid to Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
, out of the combat zone, on November 6. However, the Nationalists' attack on the capital was repulsed in fierce fighting between November 8 and 23. A contributory factor in the successful Republican defence was the arrival of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
, though only around 3,000 of them participated in the battle. Having failed to take the capital, Franco bombarded it from the air and, in the following two years, mounted several offensives to try to encircle Madrid. (See also Siege of Madrid (1936-39)
Siege of Madrid (1936-39)
The Siege of Madrid was a three-year siege of the Spanish capital city of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. Madrid was held by various forces loyal to the Second Spanish Republic and was besieged by Spanish Nationalist and allied troops under Francisco Franco...
)
On November 18, Germany and Italy officially recognized the Franco regime, and on December 23, Italy sent "volunteers" of its own to fight for the Nationalists.
Detailed chronology: 1936
February 16: Popular FrontPopular Front (Spain)
The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election....
electoral victory.
July
July 12: Police lieutenant José CastilloJosé Castillo (Spanish Civil War)
José del Castillo Sáez de Tejada or José Castillo was a Spanish Police Guardia de Asalto lieutenant during the Second Spanish Republic...
is murdered by four fascist gunmen who awaited the recently married lieutenant in the afternoon hours in front of his house. He was a member of the UMRA
Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista
The Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista was a self-described anti-fascist organization for military members in Spain during the Second Spanish Republic. The secret society was created in late 1935, with its membership drawn primarily from the Assault Guard...
, an antifascist organization for military members, and also worked with socialist youth.
July 13: In retaliation, around 3am, Calvo Sotelo
Calvo Sotelo
Calvo Sotelo can refer to:* José Calvo Sotelo, Spanish politician assassinated in 1936* Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Spanish prime minister from 1981 to 1982...
, leader of the right-wing monarchist party, is murdered by police officers. Only a few hours after the assassination of Castillo, his close friend Police Captain Fernando Condes and other police officers arrest Calvo Sotelo in his house. Paul Preston
Paul Preston
Paul Preston CBE is a British historian and Hispanist, specialized in Spanish history, in particular the Spanish Civil War, which he has studied for more than 30 years....
has speculated that the police officers may have acted of their own accord. This was one of the key factors in the uprising of 18 July. Driving with him in a police car of the Assault Guard (Guardia de Asalto
Guardia de Asalto
The Guardia de Asalto , usually shortened to Los Asaltos or just Asaltos, were the blue-uniformed urban police force of Spain during the Spanish Second Republic. It was the urban analogue to the green-uniformed Guardia Civil which patrolled the countryside. The Assault Guards were special police...
) police officer Luis Cuenca shot him in the back of the neck. His dead body is given to a municipal undertaker.
July 14: Shootout between Police Assault Guard and fascist militias in the streets surrounding the cemetery of Madrid, where the burials of José Castillo and Calvo Sotelo are taking place. Four people killed.
July 17: Army uprising in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Military uprising of the Spanish Foreign Legion in Morocco. General Manuel Romerales, commanding officer of the East Army, is murdered by rebels, who also imprisoned commanding General Gomez in the late afternoon. Loyal police troops from the Guardia Civil and Guardia de Asalto hold the cities Tetouan
Tétouan
Tetouan is a city in northern Morocco. The Berber name means literally "the eyes" and figuratively "the water springs". Tetouan is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea. It lies a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about 40 mi E.S.E. of Tangier...
and Larache
Larache
Larache is an important harbour town in the region Tanger-Tétouan in northern Morocco. It was founded in the 7th century when a group of Muslim soldiers from Arabia extended their camp at Lixus onto the south bank of the Loukkos River.In 1471, the Portuguese settlers from Asilah and Tangier drove...
, but come under heavy attack by the rebels. General Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
orders the killing of his nephew, a major in Tetuán, for staying loyal to the government.
By late evening, all of Morocco is in the hands of the rebels. From the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Franco declares a "state of war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
" for all of Spain. Prime Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga
Santiago Casares Quiroga
Santiago Casares y Quiroga was a Spanish politician who was Prime Minister of Spain from 13 May to 19 July 1936....
spends the whole day telephoning different regional military administrations to clarify the situation. Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
, Salamanca
Salamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
, Ávila, Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
, and Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
are already in rebel hands.
July 18: The rebels gain control over about one third of Spain.
July 19: Franco flies from the Canary Islands to Tetuán and takes command of the army in Africa.
Casares Quiroga resigns as chief of the Republican government.
Diego Martínez Barrio
Diego Martínez Barrio
Diego Martínez y Barrio was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic, Prime Minister of Spain between 9 October 1933 and 26 December 1933 and was briefly appointed again by Manuel Azaña after the resignation of Santiago Casares Quiroga, on July 19, 1936 - three days after the...
tries to form a new government, but cannot obtain broad enough parliamentary support.
José Giral
José Giral
José Giral y Pereira was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic.He had degrees in Chemistry and Pharmacy from the University of Madrid. In 1905 he became professor of chemistry in the University of Salamanca. He founded Acción Republicana with Manuel Azaña...
forms a government, which orders that arms be issued to the general populace.
Seville, one of the most important cities in the south, is unsuccessfully defended by local police troops and a poorly armed workers' militia. While the heaviest weapons police possess are machine guns, the rebel General Queipo de Llano sends in artillery and heavily armed troops. Seville falls to the rebels.
This is the day the People's Olympiad
People's Olympiad
The People's Olympiad was a planned international multi-sport event that was intended to take place in Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic...
was scheduled to open in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, as a protest against the official 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The games have now been cancelled due to the war.
In Barcelona, heavy streetfighting breaks out between police, workers militias and loyal troops on one side and around 12,000 rebel soldiers on the other. After it becomes obvious that Civil Guard, Assault Guard and City Police would not be enough to keep control of the city, the Generalitat
Generalitat
Generalitat is the name of the autonomous systems of government of two of the present Spanish autonomous communities: Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The term is also used for the government of the semi-autonomous comarca of Val d'Aran, the Generalitat a l'Aran.Generalitat refers to all...
(regional government of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
), decide belatedly to arm the people.
July 20: Rebels defeated in Madrid and Barcelona, but they take Majorca. In Madrid, around 10,000 citizens, among them police officers and soldiers, attack the Montana Barracks, held by rebel General Fanjul
Fanjul
Fanjul might refer to:*The Fanjul Brothers, sugar company owners residing in Palm Beach, Florida*The Franjul Family, a prominent Dominican Republic Family...
and around 2,500 soldiers. Some soldiers in the Barracks want to surrender and wave a white flag. The crowd moves towards the barracks, while the soldiers who wanted to surrender are overwhelmed by the rebels. The rebels then immediately fire heavy machine guns and grenades into the masses, leaving many wounded or dead. The crowd storms the Barracks and massacres the defenders. General Fanjul is among the few captured alive.
Barcelona: The combined forces of local police troops, workers' militias and citizens gain back control over the city in a dramatic two-day barricade fight.
Majorca: After heavy resistance, especially at the Air Base, the rebels gain control over Majorca.
The official leader of the uprising, General Sanjurjo, dies in an air accident in a small aircraft bringing him back to Spain from his exile in Portugal. He had insisted, against the advice of the pilot, on taking all of his possessions with him. The overloaded aircraft crashed taking off.
July 21: Start of the Siege of the Alcázar
Siege of the Alcázar
The Siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic Nationalist victory in Toledo in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. The Alcázar of Toledo was held by a variety of military forces in favor of the Nationalist uprising. Militias of the parties in the Popular Front began their siege on July 21...
de Toledo.
The Nationalist insurgent
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
s have control of the Spanish zones of Morocco, the Canary Islands, the Balearics
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
(except Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
), the part of Spain north of the Sierra de Guadarrama
Sierra de Guadarrama
The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara...
and the Río Ebro
Ebro
The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.The Ebro flows through the following cities:*Reinosa in Cantabria.*Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León....
(except Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
, the north of the País Vasco (Basque Country), and Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
). Among the major cities, the insurgents hold Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, but the Republicans retain Madrid and Barcelona.
Toledo: After three days of street battles against forces loyal to the government, about 1000 Civil and Assault Guards, Falangists (comparable to the German S.A.
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
), and a handful of infantry cadets, under the leadership of Colonel Moscardo, retreat into the Alcázar de Toledo, a stone fortress set on high ground overlooking the Tagus River and the city. They take with them their own families, plus a few hundred women and children as hostages, most of them families of well known leftists.
July 22: Vallehermoso, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Vallehermoso, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The municipality of Vallehermoso is located on the southwestern and northwestern coasts of La Gomera in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands...
in La Gomera
La Gomera
La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...
, a village of 4,000, is the last place in the Canary Islands to fall to the rebels. Police Officer Francisco Mas García organized the hopeless resistance. The actual battle for the town lasted several hours. The councilor, the police officers and the leader of the local workers' council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
were condemned to death. In the hour before his execution, police chief Don Antonio wrote to his wife: "I die calm, because I believe in the justice of God".
The navy and air force remain loyal to the government. Thanks to the initiative of noncommissioned officer Benjamin Balboa, most of the Navy stayed loyal to the Republic. He was on duty in the central military radio station. As soon as he got notice of the uprising he informed the Naval Ministry and arrested his commanding officer, Captain Castor Ibáñez, then spent the night informing navy ships about the uprising. The sailors on the ships formed councils and gained control of the ships, despite heavy resistance from the officers. Spain lost three quarters of its navy officers that night, but the Navy was saved for the Republic. The officers of the Spanish Air Force are traditionally very Republican, but the air force has only a few obsolete planes.
July 23: The Nationalists declare a government in the form of the Junta de Defensa Nacional, which meets for the first time in Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
.
July 24: Start of French aid to the Republican side. For the moment, the help only involves sending a handful of obsolete aircraft for the Spanish Republican Air Force, but the very fact that France seems willing to help is eminently morally important for the supporters of the Republic.
The Durruti Column
Durruti Column
The Durruti Column was the largest anarchist column formed during the Spanish Civil War . During the first months of the war it has come to be the most recognized and popular military organisations fighting at the republican side...
, around three thousand men, mostly workers, led by Buenaventura Durruti
Buenaventura Durruti
José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange was a central figure of Spanish anarchism during the period leading up to and including the Spanish Civil War.-Early life:...
are the first volunteer militia to leave Barcelona, heading for the Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
front.
July 28: First arrival of German and Italian planes in aid of the Nationalist side. In the world's first major military airlift, German and Italian planes transport troops from Morocco to Spain, bypassing the naval blockade.
July–August
The social revolutionSocial revolution
The term social revolution may have different connotations depending on the speaker.In the Trotskyist movement, the term "social revolution" refers to an upheaval in which existing property relations are smashed...
, collectivizations. (See Spanish Revolution
Spanish Revolution
The Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly libertarian socialist organizational principles throughout various portions of the country for two to...
)
August 1: Under British pressure, France reverses its policy of helping Republican Spain, and together both nations found the Non-Intervention Committee
Non-Intervention Committee
During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention, which would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936 and the setting up of the Non-Intervention Committee, which first met in September...
.
At the pleading of the Marqués de Viana and the exiled ex-king of Spain, Alfonso XIII, Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
sends aircraft in support of the rebels. Mussolini wants money for this help; the Spanish billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
Juan March pays for the Italian aircraft. Because Franco has no air personnel or pilots, Mussolini sends the aircraft with Italian pilots. After two of the aircraft crash on their way in French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
, the world becomes aware of this clear breach of nonintervention.
August 2: Troops of the rebellious Spanish Foreign Legion
Spanish Legion
The Spanish Legion , formerly Spanish Foreign Legion, is an elite unit of the Spanish Army and Spain's Rapid Reaction Force. Founded as the Tercio de Extranjeros , it was originally intended as a Spanish equivalent of the French Foreign Legion, but in practice it recruited almost exclusively...
, led by Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Asensio
Carlos Asensio Cabanillas
Carlos Asensio Cabanillas was a Spanish soldier and statesman who served during the Spanish Civil War, rising in command from Colonel to General in Franco's Army of Africa....
and Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Castejón
Antonio Castejón Espinosa
Antonio Castejón Espinosa was a Spanish army officer from the Army of Africa who fought for the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War....
, start their advance from Seville towards Madrid.
August 6: Josep Sunyol
Josep Sunyol
Josep Sunyol i Garriga was a Catalan lawyer, journalist, politician and president of FC Barcelona.Sunyol came from both a wealthy family and a long line of Catalan political militants...
, an ERC deputy and president of FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, is caught in an ambush in the Sierra de Guadarrama
Guadarrama
Guadarrama is a town in the Community of Madrid in Spain.Pop: 13032 , approx. 60000 .Co-ordinates . not true...
and is killed by pro-Franco troops.
August 8: France closes its border with Spain.
While Majorca is still in hands of the nationalists, Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
and Formentera
Formentera
Formentera is the smaller and more southerly island of the Pine Islands group , which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community .-Geography:...
are back in Republican hands.
August 10: The Nationalists take
Battle of Mérida
The Battle of Mérida saw Republican militia twice fail to halt the Spanish Army of Africa near the historic town of Mérida early in the Spanish Civil War....
Mérida
Mérida, Spain
Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It has a population of 57,127 . The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993.- Climate :...
on their way to Madrid cutting off the Republicans in Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
. The well-known female Republican activist Leiva
Leiva
-Places:*Leiva, Nariño, municipality and town in the Nariño Department, Colombia.*Leiva, Boyacá, municipality in Boyacá Department, Colombia, largest town Villa de Leyva*Leiva, La Rioja, municipality in La Rioja, Spain-People:*Lucas Pezzini Leiva -Places:*Leiva, Nariño, municipality and town in the...
is executed by the Nationalists. Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Tella
Heli Rolando de Tella y Cantos
Heli Rolando de Tella y Cantos was a decorated Spanish soldier and military officer who served in the Moroccan War and the Spanish Civil War, siding with Franco's Nationalists....
defeats a Republican counterattack on the city.
August 14: Nationalist forces under Colonel Juan Yagüe
Juan Yagüe
Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe was a Spanish army officer during the Spanish Civil War, one of the most important in the National side.-Early life:...
attack and conquer Badajoz
Battle of Badajoz (1936)
The Battle of Badajoz was one of the first major Nationalist victories in the Spanish Civil War. A series of costly assaults won the Nationalists the fortified border city of Badajoz on August 14, 1936, cutting off the Spanish Republic from neighbouring Portugal and linking the northern and...
, uniting the two parts of the Nationalist territory. The Republican commander, Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Puigdendolas
Ildefonso Puigdendolas
Ildefonso Puigdendolas Ponce de Leon was a Spanish military officer who served the Republic during the Spanish Civil War. In 1931 he was colonel of Infantry in Seville as inspector of the security corps. In 1934 he was appointed to Malaga. In July 1936 he defeated the rebels forces at Alcala de...
, flees to Portugal. Around 4,000 people die during and after the attack in Badajoz. In the local bullring, thousands of people are shot down by the Nationalists with machine guns. See Massacre of Badajoz
Massacre of Badajoz
The massacre of Badajoz occurred in the days after the Battle of Badajoz during the Spanish Civil War. Between 1,341 and 4,000 civilian and military supporters of the Second Spanish Republic, were killed by the Nationalist forces following the seizure of the town of Badajoz on August 14,...
.
August 16: The Republican Army land on the coast of Majorca
Battle of Mallorca
The Battle of Majorca, also known as the Majorca Landings, was an amphibious landing early in the Spanish Civil War aimed at driving the Nationalists from Majorca and reclaiming the island for the Republic...
, under heavy bombardment by Italian planes. Captain Alberto Bayo
Alberto Bayo
Alberto Bayo y Giroud was a Cuban military leader of the defeated left-wing Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War. He was also a poet and essayist.He was born in Cuba and studied in the United States and Spain...
establishes a small base on the coast.
August 19: Viznar, Granada: Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, among others, is murdered by members of the fascist Escuadra Negra. Before being killed, they are forced to dig their own graves. Later, the official excuse for the brutal assassination of García Lorca will be that he was homosexual.
August 24: Italy and Germany join officially the Non-Intervention agreement. This gives them the possibility to participate in the international blockade of Spain: Italian and German warships are now allowed to stay in Spanish territorial waters and prevent other ships from reaching the Spanish shore.
September
September 3: The Republican forces under Captain Alberto Bayo retreat from Majorca. After establishing a small base on the shore of Majorca two weeks earlier, the Republican troops could not make it to the inner area of the island. Under permanent attack by enemy land and air forces, the retreat was more of a flight, leaving behind many men, weapons and valuable material.September 4: Prime Minister Francisco Largo Caballero
Francisco Largo Caballero
Francisco Largo Caballero was a Spanish politician and trade unionist. He was one of the historic leaders of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and of the Workers' General Union...
presents new government: six Socialists, four Republicans, two Communists, one Catalan Republican, and one Basque Nationalist.
September 5: After heavy fighting, the Basque city of Irún is taken by the Nationalists. Anarchist militias, defending the city, destroy most of the government buildings with dynamite to prevent their use by the Fascists. The Fascists control now a large and contiguous portion of Spain. The Basque Country is separated from the rest of the Republic, the Basque coastline is already blocked by warships of the "Non Intervention" states, and eventually even its supply lines over the French border are cut off.
September 9: 23 countries attend first official meeting of the Non-Intervention committee in London. The psychological effect on the Republican side is horrible. Instead of helping the legally elected democratic government, the democratic nations turn away, in favor of the Insurgents. "One country alone reacted without fear, and with great generosity, towards the plight of the Spanish republic. Mexico supported fully and publicly the claim of the Madrid government. Mexico refused to follow the French-British Non-Intervention proposals, recognizing immediately the great advantage they offered the Insurgents. Contrary to the United States, Mexico did not feel that neutrality between an elected government and a military junta was a proper policy.[...] Mexico's attitude gave immense moral comfort to the Republic, especially since the major South American governments - those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru - sympathized more or less openly with the Insurgents." But Mexican aid meant relatively little in practical terms if the French border were closed and if the dictators remained free to supply the Insurgents with a quality and quantity of weapons far beyond the power of Mexico.
Nationalists have been under siege in the Alcázar de Toledo since July 21. Today, Lt. Colonel Vicente Rojo Lluch
Vicente Rojo Lluch
Vicente Rojo Lluch was Chief of the General Staff of the Spanish Armed Forces during the Spanish Civil War.-Early life:...
enters the Alcázar under a flag of truce to try to obtain its surrender, and failing that, the release of the hostages. Colonel Moscardo refuses both proposals.
September 13: The Basques surrender San Sebastián to the Nationalists rather than risk its destruction. Anarchist militias wanting to set the town ablaze are shot. The Nationalists now advance in the direction of the Basque main city, Bilbao.
The government agree to send part of the national gold reserves to the Soviet Union. The gold is sent as security for future buying of war material from the Soviet Union.
September 14: Pius XI condemns the Republican Government for their "satanic hate against God", reacting to the news that Father Josep Samsó PP of Santa María de Mataró near Barcelona, who had been imprisoned for being a priest, was taken from jail and executed in the local cemetery on the 1 September.
September 19: The Nationalists take the island of Ibiza while the rebellion succeeds in the island of Fernando Poo (Spanish Guinea
Spanish Guinea
Spanish Guinea was an African colony of Spain that became the independent nation of Equatorial Guinea.-History:The Portuguese explorer, Fernão do Pó, seeking a route to India, is credited with having discovered the island of Bioko in 1472. He called it Formosa , but it quickly took on the name of...
).
September 24: Against the recommendation of his German advisors, Franco postpones the advance on Madrid in order to aid the insurgents in the Alcázar of Toledo. The siege has taken on immense symbolic importance for both sides.
September 26: The new Catalan government (Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
) includes now the groups who gained power resisting the military rebellion. The Trotskyist POUM
Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification was a Spanish communist political party formed during the Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War...
and the Anarchist CNT
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions affiliated with the International Workers Association . When working with the latter group it is also known as CNT-AIT...
/FAI
Federación Anarquista Ibérica
The Federación Anarquista Ibérica is a Spanish organization of anarchist militants active within affinity groups inside the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo trade union. It is often abbreviated as CNT-FAI because of the close relationship between the two organizations...
send ministers.
September 27: Toledo falls to the Nationalists. Some hundred militia man try to stop the Nationalist advance into the city and were all killed by Foreign Legion and Moroccan mercenaries, the "Moros". Around 40 anarchists, running out of ammunition, set fire to the building they were defending and are burned alive rather the be taken as prisoners. The Nationalists murder the doctor and the nurses in the hospital of Toledo; unarmed, wounded militiamen are killed in their beds. It transpires that the hostages taken by Nationalist Colonel Moscardo were killed in the beginning of the siege, which explains why Moscardo refused to handle them over on September 9.
September 27: The Non-Intervention committee refuses to hear charges against Portugal for its open support of the insurgents and the clear defiance of the blockade.
September 29: The Fascist junta in Burgos declare Franco Generalísimo. A Nationalist naval squadron breaks the Republic's hold over the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
at the Battle of Cape Espartel
Battle of Cape Espartel
The Battle of Cape Espartel was a naval battle of the Spanish Civil War that broke the Republican blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, securing the naval supply route to Spanish Morocco for the Nationalists early in the war...
; a Republican destroyer is sunk and another one is damaged.
Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
approves the creation of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
.
October
October 1: Franco declares himself head of state and Generalísimo.The Republican government concedes autonomy to the Basque Country (in practice, Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
and Guipúzcoa) as Euzkadi, with José Antonio Aguirre as its president.
October 3: In order to legitimise the fascist rebellion inside and outside Spain, Franco establishes a civil government for the "National Zone". This Civil Junta has practically no say in any matter, because at the beginning of their uprising the insurgent generals declared a State of War covering all of Spain.
October 6: The Soviet Union declares it will be no more bound by Non-Intervention than are Portugal, Italy, and Germany. The Spanish Republic will now, three months into the uprising, be able to buy armaments and ammunition. Unlike the "National Zone", which is supplied openly over the Portuguese border, the Republic still suffers under the closed French border and the "Non-Intervention" blockade at sea.
October 7: The first International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
are founded in Albacete
Albacete
Albacete is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of c. 169,700 in 2009....
. The Italian Communist chief Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death.-Early life:...
and the French Communist André Marty
André Marty
André Marty was a leading figure in the French Communist Party, the PCF, for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern from 1935 to 1944; and Political Commissar of the International Brigades during the...
are the effective organizational heads.
October 9: Foundation of the "Popular Army" in the Spanish Republic. The plan is to organize the loyal portion of the former army, along with the militias, under a modern and efficient officers corps with a central command.
October 12: Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher.-Biography:...
opposes Nationalist General Millán Astray. During a celebration in the University of Salamanca
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
(National Zone), with guests including Franco's wife, world famous philosopher and chairman of the university, Miguel de Unamuno, speaks out against General Millán Astray, first commander of the Foreign Legion. Until now a supporter of the Nationalist Rebellion, he says that listening to the official speech of Millán Astray he has come to realize the inhuman and ignoble nature of the uprising. Meanwhile, supporters of the General are shouting "Long Live Death". Unamuno says in a loud voice to the general that they have not only to win (vencer), but to convince (convencer), that he doesn't think they were fit for the latter task, and that the general himself, a cripple who lost an eye and an arm in a former war, is also a cripple in his mind, and therefore his hatred wants to cripple all others. The choleric General becomes so furious that he wants to strike Unamuno, shouting "Death to Intelligence". Only the intervention of Franco's wife prevents this. Unamuno is removed as rector of the university. Because of his international fame and the trouble after the assassination of poet García Lorca, Franco refuses his own and Millán Astray's wish to execute Unamuno. Instead, he is confined to his house and is not allowed to express himself in public. He will die of chagrin in December. The day he dies, his two sons enlist themselves in the Republican Militias.
October 14: Rebel troops from the Canary Islands disembark at Bata
Bata, Equatorial Guinea
Bata is a port city in the Litoral Province of Equatorial Guinea. With a 2005 estimated population of 173,046, it is the largest city in Equatorial Guinea. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Río Muni....
and take control of the continental part of Spanish Guinea
Spanish Guinea
Spanish Guinea was an African colony of Spain that became the independent nation of Equatorial Guinea.-History:The Portuguese explorer, Fernão do Pó, seeking a route to India, is credited with having discovered the island of Bioko in 1472. He called it Formosa , but it quickly took on the name of...
.
October 24: First shipment of the Spanish Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
Reserves to the Soviet Union, which insists on having a security for selling armament and ammunition. Spain will ultimately send more than half its gold reserve to the USSR; at $35 per troy ounce the shipment was worth US$578,000,000.
October 27: The first Russian tanks arrive in Madrid. The heavily armored T-26 tanks, which weigh more than 10 tons apiece, drive from the central train station directly into battle. The defenders of Madrid, who until now had to use Molotov cocktails (glass bottles filled with gasoline and burning cloth) against the German and Italian tanks on the Nationalist side, gain the ability to slow the Nationalist advance.
October 27: 16 people dead and 60 wounded in fascist air raid against Madrid. Six bombs detonate in the Plaza de Colón, in the middle of the City. One bomb falls into a queue of women waiting for milk for their children. This is the first bombing in modern history without any military purpose, other than to spread terror among the civilian population. The air raid was made by German pilots in Junkers Ju-52. Madrid has no air defenses to prevent enemy aircraft from flying over the city.
November- December
November 1: The Nationalist army arrive in Madrid. An army of roughly 25,000 men arrive the suburbs of Madrid. Italian planes drop leaflets demanding the citizens to help them to take the city, "otherwise the National aviation will wipe Madrid off the earth".November 2: The first Russian aircraft over Madrid surprise the Nationalist bombers. The Republican aviation had till now only a handful of obsolete machines, but today the people of Madrid can see the first Russian "Chatos" defending the city. Citizens stand in the streets and watch the sky, ignoring the alarms and the calls for shelter. Several attacking aircraft are shot down; some Russian aircraft are also shot down by Italian Fiats guarding the bombers. One Russian pilot suffers a horrible death: After his machine is destroyed by an Italian Fiat he saves himself with a jump out of his burning plane, his parachute brings him safely to the city, but he is lynched by a mob of furious citizens, who think he is a German Fascist from the Condor Legion.
November 4: Four Anarchist ministers join the Republican government: Federica Montseny
Federica Montseny
Federica Montseny i Mañé was a Spanish anarchist, intellectual and Minister of Health during the social revolution that occurred in Spain parallel to the Civil War...
- portofolio of education, Juan Garcia Oliver
Juan García Oliver
Juan García Oliver was a Spanish Anarcho-syndicalist revolutionary, and a leading figure of Anarchism in Spain....
- law, Juan López
Juan López
- People :* Juan Carlos López Marin, Colombian cyclist* Juan Fernando López Aguilar , Spanish politician* Juan López , New York Mets bullpen pitcher...
, and Joan Peiró
Joan Peiró
Joan Peiró i Belis was a Catalan anarchist activist, writer, editor of the anarchist newspaper Solidaridad Obrera, two-time Secretary General of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo and Minister of Industry of the Spanish government during the Spanish Civil War.-Life:Though he was born in the...
. By this means, Largo Caballero brings figures from what is by far Spain's largest mass movement into the government.
The Nationalists take the Madrid suburb Getafe. After a heavy attack by Moorish cavalry, tanks, and aircraft, the defenders are completely defeated. The wounded are walking disorientated over the battlefield, the organization of the defense in this area breaks down. Fascist General Varela tells foreign journalists in a press conference: "You can tell the world, Madrid will fall within one week." General Mola plans the attack route: over the Casa de Campo and the practically unpopulated university quarter, to avoid heavy losses in the fierce street fight he would anticipate if he had to enter through the south suburbs, traditionally strong districts of the working class. Nationalist casualties are mounting but still tolerable: 115 men today.
November 5: For the first time, the Republican air force forces attacking bombers and their escort to break up the attack on Madrid before they even reach the city.
November 6: After heavy fighting which causes his forces 426 casualties, Yague occupies the suburb Carabanchel and the strategically important hill Cerro de los Angeles. With that, the Nationalists are standing on the door to Madrid, whose defense is organized under the newly created Junta de Defensa directed by General Jose Miaja
José Miaja
José Miaja Menant was a Spanish Army Officer in the Second Spanish Republic.-Early life:He entered the Infantry Academy at Toledo in 1896. His first post was in Asturias...
.
The Republican government moves to Valencia.
November 7: The attack on Madrid. Nationalists gain important bridges on the way to the inner city. General Varela's troops enter Casa de Campo and the University Quarter in fierce man-to-man and house-to-house combat. Both sides suffer heavily. Yague loses today 313 men, mostly Legionnaires and Moors; he is seriously worried by the mounting casualties to his Africa veterans. Franco declares that he will be listening the very next day the holy measures in the cathedral of Madrid.
November 8–9: All-out assault on Madrid. The International Brigades arrive. The defenders are running out of ammunition; on several points the front is close to breaking; in the university quarter the enemy pushes through the Republican lines. This is the moment when the first "Internationals" arrive in Madrid. The shocked citizens think in the first moment that the Nationalists are in the inner city when they see 3,000 uniformed and disciplined soldiers marching in. The members, mostly German, Polish, and Italian veterans of World War I and of German concentration camps, start to sing revolutionary songs and the "Internationale". The citizens rush out of their houses and sing and shout for joy. The "Brigadistas" march immediately to the front, and throw themselves unflinchingly into battle. 2,000 of them die or are wounded within 48 hours. In the War Ministry of Madrid, telegramms are arriving congratulating General Franco on his victorious entry, but only Republican officers are there to read them. When the Moroccan mercenaries of Franco break through the Republican lines in direction of the Model Prison, General Miaja himself drives to the threatened sector, takes his pistol in one hand and shouts at the retreating soldiers: "Cowards! Die in your trenches. Die with your General." This encourages his men, the gap is closed. All over the city, citizens, women as well as the men, are reinforcing the trenches, taking the rifles from dead or wounded soldiers. The Nationalist Ejército de África loses a further 282 veterans in these two days.
Around 1,000 mostly political prisoners are massacred by their Republican Militia guards today in Paracuellos del Jarama
Paracuellos del Jarama
Paracuellos del Jarama is a small town in the urban area of Madrid, Spain. It is located Northeast from Madrid and very close to Barajas International Airport....
. The prisoners, most of them accused Nationalists, were to be evacuated from Madrid to prevent their liberation by Nationalist troops. Their Guards decide to join the defense of Madrid, kill all of the prisoners and return to Madrid.
November 10: Front line established in Madrid, the university quarter back under Republican control. Nationalist casualties are 155. The famous Anarchist Buenaventura Durruti arrives today with the 3,000-man "Durruti Column". They left the Saragossa Front to help defend Madrid.
November 18: Italy and Germany recognize the Franco government. Everybody expects the fall of Madrid within hours. Franco throws everything he has into the battle, German aircraft are fighting over Madrid, and both countries expect this diplomatic step to strengthen the position of Franco and weaken the stand and the morale of the Republic. The Durruti Column has been fighting in the University City without rest since the 15th, only 400 of the 3,000 survive, and those are completely exhausted. Durruti will launch an attack at the University hospital the next day. Between the 11th and the 18th, the Nationalist attackers have suffered 1,290 casualties; they have forced a wedge inside the Ciudad Universitaria but failed to control it or to advance into the capital.
November 19: Anarchist
Anarchism in Spain
Anarchism has historically gained more support and influence in Spain than anywhere else, especially before Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939....
leader Buenaventura Durruti
Buenaventura Durruti
José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange was a central figure of Spanish anarchism during the period leading up to and including the Spanish Civil War.-Early life:...
is gravely wounded during the fighting in Madrid. The Durruti Column launches their attack on the University hospital, held by the Nationalists. Around 2 p.m., Durruti is hit by a bullet on the right side of his breast, which passes through his chest and lungs. It is suspected that he may have shot from behind by one of his men, either by accident or possibly in an intentional effort to stop the suicidal attack. What actually happened remains controversial. Nationalist casualties today are 262 with no terrain won at all; the offensive has stalled and turned into what Mola and Yague most feared, a close-quarters fight in urban environment.
November 20: Buenaventura Durruti dies at 6 a.m. The Nationalists suffer a further 294 casualties while repulsing furious counter-attacks against Carabanchel and Vertice Basurero. José Antonio Primo de Rivera
José Antonio Primo de Rivera
José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquis of Estella , was a Spanish lawyer, nobleman, politician, and founder of the Falange Española...
, son of dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
and founder of the Falange, is executed in a jail in Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, where he has been a prisoner since before the insurgency. The execution is carried out by the new Communist civil governor of Alicante, without awaiting the confirmation of sentence by the government. This breaking of the law and insubordination angered Largo Caballero, but the Republic is already dependent on Soviet supplies and the Spanish Communist Party. This Party starts to act as a state within the state.
November 23: Battle of Madrid ends; with both sides exhausted, a front stabilizes. After 2 weeks, Franco has to give up his plans of taking the city. He now begins preparing himself and his allies for a long and expensive war.
December 11: Alvarez del Vayo complains today before the League of the Nations in Geneva about the support of Portugal, Italy and Germany for the Rebels and the political and economic isolation of the Spanish Republic by the Democratic Nations and the Non-Intervention Committee.
December 17: New government constituted in Aragon. The new Consejo de Aragon has a clear majority of Anarchists. The front-line in Aragon is basically formed by Anarchist and Socialist militia. Some areas and villages in Aragon start immediately with the "revolution", what means the reorganization of public life under Anarchist ideals, foundation of communes and self-organization of factories and farms. Some of the villages replace money with coupons handed out by the local authorities. In Aragon, the world can see the most radical reformation of public life and a true people's revolution.
December 22: Thousands of Nationalist Italian volunteers land in Cadiz, the Nationalist port.
December 24: Thousands have to spend the Christmas days in the trenches on the front. Many refugees have nowhere to go and have to stay at subway stations and refugee camps.
December 30: George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
enlists himself in a Republican P.O.U.M.
Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification was a Spanish communist political party formed during the Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War...
Militia to fight against fascism.
December 31: Miguel de Unamuno dies in his House in Salamanca. As soon as they got notice of the death of their father, his two sons enlist themselves in the Antifascist Militias.