Spanish Civil War Campaigns: Madrid and Northern Fronts (1936-1937)

Military Operations in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1937)

The Battle of Madrid (August 1936-March 1937)

The main objective of the Nationalist military was a rapid conquest of Madrid to consolidate the uprising. Two columns advanced from Burgos and Valladolid towards Madrid. However, their progress was halted in the Sierra de Guadarrama. In August 1936, with the help of German and Italian planes, the Nationalist army began moving from Morocco to the Iberian Peninsula. Franco decided to postpone the conquest of Madrid and ordered the relief of the Alcázar of Toledo. This delay allowed the Republicans to organize their defense and receive the first weapons purchased from the USSR. Largo Caballero ordered the militarization of militias and reorganized the General Staff.

In late October, Franco's troops were at the gates of Madrid, and he ordered the offensive. The Republican administration established a Madrid Defense Junta led by General José Miaja. Despite the military superiority of the rebel troops, the early fall of Madrid was prevented. Franco abandoned the frontal assault on the city in December, although the Nationalists cut the road to La Coruña. This failure demonstrated to Franco that the column tactics employed in the Moroccan War were ineffective against consistent, fortified lines. He decided to complete the encirclement of the city through flank offensives to the north, northwest, and east. The Battle of Madrid extended into February and March 1937 with the Battles of Jarama and Guadalajara. Troops under Queipo de Llano occupied the province of Málaga in February 1937.

The Fall of the North (April-October 1937)

The failures Franco experienced in Madrid led him to change his strategy. He installed his government in Burgos and began a war of attrition. For strategic and economic reasons, Franco directed his forces against the northern industrial and mining regions under Republican control. Legion Condor aircraft dropped incendiary bombs on the defenseless civilian populations of Durango, and Guernica was subsequently destroyed.

The grave situation in the North prompted the Republican government to launch an offensive. The crisis in Largo Caballero's government and the formation of the Negrín government caused delays, and by then, Bilbao had already fallen. The new government prepared a major military operation in Brunete, but it also failed to prevent the capture of Santander. To save Asturias, the Republicans attempted to conquer Zaragoza and launched an offensive at Belchite, but these efforts did not prevent Nationalist troops from entering Gijón. The conquest of the North had significant consequences for the Republic.