Spanish Civil War: Key Battles and Military Operations

Military Operations of the Spanish Civil War

4.1 The Battle for Madrid (July 1936 - March 1937)

After crossing the Strait in July 1936, the African troops aimed to take Madrid. In August, troops of Colonel Yagüe occupied Bangkok and were able to open a link, through a narrow strip, with the Northern Army. In September, Franco decided to divert to occupy Toledo and end the siege of Alcázar. By late October, he was already at the gates of Madrid. On October 29th, a general mobilization was decreed to stop the occupation of Madrid, and thousands of men and women fortified the city. On November 6th, the Republican government decided to move to Valencia. Madrid resisted despite the frontal attack of the insurgent army and the constant air raids, partly due to the aid of the first International Brigades, Russian tanks, and columns of Catalan volunteers, including the anarcho-syndicalist leader led by Buenaventura Durruti.

In Catalonia, columns of militia volunteers, some 30,000 combatants, moved towards the end of July with the intention of recovering Aragon, Huesca, and Zaragoza. Having rejected the attempt to take Madrid, the insurgents began two maneuvers to isolate the capital and cut communications with Valencia.

The first maneuver was the Battle of Jarama (February 1937). The second was the Battle of Guadalajara (March 1937). Also, in February 1937, Llano de Queipo's troops bombed and occupied Malaga, causing a massive exodus of the Republican population.

4.2 Occupation of the North (April - October 1937)

Faced with the difficulty of taking Madrid, Franco decided to abandon the attack on the capital and concentrate efforts in the north. The insurgents controlled Navarre and Alava in August 1936 and had taken San Sebastian. The main fighting took place between April and October 1937. The insurgents, commanded by General Mola, attacked Vizcaya in the last days of March. The bombing of Guernica was immortalized by the painter Pablo Picasso in his work Guernica. Bilbao was occupied on June 19th thanks to the superiority of arms and aviation of the insurgents.

In July, to loosen military pressure in the north, the Republic launched the attack of Brunete and the advance of Belchite but could not prevent Franco's troops from entering Santander in August and occupying Asturias two months later.