The Spanish Civil War: Military Uprising and Division

The Military Uprising and the Path to War

The military uprising was supported by a heterogeneous group of conservative military personnel, most notably the Africanistas. The failure of the uprising, coupled with the government's response, led to a bloody civil war that lasted almost three years.

The Military Uprising of July 1936

According to General Emilio Mola, the head of the uprising, the military coup was to be carried out with extreme violence. The plan was to first declare a state of war and then proceed with the arrest and removal of major left-wing political and union leaders. The plan consisted of a series of uprisings that would seize power in their respective areas. After taking the capital, a general meeting would be held to replace the government.

The military uprising against the Republic began unexpectedly in Melilla on July 17th and immediately spread to the rest of the troops in the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco. The rebel leaders sent a telegram to Francisco Franco, who, the following day, traveled in a plane rented by monarchist conspirators to take command of the best-equipped troops of the Spanish army.

Between July 18th and 20th, the military uprising spread to the rest of the Spanish territory with mixed results. In Andalusia, General Queipo de Llano took power in Seville. Garrisons also revolted in Cadiz, Cordoba, and Granada. Mola took Navarre, the center of the conspiracy. In Zaragoza, General Cabanellas managed to dominate most of Aragon.

In Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, the military uprising was thwarted. The Assault Police and Civil Guard remained loyal to the Republic. In Barcelona, the rebellion was subdued, and General Goded was arrested. In Madrid, the rebels had gathered strength in the Montaña Headquarters. In Valencia, the indecision of the rebel-dominated government facilitated the situation throughout the region, which included military Murcia and the key port of Cartagena.

The rebellion triumphed in the northwest (Galicia), central Spain (Castilla y León and part of Extremadura), southwest Andalusia, and the Canary and Balearic Islands, except for Menorca. It failed in most large cities in northern, central, and eastern Spain.

Division of Spain into Two Zones

By July 20th, the country was divided into two opposing zones. The main cities and industrial areas were in the hands of the government and the political and trade union organizations of the Popular Front. The more conservative and predominantly Catholic agricultural areas were in the hands of the insurgents.

Approximately half of the army, much of the navy and air force, two-thirds of the security forces, and more than half of the Civil Guard remained loyal to the Republican government. However, the best-equipped and most combat-ready troops of the army, those of the Protectorate of Morocco, as well as younger officers, were in favor of the uprising. The government's initial superiority in naval and air assets was soon overtaken by the rebels due to the rapid arrival of much more modern Italian and German aircraft.

Following the resignation of Prime Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga, the measures taken by the new government of José Giral had the opposite effect of what was intended. The army of the Republic was dismantled, undermining the Republican state. In the first months of the war, power in the Republican zone was in the hands of militias and a host of local and provincial committees. This led to a revolutionary situation that plunged many territories into chaos.

An apparent equilibrium of forces hid the Republic's lack of unity in the political and military leadership of the war for several months.

By late July 1936, the uprising had led to a civil war that divided the country into two groups:

• Rebels: Against the Republic, they called themselves Nationals. They justified their action as the only means to end anarchy, restore order, and exterminate the enemies of the country (the Reds). They were supported by traditional oligarchies, small landowners, middle-class Catholic right-wing parties such as CEDA, organizations of the extreme right, and the Catholic Church.
• Republicans: They defended the democratic Republic and its achievements against fascism. Among them were the radical positions of anarchists and communists. The former were supporters of the disappearance of all state institutions, and the latter sought to establish a Soviet-style regime.