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Creation of the Popular Front
The creation of the Popular Front resulted in a pact formed and signed by numerous left wing political organizations provoked by Manuel Azana with the intent of disrupting the election that year.The Popular Front included the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, Communist Party of Spain and the republicans, consisting of the Republican Left and Republican Union Party. They defeated the National Front and Azana was elected in 1936, resulting in a coup. -
Spanish Coup d'etat of 1936
The Spanish coup of 1936 was the breaking point of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces and signaled the Spanish Civil War. Following a time of unrest in the Second Spanish Republic, several high ranking officers tried to overthrow the democratic goverment in a military coup. Planning began at the start of the year and the coup was launched on July 17th, 1936. The coup failed to take complete control of the country and civil war ensued. -
Period: to
Spanish Civil War
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Military Uprising in Seville
The military uprising in Seville was a military uprising in Seville, which contributed to the start of the Spanish Civil War. The initial coup failed in the Andalusian cities of Malaga, Jaen and Huelva, but succeeded in Cordoba, Granada, Cadiz and in the capital city, Seville. The city's garrison invaded the entire area and carried out a significant purge. Later, after the success of the coup in Seville, the Nationalists made their initial advance towards Madrid from Seville. -
Creation and Arrival of the Condor Legion
The Condor Legion was a militarized unit of volunteers from the German Luftwaffe and from the German Wermacht, which served with the Nationalists during the course of the Spanish Civil War. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War soon after. The intial request for the legion came at the intital uprising of the Spanish Civil War, but troops were not deployed until later in that year, where they would help turn the tides of battle. -
Peoples' Olympiad Cancelled
The Barcelona Peoples' Olympiad was intended to be a grand socialist counterpart to the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany. However, due to the outbreak of war, the games were ultimately cancelled, as Spain had fallen into an entire state of unrest, which it would not leave for the next several year. The creation of the Peoples' Olympiad was to promote socialism and bring support to the economy in Spain. With the failure of this attempt to host it, the idea failed in favor of other festivities. -
Death of a Loyalist Soldier (The Falling Soldier)
"Death of a Loyalist Soldier" is a photograph by Robert Capa, understood to be taken depicting the death of a Republican during the Spanish Civil War. The soldier in the photograph was later said to have been the individual Federico García, an Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth soldier. This picture, shown in numerous magazines, opened up the eyes of the world to this tragic event that was occurring in Spain at the time. -
Franco's Troops Airlifted
This event symbolizes the first major military airlift conducted by military forces to transport troops quicky over long distances. This airlift was conducted by German and Italian aerial forces in the process of transporting the majority of Franco's forces in Morrocco all the way to Spain so that they could participate in supporting the Nationalist front. This airlift resulted in a resrugence and introduction of numerous forces on the Nationalist side and made them a force to be reckoned with. -
Franco Takes Power of Nationalist Forces
After the intial leader of the Nationalist opposition, General Jose Sanjurjo, died in a plane crash, Franco took it upon himself to further lead the Nationalist forces on their campaign to take over Spain with the support of both Germany and Italy. On October 1st, 1936, Franco publicly announced himself as Generalisimo and Head of the State. Later in the next year, Mola would die and Franco would be the only major leader left to lead, as all military leaders who started the coup had died. -
Battle of Madrid
The Battle of Madrid was the most concentrated time of fighting during the Siege of Madrid which lasted for nearly 3 years between 1936 & 1939. The initial offensive in the battle included the provocation of Republican forces by General Emilio Mola, who led a light armor battalion consisting of German and Italian forces in an attempt to take the city. The battle ensued for many weeks but the battlefield settled down in December, resulting in many casualties on both sides but no power change. -
Arrival of International Brigades
Throughout the course of the Spanish Civil War, numerous countries contributed to the war effort. While some leaders, like FDR, did not condone or directly send troops to assist. Many volunteers arrived from places such as the United States and France to assist the Republicans while Facist forces from Germany and Italy arrived to support the Nationalists. The thousands of soldiers who arrived from all over the world helped determine the final outcome of the war, as they had a major impact. -
Battle of Malaga
The Battle of Malaga was the result of an offensive in early 1937 by the combined Nationalist and Italian forces to eliminate Republican control of Malaga (a Spanish Province) during the course of the war. The participation of recently arriving Moroccan troops and Italian tanks resulted in a chaotic retreat of the Spanish Republican Army and the surrendering of Malaga. -
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama was a military attempt to remove Republican forces off of the Jarama river. The Battle of Jarama was provoked by General Francisco Franco when he brought forces from the Germans, the Condor Legion, along with his army to forcefully carry out this operation swiftly and remove Republican forces to ensure a Nationalist victory. After a slew of days of fighting, no breakthrough was attained. Republican counterattacks failed, resulting in extreme casualties on both sides. -
Battle of Guadalajara
The Battle of Guadalajara was an Italian offensive designed to blockade Madrid from the Northeast by capturing the provincial capital of Guadalajara. Backed by a single Spanish Infantry Division, Italian forces launched a motor-based offensive that obliterated Republican lines. While the Republican counter operation recaptured a bit of the battlefield and led a retreat of a majority of the Italian forces, thousands died on each side as a result of the battle and a republican victory was claimed. -
Franco Merges Carlists and Falange
On April 19, 1937, General Francisco Franco issued the Decree of Unification which merged the Falange and the Requetes (Carlist militias), effectively forming the Traditionalist Spanish Falange (FET). This unification gave Franco a significant advantage over the Republicans, as his Nationalist forces were subsequently more organized and unified. The Decree of Unification signed on this date effectively gave General Francisco Franco the upper hand in the war effort in terms of his own command. -
Bombing of Guernica
The Bombing of Guernica was an aerial based offensive on the Basque town of Guernica. It was planned out through the Spanish nationalist government, led by General Francisco Franco, and through their allies, the German air force's Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria. The event is often portrayed through the famously named "Guernica" painting by Pablo Picasso, which exemplifies the chaos and death experienced in the long time period in which bombs fell endlessly. -
Battle of Brunete
The Battle of Brunete was a Republican operation with the intent to relieve the pressure forced upon by the Nationalists on the capital as well as the north during the Spanish Civil War. While successful at the start, the end came when the Republicans were forced to retreat from Brunete and suffered devastating casualties from the battle.The Battle of Brunete was fought a short distance to the west of Madrid, where the hilly terrains defined the outcome of the battle. -
Asturias Offensive
The Asturias Offensive represented a decisive victory for Nationalist forces and the end of what was known as the "War in the North". The Asturias Offensive soldified Nationalist control of northern Spain after being assisted by both the Italian CTV and the German Condor Legion. The overall battle consisted of 45,000 troops on the Republican side with 90,000 on the Nationalist side, presenting a clear disparity in military force between the troops. -
Battle of Teruel
The Battle of Teruel involved a significant armed conflict in and around the city of Teruel, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. It was a decisive Nationalist victory of the war, as Francisco Franco's use of superiority in men and material in regaining Teruel made it the most signficant turning point of the entire war. Both sides suffered nearly 150,000 casualties and the fighting took place in one of the worst Spanish winters in recorded history, making this battlefield one of the most deadly. -
Battle of Ebro
The Battle of the Ebro came to be known as the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War. It took place between the latter half of 1938, with the battlefield concentrated in two sections in the lower Ebro River. The results of the battle were catastrophic for Republican Forces, as they lost thousands and did little to stop the Nationalist advance, effectively turning the tide of the war. -
Catalonia Offensive
The Catalonia Offensive was a Nationalist offensive that rapidly conquered the Republican territries of Catalonia and Barcelona. While the Republican government attempted to flee for the French border, Franco shut down all the borders and ended this battle with a decisive Nationalist victory. Soon after, thousands of refugees fleeing the Nationalists were placed in internment camps, solidifying the victory to Franco and becoming one of the final battles of the Spanish Civil War. -
End of the Spanish Civil War / Nationalist Victory
The end of the Spanish Civil War signified the rise of Francisco Franco's totalitarian regime as a result of the surrender of Republican forces in 1939 and the sealing off of Spain's border earlier in the year. The Nationalist victory opened up the doors to Franco's 36 year reign as a dictator of Spain and signfied the ending of what is known as the "dress-rehearsal" for the Second World War. The victory of Franco signified the next long era of opression in Spain that would last until the 1970s.
