Spanish Civil War
- Period
- July 1936 – April 1939
- Sides
- Nationalists vs Republicans
- Battles
- 53
The Spanish Civil War was fought in Spain from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic included socialists, anarchists, communists, and separatists, supported by the Soviet Union. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists, who established the military-led Spanish State and were directly aided by an intervention from Fascist Italy and participation of Nazi Germany. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war was variously viewed as class struggle, religious struggle, or struggle between republican democracy and dictatorship, revolution and counterrevolution, or communism and fascism. The Nationalists won the war in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.
Sources: Wikipedia — Spanish Civil War · CC BY-SA 4.0
Battles 53
July 1936 – September 1936
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 Nationalists. Militias of the parties in the Popular Front began their siege on July 21, 1936. The siege ended on September 27 with the arrival of the Army of Africa under Francisco Franco.
July 1936 – September 1936
Campaign of Gipuzkoa
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.
July 1936 – August 1936
Siege of Gijón
The siege of Gijón was a battle that occurred in Gijón, Asturias during the Spanish Civil War between 19 July and 16 August 1936. It was one of the first actions of the war.
July 1936 – September 1936
Battle of Guadarrama
The Battle of Guadarrama, also known as the Battle of Somosierra, was a battle that occurred in the Sierra de Guadarrama during the Spanish Civil War from 22 July to 15 September 1936.
July 1936
Siege of the Montaña Barracks
The siege of the Montaña Barracks was the two-day siege which marked the initial failure of the July 1936 uprising against the Second Spanish Republic in Madrid, on 18–20 July 1936, at the start of the Spanish Civil War. The bulk of the security forces in Madrid remained loyal to the government, and supported by workers' militias, crushed the uprising.
July 1936 – October 1936
Siege of Oviedo
The siege of Oviedo was a siege in the Spanish Civil War that lasted from 19 July until 16 October 1936. The town garrison, under the command of Colonel Antonio Aranda Mata, took sides for the Nationalist uprising and held out until relieved by a Nationalist force from Galicia.
July 1936
Siege of the Loyola barracks
The siege of the Loyola barracks was a siege and uprising at the military barracks in the Loyola neighborhood of San Sebastián, Spain, on 21 July 1936. It was part of the Spanish coup of July 1936 against the Second Spanish Republic, which led to the start of the Spanish Civil War.
August 1936
Battle of Mallorca
The Battle of Mallorca, also known as the Mallorca Landings, was an amphibious landing of Republican forces in 1936, early in the Spanish Civil War, aimed at driving the Nationalists from Mallorca and reclaiming the island for the Republic. After some initial tactical success, the expedition, commanded by Captain Alberto Bayo, ended in failure when the Nationalists counterattacked with ground troops and massively superior air power and drove the Republicans into the sea. So confident were the Republicans in their prediction of victory they optimistically called the operation "la reconquista de Mallorca" - "the reconquest of Mallorca".
August 1936
Battle of Badajoz (1936)
The Battle of Badajoz was one of the first major engagements of the Spanish Civil War, resulting in a tactical and strategic Nationalist victory, however at a significant cost in time and troops. After several days of shelling and bombardment, Nationalists stormed the fortified border city of Badajoz on August 14, 1936, cutting off the Spanish Republic from neighbouring Portugal and linking the northern and southern zones of Nationalist control.
August 1936
Battle of Mérida
The Battle of Mérida saw the Republican militia twice fail to halt the Spanish Army of Africa near the historic town of Mérida early in the Spanish Civil War.
August 1936 – September 1936
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 source of arms and support in France.
August 1936
Battle of Monte Pelado
The Battle of Monte Pelado was an early engagement of the Spanish Civil War, which took place on 28 August 1936 in the province of Huesca. During the battle, roughly 100 Italian anti-fascist volunteers defended Torre Lierta from a trained and well-equipped Nationalist force several times its size. The Italians held out for four hours against a frontal assault and flanking maneuvers, before counterattacking. The anti-fascist victory in the battle opened the way for a further series of Republican offensives in Huesca.
August 1936 – September 1936
Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe
The Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe, also known as the Tagus Campaign, was a continuation of the Nationalist Army's race north toward Madrid in the early stages of the Spanish Civil War. In mid-late August 1936, the three Regulares columns of General Yagüe's Army of Africa dashed through the Sierra de Guadalupe Mountains, also known as Sierra de Villuercas, in central Spain and forded across the Tagus River, capturing several towns and routing the Republicans in a succession of rapid advances.
August 1936
Córdoba offensive
The Córdoba offensive was a failed Republican offensive against the Nationalist held city of Cordoba. It took place from 19 to 22 August 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.
August 1936
Battle of Sigüenza
The Battle of Sigüenza took place from 7 August 1936 to 15 October 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.
August 1936
Battle of Almendralejo
The Battle of Almendralejo was a battle and massacre in Almendralejo, Spain, in August 1936, during the first stages of the Spanish Civil War.
August 1936
Convoy de la Victoria
The Convoy de la Victoria was a Spanish naval battle on 5 August 1936 in the Strait of Gibraltar during the Spanish Civil War, between the escort of a Nationalist convoy and the Republican Navy destroyer Alcalá Galiano.
September 1936
Battle of Talavera de la Reina (1936)
The Battle of Talavera de la Reina was fought on 3 September 1936 in the Spanish Civil War. The Republicans, attempting to bar the road to Madrid at Talavera de la Reina, were defeated by the professional army of the Nationalists, with heavy casualties on both sides.
September 1936 – May 1937
Siege of Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza
The siege of Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza took place from 14 September 1936 to 1 May 1937 in Andújar, Jaén, during the Spanish Civil War. The Republican army surrounded around 1,200 rebel civil guards and falangists who supported the Nationalists and forced them to surrender after a protracted offensive.
September 1936
Battle of Cape Spartel (1936)
The Battle of Cape Spartel was a naval battle of the Spanish Civil War that broke the Republican naval blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar, securing the maritime supply route to Spanish Morocco for the Nationalists early in the war. The action occurred on 29 September 1936 between two Nationalist cruisers and two Republican destroyers.
September 1936
Battle of Cerro Muriano
The Battle of Cerro Muriano took place during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The battle is perhaps most known today for the famous photograph, The Falling Soldier, that Robert Capa took during it.
October 1936
Battle of Seseña
The Battle of Seseña was a Republican-Soviet assault on the Nationalist stronghold of Seseña, near Toledo, 30 km south of Madrid in October 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. After the fall of Talavera de la Reina and Toledo in September 1936, the Nationalist troops pushed towards Madrid and in October they were 30 km from the city. The Republican government which had received new Soviet weapons decided to launch a counteroffensive in order to stop the Nationalist offensive at Seseña. The attack failed and the Nationalists resumed their advance towards Madrid. The battle is notable for being the first time that massive tank warfare was seen in the Spanish War and for the use by Nationalist troops of Molotov cocktails against Soviet T-26 tanks.
November 1936
Siege of Madrid
The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from October 1936, fell to the Nationalist armies on 28 March 1939. The Battle of Madrid in November 1936 saw the most intense fighting in and around the city when the Nationalists made their most determined attempt to take the Republican capital.
November 1936
Battle of Ciudad Universitaria
The Battle of Ciudad Universitaria was a battle at the beginning of the Siege of Madrid in the Spanish Civil War. The battle happened at the new campus of the Ciudad Universitaria from 15 to 23 November 1936. The battle caused the frontline in this part of Madrid to stabilize for most of the war. The republican militias' objective was the defense of the capital at all costs, and for that it was necessary to stop the advance of General Varela's troops of the Army of Africa. Conversely, the attackers aimed to conquer the city as fast as possible. The persistence and tenacity of both sides in the battle meant an inflection point in the Spanish Civil War, partly because it was the first time that Franco's troops were stopped. The campus was also one of the most long-lasting confrontation points during the Spanish Civil War. The resistance shown in Madrid raised the morale on other fronts of the Republican government's controlled zone.
December 1936
Battle of Lopera
The Battle of Lopera took place between 27 and 29 December 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. This battle took place during the Nationalist's Aceituna offensive. On 27 December, the XIV International Brigade launched an attack in order to occupy the Nationalist-held town of Lopera, but the attack failed after two days and the Brigade suffered appalling casualties.
December 1936
Villarreal Offensive
The Villarreal Offensive was an offensive of the Spanish Civil War which lasted from 30 November to 24 December 1936. Eusko Gudarostea's 4,300 men fought 600 men of the insurgent forces.
December 1936 – January 1937
Second Battle of the Corunna Road
The Second Battle of the Corunna Road was a battle of the Spanish Civil War that took place from 13 December 1936 to 15 January 1937, northwest of Madrid. In December 1936, the Nationalists launched an offensive in order to cut the Corunna Road and isolate Madrid, but a Republican counter-offensive stopped the Nationalist advance. The Nationalists cut the Corunna road but failed to encircle Madrid.
February 1937
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moroccan Regulares from the Army of Africa forced back the Republican Army of the Centre, including the International Brigades, but after days of fierce fighting no breakthrough was achieved. Republican counterattacks along the captured ground likewise failed, resulting in heavy casualties to both sides.
February 1937
Battle of Málaga (1937)
The Battle of Málaga was the culmination of an offensive in February 1937 by the combined Nationalist and Italian forces to eliminate Republican control of the province of Málaga during the Spanish Civil War. Nazi Germany was also involved through air and naval support. The participation of Moroccan regulars and especially of modern and armoured Italian forces from the recently arrived Corpo Truppe Volontarie resulted in a complete rout of the Spanish Republican Army and the capitulation of Málaga in less than a week.
March 1937
Battle of Guadalajara
The Battle of Guadalajara saw the victory of the Spanish Republican Army and of the International Brigades over the Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalist forces involved in the Battle of Guadalajara were primarily the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops.
March 1937 – April 1937
Battle of Pozoblanco
The Battle of Pozoblanco took place between 6 March and 16 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The battle saw Republican troops defeat Nationalist attempts to take the town.
March 1937 – July 1937
Biscay Campaign
The Biscay Campaign was an offensive of the Spanish Civil War which lasted from 31 March to 1 July 1937. 50,000 men of the Eusko Gudarostea met 65,000 men of the insurgent forces. After heavy combats the Nationalist forces with a crushing material superiority managed to occupy the city of Bilbao and the Biscay province.
March 1937
Battle of Cape Machichaco
The battle of Cape Machichaco was a naval battle which took place on 5 March 1937 off Bermeo, during the Spanish Civil War, between the Spanish Nationalist heavy cruiser Canarias and four Basque Navy trawlers escorting a Republican convoy. The trawlers were protecting the transport ship Galdames, which was sailing to Bilbao with 173 passengers.
May 1937
May Days
The May Days, sometimes also called May Events, were a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in street battles in various parts of Catalonia, centered on the city of Barcelona.
June 1937
Battle of Bilbao
The Battle of Bilbao, part of the War in the North in the Spanish Civil War, saw the Nationalist Army capture Bilbao and the rest of the Basque Country that was still being held by the Spanish Republic.
July 1937
Battle of Brunete
The Battle of Brunete, fought 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the Republicans were forced to retreat from Brunete after Nationalist counterattacks, and suffered devastating casualties from the battle.
July 1937 – August 1937
Battle of Albarracín
The Battle of Albarracín took place in Albarracín and surrounding areas (Teruel) between 5 July and 11 August 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.
August 1937 – September 1937
Battle of Belchite (1937)
The Battle of Belchite refers to a series of military operations that took place between 24 August and 7 September 1937, in and around the town of Belchite, in Aragon during the Spanish Civil War, as part of a much bigger offensive to take Zaragoza, that continued until the beginning of November 1937.
August 1937
Battle of Santander
The Battle of Santander was fought in the War in the North campaign of the Spanish Civil War during the summer of 1937 and saw the victory of Italian and Nationalist forces against the Republicans. Santander's fall on 26 August assured the Nationalist conquest of the province of Santander, now Cantabria. The battle devastated the Republic's "Army of the North"; 60,000 soldiers were captured, among them the Basque forces which surrendered to the Italians on August 25.
September 1937
Battle of Cape Cherchell
The Battle of Cape Cherchell was a naval battle between the Nationalist heavy cruiser Baleares and the Spanish Republican Navy light cruisers Libertad and Méndez Núñez during the Spanish Civil War on 7 September 1937. The cruiser action occurred in the Mediterranean Sea north of the city of Cherchell in French Algeria.
September 1937
Battle of El Mazucu
The Battle of El Mazucu was fought between 6 and 22 September 1937, between the Republican and Nationalist armies during the Spanish Civil War as a part of the War in the North campaign. The Republican defence of El Mazucu and the surrounding mountains halted the Nationalist advance into eastern Asturias, despite their forces being outnumbered sevenfold. After weeks of intense fighting over extreme terrain the defenders were eventually overwhelmed, and the Nationalists were then able to link up with their forces advancing from León, leading to the fall of Gijón and the abandonment of Asturias, the last Republican province in North-West Spain.
September 1937 – November 1937
Battle of Sabiñánigo
The Battle of Sabiñánigo took place during the Spanish Civil War near Alto Gállego and the town of Sabiñánigo in 1937 as part of the Aragon front.
December 1937 – February 1938
Battle of Teruel
The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War between December 1937 and February 1938, during the worst Spanish winter in 20 years. The battle was one of the bloodiest actions of the war, with the city changing hands several times by first falling to the Republicans and eventually being retaken by the Nationalists. In the course of the fighting, Teruel was subjected to heavy artillery and aerial bombardment. In the two-month battle, both factions together took 110,000 casualties.
February 1938
Battle of Alfambra
The Battle of Alfambra took place near Alfambra from 5 to 8 February 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, and was a part of the Battle of Teruel. After the conquest of Teruel by the Republican army, the Nationalists started a counteroffensive in order to reocuppy Teruel. On 5 February, a huge Nationalist force broke the republican lines north of Teruel towards the Alfambra River, took 7,000 republican prisoners and threatened the Republican forces in Teruel.
March 1938
Battle of Cape Palos (1938)
The Battle of Cape Palos, also known as the Second Battle of Cape Palos, was the biggest naval battle of the Spanish Civil War, fought on the night of March 5–6, 1938, east of Cape Palos near Cartagena, Spain.
March 1938
Battle of Caspe
The Battle of Caspe took place during the Aragon Offensive of the Spanish Civil War in 16–17 March 1938.
March 1938 – April 1938
Battle of Lleida (1938)
The Battle of Lleida (1938) took place during the Spanish Civil War in 1938 in the city of Lleida, western Catalonia.
April 1938 – June 1938
Battle of Bielsa pocket
The Battle of Bielsa pocket took place between 14 April and 15 June 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. After the fall of the Aragon front, a Republican division, in April 1938, was surrounded by the Nationalists in the Cinca River Valley. The division, despite being heavily outnumbered, managed to hold until 6 July and then crossed the French frontier.
April 1938 – January 1939
Battle of the Segre
The Battle of the Segre is the collective name of a series of battles that took place along the Segre River between 4 April 1938 and 3 January 1939 during the Spanish Civil War, after the Nationalist Faction had broken the lines of the Spanish Republican Army in the Aragon Offensive.
April 1938
Battle of Gandesa
The Battle of Gandesa took place in April 1938 during the Spanish Civil War.
May 1938
Balaguer Offensive
The Balaguer Offensive was an offensive carried out by the Spanish Republican Army around Balaguer, Catalonia, during the Spanish Civil War. The offensive consisted in a series of counterattacks in the spring and summer of 1938 after the disastrous Aragon Offensive. The offensive was a failure for the Spanish Republic and many lives and military material were wasted.
July 1938 – November 1938
Battle of the Ebro
The Battle of the Ebro was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between July and November 1938, with fighting mainly concentrated in two areas on the lower course of the Ebro River, the Terra Alta comarca of Catalonia, and the Auts area close to Fayón in the lower Matarranya, Eastern Lower Aragon. These sparsely populated areas saw the largest array of armies in the war. The battle was a massive blow to the Second Spanish Republic, with tens of thousands left dead or wounded and little effect on the advance of the Nationalists.
July 1938 – November 1938
Siege of Gandesa (1938)
The siege of Gandesa took place between July and November 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, a few months after a battle in the same town.
Earlier and later events nearby
- 1494Treaty of Tordesillas
- 1830Invasion of Algiers (1830)
- 1870–1871Franco-Prussian War
- July 1936 – April 1939Spanish Civil WarThis page
- 1954–1962Algerian War
- 1974Carnation Revolution
Who ruled this land
States that held this place in the historical borders data (Cliopatria). Years are approximate, as fine as the data's snapshots (every few years to a century). Tap to open the map for that year.
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- 200–50 BCRoman Republic
- AD 1–375Roman Empire
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- AD 475–700Visigothic Kingdom
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- AD 775–925Emirate of Córdoba
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- 1020–1080Taifa of Toledo
- 1100–1220Kingdom of Castile
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- 1520–1580Spain
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- 1640–1805Spain
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