Importance of the Uprising of July 18, 1936 in Spain

Thought for months to be a coup and not the beginning of a civil war, the failure of the later called "National Uprising" by its perpetrators, led to a civil conflict that awoke the specter of the confrontation between the so-called "two Spains" (such as the conservative and the liberal one of the Carlist Wars), and that would tear the country apart for three years, being one of the preludes to the Second World War World.

The failed coup attempt on July 18, 1936 had as its objective the deposition of the government of the republic, put an end to said regime, and implement a different regime, although of a dictatorial nature, and of a conservative ideology and rightist.

Although its main promoters were the military, it had the acquiescence and active participation of various political-social sectors (such as Carlism or the Catholic Church), all of them resentful of the Republic.

The coup was conceived in the midst of a rarefied atmosphere, in which violence

policy was commonplace, especially in the big cities, and after an electoral victory for the leftist Popular Front in the elections of February 1936, which, although it won an absolute majority in seats, almost tied in votes with its rival rightist.

This led the right to express a series of grievances, which the left did not want to listen to. This atmosphere described a posteriori as "pre-war", and the lack of dialogue, was presented a posteriori by the coup leaders as an argument to justify their attempted coup.

Coup attempts against the Republic date back to the proclamation of the Republic on April 14, 1931.

There were several plans, and an attempt in 1932 known as "la Sanjurjada", for having been led by General José Sanjurjo, who was ultimately unsuccessful and was forced to go into exile in Portugal.

The new leftist government of the Popular Front that emerged from the polls in February 1936 dispersed the military sympathetic to the rights and that they had pressured the previous government -of the right- to not hand over power, to destinies various.

Thus, Franco was destined for the Canary Islands, while Mola went to Pamplona or Goded to the Balearic Islands. All of them would be key in the gestation of the future motion rebel.

In addition, being away from the center of power in Madrid gave them a facility to negotiate and organize the details without being detected by the government.

It was General Emilio Mola who assumed the role of organizer, and it was thought of offering the exiled Sanjurjo the head of state when the coup was successful. Franco was doubtful.

Between February and July, in addition to organizing themselves, the conspirators discreetly added support and garrisons to their cause.

The plan was to start the uprising in Africa, to later lift the garrisons involved in the peninsula while the army of Africa (which had the best prepared and equipped troops) passed to the peninsula.

Between these troops and those coming from the north under the command of General Mola, a north-south clamp had to be made on Madrid to surrender the capital.

In addition to receiving some funds from fascist Italy and from private donors (both Spanish and some foreigners), the main financier of the coup was the obscure banker Spanish Juan March (Banca March), who would later be known as "the banker of the regime."

The assassination of the assault guard José Castillo by right-wing gunmen, and the revenge by security guards assault assassinating the right-wing deputy José Calvo Sotelo, on July 12 and 13, 1936, were the triggers for the lift.

Fearing riots in the streets and seeking to use them as an excuse to restore order, Mola gave the order for the 17th in Morocco.

On July 17, 1936, around five in the afternoon, the first unit rebelled in Melilla.

Once this city was controlled, the revolt spread, falling Tetuán, Ceuta or Larache, with some resistance that proved unsuccessful. At the same time, summary and arbitrary executions by the rebels began.

The government reaction upon learning of the coup on the same 17 in the afternoon was immediate: ordering air strikes coming from the peninsula on the rebel positions, as well as the navy that blocked their passage to the peninsula.

The rebels hoped that these boats would side with them, since the commanders were involved in the coup, but the crews of the ships oppose and depose their commanders, taking control and remaining faithful to the Republic.

Subsequently, the colonial troops from Africa will be taken to the peninsula in the first airlift of the history, carried out with German and Italian help.

On the 18th, Franco also managed to secure the Canary Islands, later passing to the protectorate of Morocco in the famous Dragon Rapide plane.

On the peninsula, the uprising took place throughout the 18th and 19th, succeeding in some places, but not in others.

It mainly fails Andalusia, territory with which the rebels counted to advance quickly on Madrid. Only scattered cities like Córdoba, Seville, or Granada see the triumph of the rebels.

In the places where the rebellion took place on the 19th, such as in Barcelona, ​​it ran into more organized resistance.

In the Catalan capital, for example, there are clashes in the streets between the military rebels and militiamen from left-wing and pro-independence organizations, the latter managing to stop The hit.

Almost all of Galicia will remain in the hands of the rebels, as well as Castilla y León, La Rioja, practically all of Aragón, Navarra, and half of Extremadura.

The rebel forces in the peninsula found themselves in a delicate state, as they needed contest of the forces of Africa to be able to win in the long term, but the government also suffered difficulties.

Its territory was divided in two, it suffered from lack of control in the streets, and it lacked valuable professional soldiers, which quickly showed that its future was mortgaged.

The partial failure of the coup on July 17, 18 and 19 leads to a long and bloody three-year civil war.

They say that civil wars are the worst, and it is true that the repression on both sides (although, especially, on the rebels) will take on Dantesque faces.

The coup will be known as July 18 because it is the date that began in the peninsula.

The Franco regime will celebrate, throughout its entire existence, this date as a holiday, and not the 17th or 19th.

Fotolia art: Vladimir Wrangel