July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona

Barcelona's 19 July military rising
Part of the Spanish coup of 1936

Soldiers and Assault Guards entrenched in a building
Date19 July 1936
Location
Result Republican victory
Belligerents
Spain Spanish Republic
Catalonia Generalitat of Catalonia
CNT/FAI
Spain Nationalist Spain
Commanders and leaders
Buenaventura Durruti
Francisco Ascaso 
Spain General Francisco Llano de la Encomienda
Spain Colonel Antonio Escobar Huertas
Catalonia President Lluís Companys
Catalonia Captain Frederic Escofet
Spain General Manuel Goded Executed
Spain General Álvaro Fernández Burriel Executed
Strength
5,000 men (Civil Guard, Police, Assault Guard, Mossos d'Esquadra)
CNT Militia
5,000 men
Casualties and losses
200[1] 300

The July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona was a military uprising in Barcelona, the capital and largest city of Catalonia, Spain on 19 July 1936 which contributed to the start of the Spanish Civil War. Most of the Spanish Army officers in the city supported the coup, but the Civil Guard, the Assault Guard (Guardia de Asalto) and the Mossos d'Esquadra remained loyal to the Republican government. Furthermore, Barcelona was one of the strongholds of the anarchist union, the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). The rebel troops were defeated after one day of bloody combat.

The defeat of the military coup in Barcelona was a great success for the Republic, although after the defeat it became clear that the workers' militias – in particular, the anarcho-syndicalist militias – were the ones that really controlled the city. The coup attempt marked the beginning of the Spanish Revolution and also the beginning of a harsh repression in Catalonia against those suspected of being "fascist" or opposed to the revolution.

  1. ^ Thomas 2001, p. 237.

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