Siege of Madrid

Siege of Madrid
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Nationalist soldiers raiding a suburb, March 1937
Date Siege: 8 November 1936 – 28 March 1939 Nationalist assault: 8 November 1936 – early December 1936 Location Madrid, Spain Result Nationalist victory Republicans win the battle in 1936 City surrenders to Nationalists in 1939
Belligerents
Spanish Republic Supported by:  Soviet Union International Brigades	Nationalist Spain Supported by:  Germany  Italy
Commanders and leaders
Manuel Azaña José Miaja Vicente Rojo Lluch Enrique Líster Adolfo Prada Carlos Romero José María Galán Segismundo Casado Luis Barceló  Francisco Galán Antonio Ortega  Antonio Escobar Hans Beimler † Pavol Lukács Cipriano Mera José B. Durruti †	Francisco Franco Emilio Mola José Enrique Varela José Moscardó Ituarte Mohamed Meziane Juan Yagüe Carlos A. Cabanillas Rolando de Tella Antonio Castejón Francisco A. Delgado Hugo Sperrle
Strength
42,000 50 tanks 70 guns	20,000 30 tanks 120 aircraft[1]
Casualties and losses
~5,000 dead or wounded (including civilians)	~5,000 dead or wounded
Casualties refer to the November 1936 battle only

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.

The highest military awards of the Spanish Republic, the Laureate Plate of Madrid (Spanish: Placa Laureada de Madrid), and the Madrid Distinction (Spanish: Distintivo de Madrid),^[2] established by the Republican government to reward courage,^[3] were named after the capital of Spain because the city symbolised valour and Republican resistance during the long siege throughout the war.^[4]