Spanish coup of July 1936

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Spanish coup of July 1936
Part of the Spanish Civil War
Republican soldiers and Assault Guards fighting in Barcelona during the uprising
Date 17–21 July 1936 Location Spain Result Start of the Spanish Civil War Rebel failure to overthrow the Spanish government Government failure to fully suppress the rebellion
Belligerents
Spanish government	Army rebels
Commanders and leaders
Manuel Azaña José Giral Santiago Casares José Miaja	José Sanjurjo † Emilio Mola Francisco Franco Manuel Goded

The Spanish coup of July 1936^[1] was a nationalist and military uprising that was intended to overthrow the Spanish Second Republic but precipitated the Spanish Civil War; Nationalists fought against Republicans for control of Spain. The coup was organized for 18 July 1936, although it started the previous day in Spanish Morocco, and resulted in a split of the Spanish military and territorial control, rather than a prompt transfer of power. The resulting war, Western neutrality, and active Axis support ultimately led to the establishment of a nationalist regime under Francisco Franco, who became ruler of Spain as caudillo.

The rising was intended to be swift, but the government retained control of most of the country including Málaga, Jaén and Almería. Cádiz was taken by the rebels, and General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano managed to secure Seville. In Madrid, the rebels were hemmed into the Montaña barracks, which fell with much bloodshed. On 19 July, the cabinet headed by the newly appointed prime minister José Giral ordered the distribution of weapons to the unions.^[2] With the defeat of the rebels in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, anarchists took control of large parts of Aragon and Catalonia. The rebel General Goded surrendered in Barcelona and was later sentenced to death and executed. The rebels secured the support of around half of Spanish Army, which totalled about 66,000 men, including large numbers who were on leave, as well as the 30,000-strong army of Africa.^[3] The army of Africa was Spain's most professional and capable military force. The government retained less than half the supply of rifles, heavy and light machine guns and artillery pieces. Both sides had few tanks and outdated aircraft, while naval capacity was reasonably even. The defection of many regular officers weakened Republican units of all types.