THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 25
Me di te r
r a n
ean
S
ea
S
P
A
I
N
F
R
A N
C EATL
ANT
IC OCEAN
P
O
R
T
U
G
A
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(^) Tagu
s
Duero
Ebr
o
Majorca
Menorca
Ibiza
S P A N I S H M O R O
C C
O
Oviedo
León
Gijón
Santander
Bilbao Guernica
Burgos
Valladolid
Salamanca
Jul 6–25, 1937
Brunete
Cáceres
Toledo
Mérida
Madrid
Mar 8, 1937
Guadalajara
Saragossa
Teruel
Albacete
Belchite
San Sebastián
Tarragona
Barcelona
Castellón de
la Plana
Cartagena
Almería
Granada
Lopera
Seville
Huelva
Badajoz
Lisbon
Porto
Cádiz
Córdoba
Tangier
Apr 15, 1939
Vinaròs
Palma
Alicante
Valencia
ANDORRA
Feb 6–27, 1937
Jarama
Jan 5–Feb 4, 1939
Valsequillo
Feb 3–8, 1937
Málaga
CA
TA
LO
N
IA
BASQ
UE^ C
OUN
TRY
Mar 27, 1939 The
Nationalists enter
Madrid. On April 1,
Franco announces
the end of hostilities.
Oct 1936–Apr 1939
The USSR sends support
to the Republicans, including
tanks and weapons, to the
port of Cartagena.
Jul 18, 1936 By the evening, the
Nationalist army controls all of
Spanish Morocco, and then invades
Spain. Fighting soon spreads to
Cádiz, Seville, and Málaga.
Feb 22, 1938
Nationalists retake the
town of Teruel—a bitter
blow for the Republicans.
May 6, 1937 Infighting
among Republicans leads
to prominent anarchists
being murdered. Rioting
breaks out.
Nov 1–6, 1936
Republican leader
General José Valeria
reaches Madrid on
November 1. He is
followed by the German
Luftwaffe 5 days later, and
the Siege of Madrid begins.
Aug 14, 1936 German planes
bring Franco’s troops into
southern Spain. They advance
to Badajoz, where thousands
of civilians are machine-gunned
inside a bullring.
Sep 27, 1936 Nationalists take
the Republican stronghold of
Toledo, 40 miles (65 km) from
Madrid, boosting morale.
Many men joining
the International Brigade
go to the main training
base at Albacete.
Summer 1936
The Spanish–
Portuguese border
is the point of entry
for many supplies.
Oct 1936–Apr 1939
Huelva and Cádiz are the
main ports for German
supplies to the Nationalists.
Dec 1936 Fascist Italy sends
supplies to Nationalist rebels,
which reach Spain through Cádiz.
Jul 25–Nov 16, 1938
At the Battle of Ebro,
the Republicans are all
but wiped out as a
fighting force.
Aug 6, 1936
Franco arrives
in Seville.
Mar 1937 Franco switches his focus
to attacking the industrial areas of
northern Spain, such as the Basque
region, a Republican stronghold.
A NATION AT WAR
Franco’s Nationalist forces initially gained territory
in Spanish Morocco and south-western Spain, and
gradually captured predominantly conservative
farming areas in the north by 1937. They seized
Republican Catalonia by 1939, cutting off Barcelona
from Madrid, and ensuring their victory.
Nationalist land, Jul 1936
Nationalist gains, Oct 1937
Nationalist gains, Jul 1938
Nationalist gains, Feb 1939
Republican land, Feb 1939
Temporary independence border
Nationalist forces
Republican forces
Major battles
Apr 26, 1937 Guernica is bombed
by Italian and German aircraft.
The aftermath is captured by
photojournalists, and images of
the devastation spread abroad.
NATIONALISTS TRIUMPH MAY 1937–APRIL 1939
In May 1937, infighting divided the Republican
forces based in Barcelona. The Republican army
was weakened by Nationalist wins at the battles
of Teruel and Ebro, and Franco’s army seized
Barcelona on January 26, 1939. Further Nationalist
victories in Catalonia and Vinaròs all but destroyed
the Republican forces. The Nationalists marched
into Madrid on March 27, 1939, and Franco declared
an end to the war on April 1.
4
Nationalist victory
2
3
4
1
1936 1937 1938 1939 1940
TIMELINE
KEY
US_024-025_Spanish_Civil_War.indd 25 19/03/19 5:38 PM