Decisive Battles of the Spanish Civil War
Phase 3: The Decisive Battles
This phase of the Spanish Civil War started from a relative balance of forces. However, over twenty months of war, the balance gradually deteriorated for the insurgents.
A) The Fall of the Cantabrian Fringe (April-October 1937)
When the uprising took place in July, Oviedo in Asturias, Santander, and the provinces of Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa remained loyal to the Republic. In late 1936, Mola took San Sebastian and Irun to bridge the communication from Republican northern France. In April 1937, after realizing the impossibility of taking Madrid, Franco decided to focus his best troops on the north. Thus, from April to October, the rebel forces successively occupied Bilbao, Santander, and Gijon. This resulted in the bombing of Guernica in April, where the Condor Legion bombed a city with no military value. The north fell despite Republican attempts to launch diversionary battles:
- Brunete: After the occupation of Bilbao, in the summer of 1937, the rebels were preparing to do the same with Santander. The Republican government, led by Negrin, decided to promote a battle near Madrid to distract Franco’s attacking troops from Santander, while also seeking to alleviate the pressure on the capital. This battle, which involved large numbers of tanks, ended in a draw.
- Belchite: In August, the Republicans intended to prevent the fall of Gijón and, at the same time, threaten the city of Zaragoza. However, the Republican troops failed in both objectives.
Thus, the Republican north fell, and the rebel troops, with superior numbers, could now concentrate on other fronts.
B) The Battle of Teruel and the Division of the Republic (1937-1938)
The North’s victory left a free hand to the rebel troops, which Franco planned to use to deal the final blow to Madrid. At the time, the government of the Republic, noting with concern the progress of the war and seeing the need for a victory, did not want to let Franco’s troops focus on an attack on Madrid. Therefore, the Republicans launched an offensive to conquer Teruel, which was occupied in January 1938. It was the first and only provincial capital that the Republicans managed to win during the war. However, the counter-offensive of the rebel troops allowed them to recapture the city in February 1938, beginning a broader offensive. Faced with the dilemma of pouncing on Madrid or Barcelona, Franco decided to attack Maestrazgo, fearing French intervention or because he wanted to defeat the Republic gradually. Thus, in two months, the rebels occupied Vinaroz and Lerida, leaving the Republic split in two: the Central zone (Madrid, La Mancha, Valencia, Murcia, Extremadura, and part of Andalusia) and Catalonia, which was isolated. The next rebel objective would most likely be the taking of Valencia.
C) The Battle of the Ebro and the Fall of Catalonia (1938-1939)
To avoid a possible insurgent attack on Valencia and Madrid and, at the same time, end the isolation of Catalonia, the Republican army prepared the Ebro offensive. The offensive, organized by Generals Rojo and Modesto, took by surprise the rebel troops stationed on the lower Ebro. This battle was the most important of the entire war. Republican troops crossed the Ebro but were then stopped, and Franco quickly sent reinforcements. The Republican troops had to go on the defensive in November. In the following days, the Republican army was broken, and the rebel troops were ready to occupy Catalonia. The fall of Catalonia was relatively quick, and in January, the entire territory was occupied by the rebels. The taking of Catalonia caused the biggest human exodus in Spanish history, with between 200,000 and 300,000 people (soldiers, women, and children) leaving the country for the Republican camp. The military and political consequences of this battle and the fall of Catalonia were clear: the best of the Popular Army of the Republic had been destroyed, and Franco was free to pounce on what was left of the Republican zone. Ultimately, for most Republican leaders, it was clear that the war was definitively lost.