Attempted Military Coup of 1936 - THE COUP

Question 1

What was Franco motivated by?

Answer 1

F motivated by desire to restore order + stability - conserve cultural traditions of ‘old spain’ which F + military allies felt was in jeopardy bc of pop. front gov

Question 2

How did the coup progress?

Answer 2

early hours of 18 July 1936 coup had spread from northern africa to spanish mainland

F launched an invasion from the south
= 17/18 July 1936 seen as the formal start of the spanish civil war

Question 3

Where did the conflict initially take place?

Answer 3

initially conflict in geo-seperated areas
e.g. seville, andalusia (south), valladolid (north)
- all fell quickly

Question 4

BUT what didn’t go easily for the rw army forces?

Answer 4

mola + generals rising underestimated repub forces

altho countryside was easy, major urban areas much more difficult to seize
e.g. 517 largest cities remained under gov control
incl. Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia

Question 5

Why was it harder for the army to take over urban areas?

Answer 5

support for republicanism + pop. front stronger in urban areas + gov boosted by local left militias bc of undemocraticness of rw coup

Question 6

What were the local left militias like?

Answer 6

many of the groups were anti-fascist

effective, shown by Montana barracks in Madrid overrun by republic militia forces + spanish civilians
- led to around 2,500 uprising soldiers being massacred in first few days