Great Battles
At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the Nationalist rebels marched on the capital. When the local Madrileños rose up to defend their city, they could not have imagined that their brave defence would last two-and-a-half years
MADRID, SPAIN 8 NOVEMBER 1936–28 MARCH 1939
July 1936, and chaos reigned in the streets of Madrid. The Republican government, for so long attempting to avoid open war, was on the verge of destruction at the hands of Francisco Franco’s military coup. Fighting had broken out in major cities across the country, and for a moment it seemed as though the capital would fall to the rebels. Instead, it held out until the spring of 1939 thanks to the spirit of popular resistance. Communists, democrats and anarchists united against the Francoists, rallying around Dolores Ibarruri’s famous radio broadcast “¡No pasarán!” (“They shall not pass”) and banners reading: “Madrid will be the tomb of fascism!”
Popular resistance to fascism was far from the centre-left Republican government’s first instinct as the Army of Africa rumbled towards Madrid from July to October 1936, brushing aside any opposition with ease. A truce was the government’s first port of call – it was paranoid that arming the radicals in Spain’s various trade unions would galvanise the revolution that had already by this time taken control in Catalonia and Aragon. However, the state’s organs of power brought real danger to the Republic, with scores of Guardia Civil men defecting to join the insurgent force driving towards Madrid.
Meanwhile, pandemonium ruled in the city, as Franco’s Fifth Column crawled out of the woodwork. Political Commissar André Marty reported on the impact of this clandestine activity: “White spies in the city are extraordinarily strong. Not long ago, a small shell factory was blown up by the Whites; an aerodrome with nine planes was destroyed because the aerodrome was lit up the entire night; a train carrying 350 motorcycles was destroyed by enemy bombs.” With the government unable to secure a truce with Franco or organise adequate defences, José Giral took control on 19 July and armed the trade unions in Madrid, delivering 5,000 rifles, as well as 60,000 that were missing bolts.
Siege of the Montaña barracks
Meanwhile 2,500 troops and right-wing militia had declared their support for Franco, barricading themselves within the 19thcentury Montaña barracks, west of the Plaza de España. Inside lay a stockpile of weapons, including the missing 60,000 bolts needed to arm the trade unions. When the barracks’ occupants refused to hand over the bolts, a large crowd, includ
