Spanish Civil War (V1)

The Second Spanish Republic has been experiencing months of intense polarization since the Popular Front's electoral victory in February. The Army is deeply divided: some of its commanders are secretly plotting a coup against the government, while other officers remain loyal to republican institutions. Unresolved agrarian conflicts persist in the Andalusian and Extremaduran countryside; the memory of the repression following the 1934 revolution lingers in Asturias and León; and in Navarre, Carlist and Falangist circles have quietly mobilized in support of the conspiracy. Catalonia and the Basque Country maintain their own autonomous governments with agendas distinct from Madrid's. The Spanish Protectorate in Morocco is home to the Army's most battle-hardened units—the *Tercio* and the *Regulares* forces—commanded by *africanista* officers. Portugal, ruled by Salazar's regime, is already offering refuge and contacts to plotting generals. Italy and Germany, under fascist regimes, view any potential coup against a leftist government with sympathy. France, governed by Léon Blum's Popular Front, is ideologically aligned with the Spanish Republic but remains cautious. Anti-fascist circles abroad—particularly in Paris—follow news arriving from Spain with concern, although no formally organized volunteer groups exist yet.

In the early hours of July 17, 1936, the Popular Front government still nominally controls the entire Spanish territory and its Protectorate in Morocco. In barracks across the Peninsula and North Africa, a group of officers is secretly conspiring to stage an uprising that very afternoon, though it is not yet known which garrisons will join the revolt and which will remain loyal.

Una guarnición o unidad militar solo se declara sublevada cuando su lealtad cruza un umbral crítico de compromiso con el Alzamiento; hasta entonces, su postura puede oscilar. El anuncio o la noticia de que una guarnición próxima se ha sublevado presiona la lealtad de las guarniciones vecinas en la misma dirección. El apoyo exterior de Italia, Alemania y Portugal solo se activa de forma efectiva una vez que el Alzamiento se ha hecho público, no antes. Las noticias y órdenes entre Madrid, las provincias y Marruecos viajan por telégrafo, teléfono y radio, con retrasos y rumores propios de julio de 1936. A military garrison or unit is only declared to be in revolt once its loyalty crosses a critical threshold of commitment to the Uprising; until then, its stance may waver. News or an announcement that a nearby garrison has risen up exerts pressure on the loyalty of neighboring garrisons, pushing them in the same direction. External support from Italy, Germany, and Portugal only becomes effectively active once the Uprising has been made public—not before. News and orders traveling between Madrid, the provinces, and Morocco move via telegraph, telephone, and radio, subject to the delays and rumors characteristic of July 1936.