July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona
The July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona was a military uprising in Barcelona, the capital and largest city of Catalonia, Spain on 19 July 1936 which contributed to the start of the Spanish Civil War. Most of the Spanish Army officers in the city supported the coup, but the Civil Guard, the Assault Guard (Guardia de Asalto) and the Mossos d'Esquadra remained loyal to the Republican government. Furthermore, Barcelona was one of the strongholds of the anarchist union, the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). The rebel troops were defeated after one day of bloody combat.
| Barcelona's 19 July military rising | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish coup of 1936 | |||||||
Soldiers and Assault Guards entrenched in a building | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Spanish Republic Generalitat of Catalonia CNT/FAI | Nationalist Spain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Buenaventura Durruti Francisco Ascaso † General Francisco Llano de la Encomienda Colonel Antonio Escobar Huertas President Lluís Companys Captain Frederic Escofet |
General Manuel Goded General Álvaro Fernández Burriel | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
5,000 men (Civil Guard, Police, Assault Guard, Mossos d'Esquadra) CNT Militia | 5,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 200 | 300 | ||||||
The defeat of the military coup in Barcelona was a great success for the Republic, although after the defeat it became clear that the workers' militias – in particular, the anarcho-syndicalist militias – were the ones that really controlled the city. The coup attempt marked the beginning of the Spanish Revolution and also the beginning of a harsh repression in Catalonia against those suspected of being "fascist" or opposed to the revolution.