Timeline of the Spanish Civil War

Transcribed into ASCII courtesy of Vittorio Volpi.


1930 Jan 28 General Primo de Rivera resigns

1931 Feb    General Berenguer replaced by Admiral Aznar
     Apr 12 Municipal elections, monarchists defeated in 
            major towns
     Apr 14 Alfonso xiii leaves, Republic proclaimed
     May  7 Segura’s pastoral attacking Republic
     May 10 Madrid disturbance and church burning
     Jan 16 Army reform legislation by Azaña
     Jul 27 CNT strike in Seville crushed with artillery
     Oct    Legislation on church. catholic Republicans 
            resign and Azaña becomes prime minister
     Oct 20 Law for the Defense of the Republic
     Nov 19 Ex-King Alfonso condemned in absentia

1932 Jan  1 Civil guards killed by peasants of 
            Castilblanco
     Jan    Anarchist risign in Catalonia and CNT strikes. 
            Jesuits dissolved and divorce law introduced
     Apr    Cardinal Goma appointed archbishop of Toledo
     Aug 10 Sanjurio’s pronunciamiento in Seville and 
            monarchist risign in Madrid fail
     Sep    Catalan statute of self-government and 
            agrarian reform legislation

1933 Jan  8 Casas Viejas massacre
     Apr    Azaña’s government fails in municipal 
            elections
     Sep    Azaña defeated. Cortes dissolved
     Oct    José Antonio Primo de Rivera founds Falange
     Nov  5 Vote in Basque country on statute of self-
            government. Navarre votes to stay out of 
            Basque federation
     Nov 19 Right wins general elections. Lerroux prime 
            minister
     Dec    Anarchist rising in Catalonia and Aragon

1934 Feb    Falange and JONS merge
     Mar    General strike in Saragossa
     Mar 31 Mussolini promises arms to Carlists
     Apr 22 Gil Robles’ CEDA organizes mass rally in 
            Escorial
     Jun    Agrarian strike in Andalucia and Estremadura
     Sep  9 Covadonga rally by CEDA
     Oct  1 Three CEDA ministers join new Lerroux 
            government
     Oct  6 Rising in Catalonia and Madrid easily 
            suppressed. Rising in Asturias becomes 
            regional civil war

1935 Apr  1 Gil Robles and four other CEDA ministers in 
            new government led by Lerroux
     Oct 29 Straperla scandal brings down Lerroux. Alcalà 
            Zamora refuses to call on Gil Robles. Military 
            plotting
     Dec    Chapaprieta government collapses. Alcalà 
            Zamora appoints Portela Valladares

1936 Jan  7 Cortes dissolved
     Jan 15 Popular Front electoral platform agreed
     Feb 26 Catalan Generalidad re-established under 
            Companys
     Mar    Falange attacks on Socialist leaders
     Mar 15 Falange banned, José Antonio arrested
     Mar    Army warns government about disorders
            Hitler reoccupies Rhineland
     Apr  1 Communist and Socialist Youth merged
     Apr 10 Azaña elected president
            Capture of Addis Ababa by Italians
     May 12 Casares Quiroga appointed prime minister
     Mar 13 Elections of Popular Front government in 
            France. Blum to be prime minister
     Jun    Building strike in Madrid. Agrarian strikes in 
            southern Andalucia
     Jun 16 Calvo Sotelo speech on disorder in Cortes
     Jul 13 Killing of Calvo Sotelo
     Jul 17 Rising starts in Morocco
     Jul 18 Rising starts in mainland. Casares Quiroga 
            resigns
     Jul 19 Rising crushed in Madrid and Barcelona. 
            Martinis Barrio resigns. Giral premier. Orders 
            arming of workers
     Jul 20 Giral appeals to Blum for weapons. Franco 
            sends emissaries to Hitler. general Sanjurio 
            killed in air crash on leaving Portugal for 
            Burgos
     Jul 27 Airlift from Morocco begins with German and 
            Italian planes
     Aug  8 French stop arms sales to Republican 
            government. Start of nonintervention policy
     Aug 14 Yangüe’s colonial troops capture Badajoz
     Aug 24 Non-intervention policy accepted in theory by 
            German, Portugal and Italy
     Aug 27 Rosenberg and other Russian officials arrive
     Sep  3 Army of Africa captures Talavera de la Reina
     Sep  4 Largo Caballero forms government
     Sep  5 Beorlegui’s troops capture Irún
     Sep  6 Italian air force units arrive in Mallorca
     Sep  7 Aguirre forms Basque government
     Sep  9 Non-Intervention Cammittee (NIC) formed in 
            London
     Sep 13 San Sebastián occupied by Nationalists
     Sep 26 Generalidad government formed
     Sep 27 Capture of Toledo and relief of Alcázar by 
            Varela’s troops
     Oct  1 Franco installed ad head of government and 
            generalissimo at Burgos. Cortes passes Basque 
            statute
     Oct  7 Uribe’s Agrarian decree on collectives and 
            expropriation
     Oct 10 Popular Army decree
     Oct 15 Commissar system established in army
     Oct 25 Spanish gold reserves reach USSR
     Oct 28 Maisky declares to NIC that USSR will not be 
            bound by policy
     Oct 29 Russian aircraft and tanks appear; German and 
            Italian bombers start raids on Madrid
     Nov  4 Getafe falls, and Russian fighters appear over 
            Madrid sector
     Nov  6 Cabinet decides to leave for Madrid. Miaja’s 
            junta established
     Nov  8 Varela’s assault on north-west flank of Madrid 
            held. XI International Brigade arrives
     Nov  9 Varela switches attack to Carabanchel sector
     Nov    German forces reinforced and reconstituted 
            into the Condor Legion
     Nov 18 Germany and Italy recognize Burgos 
            administration. Major attack on Madrid
     Nov 20 Durruti dies from wound. José Antonio executed 
            in Alicante
     Nov 23 nationalist commanders call off assault on 
            madrid
     Dec 13 nationalists launch offensive on Corunna Road
     Dec 23 Council of Aragon recognized by Valencia 
            government
     Dec 25 German-Japanese anti-Comintern pact
     Dec 31 Anglo-Italian ‘gentleman’s agreement’

1937 Jan  3 Nationalists re-start Corunna road offensive, 
            which continues until Jan 15
     Jan 17 Nationalist offensive on Malaga begins
     Feb  6 Nationalists begin Jarama offensive. Continues 
            until Feb 28
     Feb  8 Fall of Málaga
     Feb 21 Gen. Asensio Torrado sacked. largo Caballero 
            asks for recall of Russian ambassador 
            Rosenberg
     Mar  8 Italian CTV starts Guadalajara offensive
     Mar 18 Battle of Brihuega. Italian retreat
     Mar 31 Mola’s offensive in North begins
     Apr 19 Franco merges Falange and Carlists into FET. 
            NIC naval patrol and border watch established
     Apr 22 Bilbao blockade broken
     Apr 23 Dissolution of Madrid council of defense
     Apr 26 Destruction of by Condor Legion
     May 2-6 May events in Barcelona
     May 15 Fall of Caballero government
     May 17 Negrín cabinet formed
            Neville Chamberlain becomes prime minister in 
            UK
     May 29 Deutschland incident
     May 30 Republican offensive on Segovia
     Jun  3 Mola killed in air crash
     Jun 16 POUM leaders arrested
     Jun 19 Fall of Bilbao to Nationalists
     Jun 23 Germany and Italy withdraw from NIC naval 
            patrol
     Jun 30 Portugal ends frontier control
     Jul  1 Collective letter from Spanish bishops
     Jul  6 Start of Republican’s Brunete offensive. 
            Continues until Jul 24
     Jul 12 France ends NIC frontier control
     Aug 11 Council of Aragon dissolved by decree. 
            Lister’s II Division crushes agricultural 
            collectives
     Aug    Italian submarine offensive
     Aug 15 Prieto constitutes SIM
     Aug 24 Santander surrounded. Republican offensive on 
            Saragossa begins. Battle of Belchite
     Oct  1 Split in UGT. Caballero ousted
     Oct  7 Papal Nuncio appointed to Burgos junta
     Oct 20 Nationalists capture Gijón
     Oct 31 Republican government moved from Valencia to 
            Barcelona
     Nov  6 Italy joins anti-Comintern pact
     Nov 16 British agent appointed to Burgos 
            administration
     Dec 15 Teruel offensive launched by Republic as 
            diversion to nationalist offensive planned on 
            Guadalajara
     Dec 29 nationalist counter-attack

1938 Jan 30 Nationalist decree confirming Franco’s powers. 
            Burgos government constituted
     Feb 22 Nationalists recapture Teruel after flank 
            offensive on Alfambra
     Feb 25 Halifax becomes British Foreign secretary 
            after Eden resigns
     Mar  9 nationalist offensive in Aragon begins. 
            nationalist ‘Labour Charter’
     Mar 10 Anschluß. Hitler marches into Austria
     Mar 12 Blum prime minister again. French frontier 
            opened to war materials
     Mar 16 Intense Italian bombing raids on Barcelona. 
            Communist demonstration to bring down Prieto
     Apr  6 Prieto’s resignation obtained by Negrín
     Apr 15 Nationalists reach Mediterranean at Vinaroz
     Apr 16 Anglo-Italian agreement signed
     Apr 30 Negrín 13 Points announced
     May    Nationalists extend gains on southern side of 
            corridor to sea
     Jun 13 Daladier closes French frontier on British 
            pressure
     Jul  5 Nationalist offensive towards Valencia. 
            Withdrawal of volunteers agreed in principle 
            by NIC
     Jul 25 Popular Army crosses Ebro and advances on 
            Gandesa
     Jul 26 Republic accepts British withdrawal of 
            volunteers proposals
     Aug 16 Republican cabinet crisis with resignations of 
            Ayguadé and Irujo. Negrín and communists 
            organize show of strength in Barcelona
     Sep 21 Negrín’s speech to League of nations 
            announcing withdrawal of International 
            Brigades
     Sep 30 Munich agreement
     Oct 11 POUM trial until Nov 1
     Nov  8 Republican army withdrawal across Ebro until 
            Nov 15
     Nov 15 Farewell parade to International Brigades in 
            Barcelona
     Nov 16 Anglo-Italian Agreement comes into force
     Dec 23 Nationalist assault on Catalonia begins

1939 Jan  3 Decisive nationalist breakthroughs in southern 
            Catalonia
     Jan 15 Tarragona falls
     Jan 26 nationalist troops occupy Barcelona
     Feb  1 Last meeting of Cortes at Figueras
     Feb  5 Genoa falls to Nationalists. French government 
            allows Republican troops to cross frontier
     Feb 16 Negrín meets Republican military leaders at 
            Los Llanos
     Feb 21 Nationalist Spain signs anti-Comintern pact 
            secretly (announced publicly Mar 27)
     Feb 27 Britain and France recognize Burgos government
     Feb 28 Azaña resigns presidency
     Mar  2 Casado and Matallana summoned by Negrín to 
            Elda
     Mar  3 Negrín’s appointments of communist officers to 
            all key posts
     Mar  5 Republican fleet leaves port. Valencia resists 
            Lister. Casado’s national Defence Council 
            established in Madrid
     Mar 10 Mera’s troops surround communists in Madrid
     Mar 28 Nationalist troops enter Madrid
     Mar 31 Nationalist troops occupy final objectives. 
            Non-aggression pact signed with Salazar regime 
            in Portugal. Five-year treaty of friendship 
            signed with Germany

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