The generals who were due to command the rebel forces knew that a large proportion of officers supported the rebellion. They thought that only a few would oppose it. And any resistance from the unionised workers, which they forecast would be strong in Madrid, Zaragoza, Seville and Barcelona, could be overthrown ‘immediately’. That was the plan: an uprising, with all the violence necessary, and a quick victory. Things did not turn out that way, and the result of this uprising was a long civil war, lasting nearly three years.

Rebellion

Confidence in the swift success of the uprising was quickly dispelled when the rebels were defeated in most of the big cities. The combined resistance of the security forces loyal to the Republic and militants of political and syndicalist organisations was crucial in crushing the revolt in Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga, Valencia, Gijón and San Sebastián. However, wherever this combination was absent (such as Seville and Córdoba) or the Civil Guard and Assault Guard backed the actions of the rebels (Zaragoza and Valladolid, for example), the struggle was so one-sided that it did not take long for the rebels to gain their objective.

Seville fell very quickly into the hands of General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano, the Inspector General of the Carabineros, who arrived there on 17 July to head the coup, although the planning had been done by José Cuesta Monereo, a major in the High Command stationed in the city.