| Chronology of the Spanish Civil War |
Date |
| The Spanish dictator, Miguel Primo de Rivera is forced to resign. |
28th January, 1930 |
| Second Spanish Republic proclaimed and Alfonso XIII goes into exile. |
14th April, 1931 |
| New government announces the end to compulsory education in schools. |
6th May, 1931 |
| Electoral law is revised to permit women to vote. |
8th May, 1931 |
| Manuel Azaña, Minister of War, announces massive cuts in the size of the Spanish Army. |
25th May, 1931 |
| Cortes approves the legalization of divorce. |
17th October, 1931 |
| Niceto Zamora resigned as prime minister and is replaced by Manuel Azaña. |
16th October, 1931 |
| Niceto Zamora elected president of the Second Spanish Republic. |
11th December, 1931 |
| General Jose Sanjurjo leads a military uprising against the government. |
10th August, 1932 |
| Anarchist uprisings in Saragossa, Seville, Bilbao and Madrid. |
8th January, 1933 |
| Gil Robles forms the Catholic Party (CEDA). |
28th February, 1933 |
| José Antonio Primo de Rivera establishes the Falange Española. |
29th October, 1933 |
| Spanish right-wing parties win general election over a divided left. |
19th November, 1933 |
| Anarchist uprisings in Catalonia and Aragon. |
2nd December, 1933 |
| General Jose Sanjurjo granted amnesty. |
20th April, 1934 |
| Manuel Azaña is arrested and interned in Barcelona. |
7th October, 1934 |
| Tribunal of Constitutional Guarantees acquit Manuel Azaña. |
6th April, 1935 |
| Andres Nin and Joaquin Maurin creates the Workers Party of Marxist Unification (POUM). |
September, 1935 |
| Francisco Largo Caballero is replaced by Indalecio Prieto as head of the Socialist Party. |
20th December, 1935 |
| An electoral pact is signed by the Socialist Party and Communist Party. |
11th January 1936 |
| Manuel Azaña organizes the formation of the Popular Front. |
15th January 1936 |
| Popular Front win general election in Spain. |
16th February, 1936 |
| President Niceto Alcalá Zamora appoints Manuel Azaña as prime minister. |
19th February, 1936 |
| The Cortes grants an amnesty to all those in Spain charged with insurrection. |
21st February, 1936 |
| General Francisco Franco is relieved of his command and sent to the Canary Islands. |
22nd February, 1936 |
| Falange Espanola offices in Madrid are closed down. |
27th February, 1936 |
| Francisco Franco, Emilio Mola, Juan Yague and José Sanjurjo meet to discuss tactics. |
28th February, 1936 |
| General Emilio Mola is relieved of his command and sent to Pamplona. |
28th February, 1936 |
| Falange Espanola is banned by Popular Front government. |
14th March, 1936 |
| José Antonio Primo de Rivera is arrested and charged with trafficking illegal arms. |
14th March, 1936 |
| Manuel Azaña presents details of his reform legislation. |
4th April, 1936 |
| Niceto Alcalá Zamora is deposed as president of the Spanish Republic. |
7th April, 1936 |
| Emilio Mola meets Gonzalo Queipo de Llano to discuss the possibility of a military uprising. |
13th April, 1936 |
| The Cortes makes it illegal for military officers to attend secret political meetings. |
18th April, 1936 |
| Manuel Azaña elected as president of the Spanish Republic. |
8th May, 1936 |
| Indalecio Prieto refuses the post of prime minister. |
8th May, 1936 |
| To protect them from arsonist attacks the government orders the closing of Catholic schools. |
20th May, 1936 |
| José Antonio Primo de Rivera is sentenced to five months in prison with trafficking arms. |
28th May, 1936 |
| Civil Guard suppresses a left-wing rally at Yeste and kills nineteen people in the process. |
28th May, 1936 |
| Indalecio Prieto is shot during a socialist rally at Ecija. |
31st May, 1936 |
| The Cortes passes legislation that protects agricultural tenants from eviction. |
2nd June, 1936 |
| Over a million workers are on strike in Spain. |
9th June, 1936 |
| Luis Bolin arranges for Francisco Franco to be flown to Morocco. |
6th July, 1936 |
| José Castillo, an officer in Republican Assault Guards, is asssassinated by Falangists. |
12th July, 1936 |
| Monarchist leader, José Calvo Sotelo is murdered in revenge for Castillo's death. |
13th July, 1936 |
| Successful military uprising in Morocco and Seville. |
18th July, 1936 |
| General Francisco Franco issues manifesto that seeks to justify rebellion. |
18th July, 1936 |
| Dolores Ibarruri makes her "No Pasaran" radio speech. |
18th July, 1936 |
| General Jose Sanjurjo killed in air crash. |
20th July, 1936 |
| British Labour Party expresses its support for Popular Front government. |
20th July, 1936 |
| José Giral, the Spanish prime minister, appeals to the French government for arms. |
20th July, 1936 |
| General Emilio Mola establishes a Committee of National Defence. |
24th July, 1936 |
| Antifascist Miltias Committee establish the Anarchist Brigade. |
24th July, 1936 |
| Rebel forces capture Granada. |
24th July, 1936 |
| Adolf Hitler agrees to give military aid to General Francisco Franco. |
26th July, 1936 |
| Comintern agrees to establish International Brigades. |
26th July, 1936 |
| German aircraft arrive in Morocco and begins transporting Nationalist troops to Spain. |
28th July, 1936 |
| Nine Italian bombers arrive in Morocco. |
30th July, 1936 |
| Leon Blum announces France's policy of non-intervention in Spanish Civil War. |
2nd August, 1936 |
| General Francisco Franco and the Nationalist Army captures Badajoz. |
4th August, 1936 |
| General Francisco Franco establishes his headquarters in Seville. |
6th August, 1936 |
| France closes its border and stops volunteers crossing into Spain. |
8th August, 1936 |
| Indalecio Prieto appeals on radio for an end to the Red Terror. |
10th August, 1936 |
| The first International Brigades volunteers reach Spain. |
12th August, 1936 |
| Nationalists massacre Republicans in Badajoz. |
14th August, 1936 |
| Stanley Baldwin announces ban on the export of arms to Spain. |
15th August, 1936 |
| Federico Garcia Lorca is murdered by Falangist in Viznar. |
19th August, 1936 |
| Nationalist authorities introduce conscription. |
26th August, 1936 |
| Nationalist forces bomb Madrid for the first time. |
28th August, 1936 |
| Francisco Largo Caballero forms new Republican government. |
4th September, 1936 |
| Nationalist Army take Irun and close the border with France. |
5th September, 1936 |
| José Aguirre forms an autonomous Basque government. |
7th September, 1936 |
| Representatives of 27 countries form Non-Intervention Committee in London. |
9th September, 1936 |
| Alexander Orlov of the NKVD arrives in Spain. |
9th September, 1936 |
| Nationalist generals select Francisco Franco to become chief of state. |
21st September, 1936 |
| Alvarez del Vayo pleads the Republic's case at the League of Nations. |
25th September, 1936 |
| Republican goventment approves Basque autonomy. |
1st October, 1936 |
| Francisco Franco first cabinet includes his brother, three generals and a diplomat. |
3rd October, 1936 |
| 650 members of the International Brigades arrive at Alicante. |
9th October, 1936 |
| The first aid from the Soviet Union arrives in Spain. |
12th October, 1936 |
| General José Miaja placed in charge of the defence of Madrid. |
22nd October, 1936 |
| 510 tons of gold from the Bank of Spain is sent to the Soviet Union. |
25th October, 1936 |
| Nationalist troops reach the western and southern suburbs of Madrid. |
1st November 1936 |
| Brunete captured by the Nationalist Army. |
2nd November 1936 |
| Nationalist forces begin siege of Madrid. |
6th November, 1936 |
| Republican government moves from Madrid to Valencia. |
6th November, 1936 |
| International Brigades and peoples' militias repulse Nationalist assault on Madrid. |
8th November, 1936 |
| Non-Intervention Committee concludes that there is no evidence of foreign intervention in Spain. |
10th November, 1936 |
| Buenaventura Durruti arrives in Madrid with his Anarchist Brigade. |
14th November, 1936 |
| Condor Legion, a squadron of the Luftwaffe, in action for the first time. |
15th November, 1936 |
| Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini recognise Franco's regime. |
18th November, 1936 |
| Buenaventura Durruti killed while defending Madrid. |
19th November, 1936 |
| Miguel Primo de Rivera, leader of the Falange Española, executed in Alicante. |
20th November, 1936 |
| Nationalists attempted to cut the Madrid-La Coruna road to the north-east of Madrid. |
13th December 1936 |
| Andres Nin is ousted from the government. |
16th December, 1936 |
| Communists insist on the removal of the POUM from the Catalan government. |
17th December, 1936 |
| Volunteers from Italy arrive in Spain to fight for the Nationalists. |
22nd December, 1936 |
| President Franklin D. Roosevelt bans the export of arms to Spain. |
6th January, 1937 |
| An anarchist rising in Bilbao is repressed. |
12th January, 1937 |
| The FAL and POUM demonstrate in Barcelona in favour of social revolution. |
14th January, 1937 |
| General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano and Nationalist Army take Malaga. |
8th February, 1937 |
| The International Brigades halt the Nationalist advance at Jarama. |
12th February, 1937 |
| The Communist Party Congress demands that the POUM be elimated. |
5th March, 1937 |
| Italian Corps take Guadalajara. |
8th March, 1937 |
| The Republican Army defeats the Italian Corps outside Madrid. |
18th March, 1937 |
| General Emilio Mola opens the Nationalist offensive in the Basque region. |
30th March, 1937 |
| Francisco Franco unites the Falange Espanola with the Carlists to form a single party. |
19th April, 1937 |
| The Condor Legion bombs Guernica, the Basque capital in Northern Spain. |
26th April, 1937 |
| Anarchists and Syndicalists revolt in Barcelona against the authoritarian rule of government. |
3rd May, 1937 |
| Francisco Largo Caballero dispatches Assault Guard to Barcelona. |
5th May, 1937 |
| Uprising in Barcelona suppressed by the Republican Army. |
10th May, 1937 |
| Francisco Largo Caballero is replaced by Juan Negrin as head of the Republican government. |
17th May, 1937 |
| General Emilio Mola killed in air crash. |
3rd June, 1937 |
| Juan Negrin outlaws POUM. |
16th June, 1937 |
| Andres Nin is arrested and charged with conspiring with General Francisco Franco. |
16th June, 1937 |
| Nationalist Army captures Bilbao. |
19th June, 1937 |
| Andres Nin, leader of POUM, is murdered by agents from the Soviet Union. |
20th June, 1937 |
| Paul Robeson makes important speech on the war at the Albert Hall in London. |
24th June, 1937 |
| Nationalist forces take Santander. |
26th June, 1937 |
| General Vicente Rojo launches attack at Brunete. |
6th July, 1937 |
| The anarchist-dominayed Council of Aragón is dissolved by Juan Negrin. |
10th August, 1937 |
| Nationalist Army captures the north-coast port of Santander. |
25th August, 1937 |
| Nationalists bomb Madrid for the first time. |
28th August, 1937 |
| The Vatican recognise Franco's regime. |
28th August, 1937 |
| Republican forces capture Belchite. |
1st October, 1937 |
| Francisco Largo Caballero announces his opposition to Juan Negrin. |
17th October, 1937 |
| Republican government moves from Valencia to Barcelona. |
28th October, 1937 |
| The CNT withdraws from the Popular Front government. |
12th November, 1937 |
| Nationalist aircraft bombs Barcelona. |
8th December, 1937 |
| Republican Army launch an offensive at Aragon. |
14th December, 1937 |
| Republican Army capture the city of Teruel from the Nationalists. |
9th January, 1938 |
| General Francisco Franco includes first civilians in his government. |
30th January, 1938 |
| Nationalist Army recaptures Teruel. |
22nd February, 1938 |
| Italian airforce starts bombing Barcelona. |
16th March, 1938 |
| Leon Blum, back in power again in France, reopens the border with Spain. |
17th March, 1938 |
| Indalecio Prieto calls for the start of peace negotiations. |
28th March, 1938 |
| Juan Negrin sacks Indalecio Prieto as war minister. |
5th April, 1938 |
| Nationalist Army captures the Republican town of Vinaroz. |
15th April, 1938 |
| Juan Negrin proposes a thirteen-point peace terms. |
1st May, 1938 |
| Leon Blum resigns and France's border with Spain is closed again. |
21st June, 1938 |
| 80,000 Republican troops begin crossing the River Ebro. |
25th July, 1938 |
| Nationalist Army break through Republican lines at Gandesa. |
3rd September, 1938 |
| Juan Negrin announces the proposed withdrawal of the International Brigades from Spain. |
21st September, 1938 |
| All foreign troops fighting for the Republican Army leave the frontline. |
4th October, 1938 |
| Trial of POUM leaders starts in Barcelona. |
28th October, 1938 |
| International Brigades parade through the streets of Barcelona. |
15th November, 1938 |
| Nationalist Army win victory at River Ebro. |
16th November, 1938 |
| Francisco Franco grants mining concessions to Germany in return for military aid. |
19th November, 1938 |
| Juan Negrin moves his government from Barcelona to Figueras. |
25th January, 1939 |
| Barcelona captured by the Nationalists. |
26th January, 1939 |
| President Manuel Azaña crosses the border into exile. |
4th February, 1939 |
| Neville Chamberlain recognizes General Franco's government. |
27th February, 1939 |
| Juan Negrin attempts to form a communist government on the territory he controls. |
4th March, 1939 |
| Segismundo Casado and Julián Besteiro establish anti-Negrin National Defence Junta. |
4th March, 1939 |
| José Miaja, Republican commander in Madrid joins anti-Negrin National Defence Junta. |
6th March, 1939 |
| Luis Barceló, Republican commander of the First Corps, attempts to retake Madrid. |
7th March, 1939 |
| Communist forces defeated in Madrid. |
8th March, 1939 |
| Juan Negrin and his Soviet advisers fly out of Spain. |
12th March, 1939 |
| Nationalist Army enters Madrid after a siege of nearly three years. |
27th March, 1939 |
| Nationalist Army captures Valencia. |
30th March, 1939 |
| Francisco Franco announces the end of the Spanish Civil War. |
1st April, 1939 |