The very day that Franco arrived in Spanish Morocco, whose garrisons he subjugated—July 19—Goded, after having easily imposed the rebellion on Majorca, landed in Barcelona. Taken prisoner the next day by the Republican command, he will be shot at the beginning of August. In Seville, thanks to the "bluff" of General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra - who led the Republican headquarters to believe that a large army was following him - the insurrection was victorious. In Malaga, the rebel general will give up, at the last moment, to decree the state of siege. In Aragon, the “Movement” will prevail. In the Basque country, the situation will remain confused. Burgos, Valladolid, Pamplona will declare themselves without hesitation for the uprising. In short, the beginning of the war will take the classic form of pronunciamientos. July 19 and the days that followed were marked by warm adhesions, reserved approvals or frank opposition. of the rebellion:Morocco, the Spanish islands and, in the peninsula, on the one hand, the mountains of Aragon, Navarre, Galicia and part of Old Castile and, on the other hand, the Andalusian coast , from Algeciras to Huelva. Two stretches of territory that only communicate through Portugal.
The essential problem for Franco was to establish a connection as soon as possible between the North, commanded by Emilio Mola Vidal, and the South, conquered almost without firing a shot, by Queipo de Llano. To carry out this operation, he needs equipment and troops. Its numbers are thin:five divisions in the metropolis - in Valladolid, Burgos, Seville, Zaragoza and Galicia - and 34,000 men in Morocco, including 9,000 natives. His equipment is insufficient. Above all, there is a lack of planes. However, it is essential for him to bring reinforcements from Morocco to Spain. So he needs control of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The navy, remaining loyal to the government, blocks the passage. Thanks to the supply by Germany of military planes and the air protection of Italian bombers, stationed in Majorca, an air bridge is established, which dumps the Moroccan shock battalions on the continent. Assembled in Seville, these numbers, which would gradually increase with other arrivals, would constitute the Army of the South, which Franco would command.
From the first days of August, a mobile column, under the orders of Colonel Yagüe, formed of three banderas of the legion and three tabors - each comprising 25 men - will rush on Mérida, take the city and continue on Badajoz. There, she pauses. Furious fights oppose the nationalists to the republicans. This is the first fierce battle of the civil war:we fight a cuchillo (with a knife). As the north-south junction nears completion, Mola captures Irun and San Sebastian. For his part, Yagüe continued his march on Madrid, thus isolating the Bascoasturian region. He conquers Talavera de la Reina. Toledo is not far. Fortune seems to smile on the nationalists. The north-south junction is made. Madrid, they think, will fall like a ripe fruit.
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