Madrid will no longer be attacked

The second Nationalist attack, via the Jaramâ valley, combined with an Italian offensive on Malaga - which was a success and led to the fall of the city - began on February 6, 1937. Led by five mobile brigades and six heavy batteries , it will aim to cut the road from Madrid to Valencia. There too, the violence of the fighting will reach its climax. Alternately, nationalists and republicans, aided by their foreign supporters, won successes, dearly paid for. As around Madrid, the battle of La Jaramà will end without the nationalists having been able to obtain a decision. Both sides will fortify their positions. The Republicans will have lost 25,000 men and abandoned fifteen kilometers of frontage, but the road to Valencia will remain with them.
The Nationalists' third attempt to seize Madrid will take place at the beginning of March 1937 Moscardô, the hero of the Alcazar, will be its leader with his 20,000 legionnaires, Moroccans and Carlists. But he will be powerfully supported by 30,000 Italians, commanded by Roatta. The aim of the maneuver will be to seize Guadalajara, 80 kilometers away from Madrid, and to make the junction with the nationalist troops of the Northeast, in Alcala de Henares, thus completing the encirclement of the capital. The battle of Guadalajara will be lost by the nationalists, who will
not be able to overcome the energetic resistance of the Basque and communist brigades and the international brigades. For the first time, the Italians will find in front of them other Italians, belonging to the opposite camp. The Italo-Republicans of the "Garibaldi" brigade will be the big winners of the day, while the Italians of Roatta, hampered by bad weather and bad maneuvers, will not be able to take advantage of their motorized mass. From this moment Madrid will no longer be attacked.