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| 1935, Sept |
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| The Lerroux cabinet fell, and was succeeded by several ephemeral ministries, all more or less at the mercy of the Right. | 1 |
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| 1936, Jan. 6 |
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| The cortes was dissolved. | 2 |
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| Feb. 16 |
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| Elections. The Left parties (Republicans, Socialists, Syndicalists, Communists) combined in a Popular Front and won a decisive victory over Conservative Republicans, Clericals, and Monarchists. Manuel Azaña formed a new cabinet (Feb. 19), which at once proclaimed an amnesty and undertook the restoration of Catalan autonomy. The social reform program (distribution of land, development of schools, etc.) was resumed, as was the anticlerical policy. | 3 |
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| April 10 |
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| The cortes voted to remove President Alcalá Zamora for exceeding his powers. | 4 |
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| May 10 |
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| Manuel Azaña was regularly elected president. | 5 |
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| July 18 |
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| THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR. The conflict began with a revolt of the army chiefs at Melilla in Spanish Morocco. It spread rapidly to the garrison towns of Spain (Cadiz, Seville, Saragossa, Burgos, and others). In Madrid and Barcelona the government held its own, thus making early success of the Insurgents impossible. All the parties of the Left united in resistance, and the government declared the confiscation of all religious property (July 28). The Insurgent leaders, Gen. Francisco Franco and Gen. Emilio Mola (Gen. Sanjurjo was killed at the very outset in an airplane accident), were supported by the bulk of the army and air force, and had at their disposal large Moorish contingents. On July 30 they set up a Junta of National Defense at Burgos. At an early stage in the war foreign powers began to intervene, and Spain became the battleground of rival ideologies. Italian and German “volunteers” joined the Insurgents, while Russia supplied the government with equipment and advisers. | 6 |
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| Aug. 15 |
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| The rebels captured Badajoz and began a great advance eastward up the Tagus Valley through Talavera and Toledo (relieved Sept. 28 after a ten-week siege of the famous Alcazar fortress by the Loyalists). | 7 |
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| Sept. 4 |
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| The rebels captured Irun in the north. On the same day a Popular Front government was formed in Madrid under Largo Caballero, with Catalan and Basque Nationalists represented. In November anarchist-syndicalists were included. On Sept. 12 the Insurgents took San Sebastian. | 8 |
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| Oct. 1 |
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| GEN. FRANCISCO FRANCO was appointed by the Insurgents as Chief of the Spanish State. | 9 |
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| Oct. 8 |
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| The government adopted home rule for the Basque provinces, which established the first autonomous Basque government under President José Aguirre. | 10 |
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| Nov. 6 |
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| Beginning of the siege of Madrid by the Insurgents. The government moved to Valencia. Despite heavy fighting in the suburbs of the city and appalling air bombardments, the Loyalist troops held the capital, and the Insurgent assault ended in deadlock. | 11 |
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| Nov. 18 |
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| Germany and Italy recognized the government of Gen. Franco. Great Britain and France continued their ban on supplies to the republican government and attempted to unite the powers on a policy of nonintervention, for fear that the war might expand into a general conflict. Twenty-seven nations, including Germany and Italy, agreed to participate in a nonintervention committee, sitting in London. A scheme for supervision was introduced, but this, like other methods adopted, failed to prevent participation by those powers that cared to intervene. The Italian government came out more and more openly in support of Franco, and ultimately had from 50,000 to 75,000 troops in Spain. | 12 |
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