Battle of Guadarrama
Mola realised that it would be difficult for the coup to succeed by itself in the capital Madrid under the command of General Joaquín Fanjul, so it was planned that a column from the north would march on the city to support the uprising.At midnight on 21 July, another Nationalist column made up of two or three hundred men led by Colonel Ricardo Serrador Santés left Valladolid "amid scenes of indescribable enthusiasm."General José Sanjurjo continued with the mission of occupying Alto del León, the other important pass in the Sierra de Guadarrama, located to the west of Somosierra.[1] A Republican column under the command of Colonel Mangada left Madrid in the direction of Ávila to try to isolate the Nationalist forces occupying Alto del León from the rear.These columns were joined by the CNT, a powerful anarchist trade union which had formed its own militias, and included prominent leaders from Madrid such as Cipriano Mera and Teodoro Mora.[5] The fighting in the Sierra de Guadarrama was fierce and led to prisoners of war being shot on both sides, but the Republicans were able to halt the Nationalist advance on Madrid from the north.
Spanish Civil WarNavacerradaGuadarrama RangeÁvilaMadridSegoviaSpanish RepublicNationalist rebelsJosé Riquelme y López-BagoJulio MangadaJosé María GalánFrancisco GalánFernando CondésJuan ModestoCipriano MeraEmilio MolaFrancisco García-EscámezLisardo DovalRicardo Serrador SantésOnésimo RedondoSpanish Republican ArmyAntifascist Worker and Peasant MilitiasFifth RegimentSpanish ArmyFE de las JONSRequetésBréguet 19BackgroundList of battlesJuly 1936 uprisingRevolutionMelillaTetouanSeville1st BarcelonaCuartel de la MontañaGijónOviedoCuartel de LoyolaGerman interventionAndalusiaAlcázarExtremaduraConvoy de la VictoriaAlmendralejoSigüenza1st MéridaBadajozMajorcaSierra GuadalupeCórdobaGipuzkoaMonte PeladoTalaveraSantuario de Nuestra Señora de la CabezaGuineaCerro MurianoCape SpartelSeseñaCiudad Universitaria1st Corunna RoadVillarrealUrsulaAceitunaLopera2nd Corunna Road3rd Corunna RoadMálagaRoad massacreJaramaCape MachichacoGuadalajaraPozoblancoWar in the NorthBiscayDurangoGuernicaBilbaoSantanderAsturiasEl Mazuco2nd BarcelonaDeutschlandAlmeríaHuescaAlbarracínBruneteZaragoza1st BelchiteCape CherchellSabiñánigoTeruelAlfambraCape PalosAragon3rd Barcelona2nd Lérida1st GandesaLevanteBalaguerLos BlázquezAlicanteGranollersBielsa2nd Mérida2nd GandesaCantabriaSant Vicenç de CaldersCataloniaValsequilloXàtivaLa GarrigaMinorcaCartagenaFinal offensiveSpanishSierra de GuadarramaNationalistsRepublicansmilitiamenSomosierraSpanish coup of 1936NationalistPopular FrontSecond Spanish Republicgarrisons