The 1936 coup in the Albacete province was part of a nationwide military-civilian revolt. On July 19–20 the rebels easily gained control of the entire province, but it remained an isolated island of insurgency surrounded by areas controlled by the loyalists. On July 21 loyalist troops advancing from the Levantine coast made first incursions into the province and with little combat they advanced West during the next few days. Following a few hours of urban fighting, on July 25 the rebels surrendered in Albacete and soon the entire province fell back under the government control. The battle for the province was fought by relatively minor forces. The rebels amounted to slightly more than 1,000 men. Though they were mostly civil volunteers, their core was formed by some 350 Guardia Civil troops; the overall command was with the provincial Benemérita head, comandante Angel Molina Galano. The loyalists were some 4,000 men. Most of them were members of workers’ militias, but their strength relied on 6 companies detached from the army, navy and Carabineros units; they were led by comandante José Balibrea Vera. The number of casualties is not clear, though the KIAs probably did not exceed 100-200 men. The coup in the province was marked by some unique features. Albacete was one of 28 provincial capitals where the rebels seized control, but one of only 2 where they were soon defeated by the loyalists. Unlike in most other provinces the coup was staged mostly by Guardia Civil, and unlike in most others, it was defeated by the military. The loyalist takeover of the province represented the largest single territorial gain of the Republicans during the entire Civil War. Background The province of Albacete formed part of the Valencia military district, home to III. División Orgánica. There were only two small military units in the province: a detachment of the Valencian 10. Infantry Regiment, which manned the Chinchilla prison, and the staff of a minor air base in La Torrecica. The key armed formation of the province was Guardia Civil; out of its 350 servicemen some 250 were stationed in Albacete, 50 in Almansa, Hellín and Villarrobledo each, plus minor units in few other locations, especially Alcaraz. There was also 1 company of Guardia de Asalto and a minor detachment of Guardia de Seguridad deployed in the province. Though Albacete was traditionally a moderate and monarchist province, social tension in the province