the truth he diverted his men to Albacete. July 23, Thursday In the night hours the rebel Guardia Civil convoy from Hellín, commanded by Serena and agreed to report in loyalist headquarters in Murcia, changed direction. They reverted North and having detoured Hellín, via Elche de la Sierra they reached Albacete in the early hours of dusk. In course of the day the loyalists consolidated their positions in eastern comarcas of the province, especially as new troops from Murcia and Cartagena, led by comandante José Balibrea Vera, were arriving at Hellín. July 24, Friday Having consolidated their positions the government units resumed offensive towards the West. One column headed by Gillis proceeded from Almansa, another one headed by Balibrea proceeded from Hellín. Both columns converged near Chinchillas, where they were joined by the local military unit which stayed loyal to the government and for 4 days remained encircled. Two aircraft tried to bomb Guardia Civil positions in Albacete, but inaccurate pounding produced death of 4 civilians, including 2 women and 1 child. The rebel commanders were contemplating withdrawal, but as there were not enough vehicles available, Molina decided that no one would be left behind and all the rebels would accept the battle. He deployed his men at the Eastern outskirts of the city, bridges were blown up, railway tracks were torn and roadblocks were set. In course of the day the insurgents in the provincial capital were joined by reinforcements called from locations not seized by the loyalists yet, e.g. a large detachment of Guardia Civil arrived from Villarrobledo. Villarrobledo was left defended only by the local Falangists, yet in the afternoon of that day the militiamen arriving from the Toledo province already entered the city and the urban combat ensued. July 25, Saturday Since early morning the loyalist aviation kept bombing Albacete; also the artillery laid fire on presumed rebel positions in the city. The insurgents hardly responded; their own artillery pieces failed, probably due to sabotage. The governmental troops, under a unified command of Balibrea, consisted of few hundred military and some 3,500 militiamen, which prepared for assault. Soon afterwards the loyalists entered the urban area, exchanging fire with the rebels. The latter started to withdraw towards the Guardia Civil barracks, and at 10 AM their radio message to Nationalist headquarters declared “desmoralización fuerzas extremada”. Shortly before mid-day Chápuli committed suicide shooting himself in the head. The