August the Nationalists won the Battle of Mérida. After that, Yagüe turned west and advanced to the city of Badajoz and on 14 August, after a heavy bombardment, Yagüe’s troops won the Battle of Badajoz. The Massacre of Badajoz saw Yagüe's troops kill between 500 and 4,000 republican soldiers and civilians and looted the city, even the shops and houses of the Nationalist supporters. One Nationalist officer said that this was a "war tax they pay for they salvation". Many Republican refugees tried to escape across the Portuguese frontier, but they were handed over to the Nationalists by the Portuguese government and executed. Aftermath After the occupation of Mérida and Badajoz, the Nationalists connected the Nationalist-held northern zone and the southern zone. Furthermore, the Nationalists occupied the western half of the province of Badajoz and the Republican government lost control of the Portuguese frontier. The Nationalists carried out harsh repression in the conquered territory. Between 6,600 and 12,000 Republican supporters were executed by the Nationalists (the Republicans had executed 243 Nationalist supporters). After the fall of Badajoz, Yagüe turned east and pushed towards Madrid. He defeated the Republican troops in the Battle of the Sierra Guadalupe and on September 3, he occupied Talavera de La Reina after defeating the Republican militiamen. Yagüe had advanced 500 km in four weeks and the road to Madrid was open. See also List of Spanish Nationalist military equipment of the Spanish Civil War List of Spanish Republican military equipment of the Spanish Civil War References Bibliography Beevor, Antony. (2006). The Battle for Spain. The Spanish civil war, 1936–1939. Penguin Books. London. . Espinosa, Francisco. (2003). La columna de la muerte. El avance del ejército franquista de Sevilla a Badajoz.. Editorial Crítica. Barcelona. Graham Helen. (2005). The Spanish Civil War. A very short introduction. Oxford University Press. Jackson, Gabriel. (1967). The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931–1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. Preston, Paul. (2006). The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, revolution & revenge. Harper Perennial. London. Thomas, Hugh. (2001). The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. London. External links Youtube: Massacre of Badajoz Badajoz, city of horrors by Jay Allen. Battles of the Spanish Civil War Battles in Extremadura 1936 in Spain Conflicts in 1936 Mass murder in 1936 Spanish Civil War in Extremadura August 1936 events