The July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona was a military uprising in Barcelona, the capital and largest city of Catalonia, Spain on 19 July 1936 which contributed to the start of the Spanish Civil War. Most of the Spanish Army officers in the city supported the coup, but the Civil Guard, the Assault Guard (Guardia de Asalto) and the Mossos d'Esquadra remained loyal to the Republican government. Furthermore, Barcelona was one of the strongholds of the anarchist union, the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). The rebel troops were defeated after one day of bloody combat. The defeat of the military coup in Barcelona was a great success for the Republic, although after the defeat of the Francoists it became clear that the workers' militias – in particular, the anarcho-syndicalist militias – were the ones that really controlled the city. The coup attempt marked the beginning of the Spanish Revolution and also the beginning of a harsh repression in Catalonia against those suspected of being "fascist" or opposed to the revolution. Background On 17–18 July a part of the Spanish Army, led by a group of officers (among them the generals José Sanjurjo, Francisco Franco, Emilio Mola, Manuel Goded Llopis and Gonzalo Queipo de Llano), tried to overthrow the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish coup of July 1936. One of the main goals of the coup was to take control of the main cities of the country, among them Barcelona. Opposing forces In Barcelona, the plotters led by the General Fernández Burriel planned to use the troops of the garrisons in the periphery of the city, about 5000 men of the IV division of the Spanish Army in order to march towards the city center and join up in the Plaça de Catalunya. Then they would occupy the city and wait the arrival of General Goded. The general Llano de la Encomienda, commander of the IV division, stayed loyal to the government, but most of the officers supported the coup. Nevertheless, the Guardia Civil (Civil Guard) in Barcelona, led by General José Aranguren; the Guardia de Asalto; and the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, led by Captain Frederic Escofet, (around 5000 men) remained loyal to the government. Also remaining loyal was El Prat air base, commanded by Colonel Felipe Díaz Sandino, whose planes bombed the rebel troops. On 18 July news about a rising of