Eventually, the front stabilised temporarily on the western fringes of Gipuzkoa (Intxorta) in October 1936, when the Basque Statute of Autonomy was passed in Madrid, and the Basque government was rapidly organised. As military rebels advanced, tens of thousands of panicking civilians from the occupied areas fled towards Bilbao. Beginning Emilio Mola was in command of the start of this campaign on March 31, 1937, but he died in an airplane crash on June 3, 1937. The Nationalists began the attack with 50,000 men of the 61st Solchaga. The Republican Army of the North was commanded by General Francisco Llano de la Encomienda, which was the beginning of the Biscay Campaign. The Nationalist offensive started on March 31, and the same day, the Legión Condor bombed the town of Durango, with 250 civilian deaths. The Navarrese troops attacked the town of Ochandiano, and on April 4, occupied it only after heavy combat. Mola then decided to stop the advance because of bad weather. On April 6, the Nationalist government in Burgos announced the blockade of the Basque ports, but some British ships entered Bilbao. On April 20, the Nationalists continued their offensive and occupied Elgeta after a heavy artillery bombardment. The same day, the Legion Condor bombed Guernica. The Basques retreated to the Iron Belt line, and on April 30, the Italians occupied Bermeo, but the Nationalist battleship España was sunk by a mine. The Republican government decided to send 50 aircraft to Bilbao, and it launched two offensives against Huesca and Segovia to stop the Nationalist advance, but both failed. On June 3, Mola was replaced by Davila. On June 12, the Nationalists started their assault of the Iron Belt and, after heavy aerial and artillery bombings, entered Bilbao on June 19. Battle of Santander After the fall of Bilbao, the Republican government decided to launch an offensive against Brunete to stop the Nationalist offensive in the north on July 6, but by July 25, the offensive had ended. The Republican troops in Cantabria had low morale, and the Basque soldiers did not want to stop fighting. On August 14, the Nationalists launched their offensive against Cantabria, with the 90,000 men, 25,000 of whom were Italian, and 200 aircraft of the Army of the North. On August 17, the Italians occupied the El Escudo Pass and encircled 22 Republican battalions at Campoo, Cantabria. On August 24, the Basque troops