ABSTRACT
The Spanish army officers who took up arms in 1936 had a variety of grievances. They were outraged at attempts by the Republic to bring an end to the privileged position of the military within civilian society. This had taken the form of a series of military reforms which had threatened their promotions and their status. They were equally, if not more, infuriated by the Republic’s programme of conceding regional autonomy to the historic nationalities of Spain, Catalonia, the Basque country and Galicia. In an army which had lost many battles, officers were obsessed with a determination to win the last battle, that for national integrity. They were also motivated by a belief, carefully cultivated by the rightist press, that the Second Republic had both been deeply anti-Catholic and done nothing to protect property against a rising tide of social disorder.
