Patriotic Postcard of General Goded

The victory of the Popular Front pushed a significant group of military officers who had already been on the verge of taking action in December 1935 toward the path of insurrection. When Alcalá-Zamora denied Gil Robles the presidency of the government, the officers under his command in the Ministry of War expressed their outrage. His undersecretary, General Joaquín Fanjul, offered to take to the Madrid garrison into the streets to oppose what he called the “coup d’état by the president of the Republic.”

Gil Robles responded cautiously. He asked Fanjul to consult with Franco and any other generals he deemed appropriate to determine whether it was the right moment to act. Fanjul met with Varela, Franco, Ángel Rodríguez del Barrio, and Manuel Goded, whom Gil Robles had appointed Director General of Aeronautics after the amnesty for the 1932 coup plotters. Goded, shown in this “patriotic postcard” from 1937, expressed his conviction in the need for military action, but due to Franco’s hesitations, they agreed to first gauge their political and military support. The response from Renovación Española was positive, but the conservative wing of the army lacked a unified position. Military officers close to conservative republicanism were displeased by the radicalization of their colleagues and saw Portela as a possible solution. Another obstacle was the loyalty to the president of the Republic of generals like Queipo de Llano—who was the president's in-law—and Nicolás Molero, the new Minister of War. Aware of their lack of operational capacity and legitimacy to carry out a successful coup, the generals decided to wait.

Goded, Varela, and other generals began meeting again in January 1936. Their objective was for Goded to lead aa preemptive rebellion if the election results were unfavorable, but Portela’s refusal to declare a state of war thwarted their plans.

Despite the reorganization of military command by Azaña’s government—which included the dismissal of Franco as Chief of the General Staff and the dispersion of generals supportive of the insurrection—the conspiracies continued to spread.

On 8 March 8, before the officers who had been reassigned left for their new posts, the generals met again and agreed to form a military junta to prepare a “national uprising” aimed at overthrowing the government and restoring order. However, they did not agree on the model for the coup. Mola proposed a coordinated uprising in the provinces that would converge on Madrid, while Goded advocated for concentrating the attack directly on the capital. On 17 April, a softened version of Goded’s plan was approved with an immediate target date: 20 April.
The insurrection failed before it was fully launched. Despite support from the Falangists and Requetés, the indecision of the leaders and the government's close surveillance of the conspirators derailed it. On 19 April, Generals Varela and Orgaz were arrested; Villegas, Saliquet, and González Carrasco were placed on compulsory reserve status.

The same day, a group of captains from the garrisons involved in the northern region chose Mola as the “Director” of the conspiracy, and his plan to prepare the uprising from the provinces was adopted.

PMC