Strategic Situation
In the summer of 1936, German and Italian airlifts, and later the Nationalist fleet, transported almost 10,000 regular troops of the Spanish Army of Africa to southern Spain across the Straits of Gibraltar. The Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco, assembled at Seville and on August 1, General Franco ordered a sweep north to link up with General Mola's distant forces.
Led in the field by Colonel Carlos Asensio and Major Antonio Castejón, the Nationalist Army dashed north in motorized detachments, pausing to bombard and capture walled frontier towns. By August 10, when Lieutenant Colonel Juan Yagüe arrived to take command near Mérida, the Nationalists had secured 300 km of the Portuguese frontier. Mérida fell after a stiff fight on the banks of the Guadiana River, leaving the neighbouring city of Badajoz, now the last remaining Republican outpost on the Portuguese border, isolated from the Republic. Yagüe marched against Badajoz with 2,250 soldiers of the Spanish Foreign Legion, 750 Moroccan regulares, and five field batteries, leaving Major Heli Tella behind to hold Mérida.
Inside the ancient fortress-city, whose large sections of its walls had been demolished some years before the war, Colonel Ildefonso Puigdendolas commanded about 6,000 Republican militia (other sources claim between 2,000 - 4,000 men). On August 6, when the Nationalist army approached, a body of Guardia Civil attempted to defect to the rebels. Puigdendolas crushed the revolt, but it sapped his forces of men and morale.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Badajoz (1936)
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