The Price of Glory: The Siege of the Alcazar, July-September, 1936 2026

“Is this the price of glory?” –General Jose Moscardó Ituarte’s comment upon learning that his two sons, Pepe and Luis, had been shot by their Republican captors for his refusal to surrender The Alcazar.

“You will find The Alcazar destroyed, but its honor intact.” –General Moscardo’s comment to General Franciso Franco, September 29, 1936.

The uprising of the Spanish “Nationalist” military against the Republic of Spain in July 1936 was met by surprisingly (at least to the Nationalists) strong resistance by those who were willing to defend the democratic government. The Alcazar, that dominated the city of Toledo and its valuable munitions factory, was held by a small Nationalist garrison made up largely of Civil Guard members and about 100 ultra-right wing Falangists. Nearly three thousand Republicans, supported by artillery, tanks and aircraft laid an increasingly bitter and costly siege to the historic fortress complex. The Alcazar was just 40 miles south of Madrid, and as the siege went on, it became an embarrassment to the Republican cause (especially as the atrocities and death toll began to mount), and a source of motivation and recruitment for the Nationalists.

—description from the publisher