March 28 1939 – Generalissimo Francisco Franco Conquers Madrid
*Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Twenty-eight months after launching an assault on Madrid, Generalissimo Francisco Franco and his Nationalist soldiers finally broke into the Spanish capital on March 28, 1939. Within days, the bloody and brutal Spanish Civil War would come to a close, opening the door to one of the most severe dictatorships in modern history. Like much of Europe, Spain in the early 20th century was in the midst of a confusing shift away from monarchy. Though King Alfonso XIII was officially the ruler, the centuries-old system by which wealthy landowners — known as latifundia — were able to exert heavy influence on the government remained intact, a fact which increasingly left the masses discontent as the decades passed. With the close of World War I, a number of groups sought to end the central authority held by Alfonso and the Spanish nobility. Working class men and former soldiers conspired to overthrow the monarchy, succeeding with a coup in 1923. Miguel Primo de Rivera took the reins as dictator, maintaining his hold on the country for seven years until it became clear his government would fail.