First the battle in the Jarama Valley, which cost the Republican Forces an enormous amount of armament and the loss of many, many soldiers and volunteers. But the Fascists lost so many men of their crack units, Foreign Legion and Moorish Cavalry, that these units will never again be able to spearhead a Fascist offensive. And the remaining Republican Forces, reorganized in the "Ejercito Popular" (Popular Army), convert to a tough, battle probed army.

Second the fall of Malaga, showing the lack of military skills and organization of the Republican Militias, and the brutality and mercilessness of the Fascist Army against the beaten enemy as well as against the civil population. Such terror was unseen before, even in World War One, but it is only a taste of what is awaiting whole Europe only 3 years later, when German Fascists opened the Second World War.

The situation in Malaga epitomized the worst conditions existing in the republican zone: Perhaps 600 hostages are held on a prison ship in the harbor, and groups of them are shot in reprisal for the several air raids over the port. The sailors' committees in the fleet and the city administration are divided in mortal rivalry between CNT and the Communist party. Like all Republican cities, it is lacking antiaircraft defense. Its militiamen, not reorganized yet in the new Popular Army and mostly anarchists, built no trenches or road blocks, cause they consider this as cowardice. The government assigns Colonel Villalba, a professional officer, to organize the defense; but without guns to place on the heights, without ammunition to give his soldiers, and without the slightest possibility of controlling the rivalries within the city, there is virtually nothing he can do.

The invading force consists of some 10.000 Moors, 5.000 Requetes (right-winged Militias), 5.000 Italians and plentiful supplies of trucks and artillery. They have only a few tanks and planes, but they can use it with maximum effectiveness in the virtual absence of opposition.

Fascist General Orgaz is in command of around 40.000 troops, most of them Foreign Legion and Moorish Cavalry, supported by antitank artillery, two battalions of German-operated heavy machine guns (German ground troops under the command of the German Condor Legion), German-operated tanks and planes (Condor Legion). Also a group of 600 Irish Fascists under the command of the right-winged fanatic Eoin O'Duffy.The Fascists want to cut he main Madrid-Valencia highway.
General Pozas, commander of the new Central Army of the Republic, is planning an own offensive against the Fascists line and is therefore massing men and material in the same area.
Due to their own forthcoming offensive the Republican army failed to fortify their high ground and is taken by the Fascist offensive completely by surprise. The hills were quickly lost and also the two principal bridges.
The Republican guards on the bridges are killed in the night by Moorish commando units. The guards on the Pindoque-Bridge manage to mine the bridge during the attack, but it remains usable for enemy tanks and trucks.

The militiamen resisted rifle and grenade fire, but broke at the totally unfamiliar sight of tanks. The Fascists start immediately to take an enormous amount of prisoners and execute them. The participation on a strike for example, several years ago, is enough to get imprisoned and killed. The Italian military authorities are horrified at the number of executions and the mutilations practiced on the corpses and those who were wounded, as well as the mass raping of women.

40 new Russian airplanes arrived today at the Jarama front, giving the Republic air supremacy in the area. These planes consist of 15 ground strafers and 25 fighters, the fighters are nicknamed "Chatos".
They are forcing consequently the enemy planes to retreat.

This night, Fascist General Orgaz commit all his reserves to gain control over the last key positions, which are still preventing the Fascists from cutting the Valencia highway. Several companies of the International Brigades, British, Polish and Spaniards, were "cut to pieces" attempting to hold this positions.