After four attempts to negotiate the surrender and retrieval of the civilians entrenched at the Alcazar of Toledo with its 1,300 Nationalist defenders, the desperate Republicans contemplated their last resort: blowing up the legendary Alcazar with mines.

The siege had been going on for almost three months. It had achieved limited results for the Republicans despite outnumbering the defenders six to one.

On September 18, the Republican president approved the destruction of the fortress. From an observatory, the president and his cabinet waited for the explosion. When it did, and half the fortress became rubble, the Republicans launched a large-scale attack to capture it once and for all.

But the entrenched defenders were ready to fight to the last bullet, of which they had none to spare…

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