The participation of Moroccan regulars and Italian tanks from the recently arrived Corpo Truppe Volontarie resulted in a complete rout of the Spanish Republican Army and the capitulation of Málaga in less than a week.

[12] On 17 January the campaign to conquer Málaga began when the newly constituted Army of the South under Queipo de Llano advanced from the west and soldiers led by Colonel Antonio Muñoz Jiménez attacked from the northeast.

The Italians, led by Mario Roatta and known as the Blackshirts, formed nine mechanized battalions of about 5,000-10,000[5] soldiers and were equipped with light tanks and armored cars.

[8] The Republican forces were composed of 12,000 Andalusian militiamen (only 8,000 armed)[14][1] of the National Confederation of Labour (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, or CNT).

Attacking from the north on the night of 4 February, the Italian Blackshirts achieved a massive breakthrough because of the Republicans being unprepared for armoured warfare.

"[20] The devastating defeat suffered by the Republicans caused the Communists in the Valencia government to force the resignation on 20 February of General Asensio Torrado, the Under Secretary of War.

At the city's fall he was captured by Nationalist forces and narrowly avoided being put to death out of hand, thanks largely to the intervention of Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell.