Pinilla refused to surrender despite threats and starvation, holding off the Republican forces for just over a month until the defenders were killed in a large militia assault.

[1] The Nationalist uprising of July 1936 fared poorly in Asturias, a province that was overwhelmingly in support of the Republicans due to the strong presence of the mining industry.

Membership of the left-wing CNT and UGT trade unions in Asturias totalled around 70,000, forming the backbone of a disciplined militia at the disposal of the Republicans.

Pinilla, the military governor of the city, joined in the rebellion but did not openly declare his loyalty to the Nationalists due to the unfavourable situation in Asturias.

By late July, the Gijón garrison found itself surrounded and cut off from the Army of the North of Emilio Mola by several hundred miles of enemy territory.

The Nationalist cruiser Almirante Cervera could have supported the rebel troops with her 6-inch main guns from the sea, but this offered no real hope of relief.

Anarchists at the concurrent siege of the Alcázar in Toledo had captured Pinilla's son and threatened to execute him if the defenders refused to surrender.