An important element of support was their greater access to foreign aid, with their German and Italian allies helping considerably.
With his ranks being swelled by Italian troops and Spanish colonial soldiers from Morocco, Franco made additional attempts to capture Madrid in January and February 1937, but failed again.
In July, they made a move to recapture Segovia, forcing Franco to pull troops away from the Madrid front to halt their advance.
Franco soon regained momentum, invading Aragon in August and then taking the city of Santander (now in Cantabria).
[1] Two months of bitter fighting followed and, despite determined Asturian resistance, Gijón fell in late October, effectively ending the war in the North.