Military conspiracy of 1936 was a plot, developed within the Spanish army from March to July 1936. It commenced shortly after the Popular Front government assumed power. Initially it was barely more than an informal group of Madrid-based generals, who agreed to monitor political developments and be ready to intervene in case of breakdown of state structures and a proletarian revolution forthcoming. Over time conspirators assumed that military action was inevitable and started to gear up for a coup. Its political objectives were not clear: the key one was toppling the Popular Front government, probably leading also to major rectifications of the republican regime towards some sort of corporative state. The conspiracy network grew to hundreds of officers in most Spanish garrisons. The person agreed to lead the future coup was the exiled general José Sanjurjo. His representative in Spain was initially general Ángel Rodríguez del Barrio, but since late May this role was assumed by general Emilio Mola, who emerged as the de facto leader of the conspiracy. Some right-wing politicians were given vague information, but they were neither told any details nor admitted to decision-making process. The government were aware of the plot unfolding, but since there was merely circumstantial evidence in hand, they preferred not to launch a pre-emptive strike and to wait for the plotters to come out. Conspiracy climaxed in the coup, which began on July 17, 1936 and which effectively commenced the Spanish Civil War.