After the fall of the Basque country the Fascists attack the last northern provinces. Cause the Legion Condor airplanes were deployed to the South of Spain, where International Brigades and Republican army attack constantly at Belchite / Quinto / Fuentes de Ebro, the Asturian "milicianos" and soldiers in the north can make use of their bravery and knowledge of the ground. Colonel Prada, commander of the Republican division in Asturia, stabilize the front for about six weeks. The Asturians are already hoping for a wonder, the coming winter and early snow could make the mountain passes impassable. The example of the steal worker Carrocera, who defended with his militia unit for 34 days the El-Mazuco mountain pass against nonstop attacks, raise their will to resist still more.

But about the middle of October the Legion Condor is back, bombing away every resistance. At the 15th of October the Fascists break through the Republican lines. 12000 children are immediately evacuated to Russia.

After the loss of its main industrial zone and the coal mining area, the Republic seem to be at its end.

The Fascists are gaining absolute control of Asturian and closing in to Gijon. Asturian officials, their families and members of the Republican army have to be evacuated hastily. Many Asturian fighters organize a guerilla fight from the high and inaccessible mountains.
In Asturian, with the memories of the 1934 workers revolt and the its bloody suppression still fresh, the villages emptied in terror at the approach of the Fascists. The Asturian miners are practicing a scorched earth policy, and from the ruins of their houses often fight to the death with dynamite charges.

(The Spanish guerilla, called "Maquis", continued their fight against the Fascists after the war throughout whole Spain. In Asturian the Maquis resisted Franco till 1960. One of the most famous and active Asturian Maquis, Jose Mata, escaped 1948 with 34 of his men on a small fishing boat to France).

The Fascists entering Gijon start to plunder the city for days. Death sentences over Asturians are so frequently imposed and carried out, that the Fascists themselves call their jurisdiction " The machine gun". Rapes and murders are tolerated by the Fascist guidance for several days. Thousands of civilians, administrative officials and captured soldiers are murdered during these days.

With the fall of Asturian, the north of Spain is under control of Franco. Around 250 000 Republican soldiers died, got wounded or captured, while the Fascists lost only around 100 000 men thanks to the superior Legion Condor aviation.

The loss of this important industrial area marks a change in the civil war. Franco's army, air force and navy can concentrate now in the center of Spain and the Mediterranean.