Abraham Lincoln Brigade fighters at the Battle of Teruel, January 1938. The Battle of Teruel was a decisive victory for the Nationalist forces in Spain and a turning point as the last Republican resistance on the way to the Mediterranean coast war crushed, allowing Franco to quickly begin the Aragón Offensive the next month. The Republican Air Force was unable to recover the planes it lost during this battle, marking the end of its effective operations in Spain, and the Republican Army was unable to recover to resist the Aragón Offensive, which cut the Republic in two as Franco reached the coast in April, 1938.