 When Mola's army appeared in the mountains north of Madrid, this heightened the sense of urgency within the city of the necessity of dealing with alleged fifth columns, which had been blamed for prior Republican defeats.Infrequent Nationalist bombing raids also created further fear, as Republicans became convinced fascists within the society were directing rebel aircraft to their targets.In reality, during the terror of 1936 there was no fifth column in place as Nationalist sympathisers within the city were convinced Mola's northern armies and Franco's southern ones, lead by professional officers, would easily crush the militia defending the city, negating any need for risky subversive activity.