 Officers supporting the coup tended to be "africanistas" (men who fought in North Africa between 1909 and 1923) while those who stayed loyal tended to be "peninsulares" (men who stayed back in Spain during this period).This was because during Spain's North African campaigns, the traditional promotion by seniority was suspended in for promotion by merit through battlefield heroism.This tended to benefit younger officers starting their careers as they could, while older officers had familial commitments that made it harder for them to be deployed in North Africa.