 Thus when the coup occurred, officers who joined the rebellion, particularly from Franco's rank downwards, were often "africanistas", while senior officers and those in non-front line positions tended to oppose it (though a small number of senior "africanistas" opposed the coup as well).It has also been argued that officers who stayed loyal to the Republic were more likely to have been promoted and to have been favoured by the Republican regime (such as those in the Aviation and Assault Guard units).Thus while often thought of as a "rebellion of the generals", this is not correct.