The Battle of Badajoz followed patterns that continued throughout much of the summer: Republican militia seized the medieval fortresses dotting Castile, yet could not halt nor even slow down the advance of Franco's professional and better equipped troops. The Spanish regular army would prove able to sweep prepared defences held by superior enemy forces, but often suffered heavy losses of its best troops. By year's end, many of the Spanish Foreign Legion lay dead, scattered along a trail of walled towns stretching from Seville to the outskirts of Madrid.