Spanish Civil War

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Spanish Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil Espaola)[nb 2] was fought from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939
between the Republicans, who were loyal to the democratically elected Spanish Republic, and
the Nationalists, a fascist rebel group led by General Francisco Franco. The Nationalists prevailed, and
Franco ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from 1939 until his death in 1975. The war is often called the "dress
rehearsal" for World War II.

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The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) broke out when the Spanish army in Morocco when a few of the
most influent generals of the Spanish Army, led by General Francisco Franco, rose up against the
democratically electedRepublican government, presided over by Manuel Azaa. Allegiances were not
always clear-cut during this conflict. Essentially, the ranks of the Left (also known as Loyalist
andRepublican) comprised workers, peasants and trade unions, but also the Spanish government,
Socialists, Communists and Anarchists. The Right (also known as Nationalist), was supported by
rebellious factions of the army, industry, landowners, the middle classes and the Catholic Church. For
various and somewhat contradictory reasons, the Loyalists received the support of the Soviet Union and
European democracies, while the Nationalists were armed and equipped by the Fascist governments of
Germany and Italy.
The Spanish Civil War would prove to be both fierce and bloody. Although the resources of the two sides
were not that unequal, the Nationalists were better organized and received extensive material aid from
Germany. The Loyalists received very little assistance from the Soviet Union and, moreover, were
divided by internal conflicts between Communist, Socialist and Anarchist factions.
While European and North American volunteers fought for the Republic in the framework of the
International Brigades, and a number of foreign artists and intellectuals supported the Loyalist cause,
including Ernest Hemingway (who was working as a reporter and photographer) and George Orwell (who
fought on the Republican side only to be prosecuted later on and thus becoming profoundly disillusioned
by the rivalry in the ranks of the Left), the Nationalists were finally triumphant.
General Franco's victory marked the beginning of a forty-year dictatorship in Spain (1939-1975). In the
aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Hitler sought Franco's support for his own military campaign, but
Spain was in no position to provide either financial or human aid. Although the Spanish Civil War had
been a training field for the battles to be waged in the Second World War, Spain would play no part in the
latter but agred to sponsor a small army of volunteers known as La Divisin Azul.
Under the Franco regime Spain suffered international isolation, although in varying degrees. In 1955 the
country was accepted as a member of the United Nations, and in 1970 General Franco named prince Juan
Carlos his successor as the future king of Spain, thereby re-establishing the monarchy. Upon the dictator's

death in 1975 King Juan Carlos I was crowned and the country set out on the long journey back to
full democracy in Spain.

=-=-=-=-=-The Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War started in 1936 and finished in 1939.
The forces on the right were lead by Generals Franco and Sanjurjo. They were known as Nationalists.
The forces on the left were lead by Azana and were known as Republicans.
At the start of the war, the cities of Cadiz, Saragossa, Seville and Burgos declared their support for the
Nationalists.
Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia declared for the Republicans.
The Nationalists received help from Nazi Germany in the form of the Condor Legion from the Luftwaffe
- Germany's air force. 50,000 "volunteers" fromMussolini's Italy also helped the Nationalists.
The Republicans received help from Russia. Stalin sent advisers and technicians. An International
Brigade comprising of volunteers from all over the world also helped the Republicans.
However, the Nationalists held the advantage in the sense that those who fought for them were
professionals the "volunteers" from Italy went to fight with Mussolinis approval and many of these
volunteers had a military background. The Republicans relied on real volunteers; many held idealistic
beliefs but had minimal military training.
At the start of the war, the military strength of the Nationalists gave them the upper hand. By the end of
1936, 50% of Spain was controlled by the military including the whole of the border with Portugal a
vital supply route.
In the east and north, the Basques and Catalans held out far more effectively and the impact of the
Nationalists here was minimal.
Franco decided that the only way to succeed was to split the Republicans in half. The crucial battle here
was the Battle of Guadalajara which the Nationalists lost. This ended their attempt to split the
Republicans in half in that year. However, the capture of Bilbao in 1937 was an important victory for the
Nationalists.
The Nationalists were far more successful in 1938. By August 1938, the Republicans had been split and
by December the Nationalists had been successful in Catalan. However, throughout the whole of 1938,
Madrid held out.
In 1939, Republican resistance all but collapsed. The various factions in the Republican movement were
at odds as to what to do and Russia withdrew its support for them. By 1939, it was only a matter of time
before the Nationalists won. Barcelona fell in January 1939, Valencia and Madrid surrendered in March
1939 and the Republicans unconditionally surrendered on April 1st.

The war is thought to have cost 500,000 lives though official figures have now put the casualty figure as
high as 1 million.
The war also witnessed the first ever deliberate aerial bombing of a city. On April 27th 1937, the ancient
city of the Basques Guernica was bombed and destroyed by the Condor Legion of Germany.
For Hitler it was a useful experiment into the value of bombing civilian targets. For the Nationalists, it
took out a city of spiritual importance for the Basques. For Europe, the warning posed by this bombing
was obvious. Hence the attempts by Chamberlain and Daladier to create a formula for Europe to avoid
any chance of a repetition of Guernica. Aerial bombing and its consequences were to terrify western
Europe.

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The Causes of the Spanish Civil War
What were the causes of the Spanish Civil War? Between 1936 and 1939 over 500,000 people were killed
in the Spanish Civil War so this cannot be considered a 'little' war that was overshadowed by the
problems that were occurring in Europe during these years.
In 1920, Spain was a constitutional monarchy. The king was Alfonso XIII.
However, the government was inefficient and corrupt. In 1921, an army was sent to Spanish Morocco to
put down a rebellion. It was massacred but this defeat seemed to emphasise just how corrupt and
incompetent Spains leadership was.
In 1923, Spain experienced a bloodless coup when Alfonso agreed that General Primo de Rivera should
take control of Spain. He ruled as a military dictator until 1930. Riveras approach to leadership was fully
supported by Alfonso.
However, Rivera did not display the classic features of a dictator. He introduced public works schemes
building roads and irrigating the land. Industrial production increased by three times from 1923 to1930.
Rivera also ended the rebellion in Morocco in 1925.
However, the Great Depression of the 1930s hit Spain hard. Unemployment rose and Rivera did not have
the ability to sort out Spains financial mess. The army withdrew its support and Rivera had to resign.
In April 1931, elections were held in Spain which resulted in republicans winning all the major cities in
Spain. Alfonso decided to abdicate as he feared that if he stayed on, Spain would plummet into turmoil.
Those victorious at the election then declared Spain a republic and monarchy was abolished.
The new republic immediately faced a number of major problems:
Two important regions in Spain wanted independence Catalonia and the Basque region. Had their requests been
successful, it would have lead to the break-up of Spain.
The Roman Catholic Church was hostile to the republic and the republic was hostile to the highly influential
Roman Catholic Church.
The government believed that the army had too much say in politics and determined to reduce its influence.
Spain was primarily an agricultural nation and the 1930s Depression had hit prices for crops. Prime exports such

as olive oil and wine fell in value and previously used agricultural land fell into disuse.
The little industry that Spain had was also hit by the Depression. Iron and steel were especially hit as no-one had
the money to pay for the products. Iron production fell by 33% and steel by 50%.
Unemployment in both agriculture and industry rose and those in work had to put up with a cut in wages as the
economy struggled to survive the Depression.
The Republic faced losing the support of those whose support it desperately needed the working class.

Those who governed Spain had differing views on what to do. The wishes of the left alarmed those on the
right and vice versa. Political infighting was in danger of pushing Spain into social revolution.
The middle ground in Spains parliament the socialists and middle-class radicals did try to resolve
outstanding problems.
Catalonia did receive some degree of self-government.
The historic privileges of the Roman Catholic Church were attacked. Priests were no longer paid by the state.
Their salaries now came out of the Roman Catholic Churchs purse. The government and the Roman Catholic
Church were made two separate entities. Jesuits seen as hard line Roman Catholics - were expelled from Spain
ironically the country that had founded the movement. Religious education in schools was stopped.
Many army officers were made to retire early
The huge estates in Spain were nationalised i.e. taken over by the government which would control what was done
on them etc.
The wages of those who worked in industry were increased but they were to be paid by the owners of those
industries not by the government.

The government tried to attack those it deemed as having too many privileges in society. But by doing
this it angered all those sectors in society that had the potential to fight back the military, industrialists,
land owners and the Roman Catholic Church. These four (potentially very powerful bodies) were
unwilling to support the republican government in Madrid. They were also aware that there were
countries in Europe that would be willing to give support to their plight as many nations in Europe were
scared of communism and Stalins Russia. Fascist Italy under Mussolini would be an obvious ally as
would Germany once Hitler had got power in January 1933.
In January 1932, a number of army officers tried to overthrow the government lead by Manuel Azana, the
prime minister. The attempt was unsuccessful as the army, for now, was loyal to the government after
all, it had won the elections fairly and, therefore, had legitimacy. However, a new political party was
formed called the Ceda. This was a right wing party dedicated to protecting the authority of the Roman
Catholic Church and landlords.
The government of Azana, having lost support from the right, also lost support from the left. Two
powerful left wing political parties, the anarchists and syndicalists (powerful trade union groups), felt that
Azanas government was too middle of the road. Both wanted a more communistic state and the
overthrow of capitalism. Above all, Azana was despised for forming a political union with the middle
ground in Spains political life. He was deemed to have betrayed the working class. The extreme left
organised strikes and riots in an effort to destabilise the government of Azana.
Matters came to a head when in January 1933, 25 people were killed by government troops who were
attempting to catch some anarchists near Cadiz. This lost the government a great deal of support among
the working class and the socialists withdrew their support from the government. Azana resigned as prime
minister and elections were called for November 1933.
In this election, the right wing won a majority of support and the largest party in the parliament (known as
the Cortes), was the Ceda lead by Gil Robles.

The new right wing government immediately over-turned all of the changes brought in by the Azana
government. This angered many but especially the Catalans who had their privileges withdrawn. This was
a serious error of judgement as the Catalans and Basques had supported the government in the elections.
The way ahead for Robles became clear to many an attack on the left wing parties of Spain.
It forced the many parties of the left to come together to form the Popular Front. They organised strikes,
riots and took part in acts of violence such as derailing main line trains. In 1934 there was a general strike.
Coal miners in the Asturias went on strike but were ruthlessly put down by the army lead byGeneral
Franco. Spain appeared to be heading for all out chaos. In a last minute attempt to avoid serious trouble, a
general election was called for February 1936. In this election, the Popular Front won and Azana, once
again became prime minister.
However, the government of the Popular Front was a farce after the socialists withdrew their support from
it; more and more public disturbances occurred and the government had clearly lost control of Spain. In
July 1936, a leading right wing politician, Sotelo, was murdered and the right wing politicians and their
supporters believed that they were now in serious danger. They wanted to put their faith in a military
dictatorship.
The military had, in fact, already made preparations for a takeover of Spain.General Franco assumed
control of the military. He took control of Spanish Morocco after overthrowing the civilian government
there. His next target was to invade mainland Spain, establish a military government there and rid the
country of all those involved in left wing politics. The left would have to fight for survival. The civil war
started in July 1936.
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Background to the war

In the 1930s, Spain was a deeply divided country that was politically torn between right-wing Nationalist and left-wing
Republican parties. The Nationalist party was made up of monarchists, landowners, employers, the Roman Catholic
Church and the army. The Republicans consisted of the workers, the trade unions, socialists and peasants.
Economically, the country had been deeply hit by the Great Depression after the Wall Street Crash. Partly due to this
turmoil, in 1929 the military dictatorship that had ruled Spain since 1923 collapsed. In 1931 the King abdicated after the
Republicans came to power.
There followed a period where the two political rivals had periods in power as the elected government. The country was so
divided and unstable that in 1936 the army rebelled and forcibly removed the Republicans from power. Civil war ensued.

The importance of Spain in Europe

If Spain fell to the Nationalists, France would be surrounded by Fascist powers (Germany and Italy). If France was
invaded by Fascist nations, the alliances between other anti-Fascist nations would be weakened. In effect, there would be
one less nation to resist Fascist plans to expand their borders - one less army to stand up to them.
Spain also had strategic naval bases on the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean that could be used by the Fascists to
control shipping and for setting up submarine bases. These could be used to put military and economic pressure on other
European nations.

International intervention

The Fascist powers

Hitler and Mussolini (Italy's Fascist leader) both sent thousands of troops and weapons to Spain to aid the Nationalist
forces. They both had similar aims and a common desire to see Spain fall to the right-wing Nationalists.
As Fascist allies, it was in both Germany's and Italy's interest to fight the spread of Communism. They did not want Spain,
a near neighbour to both nations, to become a Soviet-backed stronghold. Indeed, the opposite was true. If Spain came
under right-wing control it could be an important ally to the two countries in any future conflict.
Furthermore, if yet another major European nation were to adopt the Fascist creed, it would send a message to the whole
world that the Fascists were a power to be reckoned with.

The Democracies
France and Britain were both in an awkward situation regarding Spain. They did not want the nation to fall to the
Nationalists, as this would strengthen the power of the Fascist alliance of Germany and Italy. Equally, though, they would
be no better off if Spain fell to the Soviet-backed Republicans, as Communism was seen as a huge threat to world peace.
The French and British agreed a mutual policy and set up a Non-Intervention Committee that effectively blocked
international aid reaching Spain. They could not, however, stop Germany and Italy sending forces and supplies to the
Nationalists. The result of this was that the Republicans had to rely solely on the dubious charity and benevolence of
Stalin's Russia.

The Soviet Union

The USSR sent weapons and supplies to aid the Republicans in their struggle against the forces of Fascism, but it was
never as committed to the conflict as either Germany or Italy. The Russian leader, Stalin, sold only enough supplies to the
Republicans to keep them fighting. Stalin was content that Germany was being kept busy with Spain rather than
concentrating its efforts in eastern Europe.

The International Brigades

The fight against Fascism drew young men and women from all over Europe and the USA to Spain. Fighting for the
Republicans, these idealists, socialists and communists, formed a rag-tag army determined to uphold democracy against
the right-wing threat. At any one time up to 15,000 people were fighting in the International Brigades.

The results

The better organised and better equipped Nationalist forces won the war after Madrid was captured in March 1939.

Hitler's position in Europe was now strengthened since he had another potential ally in the right-wing dictator of Spain,
General Franco.

Participation and co-operation in the Spanish war strengthened the bond between Italy and Germany. As a result, the
Rome-Berlin Axis was formed. Italy and Germany were now firm allies.

By ignoring the Non-Intervention Committee and its chief architects, France and Britain, Hitler had shown his strength in
European affairs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/roadwar/spancivil/revision/1/

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