Arms for Spain - Untold Story of Spanish Civil War

368 Pages·1999·46.879 MB·English

by  Gerald Howson

ARMS
FOR
SPAIN
THE
UNTOLD
STORY
THE
OF
SPANISH
CIVIL
WAR
GERALD HOWSON
I
ISBN O-312-24177-I
$25.95
. * s v • i %
« -
T
he victory of fascism in Spain in
1936 set the stage for World War
II. As Gerald Hovvson argues in
this startling and compelling new look at the
Spanish Civil War, that victory was ensured
by the non-fascist European powers.
When
military officers and rich landown-
ers rebelled against the left-wing Spanish
government
in 1936, the Spanish Republic
found itself abandoned by other European
nations. Hoping to prevent the escalation
of the conflict into a world war, European
leaders created an international arms embar-
go against Spain.
Armsfor Spain reveals that this embar-
go gave Franco’s rebels an enormous advan-
tage against the Republic. While hindering
arms from reaching the Republic, allowed
it
Hitler and Mussolini to equip Franco with
enough armaments to win. The Republic
was thus forced to buy illegal arms from
foreign officials who extorted huge bribes
for arms they never delivered. Banks and
.
arms
traffickers also swindled the Spanish
-
government, often sending unusable weapons.
Russia, long believed to be the Republic’s
strongest supporter, was one of the worst
offenders. The Soviets provided far less aid
than has been thought and defrauded the
Spanish government of millions of dollars
by secretly manipulating the exchange
rates.
Through a unique combination of ex-
haustive research, forensic skills, and technical
expertise on armaments, Gerald Howson
establishes that the arms embargo played
a much greater part in the Republic’s defeat
than is usually acknowledgecf. Arid in so
doing, he casts one of the great political
tragedies of the century in a wholly new
light.
Also by Gerald Howson
The Flamencos of Cadiz Bay
—
Thief-Taker General The Rise and Fall ofJonathan Wild
(republished as It Takes a Thief)
—
The Macaroni Parson The Life of the
Unfortunate Doctor Dodd
Burgoyne of Saratoga
Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
;
Arms
Spain
for
The Untold Story of the
War
Spanish Civil
Gerald Howson
St. Martin’s Press
New
York
©
ARMS FOR SPAIN. Copyright 1998 by Gerald Howson. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information,
New
address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, York, N.Y. 10010.
ISBN 0-312-241 77-1
First published in Great Britain by John Murray (Publishers) Ltd.
First U.S. Edition: November 1999
10987654321
my
For grandchildren
,
Thomas and
Eva Rosalind Titherington
Contents
Acknowledgements
ix
A Note on Money
xi
Maps
xii
Contrasts
1. i
2. ‘The Time of Chaos’ 8
‘Air-mindedness’
3. 14
4. Paris 21
Men and Armaments 28
5.
‘Non-Intervention’
6. 33
Men
7. Malraux and his 40
Setbacks
8. 49
The London
Junta
9. 58
Men
10. ‘Little in Black Suits with Bags of Gold’ 66
11. The Caravanserai 75
12. Liege 81
13. The Confidential Agent 90
The Arms-Purchasing Commission
14. 99
Warsaw
15. 105
The Non-Intervention Committee
1 6. 1 14
17. Stalin 120
18. ‘Operation “X”’ 130
Arms
19. Soviet 136
20. Soviet Prices 146
21. Prague 153
22. ‘A Prospect of Unlimited Opportunities’ 164
vii
Contents
Vlll
The Manhattan Purchases 172
23.
24. ‘These Deadly Weapons of War’ 178
Nine Million Dollars 184
25.
26. Buying from the Enemy 192
27. Prieto 202
28. Krivitsky and Company 208
Nether World 218
29.
Blockade 230
30.
31. ‘This Question is no Longer Important’ - 239
Conclusions 246
32.
Appendix I
A. French military aircraft in the Spanish Civil War 255
B. Malraux 257
Appendix II
A. Polish arms shipments to Spain,
9 September 1936-25 September 1937 260
B. Supplementary information 276
Appendix III
Soviet arms shipments to the Spanish Republic,
September 1936-February 1939 278
Appendix IV
A. Sweden and Switzerland
304
%
B. Yugoslavia 305
C. The PZ.L. P.37 Los 306
Notes
308
Sources
339
Index
344
Acknowledgements
To:
The Canada Blanch Foundation for the senior fellowship (1991-2), which
enabled me to carry out research in Amsterdam and Madrid, and for sub-
sequent assistance in obtaining essential documents from Spain and
France.
TV- de Catalunya SA, Barcelona, and Sra. Mana-Dolors Genoves,
3
their Head of Special Programmes, for supplying me with some 200
photocopies of documents in the Russian State Military Archives and for
their permission to use them. Sra. Genoves obtained them, with many
hundreds of other papers relating to the Spanish gold reserve sent to the
USSR in 1936, for the purpose of making her documentary film Idor de
Moscou, (‘The Gold of Moscow’), which was transmitted by TV-3 de
Catalunya in 1994. The documents concerning arms supplies have made a
My
contribution of central importance to this book. special thanks to Sra.
Genoves in person for the many hours she spent in helping me to select the
documents needed.
I
Mr
Andrzej Suchcitz, Keeper of Archives at the Polish Institute and
Sikorski Museum, London, for his advice and help in searching out the
SEPEWE
file and the reports of Major Kedzior, the Polish military
attache in Lisbon during the Spanish Civil War period, and to the Polish
Institute for permission to use the documents obtained.
Professor Marian Zgorniak, of Krakow University, for permission to
Domowa w w
use his published article ‘Wojna Hispanii Oswietlienu
XXV
Polskiego .’ in Studia Historyczne vol. (1983), on which
. . ,
Appendix II is based.
my
Elena Burnett and son Robert, for translating the Russian docu-
ments; Pawel Swieboda, for translating the Polish documents.
James Carmody, for assistance too constant and multifarious to itemize,
but especially for his help in searching through Lloyd’s lists and sorting
IX
Acknowledgements
X
out shipping voyages during the Spanish Civil War period, a task of fear-
some complexity and tediousness.
Ian V. Hogg and Rafael Varo Estacio for their tireless patience in giving
me information and advice relating to the history and technicalities of
my
armaments. To Sr. Varo too for his generous hospitality during visits
to Madrid.
Carlos Lazaro Avila for his invaluable help in facilitating access to the
Archivo del Ministerio del Aire at Villavicioso de Odon, and for other
assistance.
Richard Sanders Allen and Dr Richard K. Smith for supplying copies
and digests of State Department records and other papers and related
material in the USA, as well as for their valuable comments and advice.
Mme
Bernadette Suau, Director of the Archives Departementales de la
Haute-Garonne, Toulouse, for supplying photocopies of documents in
the Archives, Sr. Jose Falco San Martin for his help in this matter, and to
my
Julia Farrer and Fran^oise Vernotte for translating application and
letters into acceptable French.
Tom my
Sofia and Entwistle for their generous hospitality during stay
Madrid October
in in 1992.
Eric Taylor, for easing the difficulties of my trip to Amsterdam, and
Margriet and Bram van Mills for their generous hospitality throughout
my
stay there.
William Green, for constant help and advice on aeronautical matters,
and Dr Michael Alpert for supplying numerous items of information.
Dr Thanasis D. Sfikas for information on Greek arms shipments.
Dr Enrique Moradiellos, for information and advice.
Professor Paul Preston, for frequent practical help and advice.
Dr Angel Virias, for help which has been of vital importance to my
research.
Sir Raymond Carr and Lord Hugh Thomas of Swynnerton, for their
support and encouragement.
The following, in alphabetical order, for providing information, advice
or assistance, or all three: Neal Ascherson, Juan Aviles Farre, Sebastian
Balfour, Patrick Burke, Herschel B. Chipp, Major Chmielewski, Stuart
J.
Christie, Sam Cummings of Interarms, Jerzy Cynk, Len Deighton, Luis
Ferrao, Dr Helen Graham, Bill Gunston, Dr Francisco Xavier Hidalgo,
Augusto Lecha Vilasuso, Joaquin Maluquer Wahl, Justo Miranda and
Paula Mercado, Vincent Piatti, Dr Anita Prasmovska, General Jesus Salas
Tom
Larrazabal, Sarbaugh, Frank Schauff, Peter Selz, Nigel Townson,
Colonel Jose Warleta.