The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

95 Pages·2002·3.66 MB·english

by  Frances Lannon

Essential Histories
The Spanish Civil War
1936-1939
Essential Histories
The Spanish Civil War
1936-1939
OSPREY
Frances Lannon
PUBLISHING
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ISBN 1 84176 369 1
Editor: Sally Rawlings
Design: Ken Vail Graphic Design, Cambridge, UK
Cartography by The Map Studio
Index by Alison Worthington
Picture research by Image Select International
Origination by Grasmere Digital Imaging, Leeds, UK
Printed and bound in China by L. Rex Printing Company Ltd.
02 03 04 05 06 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction 7
Chronology 11
Background to war
The democratic experiment 13
Outbreak
From the Popular Front to Civil War 23
Warring sides
Spain divides 27
The fighting
War revolution and international involvement 33
Portrait of a soldier
Front line volunteers 65
The world around war
Two Spains 68
Portrait of a civilian
Women and war: two memoirs 80
How the war ended
Franco's victory 84
Conclusion and consequences
The Spanish Civil War in perspective 87
Further reading 93
Index 94
Introduction
The Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 was a therefore, be difficult to exaggerate the
class war, and a culture war. Competing significance of the civil war, both for those
visions of Spanish identity were Spaniards who had hoped the Republic
superimposed on a bitter struggle over would usher in an unprecedented era of
material resources, as the defenders of social justice and modernisation, and for
property, religion and tradition took up arms others who regarded it as a revolutionary
against a Republican government committed and irreligious assault on Spanish tradition.
to social reform, devolution and Winning the war was the precondition for
secularisation. Directly or indirectly, the shaping the future of Spain, and losing it
conflict caused about half a million deaths in meant political, economic, cultural and even
a population of 24 million. physical exclusion from that process. The
The war began in the middle of July 1936, postwar repression removed tens of
when a group of generals attempted a thousands of opponents of the new regime
by execution, and more by imprisonment.
military coup against the democratically
Others fled into exile. The dictatorship was
constituted government of the Second
determined to make the peace a
Spanish Republic. Their plan was to
continuation of the war by other means.
co-ordinate a number of simultaneous risings
Postwar Spain would be Franco's Spain.
in different parts of the country. If they had
succeeded, the military would have From the very beginning, however, this
supplanted civilian politicians and taken civil war also attracted international
over government, as General Miguel Primo attention and foreign involvement.
de Rivera had done in 1923. If they had Governments, political parties, trade unions,
failed everywhere, they would have been churches and private citizens across Europe
tried for military rebellion, as had already and even beyond, recognised that the
happened to one of their number. General conflict in Spain, however domestic its
José Sanjurjo, in 1932. origins, was crucially important for them.
Instead, they succeeded in some parts of Suddenly Spain seemed for thousands who
Spain, including - fatefully - Spanish had never been there, and who had never
Morocco, and failed in others, including - paid it much attention before, the centre of
equally fatefully - the capital city of Madrid the world. And in a sense it was, because the
conflict was ideological as well as political
and the industrial powerhouses of Barcelona
and military. Making the social revolution or
and Bilbao. Spain was split in two, and a
breaking it, defending religion or destroying
harsh civil war was fought for nearly three
it, stopping fascism or joining it, saving
years until, at the end of March 1939, the
democracy or overturning it - these were
rebel generals completed their slow territorial
issues that were significant far beyond
conquest of the country by eventually taking
Spain's frontiers.
the major prize that had eluded them
throughout the war, Madrid itself. The options were either to participate and
The Second Republic, which had been influence the outcome both in Spain and
inaugurated only in 1931, was definitively more widely, or to stay out and seek to
replaced by the dictatorship of General prevent the escalation of the Spanish conflict
Francisco Franco, which was to last until his into a European war. Hitler, Mussolini and
death in November 1975. It would, Stalin all took the first option, with the Nazi
Essential Histories -The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
Rise up against the Italian invasion of Spain'. Republican
poster from the Civil War. The Republicans claimed that
they were the true patriots, defending Spanish
democracy against Nazi and Fascist invaders fighting
with Franco. But the Republicans came to rely on Soviet
help as much as Franco did on Germany and Italy.
(Author's collection)
the restoration of the monarchy, which had
collapsed in 1931, or the establishment of an
alternative and more illiberal monarchical
line in Carlism, to the promotion of the
Spanish fascist movement, the Falange, and
even the continuation of the Republic, but
under a different constitution.
By the end of the war, monarchists,
fascists and law-and-order Republicans had
learned to bow to Franco's supremacy as his
personal dictatorship was consolidated.
Moreover, the Catholic Church emerged as a
particularly notable beneficiary of the victory
of the rebel generals, most of whom had not
had this result in mind at all when
and Fascist regimes supporting Franco, and embarking on their attempted coup.
the Soviet Union supporting the Republic - On the Republican side, the changes
with momentous consequences for the war wrought during the war were even more
in Spain. So too did volunteers from dozens dramatic. The Communist party had swollen
of countries who joined the International from a small presence to become the
Brigades and defended the Republic, and a dominant political force, and an anti-
small number, mainly from Ireland, who revolutionary force at that, eclipsing those -
briefly fought on the other side. Britain and the Anarchists, many Socialists and some
France adopted the second option and anti-Stalinist Communists - for whom the
pursued a policy of non-intervention aimed Republic had come to mean social revolution
at limiting the conflict by making arms sales or nothing. Democrats who wanted to secure
to Spain illegal. the continuation of the parliamentary
Foreign intervention and international Republic as it was in the early summer of
restrictions on arms purchases changed the 1936 saw that possibility fade away under the
military balance of the war at several stages. pressures of war, then social revolution, then
The internationalising of the war also increasing reliance on the Soviet Union. Not
affected the exercise of power behind the all of those who took up arms to defend the
lines. On Franco's side, the evidence of Republic in 1936 were convinced that it was
statements by generals at the time of the July worth fighting for in 1939. And among the
rising reveals that their chief pre-occupations victors, some were disillusioned that their
were national unity, and law and order. They efforts resulted in a military dictatorship.
wanted to end the Republic's experiment
with devolution, and to curb the waves of The National Side'. Republican Civil War poster The
street violence, land occupations and strikes Republican Ministry of Propaganda mocks Franco's claim
that his side. 'the Nationals' or 'the Nationalists', represented
that seemed to be swelling out of control.
the true Spain, by depicting the foreign forces - big business.
Beyond these aims, individual generals had a
Nazis. Fascists, international Catholicism. Moroccan troops -
variety of political objectives, ranging from which supported him. (Author's collection)
Introduction 9
10 Essential Histories - The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
The division of Spain between Republicans and Nationalists, July 1936
Soviet policy in Spain failed, both in the but also left Britain and France isolated when
defeat of the Republic and in Stalin's the Soviet Union despaired of them and in
inability to draw Britain and France into an August 1939 did the unthinkable and
anti-Nazi alliance. Germany and Italy gained entered a non-aggression pact with Nazi
a very sympathetic Spanish regime, but not Germany. The Spanish Civil War was not a
one that actively joined a fascist front when rehearsal for the Second World War, but it
war broke out in Europe in September 1939. significantly affected the balance of forces
Meanwhile, British and French policy not when that war began. In Spain itself, the
only proved unable to prevent armed rebels of 1936 became the victors, and with
intervention in Spain by three major powers, them, counter-revolution triumphed.
Chronology
1931 14 April Second Spanish Republic 29 October Soviet intervention
proclaimed begins; German and Italian planes
May Churches burned in Madrid bomb Madrid
December Constitution of the 6 November Republican government
Republic approved leaves Madrid for Valencia
1933 November Spanish right wins 8 November First involvement of the
general election International Brigade, in Madrid
1934 October Three CEDA ministers join 20 November Jose Antonio Primo de
the government Rivera executed in Alicante
October Attempted revolution 23 November Nationalists abandon
1936 February Popular Front wins general attempt to take Madrid
election December Nationalist offensive on
13 July Calvo Sotelo killed Madrid-Corunna road
17 July Military rising against 1937 February Battle of Jarama
Republic starts in Morocco 8 February Fall of Malaga to the
18 July Military rising in several Nationalists
parts of mainland Spain March Battle of Guadalajara
19 July Rising defeated in Madrid April Franco unites Carlists, Fascists
and Barcelona; social revolution and Monarchists in one political
breaks out in Republican Spain movement
27 July German and Italian 26 April Condor Legion bombs and
planes begin airlifting the Army of destroys Guernica
Africa from Morocco to southern 2-6 May Fighting between
Spain Republican advocates and opponents
August Britain and France begin of revolution in Barcelona
policy of non-intervention 15 May Fall of Largo Caballero
14 August Yagüe's troops capture 17 May Negrin forms new
Badajoz from Republic government
4 September Largo Caballero forms 19 June Fall of Bilbao to the
new Republican government Nationalists
9 September Non-Intervention July Republic's offensive at Brunete
Committee established in London August Council of Aragón dissolved
13 September San Sebastian taken by and agrarian collectives ended
Nationalists 24 August Start of Republican
27 September Relief of the siege of offensive at Saragossa; battle for
the Alcazar in Toledo Blechite
October Republic incorporates 31 October Republican government
militias into new Popular Army moved from Valencia to Barcelona
1 October Franco becomes head of December Republican offensive at
Nationalist government and supreme Teruel, followed by Nationalist
military commander counter-offensive
7 October Aguirre forms Basque 1938 22 February Nationalists retake
government of Euzkadi Teruel