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The Spanish Civil War
from 1936-39
My paper is about the Spanish Civil War, which raged between the years
1936 to 1939 in whole Spain. The war broke out because of a rebellion,
organized from nationalistic and fascistic groups, against the republican
government. To understand the circumstances of the conflict, there must
be known several facts about this time in whole Europe, on which I will
now concentrate. The beginning of the fascistic movement in Europe was
mainly caused 1924, when Italy got a nationalistic regime, lead by the
fascist Mussolini. The next step was taken on the 30th January in the year
1933, when Adolf Hitler was appointed as chancellor of Germany. This was
the beginning of fascism in Germany. Germany and Italy soon became political
partners. In 1936, Italy annexed Abyssinia, attracting international attention.
Finally, on the 18th of July 1936, General Francisco Franco, and a great
part of armed Spain with him, arose against the government.
The revolts began in many of the Spanish garrisons all over the country.
Seville in the south under General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano, Córdova,
Granada and Cádiz, in the north all of Galicia, most of León
and a part of Asturias supported the nationalists. Soon, they controlled
northern and many parts of northern Spain after only one single strike.
Only Madrid and Barcelona could outstand the coup, the rebels were defeated
and their leaders imprisoned and executed. After the first days of fighting,
the republicans held eastern and the greatest part of southern Spain. The
Basque provinces were also split in the war: Vizcaya and Geipúzcoa
were loyal to the old regime, because they feared to loose their autonomy
under a nationalistic government, but Alava and also Navarre changed sides,
believing in the promises of the fascists, to defend religion and traditional
values.
Even with the greatest part of the army, armed police and the possession
of the arsenals, the nationalists had some bad luck: They lost General
Sanjurjo and General Emilio Mola in a airplane crash, and General Manuel
Goded Llopis was executed after the unsuccessful rising in Barcelona. But
therefore, the republicans had no trained army, nor any fighting man with
some experience. A lot time had to be spent on building up militias and
to turn those improvised troops in an efficient army. When this was managed,
the nationalists had improved their positions.
Casares Quiroga, the Premier of republican Spain, resigned at the outbreak
of war. Diego Martínez Barrio was chosen by President Azana, but
vetoed by extremistic groups. The new Premier was nothing more than a puppet
till his resignation in February 1939. The administration also lost its
claim to legality and was no longer taken serious, because it was chosen
in contravention to the constitution.
Helpful for the defenders of Spain was the intervention from foreign
countries, which began in July 1936. The Soviet Union and Mexico made a
first payment of 12,145,000 roubles and began to send war material and
extremist volunteers (mainly Communists), who formed the international
brigade. But the nationalists also received help from outside: armed forces,
war material, technicians and other supplies were sent by Italy and Germany.
With those interventions, the danger of an international conflict arose,
and for this a non-intervention committee was installed in London, which
created formal embargoes. But in fact, nobody cared about those embargoes,
and the interventions carried on.
The nationalists managed to unite their southern and northern forces,
when they captured Badajoz in the middle of August. After the taking of
Irún and San Sebastián early in September, the nationalists
came nearer and nearer to Madrid and were a serious threat to the menaced
capital. Madrid would not have withstood this large army, but it was saved
through the abortion of the attack, because the fascists had to relief
their imprisoned garrison in Alcázar de Toledo on the 27th September.
While they were fighting to free their comrades, the international brigade
moved up in Madrid and fortified the city. When the fascist army came back
to the capital on the 6th November, they found the city well prepared and
ready for fight. Despite all attempts made by the nationalists, they were
not able to capture the capital, not during a 28 months’ lasting
siege. However, when the threat on Madrid grew too dangerous, the government
escaped to Valencia on the 7th November. Madrid was left under the protection
of General José Miaja and a defense council. President Azana had
already moved out to Barcelona. There, several rights were disabled or
mutated, leaving the government with more power than ever, for example
the overtaking of services reserved by the Autonomy statute of the state,
the collectivising of industry and commerce on the 28th of October or the
ban on public worship.
In the winter of 1936 to 1937 was nearly nothing achieved by any of
the opponents, apart from the taking of Málaga. The fascists tried
to cut two roads to Madrid to stop the cities supplies, but actually, they
failed in their attempt. The first victory that was made came in April,
when the fascists took Bilbao after a two months lasting siege. The Basque
capital fell on the 19th of June, and Santander on the 25th August and
Gijón soon followed it on the 21st of October, which brought the
whole north of Spain under the control of the fascists.
Both sides did not hold back with friendliness against their foes,
even if they were innocent. The republicans murdered thousands of priests,
including ten bishops, and many religious members, burning and desecrating
their churches. Public religious observances were forbidden. The fascists
themselves, organized mass executions, for example in Badajoz, or destroyed
nearly whole cities in air bombardments, like the Basque town of Guernica,
which was destroyed with an German aircraft squadron from the "Condor legion".
When Franco assumed the leadership on the 1st October 1936, he outlined
the features of his rule: He promised the abolition of popular suffrage
and of regional autonomy; equitable and graduated taxation; complete religious
tolerance and a new concordat with Rome. Also with foreign affairs, he
had clear visions: suppression of all "Sovietic contacts" and preferential
treatment for "nations of related race, language or ideology". On the 19th
April 1937, the two most important and biggest nationalist groups were
fused into a single party, the F.E.T., and all other parties were dissolved.
On the 9th March 1938, this newborn council made, even in wartimes, first
rules: the Labour charter would provide "Work for All", "Remuneration and
Security", "Protection and Production". They wanted to provide each labourer
a living wage, a small holding and improved sanitary and housing conditions.
Another aspect of this Labour charter was the creation of syndicates, which
united all parts of a branch or production in one single enormous organism
under state direction. Therefore, the new regime earned the name "national-syndicalist".
Otherwise in the republican parts of Spain: the system was doomed to
failure through many internal differences that had grown bigger and bigger
since the outbreak of the war. From the 3rd to the 10th May 1937 raged
a little rebellion in Barcelona, organized by Anarcho-Syndicalists, who
were unsatisfied with their situation. They gave the authority in Barcelona
a week of heavy fighting, until they were beaten, imprisoned and later
on executed. Another serious crisis in the Valencian government lead to
the formation of a new cabinet, introducing Juan Negrín as leader,
from which the rebellious Anarcho-Syndicalists were eliminated. They were
nevermore represented in a republican government in Spain until April 1938.
The so-called generalitat also underwent some smaller crises, but they
drew them only more closely together.
At the end of the first year of war, the nationalists owned 35 of the
50 Spanish regional capitals, and held about 119,690 square miles of territory.
But the struggle of the republicans had passed by now, they had finally
managed to fuse their untrained militias and foreign soldiers into an efficient
army, and so, on the 4th of December 1937, they started an unexpected assault
in Aragon and took the city of Teruel on the 9th January 1938. But with
this victory, their luck had passed by. They lost their newly received
city again on the 22nd February. With this, the nationalists themselves
attacked the enemy, capturing Huesca and Lérida and driving the
republican army up the Segre valley to Tremp. Down in the south, nearly
simultaneous, they fought their way down to the Mediterranean, arriving
there on the 15th of April. Soon they had carved a 40 miles wide corridor,
menacing Castellón to the southern side and Tortosa to the northern.
Being cut in two, republican Spain was under great pressure. The regime
left Valencia and went to Barcelona on the 31st October 1937, leaving General
Miaja, who was already defending the menaced Madrid, as civil and military
governor of Barcelona's central and southern territory.
On the 21st February 1937, the commission in London made the entry
of foreign soldiers into Spain illegal. Despite a coastal control system,
the warriors still continued to enter the land. Great Britain and France
mainly engaged this control system; all the other forces were nearly immediately
withdrawn. Great Britain observed the Spanish ports and promised to grant
belligerent rights to the side, which would remove its foreign troops.
The nationalists withdrew about 10,000 of their soldiers from Germany and
Italy, which was up to none in relation to those that stayed. The republicans,
in great need of every man withdrew nearly none, and so nobody was granted
belligerent rights. When in the summer of 1937 pronationalist submarine
warfare intensified, a conference was held in Nyon, Switzerland. On the
14th September, a new patrol system was started, giving the patrols the
right to attack every vessel that would attack non-Spanish merchant ships.
International protests increased, when the fighting moved more to eastern
Spain, and many Mediterranean ports were victims of air bombardments with
great losses among civilians and neutral ships. Granollers for example
suffered 700 casualties in one single air raid, and Falset, near Gandesa,
was almost completely destroyed. Apart from the wish of peace discussions
among the foreign powers, General Franco insisted on unconditional surrender.
In April 1938, Negrín formulated a script of 13 points as his irreducible
minimum. The Munich conversations short after this, in September; these
points received great attention, and there was talking about a more moderate
republican government that might canvass for a peace agreement. These ideas
were ancient history, when the republicans checked the nationalists at
the Ebro on the 26th July to the 18th November 1938, and new hope grew
under the supporters of the republicans. But the quest proved too difficult:
The republican army was exhausted and half-starved, and they had to feed
over 3,000,000 refugees from the west. After all, the nationalists were
able to recross the stream and they could not even be stopped by the approaching
winter.
On the 23rd December 1938, they launched the last great offensive with
an advance in Catalonia, which developed into an attack on Barcelona, having
trapped the city with forces from northwest and southwest. After only 34
days, the city fell. On the 1st February 1939, the government, which had
moved again to Figueras, held a meeting in the castle vault and Negrín's
13 points were reduced to 3 remaining. The republicans were driven northwards
to France, having with them hundreds of thousands of refugees, that poured
into France. Those refugees that were male and in fighting age, were immediately
sent back, without caring about their fate.
On the 4th February, the government had to move to a little village,
near to the French border, because the fall of Gerona. On the 28th February,
President Azana resigned, and Negrín and his cabinet went back to
Madrid, which was going to be attacked soon by the nationalists. But it
proved unnecessary for the fascists, to attack the capital, because inside
of the cities walls were thousands of people, with only two ounces of food
per day, and hundreds dying of starvation every day. On the 5th May, all
parties but the Communists ousted Negrín's government, and a new
council of defense was formed. Negrín supporters and Communists
revolted against the new council, but after a week of fighting, they were
suppressed and there were preparations done for the capitulation. On the
28th March 1939, 200,000 fascist soldiers marched into Madrid without any
resistance. By the following day, all what was left of republican Spain
had surrendered and the war was over. It had lasted two years and 254 days
and was estimated to have cost 1,000,000 lives.
To understand, what caused the international behaviour, you must know
the interests, the several countries had in the war and it's ending.
Germany saw the unique chance to train its troops in real battle and
to experiment with newly invented weaponry. For this cause, the warriors
were constantly exchanged, to give as many as possible the chance of gaining
experience. An illustration for the new techniques that were used, is the
destruction of the Basque town of Guernica, which I had named some time
ago, that was destroyed by the "Condor legion", which was a formation of
aircrafts, tanks, technicians, transport- and communication units. The
legion had about 5500 men, and helped also in the ambush on Barcelona 1938.
Later on, in the Second World War, the legion attacked Warschau, Rotterdam,
London, Coventry and Belgrade. In the attack on Guernica died about 1645
citizens. And of course, would a totalitarian Spain fit perfectly in the
plans of Hitler and his companions.
Italy's interests were also about another fascistic partner in Europe,
but at most, Mussolini wanted the military airports, Franco had promised
him, on some islands in the sea, as on the land as well. With this stations,
Italy would be able to secure their position in Europe and they could reach
any other land west of them much more easy. Gibraltar, for example, which
stood under British command, would loose its strategically value and would
be easily to reach for Italian planes. The French connection to Africa
and their colonies there would also be menaced, or even cut.
Great Britain, in the effort to secure the Balance of Power, wanted
to keep the conflict an inner political dilemma, with no consequences on
other countries, but there were already too many nations involved. The
non-intervention committee, that was engaged, had no real effect, and was
easily broken. But the British politics were twisted by themselves: On
the one hand, they wanted to stop foreign interventions, but on the other
they had secret diplomacy with the Spanish nationalists, a diplomacy that
disabled the German influence to some grade.
A republican government, too, ruled France when the war broke out.
Because of this, the French wanted to help their brothers in mind, and
started transferring war material. When the President of France came back
from London after the committee, he found this trading revealed by some
traitorous Spanish man who told everything to a reporter. The extremist
groups in the parliament presently refused help, and President Blum needed
them to carry on with the supporting of Spain. The help was stopped officially
on the 8th August 1936, but secretly, France carried on sending money and
material, with the help of Mexico as distributor. Blum feared similar happenings
in France like in Spain, because nationalism and fascism had risen all
over Europe, and the situation in Spain was not too far away from the one
in France, and the flame of terror and war could spread over the lands
in seconds.
The Soviet Union was the greatest supporter of the Spanish republicans,
with not always to clear goal, objectives that are not fully revealed till
today. The Soviets wanted to strengthen all the Communists in Europe, and
the rising of fascism was against their plans. They also wanted to win
France and Great Britain for an alliance against Germany, which was growing
stronger and stronger, and becoming a real threat again for the Union.
And so, the Soviets had to work against every upcoming nationalistic movement
in Europe. With the defeating of the fascists in Spain, they would have
achieved a solemn hit against Germany and enfeebled the fascists, as in
the same time, strengthened the Communists.
by Michael Kolb
written in January 2000
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