IB History - Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939)

Long-term causes: Lack of National Unification

Spain was not unified

- REGIONAL loyalty superseded loyalty to spain

Chaos intensified by myriad of political organizations/parties

- largest groups = conservatives (Nationalists) and the workers (Republicans)

Long-term causes: Conservative Triad vs. Workers

1. Landowners: force people to work land, quasi-slavery

2. Catholic Church

3. Army: military dictatorships, political power backed up by military

- Connection: pinochet in Chile

Workers concentrated in industrial areas (Barcelona, Catalonia)

- advocated for anarcho-syndicalism

Leftist Ideologies (Anarcho-Syndicalism, Anarchism, Marxism)

1. Anarcho-Syndicalism: Decentralized, worker-controlled factories, shorter work weeks, higher wages, better working conditions

- anarchy = no BIG government

2. Anarchy: strong in poor rural areas; land re-distribution, decentralized authority

3. Marxists: divided among Stalinists + Trotskyites; inspired by Russian Revoulution

! NO organization on the left, NO common goal vs. ALOT of organization on right

Short-Term Causes: Fall of Alphonso XIII + Rise of Manuel Azana

April 1931: Army w/draws support of Alphonso XIII -> goes into exile, power vacuum

June: Center-left coalition led by Azana = new reforms

- agricultural, labor, and anti-clerical laws

- separation of church/state, tenants protected from eviction, cooperatives/collectives are encouraged

- extreme left = unhappy, right = VERY angry, center left = happy

Short-Term Causes: Civil Guard + Election of 1933

Civil Guard = national police force

- rebel against Azana's reforms

- led by Gen. Sanjurjo

- Put down w/ help from CNT (Anarcho-syndaclist org)

- shows limits of the Republic's control/legitimacy - Radical left and conservative right both unhappy w/ Azana

Election of 1933

- Rise of right-wing coalition (far left/center left were split)

- People losing faith in democratic decision making

- Azana's reforms were reversed

Immediate Causes: 1936 Elections + Popular Front

1936: Pendulum swings all to the left

Popular Front: name of electoral strategy of the Comintern

- idea proposed by Azana + Indalecio Prieto (socialist party (PSOE) leader)

- groups of leftists unite

- learned lessons from Nazi Germany (when leftists fight among themselves, rightists win)

- leftists only agree when it came to elections, but not in practice of running the state

- rightists on high alert of impending communist state

Immediate Causes: Azana vs. Generals

1936 - Azana becomes president, seeks to divide army generals

- sends General Moda to remote posts

- Moves gen. Franco and Goded away from bases of support

- effect: soldiers are isolated, they become more loyal to generals than to the state

Generals start to organize w/ right-wing groups

- street fights + labor fights continue

- Azana's regime = not very peaceful/secure

Immediate Causes: Calvin Sotelo Assassination

July 13, 1936: right wing journalist killed -> gives reason for generals to stage insurrection against gov.

Republican Response (Leftists): gov ignored warnings of rebellion

- refuse to arm left wing groups

National Guard:

- republic depended on the national guard

- side with gov in some places

- Oviedo, Spain: side w/ fascist rebels, Oviedo falls to Germans + becomes

- Barcelona sides w/ republicans + leftist militia -> defeat fascists

Immediate Causes: Rebels in Madrid + Arming of Leftist Militias

2500 Fascists barricaded themselves in local garrison

- loyal officers argue that militias should be armed

- gov doesn't want to lose their monopoly on the use of force/weapons

Gov eventually arms militia

- BUT now there's a bunch of militias + little to unite leftists

Characteristics of Republicans (Leftists)

- military units loyal to gov

- militias came from working-class orgs (POUM, CAT, FAI)

- armed with stockpiled/seized weapons, many diff weapons

- lack military training/leadership, difficulty coordinating

- chaotic command structure, competing priorities

- some regions prioritize regional independence

- big ideological differences

-> anarchists want social revolution alongside war effort

-> moderates want military victory before social revolution

Characteristics of Nationalists (Rightists)

- very uniform

- military units revolted in July 1936

- joined by right-wing groups (Falange, Cartists)

- used conscription -> inc #'s to around 300k

- supported by catholic church of spain + conservative landowners fearful of republic policies

- more unified command structure, strengthened them

- receive large amount of military aid from Germany/Italy (superior aircrafts/tanks)

- Francisco Franco's Moroccan troops play decisive role in battles

Influence of International Brigades

- Western Democracies = non-intervention (severely hurt Republicans)

- 30k volunteers secretly travel to Spain to help Republic (against the fascists)

- organized by national communist parties + coordinated by Comintern

- 7 brigades divided by nationality

- small #'s but served as morale boost; eventually absorbed into larger Republican Army

German and Italian Support for Nationalists

Germany: A LOT of military aid

- the Condor Legion (Luftwaffe unit = aerial warfare) VERY important in bombing campaigns

Italy: 70k troops; aircrafts + tanks

- Mussolini made agreement w/ Francisco Franco to get mil. aid in return for Spanish support in case of war w/ France

Both allowed Nationalists to buy material on CREDIT

Soviet Union Support for Republicans

Did not have geographic advantage that Italy/Germany had

Republicans had to pay w/ gold reserves instead of buying on credit

Supplied most of the tanks + aircrafts

Soviet personnel handled the most of the International Brigades

- included political advisors who handled the ideological development of brigades

Effect: Soviet involvement increased tensions among ideological factions; center-left did not want to be pushed too far left

Early Days of War + Francisco Franco's Troops

Nationalists only able to take one city (Seville)

- best troops stuck in Morocco w/ Franco

- British helped relay messages for nationalists

- Spanish navy (republicans) refused to transport Franco's troops back to Spain

- Hitler orders German air force to transport them

CHAOS from generals revolting -> people on both sides use war to "settle old scores"

Republicans: target Falange members + Catholic clergy; on the defensive; tensions b/w leftists

Nationalists: target communists, union members, & anarchists; bolstered by Germany, Franco's troops critical to war

Battle of Bilbao

March 1937

Nationalist capture Basque region

- industrial center

- geographically isolated from other republican strongholds

-> could not be reinforced by republicans

-> refuse to use air assets to defend Bilbao b/c would have to fly over nationalist territory (contrast: Germany heavily using air assets)

Battle of Guernica

April 1937

- Republicans give up control of skies, Nazi Condor legions have free reign -> terror bombing campaign

- Market Day: maximize civilian casualties

- strategy: bomb until citizens give up

- some may argue Guernica = military target

- orthodox POV: civilians were targeted, product of total war, military targets (bridges, factories) were left untouched

Madrid

Capital of Spain

Combined forces of international brigades, anarchists, and Republican army consistently hurl nationalists back (Nov 1936 - Jan 1937)

- Franco lays siege to capital, war of attrition

Offensive at Jarama River (February 1937)

Nationalist launch offensive to cut off Madrid from reinforcements

- republicans heavily outnumbered

- german condor legion fights along nationalists w/ tanks + air assets

-> **Coordinating air + ground assets = HUGE

- Republican reinforcements = Russian air assets/tanks

- republicans win, nationalist cannot cut off access to madrid

Battle of Guadalajara

March 1937

Nationalists try to completely cut off Madrid

- meant to be complement to Jarama campaign BUT weather delays -> uncoordinated

- 50K italian volunteers supported by tanks

-> BUT didn't coordinate tank attack well, no air cover, tanks ineffective

- Republicans use air cover effectively

Effect: Italians flee, Republicans take their equipment

Ebro Offensive

July - Nov 1938

- last major mil operation

- republicans gain ground early on, got to city of Gandesa (primary objective)

- Huge losses for Popular Army + Internat Brigades -> unable to occupy city -> stalemate

- Nationalists use air superiority to hammer the Republicans

Republicans in war of attrition

- weak defensive position

- unable to absorb casualties VS. nationalists were fine, got new troops from Germany/Italy

- 60k casualties, both sides

End of War: Republicans Loss

Constantly losing territory

- Oct 1937: only had 2 disconnected territories (large area around Madrid + small area around Barcelona)

- Ebro Offensive: unsuccessful in connecting territories -> isolated armies

Early 1939: last Republican strongholds fell (only Madrid and Valencia left)

France + GB recognize Franco as leader of Spain

Reasons for Republican Loss

• Political Disunity: anarchist, communist, socialist, liberals as Republicans led to in-fighting, and all these groups disagreed politically, which led to a lack of political coordination

• Military Limitations: refused to be led by a major leader, like Franco and loyal officers were often rejected because they were suspicious of their motivations, which led to no war plan and groups fighting on their own

• Insufficient arms/materials: Republicans often scrounging, taking up arms left behind by enemy armies

• Economic Problems: many parts of Republican Spain were starving, had inefficient factories, no foreign aid, and no private businesses backing them

Aftermath of War

Immediate cost

- 3 years -> 500k dead, mostly non-combatants

- 500k republican supporters fled/in exile, ideological purge

- physical destruction would take decades to recover from

Destruction of Spain kept it out of WWII (Hitler had hoped to use Spain as ally)

- bombing campaigns, effectively destroyed Spanish infrastructure

Significance of the War

"Dress Rehearsal for WWII"

- carpet bombing of civilians (US uses in WWII + Vietnam War)

- wars are about IDEOLOGY not territory

- integrated use of air power, tanks, & infantry

Nationalist victory weakened western democracies

- Franco = potential ally to Hitler

- France surrounded by fascists

- GB's position at Gibraltar/Mediterranean is threatened by fascists

- Destruction of Spain kept it out of WWII

Different Perspectives on the War

- "Intelligentsia" of the west saw war as struggle against fascist repression

- workers saw it as struggle b/w themselves and labor exploiters (corporations)

- industrialists saw as struggle against creeping communism