Spanish+Civil+War

=The Spanish Civil War =

The Spanish Civil War was a revolution taken place between July 17, 1936, & April 1, 1939. The war was fought between the Spanish Republican Government, conservative rebel generals under leadership of Francisco Franco, & their respective allies. The Republican Government was backed by the communist international brigade & Soviet Russia; where as Nazi Germany & Fascist Italy supported Francisco Franco.

Francisco Franco Nazi Germany & Fascist Italy The International Brigade & Soviet Russia The Battle of Brunete Aftermath Sources ||
 * Prelude to the war

﻿Prelude to the War
Starting around the 1920s, tensions started to rise between media type="youtube" key="VUig0lFHDDw" height="220" width="289" align="right"the right wings, (the Catholic Church & landowners called Grandees) & the left wings (peasants & workers). Another issue was that the northern regions of Catalonia & Basque were demanding self-government. In 1931, the King of Spain abdicated the throne due to massive opposition of the monarchy; Spain was now declared a republic. The new government imposed major reforms such as: less control of education by the Catholic Church, more self-government for provinces, & promises of land for peasants taken from large landowners. Despite these actions, anarchists & extremetrade unionists felt not enough was done. This lead to riots & even church burning. In 1936, the socialists were voted back into power causing right wing parties to band together.

Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco was one of the main leaders & militarygenerals of the rebels. Brought up in a military family, Franco joined the military at the age of 15. In 1912, he was sent to Morocco to take part in the Rif War. During his time there, he proved himself worthy of the promotion to Major. Later in 1936, he would be appointed military leader of the rebel forces.

Nazi Germany & Fascist Italy
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Hitler sided with the right-wing rebel forces seeing it as a crusade against communism. He also saw the Spanish Civil War as a perfect training ground for his troops & newly created Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe would gain valuable experience used later in the Battle of Britain. Mussolini also supported the rebels, supplying troops & airplanes. After the war, he would boast his victory alongside that of Abyssinia.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The International Brigade & Soviet Russia
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Support for the Republican government was very unusual. Idealists from around the world, including America & Canada, volunteered to help fight the rebels. These international brigades were poorly managed & would later be commanded by the Soviets. With Britain & France both deciding not to intervene, Russia was the only country to aid the republican government. In total, the Russian government supplied 806 planes, 362 tanks, & 1,555 artillery pieces. In 1938, Russia would withdraw its support.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">﻿The Battle of Brunete
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Battle of Brunete was one the biggest offensives launched by the Republican army. On July 6, 1937 the Republicans started the offensive by bombarding nationalist occupied cities near Madrid with artillery fire. Republican soldiers were then sent in to enclose the Nationalist front line; this was to be met with mixed results. The Republican army made some success in various cities, however the Nationalists put up stiff resistance. After 11 days of fighting, Republican morale was low & the offensive had grinded to a halt. With the arrival of Nationalist reinforcements, the Republican army was forced to retreat. The Battle of Brunete resulted in heavy casualties to the Republican side with relatively low losses for the Nationalists. Not much territory was won for the Republicans besides the gaining of three cities.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Aftermath
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">After 3 years of fighting, the right wing rebels finally won. Spain would now be under a dictatorship until 1975. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Contrary to what Hitler believed, Spain did not ally with the axis powers in WWII. Francisco Franco's excuse was that Spain was exhausted from the civil war & needed time to recover.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Spanish Civil War was a major event that lead to WWII. Hitler seeing that Britain & France once again did not intervene in a military conflict gave him the confidence to invade Czechoslovakia. The German military, especially the airforce, were now war experienced & ready for a major conflict.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Like most wars, there were heavy casualties. Approximately 500,000 people died; 10,000 of these <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">deaths were civilians killed in German bombing raids. One of the biggest atrocities though was the mass executions. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">It is believed that in total 130,000 people were executed by both the rebels & the republican government. After the war, an estimated 100,000 republican war prisoners were executed.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">﻿Sources

 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Global Forces of the Twentieth Century__,
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Twentieth Century History: The World Since 1900 2nd Edition,__
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