HISTORY NOTES
The Spanish Civil War
1992
D.3
Account for the victory of Franco in the Spanish Civil War and assess the significance of that victory for Spain.
The Spanish Civil War
lasted for three years from 18th July 1936 to 1st April 1939.
It was principally an ideological conflict between the right wing – church,
monarchy, army and fascists – and the left wing – liberals, socialists,
communists and anarchists. It resulted
in a victory for the right-wing Nationalists, led by Franco, mainly due to
their superior military strength, helped by international intervention, and
their co-ordination and leadership. The
war was to have a significant impact on Spain and her people both immediately
and in the following years.
The principal reason for
Franco’s victory was his superior armed forces. As a general in the army he commanded a large number of soldiers
and foreign legion. Added to this were
50,000 Italian and 16,000 troops from the Condor Legion and the
Afrikakorps. He also received bombers
and fighter planes from Mussolini and 20 Junker JU-52 planes from Hitler. While Stalin did send tanks and weaponry to
the Republicans, he did not send any troops, preferring instead to organise
international brigades. The presence of
such trained, professional soldiers and modern machinery gave the Nationalists
a considerable advantage.
The Nationalists were
also helped in that they had the support of the banks and the Catholic Church –
both wealthy backers. The Catholic
Church generally allied itself with the right wing, as it was anti-Liberal in
its views. The Church hierarchy was
also made up of members of more affluent families and controlled one of Spain’s
banks.
The Nationalists were
united under the strong military leadership of Franco, Goded and
Sanjurjo-Mola. This made them stronger
than the Republicans, who were divided between anarchists, communists and
liberals. The Republican government
even refused to distribute arms to the workers as they distrusted them. This led to some severe Republican losses during
the first stages of the civil war.
A decisive factor also
was Franco’s military strategy. The Nationalist
forces were divided into three armies who attacked Spain simultaneously from Morocco
and the Balearic Islands. Commanders such
as Yagüe marched to Seville and Madrid quickly in august 1936 covering several hundred
kilometres in five days. With the capture
of Madrid in April 1939, aided by Franco’s ‘fifth column’, the Nationalists gained
the seat of government and control of Spain.
The Civil War had immediate
consequences on Spain. 400,000 were killed in the fighting, 340,000 went into exile
and a further 250,000 Republicans were taken prisoner. The country lay in ruins and its people war-weary.
Because of the nature of civil wars, families
were pitched against each other, with no attempts made at reconciliation. Britain and France, following their policy of
appeasement had decided not to involve themselves in the Civil War.
The Spanish Civil War had
a significant impact on Spanish intelligentsia. One playwright was shot during the war, and the bombing of Guernica,
inspired Picasso’s painting of the same name. It was returned to Spain for display after Franco’s death.
The destruction caused during
the civil war meant that Spain was unable to participate in World War 2. It also resulted in Spain’s transformation into
a dictatorship until the death of Franco in 1975.
The Spanish Civil War was
won by Franco’s superior military strength and unity, his plentiful international
backing from Mussolini and Hitler, as well as support from the Church and banks,
and his superior military strategy, which left the Republicans on the defensive
for most of the war. His victory had immediate
implications for Spain in terms of the number of people directly involved in it,
and the destruction caused to the country. Afterwards the civil war’s legacy lived
on in the form of Franco’s leadership for a further 36 years.
