Chapter 6 The Virgin Mary and the Roman woman Verginia The battle of Kulikovo is described as the Second Latin War of Rome and as the battle of Clusium (The battle of Dmitry Donskoy with Mamai was reflected in the Bible as the struggle of David with Absalom, and in Livy - as the war of Titus Manlius with the Latins) Once again, let's return to

The war of "whites" and "reds" after the defeat of the first, continued in Europe. The White Guards managed to take revenge during the Spanish Civil War, where the Spanish communists clashed with right-wing forces.

Forerunner of the Civil War

In Spain, in the first half of the 20th century, the economic crisis was replaced by a political one. In 1929-1934, as a result of the global economic decline and internal problems, most of the country's population was below the poverty line. In the face of growing discontent in 1931, King Alfonso XIII himself fled the country, while not formally renouncing the throne. This contributed to political instability in the country, as in Spain there were many supporters of the king - royalists. The influence of radical political forces - communists, anarchists, fascists - grew in society. Thus, by the mid-1930s, Spain was on the brink of an abyss, torn apart by the hostility of various political forces claiming power in the country.

Fatal parliamentary elections

On the eve of the civil war, parliamentary elections are held on February 16, 1936, in which representatives of the Popular Front win. Having gained power in the country, they, under the influence of the communists and socialists who were part of the front, began profound transformations in the agrarian sphere: it was assumed that a significant part of the landowners' land would be transferred into the hands of the peasants (although, in the end, most of the peasants did not wait for their turn to receive land). They carried out an amnesty for prisoners, with which representatives of the right and ultra-right forces did not agree. The demands of the workers were shelved. All these factors caused riots in Spanish cities. The last straw that pushed the country into the abyss of civil war was the murder (July 13, 1936) by the state police of the leader of the right opposition, the monarchist deputy with pro-fascist views, José Calvo Sotelo. They took revenge on the right for the murders of their left-wing officers.

Under these conditions, in the country, the military (generals Sanjurjo, Molla, Queipo de Lano, Godet and Francisco Franco, who later became the leader of the nationalists) take power into their own hands in order to rid Spain of the "red threat".

The conspiring generals also managed to achieve financial support from many major Spanish industrialists and farmers, like Juan March and Luca de Tena, who suffered enormous losses after the victory of the Popular Front. The church also provided moral and material support to the right-wing forces. As a result of the anti-government coup, the generals seized power in 35 out of 50 provincial centers, controlling 1/3 of the country. At the very beginning of the war, the military managed to get huge help (money, weapons, volunteers, etc.) from Portugal, they were also able to agree on help from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy (which supplied modern weapons, volunteers, military instructors), who pursued your goals. Great Britain, France and the USSR officially declared "non-intervention in the war", which they later repeatedly violated.

The Soviet Union tacitly entered this war on the side of the Republicans (People's Fleet), violating the principle of non-intervention. After on September 28, 1936, General Franco was at the head of the rebel nationalist fascists, who was able to impose strict discipline in the ranks of his army (he could also use comprehensive foreign aid from Italy and Germany), the army of the Popular Front began to suffer one defeat after another. In addition, due to the inability of the Republican government to solve socio-economic problems, many Spaniards began to go over to the side of Franco. Under these conditions, the USSR had to take decisive measures, since it saw in Spain a possible ally and a future springboard for an active Soviet foreign policy in Western Europe and, as a result, a springboard for the "export of the revolution" to Western European countries.

The Soviet Union began to supply weapons and specialists (I-15 fighters, ANT-40 bombers and T-26 tanks with Soviet crews, conventional weapons - grenades, bombs, machine guns of various calibers, etc.), thus abandoning the principle non-intervention.

Worried about the rapid advance of General Franco's troops on Madrid, the Spanish government decided to transfer its gold reserves (worth about 2 billion 250 million gold pesos) to the USSR in order to preserve it (as a result, the Soviet leadership did not return a significant part of this gold under various pretexts Spain). It was also decided, within the framework of helping the “fraternal people of Spain”, to withdraw the children (about 40 thousand) of Spanish communists, fearing reprisals against them, from the combat zones in the USSR (these children, in the end, remained in the Soviet Union).

Actions of the Red Army

The Soviet military actively joined the fight against Franco's army. On October 29, 1936, the tank company of the captain of the Red Army Paul "Greyse" Arman participated in the successful counteroffensive of the People's Army on Sensenya. In late October - early November, a number of successful bombing raids on the "national zone" were carried out by ANT-40 squadrons. But not only the Russians helped the Popular Front in the fight against Franco. In Paris and other European cities, recruitment offices for volunteers for the red Spanish army were opened (of course, not without the participation of the Comintern, led from Moscow), in particular, entire echelons were sent from Paris to Spain. These volunteers created the so-called international brigades that fought on the side of the Popular Front.

Discord in the red camp

But not everything was so smooth in the relationship between the USSR and the Popular Front supported by it. The main stumbling block was the issue of the "Workers' Party of Marxist Unity" (POUM), which the communists, under pressure from the USSR, considered as Trotskyist and demanded its ban. However, Largo Caballero was strongly opposed, since the POUM was a member of the Popular Front; in addition, the Spanish Trotskyists were among the few, along with the anarcho-syndicalists and the socialist trade union UGT, who continued to support the current government. The desire for the need to ban the POUM was important against the backdrop of the repressions and purges of Trotsky elements taking place in the USSR itself in 1937. The insistence on banning the POUM led to even greater discord in the Popular Front itself, and, as a result, to its defeat.

Whites at the front

Many former White Guards, who found themselves abroad after the 1917 revolution, perceived the world events that were taking place “from the point of view of the interests of National Russia” - every white émigré had to fight against the communist, “red” threat, wherever it appeared. And when there was an uprising of nationalists against, in fact, the socialist government of the Popular Front, a real opportunity came for representatives of the white emigration to take part in the struggle against the communists, led from the Kremlin. In the event of a successful outcome, if possible, transfer the war directly to Russia itself.

At the end of 1936, General Shatilov (the former chief of staff of General Wrangel in the Crimea) arrived in Spain and got acquainted with the nationalist army on the spot. After this trip in Paris, the question of the participation of the Whites on the side of Franco began to be widely discussed. Russian officers responded to the call in other European countries as well. It is known that the Guards Cossack division, located in Yugoslavia, was negotiating with the headquarters of General Franco about the transfer of the entire division to Spain, but the negotiations ended in nothing, since the Cossacks set conditions for providing for the families of the disabled and the dead, and this, at that time, Franco allowed himself could not.

Former White Guards crossed the Spanish-French border at their own risk, in fact crossing it illegally. France, which declared its "non-intervention" in Spanish affairs, detained Russian volunteers and sent them to prison. She did this especially methodically after, together with Great Britain, she signed the Munich Treaty with Germany (1938). In order not to spoil relations with Germany, which had its own interests in Spain (to turn it into its semi-colony), France demonstrated its neutrality in every possible way. But still, a small detachment of "white" Russians under the command of the former Major General of the Russian Army Anatoly Vladimirovich Fok managed to take the side of Franco's army.

The white movement, like all the world's right-wing forces, viewed Franco's actions as a struggle against the communist threat, so many foreigners who sympathized with the Republicans or nationalists supported them financially. The former White Guards did the same, giving their last for the sake of fighting against their main "red" enemies.

Losing the Reds

The defeat of the communist movement in Spain during the civil war was caused by both internal and external causes. After the creation of recruiting bureaus for "red" volunteers in the cities of European countries, the national governments banned the activities of the Comintern in them. Thus, the Soviet leadership lost influence on the labor and communist movement in Europe, as well as the possibility of supplying weapons and other assistance to the Popular Front through third countries. The lack of discipline in the Red troops, the constant attacks of Franco's troops on positions and territories controlled by the Popular Front - all this led to the division of the republican socialist government into "alienation" zones, where the Francoists ruled. This made it impossible to coordinate the actions of the military and nullified the results of Soviet assistance. In addition, the program of the Popular Front did not offer an effective solution to the socio-economic crisis. The policy of "equalization" - equal pay for unequal work, the seizure of products from the population - all this pushed the common people away from the Popular Front. In Franco's army, on the contrary, strict discipline reigned, he was supported by Germany and Italy. Franco created syndicates among the workers, like those in Italy, through which he could carry out active propaganda and keep the labor movement in his hands. In 1938, England and France signed the Munich Agreement, which finally strengthened the position of Germany (Franco's ally). This hastened Franco's victory on April 1, 1939.

All about the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil Española), commonly known in Spain simply as the Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil) or War (Spanish: La Guerra), lasted in the country from 1936 to 1939. The war was fought between republicans loyal to the democratic urban left of the Second Spanish Republic, allied with anarchists against nationalists, Falangists, monarchists or Carlists, allied with supporters of an aristocratic conservative group led by General Francisco Franco. Although this war is often portrayed as a struggle between democracy and fascism, some historians have defined it more precisely, calling it a struggle between revolutionary left and right, or a counter-revolution. Ultimately, the Nationalists won, with the result that Franco came to power and ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from April 1939 until his death in November 1975.

The war began after a group of generals of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, initially under the command of José Sanjurjo, opposed the left-wing elected government of the Second Spanish Republic, led by President Manuel Azaña. The nationalist grouping was supported by a number of conservative groups, including the Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas or CEDA of Spain, monarchists such as religious conservatives (Catholics), the Carlists and the Falanges, the traditionalist forces of Spain, the Unions of the National Syndicalist Offensive and the Fascist groupings. Sanjurjo died in a plane crash while trying to return from exile in Portugal, after which Franco became the leader of the Nationalists.

The coup was supported by military units in the Spanish protectorate of Morocco, Pamplona, ​​Burgos, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Cadiz, Cordoba and Seville. However, rebel units in some important cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Bilbao and Malaga failed to achieve their goals, leaving these cities under government control. As a result, Spain was divided both militarily and politically. The Nationalists and the Republican government continued to struggle for control of the country. The Nationalist forces received ammunition and reinforcements from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, while the Republicans (Loyalists) received support from the communist regime of the Soviet Union and socialist Mexico. Other countries, such as Britain and France, maintained an official policy of non-intervention.

The Nationalists expanded their positions in the south and west, capturing most of the northern coast of Spain in 1937. For a considerable period of time they kept under siege Madrid and its adjacent territories to the south and west of it. After large parts of Catalonia were captured by the Nationalists in 1938 and 1939, the war ended with their victory and the expulsion of thousands of supporters of the Spanish left, many of whom were forced to flee to refugee camps in southern France. Adherents of the Republicans who were defeated in this war were persecuted by the victorious nationalists. With the establishment of the dictatorship led by General Franco, all right-wing parties in the post-war period united into a single structure of the Franco regime.

The results of the war resulted in rampant passions, became the result of political discord and inspired numerous atrocities. In the territories captured by Franco's forces, purges were organized in order to strengthen the future regime. A significant number of murders were committed in Republican-controlled territories. The number of murders that were carried out with the participation of the Republican authorities in the territories of the authorities under their control was not unambiguous.

Causes of the Spanish Civil War

The 19th century was turbulent for Spain. Supporters of the reform of the Spanish government competed for political power with the conservatives, who tried to prevent the implementation of reforms. Some of the liberals, adherents of the traditions of the Spanish Constitution, adopted in 1812, sought to limit the power of the Spanish monarchy and create a liberal state. However, the 1812 reforms ended after King Ferdinand VII abolished the Constitution and dissolved Trienio's liberal government. Between 1814 and 1874 There were 12 revolutions. Until the 1850s, the Spanish economy was based mainly on agriculture. The bourgeois industrial or commercial part of the population had an insignificant level of development. The main force was the oligarchy of large landowners; a small number of people owned significant estates, called latifundia, which simultaneously occupied all important government posts.

In 1868, popular uprisings led to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II from the House of Bourbon. Two different factors led to the uprisings: a series of urban riots and the emergence of a liberal movement in the middle class and in military circles (led by General Joan Prima) against the ultra-conservatism of the monarchy. In 1873, following the replacement of Isabella and the abdication of King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy following growing political pressure, the short-lived First Spanish Republic was proclaimed. After the restoration of the power of the Bourbons, which took place in December 1874, the Carlists and anarchists went over to the opposition to the monarchy. Alejandro Lerrox, Spanish politician and leader of the Radical Republican Party, contributed to the emergence of the spirit of republicanism in the camp of Catalonia, where the issue of poverty was especially acute. Growing dissatisfaction with the call for military service culminated in what became known as the Tragic Week in Barcelona in 1909.

In World War I, Spain remained neutral. After the end of the war, the working class, industrialists and military united in the hope of overthrowing the central government, but this hope was not crowned with success. During this period, the popular perception of communism as a serious help to achieve this goal also increased significantly. Miguel Primo de Rivera came to power in 1923 as a result of a military coup; as a result, power in Spain passed to the government of a military dictatorship. However, support for Rivera's regime gradually faded, and in January 1930 he resigned. He was succeeded by General Berenguer, who was then replaced by Admiral Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas; both military men professed a policy of rule by decree. AT major cities the monarchy had little support. As a consequence, in 1931 King Alfonso XIII gave in to popular pressure in favor of a republic, and called municipal elections on 12 April of that year. The Socialist and Liberal Republicans won the elections in almost all provincial capitals, and after the resignation of the Aznar government, King Alfonso XIII fled the country. Thus, the Second Spanish Republic was formed in the country, which lasted until the end of the Spanish Civil War.

The Revolutionary Committee, headed by Niseto Alcala-Zamora, turned into a provisional government in the country, in which Alcala-Zamora acted simultaneously as president and head of state. The republic enjoyed broad support from all sectors of society. In May, an incident occurred in which a taxi driver was attacked outside a monarchist club, sparking an anti-clerical backlash of violence throughout Madrid and southwestern Spain. The government's slow reaction caused frustration on the right and thus reinforced their view that the republic was intended to persecute the church. In June and July, the National Confederation of Labor (CNT) called for a series of demonstrations that culminated in clashes between their members and the Civil Guard and a violent crackdown on CNT protests by the Civil Guard and the army in Seville. These events led many workers to believe that the Second Spanish Republic was as oppressive as the monarchy and the CNT announced their intention to overthrow it by revolutionary means. Elections in June 1931 returned a large majority to the Republicans and Socialists. With the onset of the Great Depression, the government made an attempt to support the agricultural part of Spain by introducing an eight-hour working day and making land available to agricultural workers.

Fascism remained as a reactive threat, fueled by controversial military reforms. In December, a new reformist, liberal and democratic constitution was proclaimed. It included provisions that significantly strengthened age-old traditions Catholicism in the country, which was opposed by many communities of moderate Catholics. In 1931, the Republican Azaña became prime minister of a minority government. In 1933, the right-wing parties won the general election, thanks in large part to the neutrality of the anarchists who abstained from voting, which increased the influence of the right-wing forces, dissatisfied with the unwise actions of the government, which issued a controversial land reform decree, which caused an incident called Casas Viejas, which led to the creation of alliance of all right-wing forces in the country, called the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups (CEDA). The expansion of the rights and powers of women, allowed the day before in the country, most of which voted for the center-right parties, was for them an additional factor that contributed to their victory

The events that followed in the period after November 1933, known as the "two black years", seemed to contribute to making civil war more likely. The representative of the Radical Republican Party (RRP), Alejandro Lero, formed a government promising to reverse the changes made by the previous administration and grant amnesty to the participants in the failed revolt of General Sanjurjo, which took place in August 1932. To achieve their goals, some monarchists allied with representatives of the then Fascist Nationalist Party The phalanx of Hispaniola and de las Jon ("phalanx"). Open violent clashes took place on the streets of Spanish cities, where the militant spirit continued to grow, reflecting the trend towards radical rather than peaceful democratic means to resolve differences.

In the last months of 1934, two successive governments collapsed, bringing a government of SEDA representatives to power. The wages of agricultural workers "were cut in half, and the military purged the Republicans. A popular alliance was created, which narrowly won the elections in 1936. Azaña led a weak minority government, but soon, in April, Zamora replaced him as president. Prime Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga ignored warnings of a military conspiracy involving several generals who decided that this government had to be replaced in order to avoid the collapse of Spain.

Military coup in Spain

Preparations for a military coup in Spain

In an attempt to neutralize the generals who fell under suspicion, the Republican government dismissed Franco from the post of chief of staff and, as commander of the armed forces, he was transferred to the Canary Islands. Manuel Goded Llopis was removed from his post as Chief Inspector of the Armed Forces and transferred to the Balearic Islands as a general. Emilio Mola was transferred from the post of commander-in-chief of the Spanish contingent in Africa and transferred to Pamplona to the post of commander in Navarre. However, this did not stop Mola from leading a rebellion on the mainland. General José Sanjurjo nominally led the operation and facilitated an agreement with the Carlists. Mola led the planning of the operation and was the second person in its implementation. In order to limit the possibilities of the Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera was placed in prison in mid-March. However, the actions of the government were not as sufficient as they should have been, as the chief of security warned, as well as the effectiveness of the actions of other authorized persons.

On June 12, Prime Minister Casares Quiroga met with General Juan Yagüe, who managed to convince Casares of his loyalty to the Republic through deceit. For the spring period, Mola outlined serious plans. Franco was a key player due to his prestige as a former director of the military academy and as the man who put down the 1934 Asturian miners' strike. He was respected in the Spanish contingent of Africa and among the hardliners of the Spanish Republican Army. On June 23, he wrote a coded letter to Casares, warning him of the disloyalty of the military and his ability to contain them, provided that he was returned to his position at the head of the army. Casares did nothing, failing to arrest or buy off Franco. On July 5, Franco was transported from the Canary Islands to the Spanish territory of Morocco on the Dragon Rapid aircraft belonging to the British Secret Intelligence Service, where he was delivered on July 14.

On July 12, 1936, members of the Falange killed a policeman in Madrid, Lieutenant José Castillo, who served in the assault guard. He was a member of the Socialist Party responsible, among other things, for the military training of youth in the UGT. Castillo was the commander of the Assault Guard unit that violently suppressed the riots after the funeral of police lieutenant Anastasio de los Reyes. Los Reyes was shot dead by anarchists during the parade on April 14, held on the occasion of the celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Republic.

Fernando Condes, commander of the Assault Guard, was a close friend of Castillo. The next day, his unit was seen trying to arrest José María Gil-Robles, the founder of SEDA, in retaliation for the murder of Castillo, in his house, but at that time he was not in the house, after which they went to the house of Calvo Sotelo, a famous Spanish monarchist and prominent Conservative MP. Luis Cuenca, a socialist member of this unit, simply shot Calvo Sotelo in the back of the head during his arrest. Hugh Thomas concludes that Condes intended to arrest Sotelo and that Cuenca acted on his own initiative in doing so, although other sources disagree on this point.

Massive repressions followed. The murder of Sotelo, in which the police were involved, aroused suspicion and a serious reaction among the right-wing forces of opponents of the government. Even though the Nationalist generals were already in the last stages of their planned uprising, this event was the catalyst for the public justification of their coup.

The socialists and communists, led by Indalecio Prieto, demanded the distribution of weapons to the civilian population before the military began its actions. However, the Prime Minister hesitated.

The beginning of the military coup in Spain

The start date for the uprising, agreed with Carlist leader Manuel Fal Conde, was set for July 17 at 5:01 pm. However, the start dates were changed due to the fact that the time of the start of the uprising, first on the territory of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, was not taken into account, as a result of which the inhabitants of Spanish Morocco had to start the uprising at 05:00 on July 18, i.e. a day later than in Spain proper, in order to send troops back to the Iberian Peninsula after its completion, so that the beginning of the uprising here coincided with the appointed time. The coup was supposed to be almost instantaneous, but the government retained control over most of the country.

Ensuring control over the Spanish part of Morocco was a win-win affair. The plan for an uprising in Morocco was revealed on 17 July, prompting the conspirators to accept it immediately. The rebels met little resistance. In total, 189 people were shot by the rebels. Goded and Franco quickly took control of the islands they were placed in command of. On July 18, Casares Quiroga withdrew assistance offered by the CNT and the General Union of Workers (UGU), the leading factions in favor of calling a general strike - essentially a mobilization. They opened gun shops that were closed after the 1934 uprising. Paramilitary security forces often waited for the results of the police before joining one side or the other. The quick action of the rebels or volunteer units of the anarchists was often enough to decide the fate of the city. General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano managed to keep Seville for the rebels until their arrival, arresting a number of officers.

The result of an attempted military coup in Spain

The rebels were defeated in all attempts to capture major cities, with the sole exception of Seville, which became for them the only point for the landing of the African contingent of Franco's troops, as well as adherents of the conservative population of the regions of Old Castile and León, who quickly fell. Cadiz was taken by the rebels with the approach of the first military units of the African contingent.

The government retained control of the cities of Malaga, Jaén and Almería. In Madrid, the rebels were driven back to barracks in the Montagna region, which fell in a bloody battle. Republican leader Casares Quiroga was replaced by José Giral, who ordered the distribution of weapons to the civilian population. This contributed to the defeat of the rebel army in the main industrial centers, including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, and allowed the anarchists to take control of Barcelona, ​​along with large regions such as Aragon and Catalonia. General Goded was surrounded and surrendered at Barcelona and then sentenced to death. The republican government eventually took control of almost the entire east coast and the central part of the region around Madrid, as well as most of Asturias, Cantabria and part of the Basque Country in the north.

The rebels called themselves "Nacionales", which is usually translated as "Nationalists", although the main meaning of the word implies the term "true Spaniards" and does not carry a nationalist meaning at all. As a result of the coup, an area with a population of 11 million people out of a total population of Spain of 25 million passed under the control of the nationalists. The Nationalists secured the support of about half of Spain's territorial army of approximately 60,000 men. They had at their disposal approximately 35,000 men from the expeditionary corps of the Spanish Army of Africa, who were joined by a little less than half of the Spanish paramilitary police, the Assault Guard, the Gendarmenia and the Carabineros. The Republicans had at their disposal less than half of the total number of rifles and about a third of the number of machine guns and artillery pieces.

The Spanish Republican army had only 18 tanks of a fairly modern level, 10 of which came under the control of the nationalists. The capabilities of the naval forces at the disposal of the opponents were unequal. The Republicans had a numerical advantage, but the Nationalists were in the high command of the navy, and they had at their disposal two of the most modern ships, the heavy cruisers Ferrol and Baleares, captured from the shipyards of the Canary Islands. The Spanish Republican Navy suffered from the same problems as the army - many officers deserted or were killed while trying to desert. Two-thirds of the Air Force remained in the hands of the government, but all aircraft of the Republican Air Force were very outdated.

Members of the Spanish Civil War

The war for Republican supporters was an expression of the battle between tyranny and freedom, while for the Nationalists it was the epitome of the battle of the communist and anarchist "red hordes" against the "Christian civilization". The Nationalists also claimed that they brought security and order to a ruleless and lawless country. From the moment when the socialists and communists began to support the Republic, Spanish politicians, especially those of the left, found themselves fragmented into small groups. During the reign of the Republic, anarchists had a controversial attitude towards it, but most groups during the civil war opposed the nationalists. The Conservatives, on the contrary, were united by their fiery idea of ​​opposition to the Republican government and opposed it with a united front.

The coup divided the country's armed forces roughly equally. Some historians estimate that the forces that remained loyal to the government were approximately 87,000, while others estimate that 77,000 joined the rebels, although some historians suggest that the number of troops who fought on the side of the Nationalists should be revised in direction of increase, and that their number is most likely approaching 95,000.

Fascism remained as a reactive threat, fueled by controversial military reforms. In December, a new reformist, liberal and democratic constitution was proclaimed. It included provisions that greatly strengthened the centuries-old traditions of the Catholic country, which was opposed by many communities of moderate Catholics. In 1931, the Republican Azaña became prime minister of a minority government. In 1933, the right-wing parties won the general election, largely due to the neutrality of the anarchists who abstained from voting, which increased the influence of the right-wing forces, dissatisfied with the unwise actions of the government, which issued a controversial land reform decree, which caused an incident called Casas Viejas, which led to the creation of alliance of all right-wing forces in the country, called the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups (CEDA). The expansion of the rights and powers of women, allowed the day before in the country, most of which voted for the center-right parties, was for them an additional factor contributing to their victory

Both armies continued to increase their numbers. The main source of the influx of manpower was conscription; both sides enforced this strategy and expanded their schemes; used by the nationalists turned out to be more aggressive, as a result of which there were no longer enough places for volunteers entering their ranks to accommodate them. Foreign volunteers are unlikely to have contributed to a tangible increase in numbers; the nationalist-sided Italians reduced their participation, while the new reinforcements of the international brigades fighting on the republican side barely compensated for the losses suffered by their units on the front line. At the turn of 1937/1938, both armies reached a balance in the number of their troops and there were approximately 700 thousand in the ranks.

Throughout 1938, conscription remained the main, if not the only source of replenishment of manpower; at this stage, it was the Republicans who implemented this project more effectively. In the middle of the year, shortly before the battle of the Ebro, the Republicans reached their record high number of troops, when they had under their command a little over 800,000 men; this, however, was not such a significant factor for the Nationalists, whose ranks numbered approximately 880,000. The Battle of the Ebro, the fall of Catalonia and a sharp decline in discipline led to a massive reduction in the number of republican troops. At the end of February 1939, their army numbered 400,000 soldiers, while the Nationalists, in comparison, had twice as many. By the time of their final victory, there were 900,000 soldiers in their ranks.

The total officially registered number of Spaniards fighting on the Republican side was 917,000; according to the estimate given in the latest scholarly work, this number is estimated as "exceeding 1 million people" (1.2 million?), although earlier historiographic studies claimed that in total (including foreigners) up to 1.75 million fought in their ranks. The total number of Spaniards who sided with the Nationalists is now estimated at "nearly 1 million", although earlier writings (including foreigners) state that the total number was as high as 1.26 million.

Republicans in the Spanish Civil War

Only two countries openly and fully supported the Republic: Mexico and the USSR. Of these, in particular the USSR, provided the Republic with diplomatic support, sent detachments of volunteers, and also provided the opportunity to purchase weapons. Other countries adhered to neutrality, in other words, neutrality was hallmark and a source of intellectual distress in the United States and the United Kingdom, to a lesser extent in other European countries, and for Marxists everywhere. This is what led to the emergence of international brigades; thousands of foreigners of all nationalities who voluntarily came to Spain to assist the Republic, they were filled with morale, but militarily were not so significant.

The pro-Republic camp in Spain included people from a wide range of backgrounds, from centrists who supported a moderately capitalist liberal democracy to revolutionary anarchists who opposed the Republic but joined it as opposed to military coups. Initially, they were based mainly on the secular and urban sections of the population and even landless peasants, but they were especially strong in such industrial areas as Asturias, the Basque country and Catalonia.

This faction had various names: "loyalists", as the supporters themselves called them, "republicans", "popular front" or "government", as representatives of all parties without exception called them; and/or los rojos "red" is a term used by their opponents. Republicans were supported by urban workers, peasants, and some of the middle class.

The conservative, heavily Catholic Basque country, along with Galicia and the more left-leaning Catalonia, sought autonomy or independence from the central government of Madrid. The republican government allowed the possibility of self-government for two regions whose forces joined the People's Republican Army, which after October 1936 were transformed into mixed brigades

Famous personalities fought on the side of the Republicans such as the English writer George Orwell (who wrote "In memory of Catalonia" (1938), a story about his experience in the war) and the Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune, who developed a method of mobile blood transfusion during operations at the front . Simone Weil briefly joined the anarchist forces, where she stayed in the columns of Buenaventura Durruti, although her colleagues, fearing that she might inadvertently shoot them due to myopia, tried not to take her with them on combat missions. According to her biographer Simone Petrement, Weil was evacuated from the front a few weeks later due to an injury she received in the kitchen.

Who are the Spanish nationalists?

True Spaniards or nationalists - also called "rebels", "rebels", "francoists" or "fascists", as their opponents called them - feared the fragmentation of the state and opposed separatist movements. Their main ideological attitude was determined primarily by anti-communism, which galvanized various or even opposition movements, including Falangist and monarchist groups. Their leaders were mostly rich and affluent people, which determined their more conservative, monarchical mentality, or commitment to land ownership.

The nationalist camp included the Carlists and Alfonsists, the Spanish nationalists, the fascist phalanx, and most of the conservatives and monarchist liberals. Virtually all nationalist groups had strong Catholic beliefs and supported the Spanish clergy. Most of the Catholic clergy and those who practiced it (outside the Basque country), army commanders, the vast majority of large landowners and many businessmen identified themselves as nationalists.

One of the leitmotifs of the right was "opposing the anti-clericalism of the republican regime and defending the Catholic Church," which was the target of opponents, including Republicans, who blamed it for all the troubles of the country. The church opposed liberal principles, which were enshrined in the Spanish Constitution of 1931. Prior to the outbreak of war, during the miners' strike in Asturias in 1934, church buildings were burned and at least 100 clergy, religious civilians and pro-Catholic policemen were killed by revolutionaries .

To suppress it, Franco brought mercenaries from the Spanish colonial army in Africa (Spanish: Army of Spain or Expeditionary Force in Morocco) and, using shelling and bombing, forced the miners to surrender. The Spanish legion committed atrocities - many men, women and children were killed, in addition to this, the army carried out executions of leftist forces. The repressions continued to be brutal. Prisoners in Asturias were tortured.

Articles 24 and 26 of the 1931 Constitution prohibited the Society of Jesus. This ban deeply offended many conservatives. The revolution in the republican part of the country, which took place at the very beginning of the war, during which 7,000 priests and thousands of laity were killed, was another reason that increased Catholic support for the nationalists.

Indigenous elements of the Moroccan Expeditionary Force joined the uprising and played a significant role in the civil war.

Other factions of the conflict

Catalan and Basque nationalists were not unequivocal in their commitment. The left wing of the Catalan nationalists sided with the Republicans, while the conservative Catalan nationalists were much less supportive of the government, due to cases of anti-clericalism and confiscations taking place in areas under its control. Basque nationalists, led by the conservative Basque Nationalist Party, provided moderate support for the Republican government, although some of them, as in Navarre, went over to the rebels for the same reasons as the Catalan conservatives. Regardless of religious considerations, the Basque nationalists, who were mostly Catholic, tended to side with the Republicans, although the NVG, the Basque nationalist party, was later reported to have handed over the Bilbao defense plan to the Nationalists in an effort to reduce the duration of the siege and the number of casualties. .

Foreign aid in the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War caused political controversy throughout Europe. The right and the Catholics supported the nationalists in order to prevent the spread of Bolshevism. For the left, including trade unions, students and intellectuals, the war was a battle to stop the spread of fascism. Anti-war and pacifist sentiments, due to the fear that a civil war could potentially escalate into World War II, were strongly felt in many countries. Thus, the war was an indicator of the growing instability throughout Europe.

The Spanish Civil War involved a significant number of foreigners who took part both in the fighting and as advisers. Britain and France led a political alliance of 27 countries that declared non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War, including also an embargo on the supply of all types of weapons. The United States has unofficially gone further. Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union officially signed it, but ignored the embargo. The intention to exclude imports proved completely ineffective, with France especially accused of allowing large deliveries to the Republican troops. Underground activities of this kind, which were allowed by various European powers, were seen at the time as carrying the threat of the possibility of a second world war, alarming anti-war forces around the world.

The reaction of the League of Nations to the threat of war was influenced by the fear of communism and was not enough to deter the massive supply of weapons and other war materials to the warring factions. The Non-Intervention Policy Committee, created at that time, did little to resolve the problem, and its directives had no effect.

Aid to the Spanish Nationalists

Germany's role in the Spanish Civil War

German involvement began within days of the outbreak of hostilities in July 1936. Adolf Hitler immediately sent powerful air and armored units to assist the Nationalists. The war for the German military provided combat experience in the use of the latest technologies. However, such an intervention also carried the threat of the conflict escalating into a world war, for which Hitler was not yet ready. He therefore limited his assistance by suggesting that Benito Mussolini send large Italian units.

The actions of Nazi Germany also included the creation of the multi-purpose Condor Legion, consisting of volunteers from the Luftwaffe and the German army (Heer), which was formed between July 1936 and March 1939. The participation of the Condor Legion proved especially useful in 1936 at the Battle of Toledo. Already at an early stage of hostilities, Germany helped redeploy the Army of Africa to the Spanish mainland. The Germans gradually expanded the range of their operations to include strikes and more significant actions, most notably as controversial as the bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937, which killed between 200 and 300 civilians. In addition, Germany used the war to test new weapons such as the Luftwaffe Stukas and the Junkers Ju-52 three-engine transport aircraft (also used as bombers), which proved to be effective.

The participation of the Germans was also noted in such military activities as the operation "Ursula" with the participation of the U-type submarine, with the assistance of the navy. The Legion contributed to Republican victories in many battles, especially in air battles, while Spain also became a testing ground for German tank tactics. The training that the German units provided to the Nationalist troops proved valuable. By the end of the war, approximately 56,000 soldiers, including infantry, artillery, air force and navy, were trained by German units.

In total, about 16,000 German citizens fought in the war, resulting in the deaths of about 300 people, although no more than 10,000 of them were constantly involved in hostilities. German aid to the Nationalists in 1939 amounted to about £43,000,000 ($215,000,000), 15.5 percent of which was used to pay salaries and related expenses and 21.9 percent to secure direct supplies to Spain, in while 62.6 percent was spent on the upkeep of the Condor Legion. In total, Germany supplied the nationalists with 600 aircraft and 200 tanks.

Role of Italy in the Spanish Civil War

After Francisco Franco's request for help, and with Hitler's blessing, Benito Mussolini joined the war. Although the conquest of Ethiopia in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War gave Italy self-confidence, nevertheless, Spain's ally limited itself to helping her in securing control over the Italian Mediterranean theater of operations. The Italian navy played a significant role in the Mediterranean blockade, in addition, Italy supplied the nationalists with machine guns, artillery, aircraft and light tanks, and also placed the forces of the Air Force Legion and the Italian Volunteer Corps at the disposal of the nationalists. At the peak of their aid, the Italian Corps had 50,000 men. Italian warships took part in breaking the blockade of the Republican navy, blocking the Spanish territory of Morocco held by the nationalists from the sea, participated in the shelling of the cities of Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona held by the Republicans. In total, Italy provided the Nationalists with 660 aircraft, 150 tanks, 800 artillery pieces, 10,000 machine guns and 240,000 rifles.

Role of Portugal in the Spanish Civil War

The Estado Novo or New State regime of Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar played an important role in supplying Franco's troops with ammunition and logistics. Despite covert direct participation in hostilities, held back until some kind of "semi-official" approval by the authoritarian regime to send a volunteer force of up to 20,000 so-called Viriatos, throughout the conflict, Portugal played an important role in providing the Nationalists with organizational skills, reassuring his Iberian neighbor Franco and his allies, that no interference could interfere with supplies to the cause of the Nationalists.

What other countries expressed support for the Spanish nationalists

The British Conservative government, backed by the elite and the mainstream media, maintained a stance of firm neutrality, pushing the idea of ​​aiding the Republic far afield. The government refused to allow arms shipments and sent warships to try to block them. Traveling to Spain was declared a crime, but about 4,000 people went there anyway. The intelligentsia came out strongly in support of the Republicans. Many have visited Spain hoping to encounter genuine anti-fascism. They did not have any significant influence on the government nor shake the firm public mood in favor of peace. The Labor Party was split, and its Catholic part was leaning in favor of the Nationalists. The party officially approved the boycott and expelled the faction that demanded Republican support; but ultimately expressed some support for the loyalists.

The Romanian volunteers were led by Ion Motza, deputy leader of the Iron Guard (Legion of the Archangel Michael). His group of seven legionnaires visited Spain in December 1936 to unite their movement with the Nationalists.

Despite the Irish government's ban on participation in the war, about 600 Irish, followers of the Irish politician and leader of the Irish Republican Army O'Duffy, known as the Irish Brigades, went to Spain to fight alongside Franco. Most of the volunteers were Catholics and, in agreement with O'Duffy, volunteered to help the Nationalists in their fight against communism.

Aid to the Spanish Republicans

International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War

Many foreign participants in the conflict, often associated with radical communist or socialist formations, joined the International Brigades, believing that it was the Spanish Republic that was the front line in the fight against fascism. These units were the largest formations of the contingent of foreign citizens who fought in the ranks of the Republicans. Approximately 40,000 foreigners fought in brigades, although no more than 18,000 people participated in the actual conflict. According to them, citizens of 53 countries were in their ranks.

A significant number of volunteers came from the French Third Republic (10,000), Nazi Germany, the Federal State of Austria (5,000) and the Kingdom of Italy (3,350). 1,000 volunteers each came from the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Second Polish Republic, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Kingdoms of Hungary and Canada. The Thälmann Battalion, German Group, Garibaldi Battalion, Italian Group were units that distinguished themselves during the blockade of Madrid. The Americans fought in units such as the XV International Brigade (Abraham Lincoln Brigade), while the Canadians joined the Mackenzie-Papino Battalion.

More than 500 Romanians fought on the side of the Republicans, including members of the Romanian Communist Party Petre Borila and Valter Romana. About 145 people from Ireland formed the Connolly Column, which was immortalized in Irish singer Christy Moore's song "Long Live the Fifth Brigade". Some Chinese citizens joined the brigades; most of them eventually returned to China, but some were imprisoned or ended up in French refugee camps, and only a handful of them remained in Spain.

Aid to the USSR in the Spanish Civil War

Although General Secretary Joseph Stalin and signed the Non-Intervention Agreement, the Soviet Union violated the League of Nations embargo by providing material assistance to the republican forces, becoming the only source of supply of basic weapons to them. Unlike Hitler and Mussolini, Stalin tried to do this in secret. The amount of equipment supplied by the USSR to the Republicans ranges from 634 to 806 aircraft, 331 or 362 tanks, 1,034 or 1,895 pieces of artillery.

To organize and manage operations for the supply of weapons, Stalin created the X department of the Military Council of the Soviet Union under the name "Operation X". Despite Stalin's interest in helping the Republicans, the quality of the weapons was not uniform. On the one hand, many of the rifles and field guns were old, obsolete, or of limited use (some of them dating back to the 1860s). On the other hand, the T-26 and BT-5 tanks were modern and effective in combat. The planes supplied by the Soviet Union were in service with its own armed forces, but the planes supplied to the nationalists by the end of the war by Germany were more efficient.

The process of delivering weapons to Spain from Russia was extremely slow. Many of the delivered parties were lost or only a part of the shipped was delivered. Stalin ordered shipbuilders to build false decks into the original ship designs, while at sea, to avoid detection by the nationalists, the captains of Soviet ships resorted to using foreign flags and paint schemes.

For the supply of Soviet weapons, the Republic officially paid from the gold reserves through the Bank of Spain. 176 tons of them were transferred through France. This would later become the subject of frequent attacks by the Francoist propaganda under the name "Moscow Gold". The value of the weapons supplied by the Soviet Union exceeded Spain's gold reserves, which at the time were the fourth largest in the world, and were estimated at $500 million (as of 1936).

The USSR sent a number of military advisers to Spain (2,000-3,000 people), while the number Soviet troops was less than 500 people. At that time, Soviet volunteers often flew Soviet-made tanks and aircraft, especially at the beginning of the war. In addition, the Soviet Union directed communist parties around the world to organize the dispatch of volunteers for the International Brigades.

Another important point in the participation of the USSR was the activity People's Commissariat Internal Affairs (NKVD), which was in the rearguard of the Republicans. Communist figures such as Vittorio Vidali ("Comandante Contreras"), Grigulevich, Mikhail Koltsov and especially Alexander Mikhailovich Orlov carried out operations to eliminate the Catalan anti-Stalinist poitik Andreu Nin and the activist of the independent left forces Jose Robles. Another NKVD-led operation (December 1936) shot down a French aircraft in which International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate Georges Henney was transporting numerous documents on the massacres to Paracuellos in France.

Role of Mexico in the Spanish Civil War

Unlike the United States and the governments of major Latin American countries such as the ABC countries and Peru, Mexico supported the Republicans. Mexico refused to follow the Franco-British offer of non-intervention and provided $2 million in financial support and material assistance, which included 20,000 rifles and 20 million rounds of ammunition.

The most important contribution to the issue of Mexico's assistance to the Spanish Republic was its diplomatic assistance, as well as the organization of such a holy cause as the reception of refugees, which this state organized for republican refugees, including Spanish intellectuals and orphans from republican families. About 50,000 people found shelter, mainly in Mexico City and Morelia, who were also given $300 million in various treasures that are still in the possession of the left.

How did France react to the Spanish Civil War?

Fearing that such a move could provoke a civil war within France, the left-wing Popular Front ruling in France did not directly support the Republicans. French Prime Minister Léon Blum sympathized with the Republicans, fearing that the success of the Nationalist forces in Spain would lead to the emergence of another allied state for Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, which would practically lead to the encirclement of France. Right-wing politicians opposed the provision of any assistance, for which they attacked the Blum government with attacks. In July 1936, British officials convinced Blum not to send weapons to the Republicans, and as early as July 27 the French government announced that it would not send military equipment, technology or manpower to assist the Republicans. However, Blum made it clear that France reserved the right to assist the Republic if it saw fit: “We could supply arms to the Spanish government [Republicans], as a legitimate government ... We did not do this, so that this would not serve as an excuse for those who would be tempted to send weapons to the rebels [Nationalists)."

On August 1, 1936, at a pro-Republican rally, 20,000 participants demanded that Blum send planes to the Republicans, while right-wing politicians attacked him for supporting the Republic, blaming him for the fact that by doing so he could provoke the Italians to take the side of Franco. Germany brought to the attention of the French ambassador in Berlin that if France supported the Republicans, Germany would make it responsible for supporting "Moscow's maneuvers." On August 21, 1936, France signed the Non-Intervention Agreement. However, the Blum government, with the help of Spanish Republican pilots, secretly supplied the Republicans with Potez 540 bombers (referred to as "Flying Coffins"), Devoitin-type aircraft and Loire 46 fighters, which were delivered to them between August 7, 1936 and December of the same year. The French also sent their pilots and engineers at the disposal of the Republicans. In addition, until September 8, 1936, aircraft purchased from third countries could freely fly from France to Spain.

The French novelist André Malraux was a staunch supporter of the Republicans; he tried to organize air force volunteers (Squadron de España) to participate on the Republican side, but as a practical organizer and leader of the squadron he was somewhat idealistic and ineffective. Spanish Air Force commander Andrés García La Calle was openly critical of Malraux's effectiveness as a military man, but acknowledged his usefulness as a propagandist. The novel Le Espoir he wrote and its film version, where he acted as producer and director (Espoire: Sierra de Teruel), were of great help to the Republican cause in France.

Even after covert French support for the Republicans ended in December 1936, the possibility of French intervention against the Nationalists remained serious throughout the war. German intelligence informed Franco and the Nationalists that there were open discussions among the French military about the need for military intervention in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. In 1938, Franco feared the potential threat of immediate French intervention if the Nationalists won in Spain by occupying Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and Spanish Morocco.

Despite the fact that the French for the most part sympathized with the Republicans, some right-wing extremists sided with Franco. This was especially distinguished by members of the Cagoulary group, who organized sabotage in French ports during the maintenance of ships carrying weapons and auxiliary equipment for emergency assistance to Republican Spain.

Course of the Spanish Civil War

Beginning of the Spanish Civil War

In the south-west of Spain, large-scale airlifts were organized to deliver nationalist troops from Spanish Morocco. After Supreme Commander Sanjurjo died in a plane crash on July 20, real control was divided between Mola in the North and Franco in the South. This was the period when the worst acts of the so-called "red" and "white" terrorists in Spain took place. On July 21, on the fifth day of the uprising, the Nationalists captured the main Spanish naval base, located in the port of Ferrol in Galicia.

The rebel forces under the command of Colonel Alfonso Borulega Canet, on the orders of General Mola and Colonel Esteban Garcia, launched a campaign to capture Gipuzkoa between July and September. The capture of Gipuzkoa allowed them to cut off the republican-held provinces in the north of the country. On September 5, as a result of victory in the Battle of Irun, the nationalists closed the border with France. On September 15, San Sebastian was taken by nationalists, in which separate forces of republican anarchists and Basque nationalists were located. After that, the nationalists began to advance towards the provincial capital of Bilbao, but in September they were stopped by the Republican militias on the border of the Bay of Biscay.

The republic proved militarily ineffective, relying on an unorganized revolutionary militia. The Giral-led Republican government, unable to cope with the situation, resigned on September 4 and was replaced by a predominantly socialist organization led by Largo Caballero. The new leadership began the unification of the central command in the republican zone.

On September 21, at a meeting of high-ranking nationalist military leaders in Salamanca, Franco was elected commander in chief of the armed forces and received the title of Generalisimo. On September 27, Franco won another victory by breaking the siege of the city of Alcazar in Toledo, in which, from the very beginning of the uprising, there were units of the nationalists under the command of Colonel José Moscardo Ituartes, resisting thousands of soldiers of the Republican troops, who completely surrounded them in the buildings of the garrison. The Moroccans and parts of the Spanish legion came to their aid. Two days after the lifting of the siege, Franco proclaimed himself caudillo ("leader", the Spanish equivalent of the Italian Duce or German Fuhrer - "director"), forcibly joining the scattered and motley groupings of Falangists, royalists and supporters of other currents to the nationalist movement. The diversion of the Nationalist forces to carry out the operation to conquer Toledo gave Madrid time to prepare the city for defense, but at the same time served as the main trump card in order to promote the victory as Franco's personal success. On October 1, 1936, in Burgos, General Franco was proclaimed head of state and the country's armed forces. A similar success for the Nationalists occurred on October 17, when troops from Galicia liberated the besieged city of Oviedo in northern Spain.

In October, Francoist troops launched a major offensive against Madrid, capturing its suburbs in early November and continuing their attack on the city on 8 November. On November 6, the Republican government was forced to relocate from Madrid to Valencia, outside the combat zone. However, as a result of fierce fighting that took place from November 8 to 23, the nationalist offensive against the capital was repulsed. The main factor in the success of the Republican defense was the successful actions of the fifth regiment and the international brigades that subsequently arrived to help him, although only about 3,000 foreign volunteers participated in the battle. Unable to capture the capital, Franco subjected it to aerial bombardment, making several offensive attempts over the next two years to encircle Madrid, but in the end he was forced into a siege that lasted three years. A second offensive was undertaken by the nationalists in the direction of Corunna Road, in the northwestern direction, somewhat pushing the republican troops as a result, but at the same time the nationalists did not manage to achieve the encirclement of Madrid. The battle continued into January.

Major events of the Spanish Civil War

Replenishing his ranks with Italian troops and Spanish soldiers from the colonial troops of Morocco, in January and February 1937, Franco made another attempt to capture Madrid, but it was also unsuccessful. The battle for Malaga began in mid-January, and this offensive by the Nationalist forces in southeastern Spain turned into a real disaster for the poorly organized and poorly armed Republicans. On February 8, the city was captured by Franco. The unification of various militia groups into the Republican Army began in December 1936. The powerful offensive of the Nationalist forces to cross the Jarama to cut off Madrid's supplies on the road from Valencia, called the Battle of Jarama, resulted in heavy losses (6,000-20,000) for both sides. The main goal of the operation was not achieved, although at the same time the nationalists captured a small piece of territory.

A similar Nationalist offensive, called the Battle of Guadalajara, was the most significant defeat for Franco and his armies in this war. At the same time, this defeat of the Nationalists was also the only victory of the Republicans from the very beginning of the war. In the war, Franco involved Italian troops and used blitzkrieg tactics; at the time, many strategists blamed Franco for the defeat of the right; the Germans, on the other hand, believed that "the defeat happened through the fault of the nationalists", which resulted in the loss of 5,000 people in manpower and the loss of important military property. German strategists argued that the nationalists first needed to focus on vulnerable areas.

The "War in the North" began in mid-March, with the start of the Biscay campaign. Most of all, the Basques suffered due to the lack of an air force. On April 26, the Condor Legion bombarded the city of Guernica, killing 200-300 people, causing significant damage. had a serious impact on international public opinion.The Basques retreated.

April and May were marked by divisions among the republican factions in Catalonia. Infighting took place between the ultimately victorious communist government forces and the anarchists of the CNT. These differences played into the hands of the Nationalist team, but they did little to take advantage of these divisions among the Republican divisions. After the fall of Guernica, the republican government began to resist with greater efficiency. In July, it made an attempt to retake Segovia, thereby forcing Franco to delay his offensive on the Bilbao front, but only for two weeks. A similar Republican attack, that of Huesca, was equally unsuccessful.

Mola, Franco's second-in-command, died on June 3 in a plane crash. In early July, despite earlier losses at the Battle of Bilbao, the government launched a major counteroffensive west of Madrid, targeting Brunete. The Battle of Brunet, however, turned out to be a significant defeat for the Republicans and lost many of their most experienced military units. As a result of the offensive, the Republican forces advanced 50 square kilometers (19 sq mi), but lost 25,000 men.

The offensive of the Republican troops on Zaragoza also proved unsuccessful. Despite the advantage on land and in the air in the battle for Belchite, a settlement that did not represent any important military interests, the Republicans were able to advance only 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) , having lost a large number equipment. Franco invaded Aragon in August and took the city of Santander. After the surrender of the republican army in the territory of the Basques, the Santona agreement was signed. Later, as a result of an attack on Asturias, Gijón fell in October. Franco effectively won in the north. At the end of November, with Franco's troops entrenched in Valencia, the government again had to move, this time to Barcelona.

Battle of Teruel

The battle for Teruel was a serious confrontation between the parties. The city, previously owned by the Nationalists, was conquered by the Republicans in January. The Francoist troops launched an offensive and recaptured the city by February 22, but Franco was largely dependent on German and Italian air support.

On March 7, the nationalists launched an offensive against Aragon, and by April 14 they broke through to the Mediterranean Sea, halving the territory of Spain belonging to the republic. In May, the Republican government attempted to make peace, but Franco demanded unconditional surrender, so the war continued to rage. In July, the Nationalist army began to press south of Teruel south along the coast towards the capital of the Republic in Valencia, but as a result of heavy fighting was stopped along the XYZ line of the system of fortifications protecting Valencia.

Thereafter, between July 24 and November 26, the Republican government launched an all-out campaign to regain its territory at the Battle of the Ebro, in which Franco personally took command. This campaign was unsuccessful for the Republicans, and moreover, was undermined by the Franco-British appeasement of the parties undertaken in Munich. The agreement with England actually destroyed the morale of the Republicans in their hope of creating an anti-fascist alliance with the Western powers. The retreat of the Republicans from the Ebro predetermined the final outcome of the war. Eight days before the new year, Franco sent a huge force to invade Catalonia.

Results of the Spanish Civil War

Franco's troops conquered Catalonia in a whirlwind of fast-paced military campaign battles during the first two months of 1939. Tarragona fell on 15 January, followed by Barcelona on 26 January and Girona on 2 February. On February 27, the United Kingdom and France recognized the Franco regime.

Only Madrid and a few other fortresses were still under the control of the republican forces. On March 5, 1939, the Republican army, led by Colonel Sehismundo Casado and politician Julián Besteiro, rebelled against Prime Minister Juan Negrin and formed the Council of National Defense to negotiate a peace agreement. On March 6, Negrin fled to France, and the communist troops stationed around Madrid rebelled against the junta, thus starting a short-lived civil war within a civil war. Casado defeated them and began peace negotiations with the Nationalists, but Franco refused to accept any terms other than unconditional surrender.

On March 26, the nationalists launched a general offensive, on March 28, the nationalist troops occupied Madrid, and by March 31 they already controlled the entire territory of Spain. On April 1, after the surrender of the last units of the Republican forces, Franco proclaimed victory in his radio address.

After the end of the war, severe reprisals were applied against Franco's former enemies. Thousands of Republicans were imprisoned and at least 30,000 executed. According to other sources, the number of those executed, depending on their reasons, ranged from 50,000 to 200,000. Many others were sentenced to forced labor, sent to build railways, drain swamps and lay canals.

Hundreds of thousands of Republicans fled abroad, about 500,000 of them to France. The refugees were imprisoned in displaced persons' camps of the French Third Republic, such as Camp Gurs or Camp Vernet, where 12,000 republicans lived in miserable conditions. While serving as consul in Paris, the Chilean poet and politician Pablo Neruda arranged for 2,200 Republican exiles to travel from France to Chile on the SS ship Winnipeg.

Of the 17,000 refugees stationed in Gours, farmers and other Spanish citizens who could not settle in France, with the assistance of the government of the Third Republic and in agreement with the Francoist government, returned to Spain. The vast majority of the refugees did so, with the result that they were handed over to the Franco authorities in Irun. From there they were taken to the Miranda de Ebro camp for the appropriate "cleansing" in accordance with the Law of Political Responsibility. After the declaration of the Vichy regime by Marshal Philippe Perth, the refugees turned into political prisoners, and the French police tried to arrest those who had already been released from the camp. Together with other "undesirable" persons, the Spaniards were sent to the internment camp in Drancy for subsequent deportation to Nazi Germany. About 5,000 Spaniards died in the Mauthausen concentration camp.

After the official end of the war, guerrilla warfare was carried out on an irregular basis until 1950 by the Spanish Maquis, the intensity of which gradually decreased due to military defeats and meager support from an exhausted population. In 1944, a group of Republican veterans who also fought in the French resistance against the Nazis invaded Val d'Aran in northwestern Catalonia, but after 10 days of fighting they were defeated.

The fate of the Spanish "children of war"

The Republicans ensured the evacuation of 30,000-35,000 children from the area they controlled, starting from the Basque areas, from which a total of 20,000 people were taken out. They were sent to the United Kingdom and the USSR and many other places in Europe, as well as Mexico. On May 21, 1937, about 4,000 children from the Basque Country were sent to Great Britain on the decrepit SS ship Havana from the Spanish port of Santurtzi. This happened despite initial resistance from both the government itself and charitable groups, who considered the estrangement of children from their home country potentially harmful. Upon arrival two days later in Southampton, the children were dispersed throughout England, with over 200 children placed in Wales. Initially, the upper age limit was set at 12, but later it was raised to 15 years. As you know, by mid-September, all Los Niños were placed in houses with families. Most of them were repatriated to Spain after the end of the war, but 250 of them remained in the UK until the end of World War II in 1945.

Losses in the Spanish Civil War

There is no consensus on the total number of those killed in the war. British historian Anthony Beevor, in his history of the Spanish Civil War, wrote that Franco's "White Terror" that followed its end resulted in the deaths of 200,000 people, while the death toll of the "Red Terror" killed 38,000 people. . Julius Ruiz states that "although the final figures are still disputed, it is believed that at least 37,843 executions were carried out in the Republican zone, and no more than 150,000 executions were carried out in the Nationalist part of Spain (including 50,000 after the war)" ".

In 2008, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón opened an investigation into the executions and disappearances of 114,266 people between 17 July 1936 and December 1951. During the investigation of the executions, it was found that the body of the poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca was never found. The very mention of the death of Garcia Lorca during the Franco regime was forbidden.

Recent studies have begun using combined search methods to locate mass graves, including eyewitness testimony, remote sensing and the use of forensic equipment.

According to historians including Helen Graham, Paul Preston, Beevor, Gabriel Jackson and Hugh Thomas, mass executions behind Nationalist lines were organized and carried out with the approval of the rebel authorities, while executions behind Republican battle formations were the result of gaps in the jurisprudence of the Republican state. and anarchy:

Despite the fact that many senseless murders were committed in the rebellious part of Spain, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200b"limpiesa" or "purge" of the country from the evil that overtook it was a policy of imposing discipline applied by the new authorities, part of their revival program. In Republican Spain, most of the killings were the result of anarchy, the division of the nation, and not the result of the work carried out by the state, although certain political parties in some cities incited monstrous deeds, with some of the persons responsible for their execution eventually occupying important positions in power.- Hugh Thomas.

Atrocities of the Spanish Nationalists

Atrocities carried out at the behest of the Nationalist authorities, often aimed at eradicating even the very traces of the "left", were commonplace in Spain. The concept of limpies (cleansing) became an integral part of the insurgents' strategy, and this process began immediately after the capture of the territory. According to historian Paul Preston, the minimum number of citizens executed by the rebels is 130,000, and in all likelihood it was much higher, since other historians have given the figure as high as 200,000 people. Executions in the rebel zone on behalf of the regime were carried out by the civil guards and the Falangists.

Many of these acts were committed by reactionary groups during the first weeks of the war. These included the execution of schoolteachers, as the efforts of the Second Spanish Republic to create a civil state by separating the church from the school and closing religious schools were seen by the Nationalists as an attack on the Roman Catholic Church. Numerous murders of such citizens, carried out in cities captured by the nationalists, were simultaneously accompanied by the elimination of undesirable persons. These included citizens who did not want to fight, such as members of trade unions and the People's Political Front, persons suspected of being members of the Masonic society, Basques, Catalans, Andalusians and Galician nationalists, republican intellectuals, relatives of prominent republicans, as well as persons suspected of voting for the Popular Front.

Nationalist forces executed civilians in Seville, where some 8,000 people were shot; 10,000 in Cordoba; 6,000-12,000 were shot in Badajoz after more than a thousand landowners and conservatives had been killed by the rebels. In Granada, where after that the working-class neighborhoods were hit by artillery fire and right-wing detachments were given full freedom of action against government supporters, at least 2,000 people were killed. In February 1937, over 7,000 people were killed after the capture of Malaga. After the conquest of Bilbao, thousands of people were sent to prison. However, here the number of executions was less than usual due to the fact that Guernica had already left a corresponding reputation for nationalists in the international community. The number of those killed by columns of the African Army in the devastated and plundered settlements on its way from Seville to Madrid is extremely difficult to calculate.

The nationalists also killed Catholic clergy. In one particular case, when, after taking Bilbao, they captured hundreds of people, including 16 priests who served as chaplains in the ranks of the Republicans, they were taken to a cemetery in the countryside and executed.

Franco's forces also persecuted the Protestants, executing 20 Protestant ministers among them. The Francoists were determined to eradicate the "Protestant heresy" in Spain. They also persecuted the Basques, seeking to eradicate their culture. According to Basque sources, immediately after the end of the civil war, the nationalists executed about 22,000 Basques.

The Nationalists carried out bombardments of cities in the territory owned by the Republicans, which were carried out mainly by the volunteers of the Condor Legion of the Luftwaffe and the forces of the Italian Volunteer Air Force Corps: the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Guernica, Durango and others were attacked. The bombing of Guernica at the same time was the most controversial.

War crimes of the Spanish Republicans

According to the nationalists, approximately 55,000 people died in the territories controlled by the Republicans. Anthony Beevor considers this figure too high. However, this is much less than half a million, as claimed during the war. Such a number of deaths would have formed a certain international opinion about the Republic even before the bombing of Guernica.

The republican government was anti-clerical, and the attacks and killings of members of the Roman Catholic clergy by its supporters were a reaction to reports of a military riot. The Spanish archbishop Antonio Montero Moreno, who at that time was the director of the newspaper Ecclesia, wrote in his book in 1961 that during the war a total of 8,832 clergy were killed, 4,184 of them were priests, 2,365 monks, 283 nuns and 13 bishops. Historians, including Beevor, have agreed with these figures. Some sources claim that by the end of the conflict, 20 percent of the clergy in the country had been killed. The "destruction" on August 7, 1936, by the communists of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Cerro de los Ángeles, near Madrid, was the most infamous case of desecration of religious property. In the dioceses under the overall control of the Republicans, most - often the majority - of the secular priests were killed.

Like the clergy, civilians were also executed in the territories of the Republicans. Some of them were shot on suspicion of belonging to the Falangists. Others were destroyed in retaliation after receiving reports of mass executions carried out by the Nationalists. Air raids carried out against Republican cities were another motive. Merchants and industrialists were also shot if they did not show sympathy for the Republicans, or, as a rule, they were pardoned if they went over to their side. The creation of commissions, according to the principle of "check" in Russia, created a false appearance of fairness of the sentences.

Under pressure from the increasing success of the Nationalists, many civilians were executed by councils and tribunals controlled by rival communist and anarchist factions. The last of them were executed by the communists under the leadership of advisers from the USSR, operating in Catalonia. Precisely such purges in Barcelona, ​​which preceded a period of rising tensions between competing factions in Barcelona, ​​were described by George Orwell in his 1937 book In Memory of Catalonia. Some citizens took refuge in the embassies of friendly countries, which housed up to 8,500 people during the war.

In the Andalusian city of Ronda, 512 nationalist suspects were executed in the first month of the war. The communist Santiago Carrillo Solares was accused of exterminating the nationalists in the Paracuellos massacre near Paracuellos del Jarama. The pro-Soviet communists committed numerous atrocities against their fellow young republicans, including other Marxists: André Marty, known as the Butcher of Albacete, was responsible for the murder of about 500 members of the International Brigades. Andreu Nin, the leader of the POUM (Workers' Party of the Unification of Marxists), as well as many other prominent figures of the POUM, were killed by the communists with the assistance of the NKVD of the USSR.

Thirty-eight thousand people were killed in the Republican zone during the war, with 17,000 of them killed in Madrid and Catalonia within a month immediately after the coup. Despite the fact that the Communists were outspoken in their support of extrajudicial killings, a significant number of Republicans were shocked by these atrocities. Azanha was close to resigning. Along with other members of Parliament and a large number of local officials, he tried to prevent the lynching of supporters of nationalism. Some of the people in important positions of power made personal attempts to intervene to stop the killings.

Social Revolution in Spain

In Aragon and Catalunya, areas controlled by the anarchists, along with temporary military successes, a vast social revolution took place, as a result of which the workers and peasants took collective ownership of land and industrial enterprises, organizing management councils that acted in parallel with the paralyzed organs of the republican government. This revolution was opposed by the pro-Soviet communists, who, paradoxically, opposed the deprivation of citizens of the right to property.

During the course of the war, the government and the communists were able to secure access to a supply of Soviet weapons to ensure government control of military operations through both diplomacy and force. The anarchists and the Labor Party of the Union of Marxists (POUM) were integrated into the regular army, although they opposed this. The Trotskyist POUM was outlawed and falsely condemned as a tool of the Nazis. In the May days of 1937, many thousands of anarchist and republican communists fought for control of strategic points in Barcelona.

Before the outbreak of the war, the Falangists were a small party with about 30,000 to 40,000 members. She called for a social revolution that would ensure the transformation of the country into a society of National Syndicalism. After the Republicans executed their leader, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the party grew to several hundred thousand members. In the early days of the civil war, the leadership of the party lost 60 percent of its membership, after which, under the leadership of new leaders and members of the party who called themselves "new shirts", less interested in the revolutionary aspects of National Syndicalism, the party underwent changes. Subsequently, Franco united all battle groups into the Unified Traditionalist Spanish Phalanx and the Nationalist Syndicalist Offensive Hutnas.

In the thirties, Spain became the center of pacifist organizations such as the Brotherhood of Reconciliation, the War Resisters League, and the War Resisters International. Many citizens, including those now commonly referred to as "diehards," advocated and acted on the use of non-violent strategies. Prominent Spanish pacifists such as Amparo Poch u Gascon and José Brocca supported the Republicans. Brocca argued that the Spanish pacifists had no other alternative than to oppose fascism. He implemented this position in various ways, including organizing agricultural workers to maintain food supplies, as well as providing humanitarian assistance to war refugees.

Spanish Civil War propaganda art

Throughout the Spanish Civil War, people all over the world were exposed to events not only through traditional sources of information, but also through propaganda media. Films, posters, books, radio programs and leaflets are just some of the media art that proved so effective during the war. Propaganda, used by both nationalists and republicans, became a source for the Spaniards to disseminate information about the course of the war throughout the world. The film, co-produced by renowned writers of the early twentieth century such as Ernst Hemingway and Lillian Hellman, was used as a vehicle to publicize Spain's military and financial needs. The premiere of this film, entitled "Spanish Land", took place in America in July 1937. In 1938, George Orwell's book "In Memory of Catalonia" was published in the United Kingdom, which was an account of his personal experience and observations in this war.

Outstanding sculptures such as Alberto Sánchez Pérez's stele "The Spanish people have a path that leads them to the star", a 12.5 m high plaster monolith representing the struggle for a socialist utopia; Julio González's sculpture called Montserrat, anti-war a work that bears the name of a mountain near Barcelona, ​​forged from a sheet of iron, on which a peasant woman is sculpted with a small child in one hand and a sickle in the other and Alexander Calder's Fuente de Mercurio (Mercury), which personifies the protest of Americans against the capture of the Almadena mercury mines by the Nationalist troops.

Other works of art from this time period include the painting "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso, painted by him in 1937, inspired by the horrors of the bombing of the city of Guernica and inspired by the painting "Battle of Anghiari" by Leonardo de Vinci. Guernica, like many other important republican masterpieces of art, was presented at the International Exhibition in Paris in 1937. The painting, measuring 11 by 25.6 feet, brought the horrors of the Spanish Civil War to the attention of a large public, turning it into a global focal point for it. The painting has since been hailed as a symbol of 20th-century peace.

Joan Miro created the painting The Reaper, full title Catalan Peasant in Revolt, which is a canvas about 18 feet by 12 feet, depicting a peasant brandishing a sickle. Miro commented on his painting in such a way that "the sickle is not a communist symbol, but a working tool of a peasant, but when his freedom is threatened, it turns into his weapon." This work was also presented at the International Exhibition of 1937 in Paris, and after its completion was sent back to the Spanish Republic in Valencia, which was its capital at that time, after which the painting disappeared or was destroyed.