(1936-1939) - an armed conflict based on socio-political contradictions between the left-socialist (republican) government of the country, supported by the communists, and the right-wing monarchist forces that launched an armed rebellion, on the side of which most of the Spanish army led by Generalissimo Francisco Franco took the side .

The latter were supported by fascist Italy and Nazi Germany; the USSR and anti-fascist volunteers from many countries of the world took the side of the republicans. The war ended with the establishment of Franco's military dictatorship.

In the spring of 1931, after the victory of anti-monarchist forces in municipal elections in all major cities, King Alfonso XIII emigrated and Spain was proclaimed a republic.

The liberal socialist government began reforms that resulted in increased social tension and radicalism. Progressive labor legislation was torpedoed by entrepreneurs, the reduction of officer corps by 40% caused protest in the army, and the secularization of public life - the traditionally influential Catholic Church in Spain. The agrarian reform, which involved the transfer of surplus land to small owners, frightened the latifundists, and its “slipping” and inadequacy disappointed the peasants.

In 1933, a center-right coalition came to power and rolled back the reforms. This led to a general strike and an uprising of the Asturian miners. New elections in February 1936 were won by a minimal margin by the Popular Front (socialists, communists, anarchists and left-wing liberals), whose victory consolidated the right flank (generals, clerics, bourgeois and monarchists). The open confrontation between them was provoked by the death of a Republican officer on July 12, shot dead on the threshold of his home, and the retaliatory murder of a Conservative MP the next day.

On the evening of July 17, 1936, a group of military personnel in Spanish Morocco and the Canary Islands spoke out against the Republican government. On the morning of July 18, the mutiny engulfed garrisons throughout the country. 14 thousand officers and 150 thousand lower ranks took the side of the putschists.

Several cities in the south (Cadiz, Seville, Cordoba), the north of Extremadura, Galicia, and a significant part of Castile and Aragon immediately fell under their control. About 10 million people lived in this territory; 70% of the country's agricultural products were produced and only 20% of industrial products.

In large cities (Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bilbao, Valencia, etc.) the rebellion was suppressed. The fleet, most of the air force and a number of army garrisons remained loyal to the republic (in total - about eight and a half thousand officers and 160 thousand soldiers). The territory controlled by the Republicans was home to 14 million people and contained major industrial centers and military factories.

Initially, the leader of the rebels was General José Sanjurjo, exiled in 1932 to Portugal, but almost immediately after the putsch he died in a plane crash, and on September 29, the top of the putschists elected General Francisco Franco (1892-1975) as commander in chief and head of the so-called “national” government. He was given the title caudillo ("chief").

Back in August, rebel troops captured the city of Badajoz, establishing a land connection between their disparate forces, and launched an attack on Madrid from the south and north, the main events around which occurred in October.

By that time, England, France and the United States had declared “non-intervention” in the conflict, introducing a ban on the supply of weapons to Spain, and Germany and Italy sent, respectively, the Condor Aviation Legion and the Volunteer Infantry Corps to help Franco. Under these conditions, on October 23, the USSR declared that it could not consider itself neutral, and began supplying the Republicans with weapons and ammunition, also sending military advisers and volunteers (primarily pilots and tank crews) to Spain. Earlier, at the call of the Comintern, the formation of seven volunteer international brigades began, the first of which arrived in Spain in mid-October.

With the participation of Soviet volunteers and fighters of the international brigades, the Francoist offensive on Madrid was thwarted. The slogan “¡No pasaran!” that was heard during that period is widely known. (“They will not pass!”).

However, in February 1937, the Francoists occupied Malaga and launched an offensive on the Jarama River south of Madrid, and in March they attacked the capital from the north, but the Italian corps in the Guadalajara area was defeated. After this, Franco moved his main efforts to the northern provinces, occupying them by the fall.

At the same time, the Francoists reached the sea at Vinaris, cutting off Catalonia. The June Republican counteroffensive pinned down enemy forces on the Ebro River, but ended in defeat in November. In March 1938, Franco's troops entered Catalonia, but were able to completely occupy it only in January 1939.

On February 27, 1939, France and England officially recognized the Franco regime with its temporary capital in Burgos. At the end of March, Guadalajara, Madrid, Valencia and Cartagena fell, and on April 1, 1939, Franco announced the end of the war by radio. On the same day it was recognized by the United States. Francisco Franco was proclaimed head of state for life, but promised that after his death Spain would again become a monarchy. The caudillo named his successor the grandson of King Alfonso XIII, Prince Juan Carlos de Bourbon, who, after the death of Franco on November 20, 1975, ascended the throne.

It is estimated that up to half a million people died during the Spanish Civil War (with a predominance of Republican casualties), with one in five deaths being a victim of political repression on both sides of the front. More than 600 thousand Spaniards left the country. 34 thousand “children of war” were taken to different countries. About three thousand (mainly from Asturias, the Basque Country and Cantabria) ended up in the USSR in 1937.

Spain became a place for testing new types of weapons and testing new methods of warfare in the run-up to World War II. One of the first examples of total war is the bombing of the Basque city of Guernica by the Condor Legion on April 26, 1937.

30 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers and officers, 150 thousand Italians, about three thousand Soviet military advisers and volunteers passed through Spain. Among them are the creator of Soviet military intelligence Yan Berzin, future marshals, generals and admirals Nikolai Voronov, Rodion Malinovsky, Kirill Meretskov, Pavel Batov, Alexander Rodimtsev. 59 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 170 people died or went missing.

A distinctive feature of the war in Spain were the international brigades, which were based on anti-fascists from 54 countries. According to various estimates, from 35 to 60 thousand people passed through the international brigades.

The future Yugoslav leader Josip Bros Tito, the Mexican artist David Siqueiros, and the English writer George Orwell fought in the international brigades.

Ernest Hemingway, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and the future Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Willy Brandt illuminated their lives and shared their positions.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The war between the “whites” and the “reds”, after the defeat of the former, continued in Europe. The White Guards managed to take revenge during the Spanish Civil War, where 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 found itself below the poverty line. In the face of growing discontent, in 1931 King Alfonso XIII himself fled the country, without formally renouncing the throne. This contributed to political instability in the country, since many royalist supporters of the king remained in Spain. The influence of radicals grew in society political forces- communists, anarchists, fascists. Thus, by the mid-30s, Spain found itself on the brink of an abyss, torn apart by the enmity of different political forces vying for 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 deep reforms in the agrarian sphere: it was assumed that a significant part of the landowners' land would be transferred into the hands of the peasants (however, in the end, most of the peasants did not wait their turn to receive land). They carried out an amnesty for prisoners, with which representatives of the right and far-right forces did not agree. The workers' demands 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 state police officers of the leader of the right opposition, a monarchist deputy with pro-fascist views, José Calvo Sotelo. They took revenge on the right for the murders of their officers who held leftist views.

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

The conspiratorial generals also managed to achieve financial support from many large Spanish industrialists and farmers, like Juan March and Luca de Tena, who suffered colossal 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 of the 50 provincial centers, controlling 1/3 of the country. At the very beginning of the war, the military managed to receive enormous help (money, weapons, volunteers, etc.) from Portugal, and they were also able to negotiate help from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy (which supplied modern weapons, volunteers, military instructors), who were pursuing your goals. Great Britain, France and the USSR officially declared “non-intervention in the war,” which they subsequently violated several times.

Soviet Union secretly entered this war on the side of the Republicans (People's Front), violating the principle of non-intervention. After General Franco found himself at the head of the rebel nationalist fascists on September 28, 1936, he was able to impose strict discipline in the ranks of his army (he could also use comprehensive foreign aid Italy and Germany), the Popular Front army 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 Franco's side. 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 consequence, a springboard for the “export of 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-interference.

Concerned 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, under various pretexts, did not return a significant part of this gold Spain). It was also decided, as part of assistance to the “brotherly people of Spain,” to withdraw the children (about 40 thousand) of Spanish communists, for fear of 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 participated in the fight against Franco's army. On October 29, 1936, the tank company of Red Army captain Paul "Greize" Armand took part in the successful counter-offensive of the People's Army on Sensenya. At the end of October - beginning of November, a number of successful bombings of the “national zone” were carried out by ANT-40 squadrons. But it was not only the Russians who helped the Popular Front in the fight against Franco. In Paris and other European cities, bureaus were opened to recruit volunteers for the Red Spanish Army (of course, not without the participation of the Comintern, led from Moscow); in particular, entire trains were sent from Paris to Spain. These volunteers created the so-called international brigades, which 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 it supported. 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; Moreover, the Spanish Trotskyists were one of 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 background of the repressions and party purges of Trotsky elements taking place in the USSR itself in 1937. The insistent demand to ban the POUM led to even greater discord in the Popular Front itself, and, ultimately, to its defeat.

Whites at the front

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

At the end of 1936, General Shatilov arrived in Spain ( former boss General Wrangel's headquarters in Crimea) and got acquainted with the nationalist army on the spot. After this trip, the issue of the participation of the White Guards on Franco’s side began to be widely discussed in Paris. Russian officers responded to the call in other European countries as well. It is known that the Guards Cossack division, located in Yugoslavia, negotiated with the headquarters of General Franco about the transfer of the entire division to Spain, but the negotiations did not end in anything, since the Cossacks set conditions for providing for the families of the disabled and killed, and this, at that time, Franco allowed I couldn't.

Former White Guards crossed the Spanish-French border at their own risk, actually crossing it illegally. France, which declared its “non-interference” 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 (turning it into its own semi-colony), France demonstrated its neutrality in every possible way. But still, a small detachment of “White” Russians under the command of former Major General of the Russian Army Anatoly Vladimirovich Fok managed to take the side of Franco’s army.

The white movement, like all world right-wing forces, viewed Franco’s actions as a fight against the communist threat, so many foreigners who sympathized with 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.

The Reds' loss

The defeat of the communist movement in Spain during the civil war was caused by both internal and external reasons. After the creation of recruitment bureaus for “red” volunteers in the cities of European countries, 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 ability to supply 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 stripes of “alienation”, where the Francoists ruled. This did not make it possible to coordinate the actions of the military and negated the results of Soviet assistance. Moreover, the Popular Front program did not offer an effective solution to the socio-economic crisis. The policy of “equalization” - equal pay for unequal work, confiscation of food from the population - all this alienated the common people 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, similar to those in Italy, through which he could conduct active propaganda and keep the labor movement in his hands. In 1938, England and France signed Munich Agreement, which finally strengthened the position of Germany (Franco’s ally). This accelerated Franco's victory on April 1, 1939.

The interwar period 1919-1939 is largely characterized by the difficult political, diplomatic and military situation in Europe. The First World War ended with the collapse of several empires and the exclusion of losing states from world politics, which inevitably led to new conflicts.

Despite neutrality in the First World War, Spain also faced a number of problems during the interwar period. The backward economy and ineffective reforms, the political crisis and contradictions that tore apart many European countries - all this led to uprisings.

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 was a confrontation between Republicans (loyalists) and nationalists (rebels). Characterized by active hostilities and significant participation of foreign states in the conflict on both sides.

Historical background to the civil war

The history of Spain is rich in events, so the preconditions for the Civil War should not be sought in the 19th century or at the beginning of the 20th. To a certain extent, the political crisis of this period was influenced by the successful colonization of Central and South America.

The Spanish state exported tons of wealth from the New World without developing its own economy. Against the backdrop of the industrial revolutions in Holland and England, Spain continued to remain an agricultural country, gradually inferior in technical development.

At the same time, traditions played a significant role in the country. The monarchy, the aristocracy, the clergy, land ownership - all this remained intact. And against the backdrop of numerous unrest throughout Europe, this state of affairs could not persist.

After World War I, Spain turned out to be a poor state that did not have its own industry. The army lagged behind both in weapons and training. People's discontent grew.

In the context of this state of affairs coup d'etat 1923 was a natural consequence. Miguel Primo de Rivera became the head of the state, and immediately began reforms. Despite certain results, amid the global crisis at the end of the 1920s, the government was unable to maintain its position.

In 1931, socialists and liberals came to power through parliamentary elections. The monarchy was abolished, and a new wave of reforms began. The clergy and representatives of right-wing factions were persecuted. Against the background of agrarian reform that was not fully implemented, the murder of priests and aristocrats, by 1936 the country was divided into two opposing camps.

Parties to the conflict

The key parties to the conflict are the republicans who support the Spanish government and the nationalists who organized the uprising. Each side was supported by other countries, organizations and various units.

On the Republican side were:

• government and army of Spain;
• popular front and anarchists;
• workers' unions, workers' and communist parties;
• Basque Country, Government of Catalonia;
• USSR and Comintern;
• Mexico.

Volunteer detachments came from the most different countries, on their basis, international brigades were formed, also supporting the Spanish government. Military specialists and volunteers also arrived from the USSR.

On the side of the nationalists were:

• Spanish phalanx of right-wing forces, other factions and associations of the right;
• monarchists, including youth organizations;
• Spanish Legion and Regulares;
• Italy, its expeditionary force, the Blackshirts, aviation;
• Third Reich and the Condor Legion;
• Portugal and the Viriatos Legion;
• a small number of Russian White emigrants.

In the first days of the war, France and Great Britain provided nominal support to the Republicans and the government. However, by the end of it, they changed their position and, trying to appease Hitler, also began to support the nationalists.

Stages of conflict

The Spanish Civil War does not have a clear periodization even in its summary. Many share it general principle- the beginning, the height of the conflict and its end. However, when analyzing combat operations, more attention is paid to the operations being carried out and the corresponding battles.

Beginning of the conflict

The revolution in Spain, the civil war, Francoism - all this began in the Spanish colonies. In short, on July 16, 1936, a rebellion began in Spanish Morocco against the policies of the republican government. Very quickly it spread to other colonies - the Canary Islands, Spanish Guinea and the Sahara.

The government did not attach serious importance to the uprising, considering it local. However, already on July 18, Gonzalo Queipo de Llano, one of the generals, seized power in Seville. Clashes with the Republican Popular Front continued for about a week, and the city was eventually held by the rebels. Later, neighboring Cadiz was captured, which made it possible to create a reliable bridgehead in Spain itself.

In addition to Seville, the uprising began in other cities - Oviedo (Asturias) and Zaragoza (Aragon). The mutiny was also led by generals Miguel Cabanellas and Antonio Aranda, who were considered loyal to the government. Despite the Republican response, the uprising quickly began to spread throughout the country.

By lunchtime on July 19, about 80% of Spain's military personnel had participated in the uprising, and 35 of the 50 provincial centers had been captured. Prime Minister Casares Quiroga resigned and Diego Martinez Barrio was appointed in his place. He tried to come to an agreement with the rebels, but not only did not achieve results, but also caused the indignation of the Popular Front. Eight hours after his appointment, he also resigned.

José Giral became the new prime minister. His first decision was to provide free weapons to Popular Front fighters throughout the country. Largely thanks to this step, the rebellion was stopped; the Republicans controlled approximately 70% of the country, including Largest cities- Madrid and Barcelona.

The rebels also began to have problems with leadership. The nominal leader, José Sanjurjo, died in a car accident on July 20 while returning from exile in Portugal. The generals created the Junta of National Defense, with Miguel Cabanellas as its chairman.

As a result, the first wave of the rebellion was stopped; many considered the complete suppression of the uprising inevitable. Most of the fleet remained on the side of the government, which made it possible to counter the transfer of forces from the colonies to the mainland. However, the general condition of the republican forces turned out to be deplorable.

The armed forces had to be formed anew; political strife did not add stability. In addition to the lack of armed forces, there was also a crisis of power. The government turned out to be nominal; the main fight against the rebels was carried out by the People's Militia, whose control was indirect.

The international situation also did not add prospects. The republican regime did not suit many countries. Great Britain nominally supported the government, but refused actual assistance. Under her pressure, France also refused to provide the promised assistance.

At the same time, Portugal sent weapons, money and volunteers to the rebels. Rebel leaders Francisco Franco and Emilio Mola were able to negotiate support with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. As a result, by the end of July, the nationalists of Spain began to receive significant assistance in equipment and volunteers.

The height of war and revolution

Fighting between Republicans and nationalists has not stopped since the beginning of the rebellion. However, as military assistance was received, they became larger and more serious, turning into full-fledged military operations and campaigns.

With newly arrived units from the colonies, the Army of Africa was formed under the command of Franco. He was able to travel 300 km almost without a fight through the province of Extremadura to connect with Mola's Northern Army. By the second half of August, their forces unite already on the approaches to Madrid.

150 km from Madrid, the commander of the Central Front surrendered the city of Talavera de la Reina without a fight. This caused a wave of indignation, which forced the Hiral government to resign. Francisco Largo Caballero became the new chairman.

The new government began forming international brigades from volunteers from other countries. Land reform was also carried out to consolidate the prestige of the state apparatus. Help began to arrive from the USSR.

In October, the Popular Front continues to make attempts to launch a counteroffensive. A war at sea is unfolding, and nationalists are trying to block supplies from the Soviet Union. Support from Germany and Italy is also increasing.

Defense of Madrid

By early November, the rebels had already occupied the outskirts of Madrid, and attempts to push them back were unsuccessful. On the night of November 5–6, the government left the capital and moved to Valencia. The defense was transferred to Jose Meaja, almost the entire male population was mobilized, which made it possible to obtain a numerical superiority over the rebels in a ratio of 4:1.

The Republicans were joined by Soviet volunteers and international brigades. The nationalists also pulled up forces. The fighting on the outskirts of the capital did not stop for almost two weeks, at times moving to the outskirts of the city, and urban battles were fought. The most fierce battles took place on November 7-12.

On November 23, Franco admitted that the Republicans managed to defend the city. About 30 thousand rebels died, on the government side - four times less. The Central Army was allocated from the Northern Army to protect the territories already captured by the rebels.

Despite the failure of the assault on the capital, Franco achieved significant success in the international arena. His movement and the organized state-executive junta received recognition from Portugal and some Latin American states with right-wing regimes. Recognition soon followed from Germany and Italy.

On December 29, the government attempted an offensive. However, the nationalists were able to take advantage of the mistakes of the Republican command and attacked the city from the south. The new battle for the capital lasted 10 days, approximately 15 thousand people were lost on both sides, but the city was defended.

Republicans planned to launch a new counteroffensive, but twice postponed its date. As a result, the nationalists seized the initiative, deciding to strike first in the Jarama River valley southeast of Madrid.

The battle began on February 6. The steep banks of the river gave the Republicans a good position, provided they protected the bridges. However, on the night of February 8, a group of Moroccans cut out the guards of one of the crossings, giving the nationalists the opportunity to cross to the other side.

This event caused panic in the capital; many believed that the city would no longer be able to defend itself. For defense, the communist division of Enrique Lister was transferred here, and through his efforts the advance of the rebels was stopped. Soon other reinforcements began to arrive.

Fierce fighting took place from February 11 to 16, and the nationalists lost the strength to advance further. By February 27, local skirmishes had also ceased - the city was again held, but the Republicans failed to push the rebels back beyond Harama.

Battle of Guadalajara

The Guadalajara operation was developed on the initiative of the Italian command and with the approval of Mussolini. The plan was to attack Madrid from the northeast through the town of Guadalajara. In this case, the Spanish nationalists were assigned a secondary support role - it was expected that if the Italian troops were successful, Spain would fall under the direct influence of Italy.

On March 8, unnoticed by the Republicans, the Corps of Italian Volunteer Forces was transferred from Andalusia to Castile. In three days with local battles they managed to cover 30 km. However, by March 12, the government was able to quickly transfer reinforcements here. By March 15, the Italian advance was stopped.

Unusual weather conditions for Italian soldiers, weak morale, stretched troops and command errors led to the complete defeat of the Italian troops. By March 18, their losses amounted to 12 thousand. The Republicans lost up to 6 thousand, capturing a significant amount of enemy equipment and correspondence from Mussolini.

It is noteworthy that the Spanish nationalists did not support the Italians, entering into battle only when their units were immediately threatened. Among the rebels there was even a toast “to the courage of the Spaniards, whatever color they were,” implying the heroism of the “red” defenders of Madrid.

Defeat of the Spanish Republic

After unsuccessful attempts to take Madrid, the front line between the Republicans and Nationalists stabilized. It became clear about the protracted nature of the war, as a result of which the nationalists changed tactics. Having failed to take the capital, they focused on secondary sectors of the front.

The first blow fell on the Basque Country, to which Mola's army of fifty thousand was transferred. The blockade of ports played an important role, cutting off the Basques from food supplies. German and Italian aircraft bombed the cities, the sacred town of Guernica was reduced to ruins.

Despite the unequal forces, Mola's army moved forward with difficulty. Only 20 kilometers were covered in a month. However, the exhaustion of the Basques took its toll, and by June 13 the nationalists managed to reach the capital, Bilbao. The battle for it lasted several days; by June 20, the rebels took the city. During the Basque campaign, the nationalists lost about 30 thousand, the defenders - up to 50 thousand.

The defeat in the Basque Country was partly due to the crisis in the government. The riot in Barcelona led to Caballero's resignation. Juan Negrin became the new prime minister, who immediately showed the qualities of a good politician and manager.

Without support and supplies from the northern territories, the further course of the war is characterized by local successes of the Republicans and the gradual advance of the nationalists. The government attempted to carry out counter-offensives on various sectors of the front, but they all failed due to command errors.

By the end of 1937, the advantage of Franco, who managed to become the leader of the rebels, became undeniable. By this time he had about 350 thousand soldiers, divided into three armies. Discipline, good training and regular supplies maintained the combat effectiveness of the units. Order also reigned in the territory controlled by the rebels; any riots and protests were punishable by death.

The Republican forces consisted mainly of people's militia. Constant political crises, reshuffles, riots and strikes made it impossible to organize resistance. Against the backdrop of this state of affairs, government troops looked more and more like rebels.

This situation was also reflected in the international situation. More than 20 states recognized the Franco regime, including Hungary, Poland, Belgium and even the Vatican. The USSR also reduced supply volumes.

In the winter of 1937-38, the Republicans launched a final counteroffensive in Teruel. Despite the initial success, the nationalists were again able to recapture it. As a result, the 1938 war was fought on the initiative of the rebels; the government unsuccessfully tried only to defend itself.

December 23, 1938 Northern Army Nationalists launched an offensive against Catalonia. On January 26, the rebels occupied Barcelona. Formally, this was not yet a defeat, but the Republicans no longer believed in victory, many politicians emigrated.

On February 8, Great Britain and France began to openly support Franco; on February 26 and 27 they recognized his government as legitimate. The Republican military also did not want the war to continue. They led an anti-government conspiracy; on March 6, Negrin's government was overthrown.

The nationalists launched a new offensive, but no longer encountered resistance. On March 28, they entered Madrid unhindered. April 1, 1939 became official date the end of the war and the establishment of Franco's power.

Consequences and losses

The Spanish Civil War and Francoism cost the country too much. The fighting between the government and the rebels has actually become a testing ground for other states. New tactics, equipment, and weapons were tested there.

In total, the war cost the parties 450 thousand dead, of which 130 thousand were nationalists. Moreover, a fifth of all those killed were repressed by various regimes on both sides. About 600 thousand Spaniards left the country, including a large number of scientists and cultural figures.

The result of the war was destruction large quantity cities, including large administrative centers. About 173 settlements had to be restored almost from scratch. Infrastructure was also damaged - roads, bridges, households, housing stock.

Franco's dictatorship, established in 1939, lasted until 1975. The country did not participate in World War II, taking a neutral position. The only exception is that the Blue Division was sent against the USSR in retaliation for helping the Republicans.

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Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939, began as a result of a rebellion raised by generals E. Mola and F. Franco. Although the origins of the conflict were rooted in a century-old dispute between traditionalists and supporters of modernization, in Europe in the 1930s. It took the form of a clash between fascism and the anti-fascist bloc of the Popular Front. This was facilitated by the internationalization of the conflict and the involvement of other countries in it.

Prime Minister H. Giral asked the French government for help, Franco appealed to A. Hitler and B. Mussolini. Berlin and Rome were the first to respond to the call for help, sending 20 transport aircraft, 12 bombers and the Usamo transport ship to Morocco (where Franco was then stationed).

By early August, the African rebel army had been transferred to The Iberian Peninsula. On August 6, the southwestern group under the command of Franco began a march on Madrid. At the same time, the northern group under the command of Mola moved towards Caceres.

Started Civil War, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and left behind ruins.

The decision to provide assistance from the USSR in response to a request from the head of the government of the Popular Front, F. Largo Caballero, was made by the Soviet leadership in September 1936. But back in August, military advisers arrived along with the Soviet embassy. In 1936-39 there were about 600 military advisers in Spain; the number of Soviet citizens who took part in the Spanish events did not exceed 3.5 thousand people.

On the other hand, Germany and Italy sent Franco a large contingent of military instructors, the German Condor Legion and a 125,000-strong Italian expeditionary force. In October 1936, the Comintern initiated the creation international brigades , who gathered anti-fascists from many countries under their banners. On September 9, 1936, work began in London Committee on Non-Intervention", the purpose of which was to prevent the Spanish conflict from escalating into a general European war.

The Soviet Union was represented by Ambassador in London I.M. May. On August 7, 1936, the US government ordered all its diplomatic missions to be guided in the Spanish situation by the Neutrality Act of 1935, which prohibited the supply of weapons to warring countries. The military conflict was aggravated by the creation of two different types of statehood: a republic, where from September 1936 to March 1939 a popular front government led by socialists F. Largo Caballero and J. Negrin was in power, and an authoritarian regime in the so-called. national zone, where Franco concentrated all legislative, executive and judicial powers in his hands.

In the national zone, traditional institutions prevailed. In the republican zone, land was nationalized, and large industrial enterprises and banks were confiscated and transferred to trade unions. In the national zone, all parties supporting the regime were merged into “ Spanish traditionalist phalanx y", led by Franco. In the Republican zone, rivalry between socialists, communists, and anarchists resulted in open clashes, right up to an armed putsch in May 1937 in Catalonia.

The fate of Spain was decided on the battlefields. Franco was unable to capture Madrid until the end of the war; the Italian corps was defeated in the battles of Jarama and Guadalajara. Unfavorable outcome 113-day " Battle of the Ebro"in November 1938 predetermined the outcome of the civil war.

April 1, 1939 the war in Spain is over victory of the Francoists.

For decades the country was divided into winners and losers. Guernica, destroyed by German aircraft, became a symbol of the Spanish War.

Results of the civil war 1939: established in Spain Franco's dictatorship, which existed until November 1975. The Spanish Republic fell. As a result, 450 thousand people died (5% of the pre-war population). At the end of the war, more than 600 thousand Spaniards left the country, among them many intellectuals such as Pablo Picasso and Ortega y Gasset.

Lesson summary "The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)".

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Course work

Topic: Spanish Civil War 1936-1939.

Introduction

2.1. Political situation

2.2. Progress in the Spanish Civil War

2.3. Francisco Franco's rise to power

Conclusion

Introduction

One of the leading problems of the 20th century was the problem of war and peace. Humanity had just survived the First World War, and now the main task was to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. However, in the interwar period, we can observe how fascist parties, which are very aggressive, come to power in European countries. In addition, in the 20th century, Western countries became fully characterized by such a feature as internationalization, or intervention in the conflict by third forces in support of the warring parties.

The causes of the Civil War in Spain were formed both because of the internal problems of the state, namely the economic crisis that began after the First World War and the reluctance of the ruling circles to move away from dictatorship to a republican system, and under the influence of the policies of leading European countries that wanted to continue to exploit in their monopolies of the workers of Spain. The big bourgeoisie and feudal lords also opposed the republican reforms; they did not want to give their power and money into the hands of the proletariat. The working class, in turn, fought for their political rights and freedom. He admired the liberal path of development of France and England. As for the political and party leaders, they did not want to compromise; rather, they were more interested in the opportunity to gain a foothold in power than in trying to restore order in the country.

In this context, it is important to pay attention to the extent to which the interests of other countries and what is happening in the world influence what is happening in Spain. And also, pay attention to how the attitude of leading countries towards the Spanish Civil War influences the policies of other countries regarding Spain.

Purpose of the work: to consider the period of the civil war in Spain 1936 - 1939.

In connection with this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

Describe the situation in Spain on the eve of the Civil War.

Identify the causes of the Spanish Civil War.

Consider the course of military operations.

The influence of European policies on the outcome of the Spanish Civil War.

Results and results of the Spanish Civil War.

Currently, there is a fairly extensive and diverse domestic and foreign literature devoted to the problem of the civil war in Spain. In addition, a sufficient number of documents that took place during the civil war have been preserved.

Basic sources are:

“The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. and Europe” edited by V.V. Malay. In this work, for the first time in Russian historiography, she undertook a comprehensive study of the Spanish confrontation as system-forming factor international relations pre-war period, analyzing the geopolitical and military aspects of the Spanish Civil War. V.V. Malay examined the Spanish civil war through the prism of the problems of internationalization of local conflicts and the intertwining of interests of leading European states. The course of non-intervention in Spanish events initiated by France and Great Britain was studied, which, instead of ending the conflict, contributed to its escalation.

Also, the source of the events of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. The collection of studies “The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939” can serve as a guide. edited by Goncharov. The work examines in detail the events of the civil war. They are divided into parts and periods are highlighted. However, no attention is paid to studying the causes of the civil war; The book is mainly devoted to military operations, with an emphasis on military assistance to Spain from Germany and Italy.

Hugh Thomson's The Spanish Civil War, 1931-1939 gives an idea of ​​the point of view of Western researchers on the Spanish Civil War and its background. The book is more descriptive than analytical. The work makes extensive use of the resources of Spanish archives.

This problem is considered quite fully and in detail in the work “War and Revolution in Spain 1936 - 1939” edited by V.V. Pertsova. The Spanish Civil War is examined from the point of view of Marxism, a large role is given to class contradictions, and this work also raises the problem of Western intervention in the Spanish conflict. This book deserves a lot of attention, since it was written under the chairmanship of a number of Spanish researchers.

There are many more valuable works on the chosen issues. This topic turned out to be interesting for many researchers, such as: S. Yu. Danilov, G. I. Volkova. A. Naumov’s work “Fascist International: The Conquest of Europe” is interesting because the researcher considers the civil war in Spain not as a separate case, but precisely as part of the fascist conquest of Europe. The military memoirs of A.I. also attract attention for their depth. Gusev "The Angry Sky of Spain".

If we compare domestic and foreign literature, we can see that scientists of the Soviet Union attached great importance class contradictions, they sharply criticize the policies of Primo de Rivera and the entire capitalist system. As for foreign researchers, they see the root of the problem mainly in differences of political views and the desire of party leaders for power.

Chapter 1. Causes of the Spanish Civil War

In accordance with " Historical Dictionary» civil war is an organized armed struggle for state power between classes, social groups and groups. The following types and forms of civil war are distinguished: slave uprisings, peasant and guerrilla warfare, armed war people against a totalitarian or exploitative regime, a war of one part of the army against another under the slogans of various political parties.

The reasons that led to the civil war in Spain were formed under the influence of the international situation of the 20-30s. XX century and were the result of the First World War. To understand what was happening in Spain at this time, it is necessary to analyze the impact of political and economic events of the interwar period.

The First World War had significant and specific consequences for different countries. In particular, for Spain it was the cause of the economic crisis post-war years, since during the war Spain adhered to a policy of “non-intervention”, the warring countries were interested in its raw materials - Spanish industry flourished. So, for example, if in 1918 the positive trade balance exceeded 385 million pesetas, then in 1920 the foreign trade balance became sharply negative and the deficit reached 380 million pesetas. Spain faced economic difficulties. There was an oversupply of workers and a lack of jobs. This led to an intensification of the strike movement. Obviously, with the onset of the economic crisis, it was difficult for the Spanish government to avoid a political crisis.

To pacify the people, King Alfonso XIII abolished all constitutional guarantees. Not only revolutionary workers were persecuted, but also representatives of the petty bourgeoisie and intelligentsia. For one and a half goals, in Catalonia alone there were about 500 victims of the White Terror. Class contradictions intensified in the country, and a political crisis began.

Despite the measures taken, the Spanish government failed to stop the movement of workers, whose labor continued to be exploited by the feudal lords, in whose hands most of the land was concentrated. Then the king had to restore some constitutional guarantees, because he could not solve the agrarian question in favor of the working class, since the support of the state was the big bourgeoisie and large feudal lords.

In 1923, there were 411 strikes, involving 210,568 workers. The unrest in the army intensified, peasant uprisings became more frequent, and there was a further rise in the national liberation struggle in Morocco. The working class continued to fight to reform Spain's political system. In this regard, the Republicans won the elections in June 1923.

King Alfonso XIII, in agreement with the Catholic Church, the generals and the landlord-financial oligarchy, on September 14, 1923, transferred all political power in the country into the hands of a “directory” led by the military governor of Catalonia, General Primo de Rivera. Whom he introduced the general to the Italian king Victor Emmanuel as “my Mussolini.” The transfer of political power into the hands of the military governor suggests that the king can no longer control the situation in the country - the threat of revolution is looming. In turn, Primo de Rivera, as well as the monarchical government, represented the interests of the landowners and bourgeoisie, who, this time, were the support for the military-fascist dictatorship, therefore, the working class continued to remain the most oppressed. It is also known that the big bourgeoisie and feudal lords represented by Primo de River were closely associated with foreign capital - this led to Spain's economic dependence on a foreign monopoly.

Monopolies were formed in industry. In 1924, Primo de Rivera created an economic national committee through which monopolies received subsidies from the government. As a result, the state began to support large enterprises, while small ones went bankrupt, people lost their jobs, and there was no competition in the market, which led to a decrease in the quality of goods.

Due to Spain's dependence on foreign capital, it was natural that it was not spared by the economic crisis of 1929-1932. Namely: the country's industrial output decreased, many firms and banks went bankrupt, unemployment increased (in 1930 - 40% of the population remained unemployed), the number of strikes in 1929 reached 800, peasants continued to suffer from unbearable dues.

In March 1929, there were a number of anti-government protests by students and professors. They were successfully suppressed. However, the students continued to fight, and a bourgeois-democratic revolution was approaching the country. The situation was aggravated by the mass republican movement in 1930. Everyone gradually began to recognize the inevitability of the collapse of the dictatorship. Finding himself in a hopeless situation, Primo de Rivera was forced to present to the king and the council of ministers on December 31 a project in which it was proposed to prepare the conditions for replacing the dictatorship with a new government by September 13, 1930.

Then, until the end of the year, there were strikes of workers, anti-monarchist protests, the population of Spain tried with all possible methods to call on the government to overthrow the dictatorship, the power of the feudal lords and the big bourgeoisie. However, the authorities limited themselves to only forming a new government. The king resolutely did not want to admit that the problem of the state lay not in the composition of the government, but in the established state system. Then the people decided to take the situation into their own hands and on the morning of April 14, 1931, excited crowds of people began to seize municipal buildings and arbitrarily proclaim a republic. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the Republican flag was raised in Madrid at the Palace of Communications and at the Ateneo Club. And already in the evening of the same day, the king left the country, arguing for his departure with the words: “To prevent the disaster of civil war.” .

A provisional government was formed headed by N. Alcala Zamora, as soon as the King of Spain left the throne, on the same day the Provisional Government issued an amnesty decree and released all political prisoners from prison. With the overthrow of the monarchy, relief was immediately felt in the country, the feeling of fear disappeared, and censorship became more loyal. Political emigrants began to return to the country. A Constitution was adopted, which contained a number of sharply anti-clerical provisions aimed against the claims of religious organizations and the clergy to dominance or influence in the political, economic and cultural areas, as well as in the field of science and education.

However, for two years (from 1931 to 1933), the Provisional Government was unable to solve the main problem - the settlement of feudal remnants that interfered economic development countries. Perhaps the government did not want to aggravate social relations by decisions in favor of any of the classes.

In 1933, elections were held in which the new Catholic party CEDA won the majority of votes. English researcher Hugh Thomas explains this fact by the fact that the republic gave voting rights to women, and they were mostly zealous Catholics, and therefore voted for the Catholic Party. A more moderate government was subsequently formed, but this led to a series of uprisings called the October Revolution of 1934. It follows from this that there were many disagreements in the country, a second political crisis began, and the parties, not wanting to come to a compromise, pulled the blanket over themselves.

Elections were held again on February 16, 1936, the Popular Front won, but as Gil Robles noted at a meeting of the Cortes on June 16, 1936: “The government was endowed with exclusive rights, but during the four months of the republic’s rule, 160 churches were burned, 260 political assassinations, 69 political centers were destroyed, 113 general strikes and 288 local strikes occurred, 10 editorial offices were destroyed.” He called the existing system anarchy.

As a result, at the meeting of the Cortes, a heated discussion broke out about the current situation in the country and its causes, the party leaders accused each other and did not want to compromise, everyone was confident only that they were right.

It is also worth noting that failures in foreign policy Spain, during the period under review, did not at all contribute to strengthening the position of the government: the national liberation uprisings in Morocco (1921, 1923), the non-recognition of the Tangier zone by Spain by the League of Nations countries.

During this period, the fascist states, without encountering any resistance on their way from the victorious countries of the First World War, violated the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty - they launched preparations for war and aggression. Leading European countries, in particular France and England, adhered to a policy of “non-resistance.” They silently observed the actions of the countries of the Nazi bloc, because they were afraid of aggression in their direction and hoped to direct it towards the USSR. The Soviet Union remained, perhaps, the only staunch defender of the collective security system, which France and England abandoned.

They also, together with the United States, financed the creation of a powerful war machine Germany and Italy, who in turn “tried to drag Spain into the fascist orbit.” The ruling circles of Spain reached an agreement with Mussolini in March 1934, according to which the head of fascist Italy took upon himself the responsibility of helping to overthrow the republic in Spain and even, if necessary, start a civil war. The imperialist circles of the USA, England and France supported the feudal lords of the Spanish state. They did this out of their own interests, in Spain there were many foreign monopolies that took advantage of the oppressed position of Spanish workers, and a republican constitution would have given them greater rights and prohibited their exploitation. America was interested in introducing its own capital into Spain with the goal of influencing its political life. Here is a striking example of this: when Admiral Aznar formed the government, the New York Morgan Bank tried to save the dying Bourbon monarchy by providing Spain with a loan of $60 million.

The United States more than once tried to influence the political situation in Spain; after a new financial attack in June 1931, the Spanish government exported most of the gold reserves to France, but the French government froze Spain's accounts.

As for England, its conservative circles contributed to the reactionary movement in the Spanish state, because both of them fought for the restoration of the monarchy and opposed the republican system.

Thus, we can draw the following conclusion: after the First World War, the state of the Spanish economy began to deteriorate. The state of the country was approaching a period of general economic crisis, which was combined with the strike movement in industry (1919-1923) and the constant struggle for power and influence in the country; this did not in any way contribute to the rise of the economy and the prosperity of the state. Spain needed a strong ruler who would bring order to the country, but since the struggle for power for some party leaders was more important than the fight against the crisis, Spain gradually became mired in its political and economic problems. The state's position was worsened by failures in foreign policy. And Western countries, in this case, only tried to protect their own interests, thereby exacerbating multi-vector contradictions in the country, which resulted in a civil war.

Chapter 2. Spain in 1936-1939.

.1 Political situation

civil war spain politics

From the very beginning, the war in Spain attracted the attention of the whole world. All countries pursued one common goal - to localize the conflict and prevent this war from developing into a world war. On the side of the republic were countries with liberal and republican structures of state; the phalangists were supported by countries that supported totalitarian and authoritarian regimes; Germany, Italy and Portugal, which took part in the military conflict from the very beginning, provided especially great assistance to the nationalists in the war. In the first days of the rebellion, German and Italian planes transported over 14 thousand soldiers and great amount military materials. And Portugal opened the border for the transport of military aid and sent separate detachments of its troops to Spain.

Military assistance from Italy and Germany saved Francisco Franco from a quick and shameful defeat, since the Republic had enough strength to suppress the rebellion in a very short time.

Over time, the balance of power changed, this was facilitated by the policy of “non-intervention” adhered to by the USA, France, and England. They deprived the Spanish Republic of weapons. On August 2, the French government of Léon Blum came up with a proposal for "non-intervention" in Spanish affairs, although the very idea of ​​​​a non-intervention agreement was English. As a result, a committee began working in London on September 9, and included 27 European countries. The United States was not included in the London Committee, but fully supported the policy of “non-intervention” and imposed a ban on the export of weapons to Spain. The Soviet Union also joined the agreement on August 23. As a consequence of this policy, the Spanish Republic lost the right to buy weapons abroad. However, this policy did not prevent Italy and Germany from intervening in the conflict. A striking example This may be due to the following fact: on September 15, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Alvarez del Vayo, sent a decisive note to the ambassadors of the states that had signed the agreement on “non-intervention”, in which he cited evidence of the intervention of Germany and Italy in internal conflict Spain and demanded to end with neutrality. This line was stated in more categorical form before the General Assembly of the League of Nations, which opened in Geneva on September 24. But at this meeting the spirit of the Anglo-French policy of capitulation to Nazi Germany and Italy.

A special “W” headquarters operated in Berlin to assist the rebels. In Italy in August 1936. A government commission for intervention in Spain was created. In general, Spain was considered by the fascist states as a convenient strategic springboard, a source of raw materials and a military training ground for military equipment. And the goal was also to strangle the bourgeois-democratic revolution.

As for the countries adhering to neutrality, England supplied the rebels with oil and airplanes, the French company Renault secretly sold them cars and airplanes, although it prohibited the sale of weapons to the Spanish Republicans. In addition, the government of Leon Blum froze the transported gold reserves from Spain and gave them only to F. Franco. US monopolies provided the rebels with 75% of their oil. And almost all of the nationalists’ equipment ran on American fuel. Initially, the Soviet Union took a position of neutrality, but when it saw that the policy of “non-intervention” was not being observed, it began to help Republican Spain. Already on October 13, the first Soviet ship with weapons arrived in Republican Spain. Soviet workers collected over 47 million rubles to help Spanish workers.

The international proletariat, democratic forces and anti-fascists from all over the world came out on the side of the Spanish Republic. Societies of friends of the Spanish Republic arose everywhere. The international solidarity movement never stopped growing. To coordinate it, the International Committee for Assistance to the Spanish Republic was created in Paris.

The intervention of Germany and Italy literally created and armed an army of rebels. The help of fascist countries ultimately played a decisive role in the victory of the Spanish Nazis. It was in the national interests of England and France to try to maintain neutrality for as long as possible, and for the fascist countries to have formal cover for their actions and to bind the Soviet Union with an agreement on non-intervention. The policy of “non-intervention” contributed to the defeat of the Spanish Republic, which lost the opportunity to purchase weapons abroad, resulting in a shortage of weapons. All countries sought to localize the conflict and strengthen their authority in the international arena. France, the USSR and Great Britain, up to a certain point, adhered to a policy of “non-intervention”. Italy and Germany took the side of the National Front from the very beginning of the civil war. This allowed F. Franco to gain a foothold in power.

2.2 Progress of military operations of the Spanish Civil War

The civil war began with a rebellion in Morocco on July 17, when encrypted telegrams were sent throughout the country indicating the date and time of the start of the protest. In the main cities of Spain, the rebellion began on July 18. 80% were on the side of the rebels armed forces- 120 thousand officers and soldiers and a significant part of the civil guard. However, the republicans were defended by ordinary working people who created voluntary detachments and battalions; the republic was also supported by aviation and Navy. At this time, even women came to collection points with the hope of getting a rifle. Thanks to the dedication of ordinary citizens, the uprising in Madrid was suppressed on July 19. The fascist rebels were helped by troops from Morocco, thanks to whom they managed to occupy Seville and La Coruña. But the plans of the rebels failed in a number of cities, including: Malaga, Valencia, Bilbao, Santander. Thus, the main industrial centers remained in the hands of the people. And on July 19, the government of Jose Giral, who was one of the leaders of the left-wing Republican Party, was formed. He was later replaced in this post by Largo Caballero, then by Juan Negrin.

The reason for the inability of the Popular Front to suppress the rebellion in a short period of time was that it did not have a single military command center, and as a result there was no agreement and coordination of military actions between various military units. In addition, great damage was caused by the low discipline and leadership methods of the Catalan anarchists, who joined the fight against the rebels very slowly and were not distinguished by diligent discipline.

Due to the lack of cohesion of the Republican bloc, the Nazis were able to gain time to receive military assistance from Italy and Germany. Thanks to which, by the end of September, the Francoists had captured more than half of the territory of Spain and were already approaching Madrid.

Frontal attacks on Madrid continued from November until the end of December 1936. To enter the capital, the nationalists attempted to take control of the bridges over the Manzanares River, but their plans failed - the Republicans heroically defended the city. The only thing the rebels were able to achieve was to penetrate the University Campus in the northwestern part of the city.

By the beginning of 1937, all fronts had stabilized, and the war became protracted. By this time, Italy and Germany were already neglecting international obligations and openly organizing the intervention of their troops in Spain.

During January and February, the fascists tried to cut off communications between Madrid and other cities, but the Republicans managed to carry out a number of successful counter-offensives and recapture lost territories. During the battles for the capital of Spain, the largest operation of the entire war was carried out - the Haram operation. We must give credit to the military assistance of the USSR in the defense of Madrid. 50 people took part in it Soviet tanks and 100 aircraft, the crews of which included 50 tank crews and 100 pilots.

As a result of the unsuccessful Haram operation, the combat effectiveness of Franco's troops and their political and moral views began to crack: constant defections to the Republican side began. The Nazis sought to rectify the situation and launched an offensive with Italian troops in the direction of Guadalajara, but were defeated. Another attempt to restore the morale of the fascists was an offensive on the northern front in the Bilbao sector from March 31. But in two months they were not successful.

After the unsuccessful siege of Madrid, the fascists decided to unite the main military forces - monarchists, Carlists and Falangists - into a single party "Spanish Traditionalist Phalanx and JONS" under the leadership of Francisco Franco, who became the caudillo (leader) of Spanish fascism.

As for the Republican camp, everything was much more complicated here. The Popular Front represented the interests of several political groups, including anarchists, caballerists, communists and representatives of the bourgeoisie. There were many contradictions between the parties, the plans of the anarchists did not coincide with the plans of the communists, and the bourgeoisie was completely frightened by their intentions. The caballerists did not want to unite with the Communist Party. L. Caballero, like the left-wing Republicans and the Basque National Party, resisted the creation of a regular people's army and shared the views of the anarchist leadership of the FAI, which advocated maintaining its complete fragmentation. When in May the Republican government took some measures aimed at increasing discipline in the army, the anarchists and Trotskyists from the POUM rebelled, which fortunately was suppressed. Largo Caballero rejected the communist demand to dissolve the POUM, and then two communist ministers resigned. The new government cabinet could not be formed without the communists. And then Juan Negrin formed a new government that began to eliminate the consequences of Largo Caballero's policies. The perpetrators of the May putsch were punished, the POUM was dissolved, and the Anarchist order was put an end to in Aragon. The goal of H. Negrin's policy was the final victory in the war.

Meanwhile, upset by a year of war without any special victories, Germany and Italy switched to open intervention: on May 31, Almeria was attacked, Italian ships sank ships arriving in Spain from the USSR, France and England. On this occasion, a conference on combating piracy in the Mediterranean was held in the Swiss city of Nyon from September 10 to 14, during which a number of decisions were made that led to the cessation of open actions by Italian submarines against the Spanish Republic in the Mediterranean Sea.

The rebels and interventionists came to the decision to put an end to the Northern Front. On June 20 they captured the capital of Basque Country - Bilbao, on August 26 they entered Santander, then in September they attacked Asturias and blocked the Gijon fleet. The rebel forces outnumbered the Republican forces. Their army consisted of 150 infantry battalions, 400 guns, 150 tanks, and over 200 aircraft. The Republicans had only 80 guns, a few tanks and planes.

The Republicans launched an operation in the Brunete region in June and on the Aragonese front in August to stop the Fascist advance. Although the operations were successful, the rebels completely occupied the entire industrial North of Spain on October 20. And by the end of 1937, 60% of the country’s territory was already in the hands of the Nazis. The Republicans found themselves in a difficult situation, then General V. Rojo developed a plan for an attack on Extremadura. This operation boiled down to dividing the rebel territory into two parts and attacking the weak rear. However, this grandiose plan was prevented by I. Prieto, who insisted on an offensive in the Teruel area. During this offensive, fierce fighting began, both sides suffered huge losses, the city capitulated in early January 1938, the civilian population was evacuated, but the Republicans remained in Teruel, and only on February 22, 1938, the Republicans left the city.

In March, the Italians began bombing Barcelona from the air. The entire city was on fire. The raids lasted until March 18. This raid brought absolutely no benefit to the Phalangists, and the wounded, when they were carried away on stretchers, called on those gathered to resist. During the military crisis, Barcelona was full of despondency, and even the Minister of National Defense, Don Indalecio Prieto, quite confidently told reporters: “We have lost!” .

While the Republicans were mired in despondency, on April 11, Italy sent 300 officers to help the Phalangists. In April, it seemed that the war was already coming to an end, and people were tired of continuous fighting. Only at the end of April did the nationalists launch a new offensive, with the goal of capturing the Levant district and the city of Valencia, which was used by the Republicans as a new capital; the Republican government moved there from besieged Madrid. After July 25, due to the fatigue of the troops, the offensive was suspended, and a little later Franco’s entire attention turned out to be focused on the war in a different direction: the Republicans launched a counter-offensive on the Ebro. The battle lasted until November 15 and was the largest during the war in Spain. During this battle, the fate of Catalonia was practically decided in favor of Franco.

After this grandiose battle, General V. Rojo and J. Negrin decided to ask the Soviet Union for a large batch of weapons. Military equipment worth 100 million dollars was requested. The weapons were delivered to the French-Catalan border, but the French government did not allow them to be transported to Catalonia, justifying their action with a policy of “non-intervention.”

Ideas about surrender began to spread in the Republican camp. IN military units and in the navy, the capitulators began to sabotage everything that was done to raise morale and was done to continue the war. This soon developed into a plot to organize an anti-republican insurrection.

The Frankists, in turn, were determined to win. On December 23 they attacked Catalonia. 300 thousand people took part in this battle on the side of the Nazis and only 120 thousand on the side of the Popular Front. For every republican plane there were 15-20 fascist planes. The ratio in tanks in favor of the Francoists was 1 to 35, in machine guns - 1 to 15, in artillery - 1 to 30. The anti-fascists simply had no chance of winning.

January rebels and interventionists occupied Barcelona. The Republic was left with a south-central zone of approximately ¼ territory of a country with a population of 10 million people. The Communist Party insisted on the need to strengthen defense and remove adherents of capitulation from posts. But by this time, even J. Negrin himself was not confident of victory; he became slow and passive. Only on March 2, 1939, he decided to meet the communists halfway. And then the capitulators raised anti-republican uprisings in a number of cities, because of which the fascists opened the way to Madrid. Already on March 28, the Francoists launched offensives on all fronts, entered Madrid, and on April 1, 1939, General F. Franco wrote in an official message: “The war is over.”

2.3 Francisco Franco's rise to power

Francisco Franco achieved unconditional power over the country. His comrades presented him with the title of Generalissimo. He was destined to rule Spain for another 40 years.

May, a grandiose military parade was held, stretching for 25 kilometers. Over 200,000 winners took part in it. What made the parade unique was its legal component. The trucks carried piles of criminal and court cases brought by the victors against the vanquished.

Monuments to Franco appeared in the center of several cities at once, starting with Madrid. A monument was erected to Mola in Valladolid.

The nationalists restored the ancient Catholic holidays abolished by the republic and established new ideological and political ones - Day of Courage, Day of Fortitude, Day of Sorrow, Day of Remembrance. And 1939 was officially declared the year of victory.

Caudillo awarded his comrades. He resumed the distribution of aristocratic titles, which had been stopped by the republic.

Nationalists also invented collective awards. Faithful to the “crusade,” Catholic and monarchical Navarre was awarded the Order of St. Ferdinand. Avila, Belchite, Oviedo, Zaragoza, Segovia, Teruel, and Toledo, which withstood a long siege, received the status of hero cities.

Domestic policy The Spaniards called the dictatorship “the policy of revenge.” The Republican Constitution was abolished, the Republican “Riego anthem” and the tricolor flag were banned. Basque and Catalan languages ​​suffered the same fate.

Draconian law on political liability found widest application. Mass executions continued until 1941. At least 200,000 “red” Spaniards passed through prison and exile. Over 300,000 former soldiers of the Republic were sent to forced labor - road, construction, and work in mines. Their terms ranged from a year to 20 years. They were supposed to use manual labor to “atone for their guilt before the fatherland.”

Political parties and trade unions, secular schools, strikes, divorces, striptease and nudism were banned. The landowners received back most of the confiscated lands, and women were deprived of their political and property rights.

Nationalists instilled asceticism in the Spaniards. They restored preliminary censorship, drove prostitution underground, and limited the import of foreign newspapers, books and films. Spanish women were forbidden to smoke, wear short dresses and open swimsuits, and men were forbidden to wear shorts.

Having abolished the 1931 constitution, the government did not adopt a new one. Spain was governed by separate organic laws and regulations. Instead of the old anthem, the Phalanx anthem “Face the Sun” and the monarchist march “Marcha Real” were now performed.

The church was reunited with the state. Schools came under the tutelage of the clergy, and universities found themselves under the dual authority of the clergy and the Phalangists.

Political democracy was completely dismantled. The legal acts of nationalist Spain until 1944 did not contain any mention of any rights and freedoms of citizens.

The National Movement, created in 1937 on the basis of the Phalanx, remained the only ruling movement in the country. The movement had an approved uniform: a blue shirt and a red beret. The motto and greeting remained the Falangist “Arise Spain!” .

Applicants for state and municipal positions were required to provide a baptismal certificate. An official holding a government post was required to swear allegiance to a religious authoritarian state, the oath beginning with the words “I swear by God, Spain and Franco.”

In foreign policy, the country broke off relations with the USSR, Mexico, Chile, and moved to strengthen relations with totalitarian states - Germany and Italy and with authoritarian Latin American regimes.

I would also like to note that, despite the regime that emerged in Spain after the civil war and Franco’s cooperation with Hitler, he did not support his anti-Semitic policies. Allowed entry into the country of Jews fleeing Nazi-occupied territories. During the Second World War, thanks to him, about 40,000 Jews were saved.

The first symptoms of the Spanish turn towards national reconciliation emerged during the Second World War. They matured extremely slowly and inconsistently.

The coming to power of F. Franco meant the transition of Spain from a republican system to a fascist regime. Many of the prohibitions and rules that existed under the monarchy were returned. The symbols of the state were also changed. Spain broke off relations with republican and liberal countries and began to focus its foreign policy on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

Conclusion

After World War I, the Spanish economy began to deteriorate. The state of the country was approaching a period of general economic crisis, which was combined with the strike movement in industry (1919-1923) and the constant struggle for power and influence in the country; this did not in any way contribute to the rise of the economy and the prosperity of the state. Spain needed a strong ruler who would restore order to the country, but since the struggle for power was more important for some party leaders than the fight against the crisis, Spain gradually became mired in its political and economic problems. The state's position was worsened by failures in foreign policy. And Western countries, in this case, only tried to protect their own interests, thereby aggravating the contradictions in the country, which resulted in a civil war.

The intervention of Germany and Italy literally created and armed an army of rebels. The help of fascist countries ultimately played a decisive role in the victory of the Spanish Nazis. It was in the national interests of England and France to try to maintain neutrality for as long as possible, and for the fascist countries to have formal cover for their actions and bind the Soviet Union to an agreement on non-intervention. The policy of “non-intervention” contributed to the defeat of the Spanish Republic, which lost the opportunity to purchase weapons abroad, resulting in a shortage of weapons. All countries sought to localize the conflict and strengthen their authority in the international arena. France, the USSR and Great Britain, up to a certain point, adhered to a policy of “non-intervention”. From the very beginning of the civil war, Italy and Germany took the side of the National Front, which allowed F. Franco to gain a foothold in power.

The Republicans carried out successful operations, but they were hampered by the disunity of the political parties that supported the Republic. The policy of L. Caballero, who resisted the formation of a unified republican army, also had a bad effect. With regard to strategic actions, it should be noted that I. Prieto prevented the implementation of the plan of General V. Rojo, subsequently which would have dealt a serious blow to the fascists. As for the rebels and interventionists, a number of correct strategic decisions were made here, the most important of which was the idea of ​​uniting the main forces under the command of F. Franco. The outcome of the war was certainly influenced by the intervention of Germany and Italy, and the policy of “non-intervention” adhered to by the USA, France and England. Since the Nazis received military equipment and human resources from Germany and Italy, and the policy of “non-intervention” excluded assistance to the Republicans in the war, although the Popular Front really needed it.

With the coming to power of Francisco Franco, a fascist regime and order were established in the country. He achieved unconditional power over the country. His comrades presented him with the title of Generalissimo. F. Franco was destined to rule Spain for another 40 years. Many of the prohibitions and rules that existed under the monarchy were returned. The symbols of the state were also changed. Spain broke off relations with republican and liberal countries and began to focus its foreign policy on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

List of used literature

1.War and revolution in Spain 1936-1939 / translation from Spanish, edited by V.V. Pertsova. - Moscow: Progress Publishing House, 1968 - 614 p.

2.Civil War in Spain 1931 - 1939 / translation from English, Hugh Thomas. - Moscow: Tsentrpoligraf, 2003. - 571 p.

.Civil War in Spain 1936 - 1939 / Nikolai Platoshkin. - Moscow: Olma-press: Krasny Proletarsky, 2005 - 478 p. - (Series “Archive”).

.Civil War in Spain / edited by V. Goncharov - St. Petersburg University, 2006 - 494 p.

.Civil War in Spain 1936 - 1939 and Europe / collection of materials from an interuniversity scientific seminar edited by V. V. Malay. - Belgrade: BelSU Publishing House, 2007 - 85 p.

.Spain 1918-1972 / USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of General History. - Moscow: Nauka publishing house, 1975. - 495 p.

.Operation X : Soviet military assistance to the Republic of Spain (1936-1939) / edited by G.A. Bordyugova. - Moscow: research center "Airo - XX", 2000 - 149 p.

.Political history of Spain in the twentieth century. / G.I. Volkova, A.V. Dementyev. - Moscow: graduate School, 2005. - 190 p.

.Fascist vandals in Spain: articles and photo additions. / Compiler editors: T.I. Sorokin, A.V. February. - Moscow: Publishing House of the All-Union Academy of Architecture 1938. - 77 p.

.Fascist International: the conquest of Europe / A. Naumov (Mysteries of the 3rd Reich). - Moscow: Veche, 2005. - 443 p.

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