Condor Legion - Spanish Civil War

Pilots JG51.3 $ Werner Molders and Generaloberst Heinz Guderian 01
Photo 01:  Molders (left) seen here with the Commander of Panzergruppe 2, Generaloberst Heinz Guderian (right).

Pilots JG51.3 $ Werner Molders with Galland and Goring 01
Photo 01: The two young Geschwader Kommodore, Werner Molders and Adolf Galland in discussion with Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring at an unidentified location in France during the summer of 1940.

Pilots JG51.3 $ Werner Molders 01-07
Photo 01: Oberst Molders

Photo 02: Oberst Molders seen during his tenure as Inspekteur der Jagdflieger during a tour of the Crimea in the Autumn of 1941.

Photo 03: Sitting in the cockpit of his Bf109F, Werner Molders is seen here describing another sortie.

Photo 04: Molders is seen here exiting the cockpit of his Bf109E-3 during the latter part of August 1940.

Photo 05: Molders in the cockpit of his Bf109R One of the first members of the Jagdwaffe to take the new 'Friedrich' into combat in October 1940, this photo may well be from that period.

Photo 06: Oberstleutnant Molders as photographed by his wife at his desk at the Air Ministry just before leaving for the Eastern Front.

Pilots $ Werner Molders was killed in He-111 KG27 (1G+TH) Nov 22, 1941 01
Photo 01: On 22 November, Oberst Werner Molders boarded a Heinkel 111 of KG27 at Chaplinka which was to fly him back to Germany where he was to attend the funeral of the Luftwaffe's chief of procurement and supply, Ernst Udet. However, the aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed at near Martin Quander Farm, Breslau-Gandau and Molders was killed.

Pilots $ Werner Molders Funeral Nov 28 1941 01-05
Photo 01: The ceremony was attended by Goring (LEFT), seen here walking behind the gun-carriage bearing Molders's coffin.

Photo 02: Molders' funeral procession was in true military fashion; his coffin was carried on a gun carriage flanked by a guard of honor. Following immediately behind is Herman Goring who in turn is followed by five of the most highly decorated Jagdflieger.

Photo 03: The Fuhrer pays his respects.

Photo 04: Reichsmarschall Goring leading the funeral procession. In the front rank, from left to right, are Siegfried Schnell,]osef Priller, Hans 'Assi' Hahn and Werner Streib. Erhard Milch is visible between Schnell and Priller.

Photo’s 05: The Reichsmarschall raises his baton in a final salute to Molders whose death was a severe blow for the Wehrmacht, and especially for JG51. Later, this unit was awarded an honour-title and officers and men serving with the Geschwader were entitled to wear on their right sleeve a cuff band embroidered with the words "Jagdgeschwader Molders".

Pilots $ Werner Molders signed 01
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Werner Molders

Youth
Werner Molders was born at Gelsenkirchen/Westfalia on 18 March 1913. At the time of Werner's birth his father, Victor, was working as a teacher in England but with the outbreak of war in August 1914 he was forced to escape home to Germany aboard a neutral Dutch ship. On returning home, he joined the German Army and was subsequently commissioned as a Leutnant, only to be killed while serving with Infantrie Regiment 145 near Vauquois on the Argonne Front on 2 March 1915 shortly before Werner's second birthday. Following the death of her husband his mother, Anna-Maria, returned to her family in Brandenburg/Havel, faced with the difficult task of raising four children (Hans, Anne-Marie, Werner and Victor) on her own. The Molders family were devout Catholics but lived in a very strong Protestant environment. Since religion can often offer a form of lonely sanctuary, Werner developed into a very serious boy and would retain a seriousness all his life.

Service in the Army
Deciding to follow in his father's footsteps, Werner wanted to become an army officer. Obtaining his 'Abitur' at the age of 17, he enlisted in the small army allowed to Germany by the provisions of the 1919 Versailles Treaty. On 1 April 1931, he joined II./IR 2 at Allenstein in East Prussia. In October 1932, he was transferred to the Kriegsschule at Dresden and to the Pionierschule at Miinchen in June 1932. With aviation becoming the great dream of many young Germans who remembered the First World War exploits of Bokke and von Richthofen, the rise to power of the National Socialist Party in 1933 and the creation of a new air force gave Werner the opportunity to transfer to that arm of the services. But, as with his future contemporary Adolf Galland, Molders would also suffer problems. Whereas Galland's eyes were deficient, Molders suffered from a fear of heights, a fear that he would conquer with a major effort of willpower.

Service in the Luftwaffe
On 6 February 1934 Molders joined the DVS (Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule) at Cottbus and remained there until the end of that year. Following his promotion to Leutnant on 1 March 1934, he trained with Kampfliegerschule Tutow and jagdfliegerschule Schleissheim until the middle of 1935. On 1 July 1935, he was transferred to Fliegergruppe Schwerin, a ground support unit which was later redesignated I./St.G. 162 Immelmann. Flying He-45s and He-46s, he was transferred to fighters the following year. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1936, he led the Jagdschulstaffel of II./JG 134 Horst Wessel at Werl in Westfalia where his commanding officer was Major Theodor Osterkamp, a veteran of the First World War, credited with 32 aerial victories. On 15 March 1937 Molders took command of I.Staffel of I./JG334 at Wiesbaden and his unit, equipped with the Heinkel He-51, would be successively redesignated I./JG133, and then I./JG53 Pik As.

The Spanish Civil War
The seriously-minded Molders was still a bachelor when he was sent to Spain in May 1938. On the 24th of that month, he succeeded Adolf Galland as Kapitan of 3./J88. This was the first time that the paths of the two men crossed. At the same time, the obsolete He 51s were replaced by the new Bf109 Dora which would later be replaced by the Emil becoming the best fighter used by either side during the Spanish Civil War. Combining his own abilities with the qualities of the Messerschmitt fighter, Molders quickly achieved success and in his first aerial engagement, shot down an 1-15. Four days later, two further victories were added, another 1-15 and an 1-16.With the exception of an SB-2 shot down on 23 August 1938, Molders would claim only Polikarpov fighters until the end of his stay in Spain. On his return to Germany on 5 December 1938, he was credited with 14 victories plus an additional three that were unconfirmed. Promoted to Hauptmann as the highest scoring German ace of the Spanish Civil War, he was then temporarily assigned (as had been Galland earlier) to the Air Ministry to study and improve fighter tactics based upon experiences gained during the Spanish conflict. His influence was to be enormous in that he proposed the deployment of a loose formation of four aircraft - the 'Schwarm' - broken up into two elements of two - the'Rotte'.

The 'Sitzkrieg' While Galland was transferred to II.(Schlacht)/LG 2 equipped with the Hs-123, Molders returned to his old fighter unit to lead I./JG 53 (formerly-1.I.JG133). It was during this time that he acquired his nickname of 'Vati' ('Papa') due to his serious nature, experience and rigidity. This nickname was not intended as offensive but one which was born out of respect. No-one feared Molders and he was very popular amongst his pilots. He was not an impetuous man and could drink a glass of beer like the rest - but never two!

If his successes in Spain were partly due to his good fortune in receiving the best aircraft of its time, then the Sitzkrieg - or Phoney War - was to prove that he was an excellent fighter pilot and tactician. His introduction to the new campaign was, nevertheless, quite unsettling. On 8 September 1939, he led three other Bf 109s in an attack on six French Curtiss H-75s of GC11/4 north of Karlsruhe. In the ensuing dogfight, Molders' Bf109 was heavily damaged, forcing him to crash land in a field near Wolfersweiler. Trapped in his cockpit and slightly wounded, he had to wait for a local Flak crew to release him. Strangely, the French pilots involved claimed two victories, attributed to three pilots (SIC Cruchant being credited with two claims combined with two other pilots)!

Molders recovered quickly and claimed his first victory over the border twelve days later. Taking off with his Schwarm to Trier, he destroyed another H-75 of GC11/5 from a patrol escorting a reconnaissance aircraft. Sgt Quequiner, piloting N°21, was able to bale out of this aircraft which crashed near Merzig.

After being promoted Kommandeur of III./JG53, Molders celebrated his new command by shooting down a Blenheim I (16694) of No. 57Sqn engaged in reconnaissance along the Moselle on 30 October 1939 but would have to wait until 22 December to obtain his third victory in France. While escorting a Do-17P of 1.(F)/123, he attacked some fighters identified as "Moranes" but which were in fact, Hurricane Is of No. 73Sqn RAE With his wingman, Oblt. von Hahn, he shot down two (11967 and N2385) near Budange. With the onset of bad weather, the first months of 1940 were quiet but on 2 March, at the end of a very scrappy encounter, Hptm. Molders and Uftz. Neuhoff were able to claim two Hurricanes (11808 and L1958) from No. 73Sqn which crashed near Metz. The following day, again around Metz, Molders engaged a Morane Saulnier 406 of GCII/3. This was claimed destroyed but, in fact, C/C Koerber, although wounded, managed to land his damaged aircraft at Toul airfield. On 26 March, another MS-406 was claimed near Trier, but this proved to be a Hurricane of No. 73Sqn whose pilot, F/O Edgar James 'Cobber' Kain of the RNZAF, baled out after having previously been shot down on 2 March! On 2 April, another Hurricane, this time from No.1Sqn, was shot down near St Avold but the pilot was able to force-land his heavily damaged fighter behind the Allied lines and avoid capture.

On 20 April, III./JG53 were flying in the Zweibrucken area where they encountered Curtiss H-75s of GC11/4 escorting a Potez 63.11 reconnaissance aircraft of GR11/36. In the combat that ensued, anti-aircraft guns shot at both sides! An H-75 N°136 fell to Molders while another was damaged by Flak. The pilot, C/C Cruchand, was seriously wounded but managed to crash-land his fighter near Biesbriick. On 23 April, Molders claimed his last victory of the Sitzkrieg when he shot down a Hurricane I (N2391) of No. 73Sqn during the morning near Sierck-les-Bains, the pilot, Sgt C. Campbell parachuting to safety. During this campaign, Hptm. Molders was credited with nine additional victories while Adolf Galland flew only ground support. By the time Galland did transfer to the fighter arm, Werner Molders had 23 official victories.

The Campaign in the West
On 10 May 1940, III./JG53 was based at Wiesbaden airfield and Molders had to wait four days before he was credited with his first victory during the invasion of the West, this being a Hurricane on the 14th of the month. During the first days of the attack and mainly over France, III./JG53 had to escort the bombers and were ordered not to attack enemy fighters. On 15 May, Werner Molders at the celebratory dinner after receiving the Ritterkreuz on 29 May 1940 having achieved 20 aerial victories at this time, another Hurricane was claimed by the Kommandeur, but it would be a French cockade that was later painted on the rudder of all his aircraft to record that particular victory. On 17 May, III./JG53 was transferred to Douzy, near Sedan in France from where the unit flew air cover sorties over the Wehrmacht spearheads advancing near Cambrai. On 19 May, Molders was credited with a 'P-36' (almost certainly a Bloch 152, which was often confused with the Curtiss). During the evening of the 20th, Molders claimed his 13th victim, a British bomber described as a 'Wellesley'. On 21 May, three MS-406s were shot down (apparently aircraft from GC1/6 and III./6) and on the 22nd, it was the turn of a Potez 63.11, N0315 of GAO1/514, shot down near Montagne de Reims. Another Morane was lost during the evening of 25 May (Molders' 18th victory) and on the 27th, two Blochs, thought to have been from GC1/8, were claimed south of Amiens.

With 20 victories over France and 14 in Spain, Molders was awarded the Ritterkreuz which was presented to him on Loe airfield, near Le Selve. On 31 May, near Abbeville, Molders shot down a LeO 451 of GB1/12. On 3 June, during Operation Paula (launched primarily as a propaganda operation), Molders claimed two victories - a Curtiss H-75 (which, in fact, was a Bloch 152, and which was subsequently identified on his rudder with a British roundel!) and, very unusually, a Spitfire. Exactly, what a Spitfire was doing near Paris at a time when all RAF units had retreated to their bases in England to fight over Dunkirk is unclear. The 'Spitfire' was probably a D.520 of GC1/3. Two days later, Molders experienced altogether different circumstances. At around noon, he was credited with the destruction of a Bloch 152 (N°651 of GC 118?) and a Potez 63.11 (N0250 of GAO 501?) and later that afternoon, whilst on his second mission of the day, he spotted some "Moranes" attacking some Bf 109s. He decided to intervene but the "MS-406s" turned out to be potent D.520s of GC11/7. Having under estimated the enemy type, Molders was shot down by S/Lt Rene Pommier Layrargues, his Bf109E-3 crashing near Canly. Molders was able to parachute to safety, but was captured on the ground by soldiers of 195e RALT, an artillery unit who set upon him before an officer intervened. Interested in the man who shot him down, Molders asked to meet him, only to find that Pommier Layrargues was already dead, having been brought down and killed at Marissel a few minutes after their engagement.

Molders ended the Westfeldzug in a French POW camp at Montferrand.With the fall of France, he was eventually freed at the end of June 1940 and this is where there is cause for some interesting speculation! If he had been captured by the British in May, he would almost certainly have been sent to a POW camp in Canada, ending the war in safety and terminating the career of a great pilot. But as a prisoner of the French, he was liberated and became - posthumously - a flying legend. Which was the better fate?
 
The Battle of Britain
After a short period of leave, Molders, promoted to Major on 19 July, returned to III./JG53. Soon afterwards, however, he left to take over command of JG51. At that time, Adolf Galland was appointed to lead III./JG26 after having shot down 14 planes in the Westfeldzug whilst with JG27.

As is often the case, establishing a new command proved hectic for Molders. On 28 July, the new Kommodore damaged a Spitfire I (P9429) of No. 41Sqn, RAF. Wounded in the thigh, the pilot, F/O A.D.J. Lovell, managed to land his damaged aircraft at Hornchurch. F/O Lovell survived to become an ace in his own right, only to be killed in a flying accident in 1945. Shortly afterwards, Molders himself was shot down by F/Lt John Webster of the sameSqn. This was Webster's fifth claim but he was killed on 5 September 1940 when his parachute failed to open after baling out following a collision with another Spitfire of 41Sqn. (Author's note: another source attributes this claim to the ace, 'Sailor' Malan of 74Sqn). Wounded in the knee, Molders was able to force-land his damaged Bf109 on the French coast. He returned to his unit on 7 August, but would have to wait some time before he could fly again.

On 26 August 1940, Molders submitted his 27th claim, another Spitfire. By 20 September, his score had reached 40 enemy aircraft shot down, proof that the battles over England were very intense and on that day, he was credited with two more Spitfires (X4417 and N3248) of No. 92Sqn and was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Ritterkreuz. He was only the second member of the German armed forces to receive the decoration. Four days later, Adolf Galland also received the award, becoming the third person to do so. It was at about this time that German newspapers devised a kind of competition between the two aces. One publication would be 'for Molders' another "for Galland"; in reality however, Molders was not interested in such "competition". He told Galland: "In this war; you will be the Richthofen and I the Bolcke" - yet further proof that the serious Kommodore was more interested in tactics than glory.

Molders score continued to increase; on 27 September, it was a Spitfire over Kent, possibly P9364 of No. 222Sqn. piloted by Sgt Ernest Scott, who was killed after having shot down a Bf109 - his fifth confirmed victory. On 11 October, another Spitfire I went down (X4562 of No. 66Sqn) and next day, three Hurricane Is (P3896,V7251 andV7426) of No. 145Sqn. On 17 October, Molders claimed another Spitfire (R6800 LZ-N of No.66Sqn.) followed by three more Hurricanes on 22 October (possibly from Nos. 46 and 257Sqn’s) off the English coast. Molders now had his fiftieth victory. Galland reached this total eight days later. From the beginning of October, Molders became the first pilot to test the new Bf109F in combat, which soon proved superior to contemporary British fighters. Certainly, this also helped in his subsequent successes.

After spending a few days leave skiing, JG 51's Kommodore returned to action at the beginning of 1941. Exploiting the relative inactivity of the Luftwaffe in the west (the German High Command was preparing to attack the Soviet Union and had moved many units to the east), the RAF were beginning to conduct sorties over France and the fighting now took place mainly off the French coast. On 20 February, Molders claimed two Spitfires (his 57th and 58th victories). Five days later, a Spitfire II (X4592 of No. 611Sqn) was shot down, and on the following day he scored his 60th victory. Galland had to wait until 15 April to attain the same score.

On 13 March, Molders shot down another British ace, S/Ldr Aeneas 'Donald' MacDonnel. MacDonnel, from No. 64Sqn, was born in Baku in 1913, and was the 22nd Hereditary Chief of the Glengarry Clan. Leading a sweep over Northern France, MacDonnel (credited with nine or ten victories) was shot down by Molders (his 62nd victory) and baled out into the Channel. He was rescued by a German motor boat but remained a prisoner of war until 1945.

The new versions of the Hurricane and Spitfire proved no match for the Bf109E. This is well indicated by a list of Molders's claims for the period: Hurricane II of No.615Sqn two Hurricane II’s of No.601Sqn (one claimed as a "Spitfire") Hurricane II (Z3087) of No.601Sqn Hurricane II (Z2743) of No.601Sqn Spitfire II of No.92Sqn.

Molders' aerial victories declined following the transfer of JG51 to the East. On 21 June, Adolf Galland - then with 69 claims - was the first Luftwaffe pilot to add the Swords to his Ritterkreuz. On the eve of Barbarossa - the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Molders had 'only' 68 claims, but on the day of the invasion, he claimed an I-153 (which must have brought back memories of Spain!) and three SB-2s shot down. He was awarded the Swords but this time as the second pilot to receive the decoration.

At this time, Soviet aircraft and pilots were seen as generally inferior to their German counterparts and this enabled Molders and his men to claim unprecedented scores and on 30 June, he was credited with the destruction of no fewer than five enemy aircraft. By 15 July 1941, on his 291st combat mission he claimed his 100th and 101st victories and was awarded the Diamonds to his Ritterkreuz. By comparison, Galland, would have to wait until 28 January 1942 for this decoration.

By this time, Molders had achieved an almost mythical status, seen to be deserving of 'protection'. He was ordered not to fly ('Flugverbot) to avoid risking his life at the front and was transferred to the Air Ministry in Berlin. On 7 August 1941, he was promoted to Inspector of Fighters and left his unit and on 13 September 1941, he married Louise Baldauf, the widow of a fallen comrade.

Molders could have remained safely at the Ministry, close to his wife, but he was preoccupied with the Soviet campaign and visited the Eastern Front many times. In the autumn of 1941, he went to the Crimea to lead the combined operations of Stukas and fighters where he discovered an important supply problem which he tried to resolve. In spite of the Flugverbot, he wanted to have a clearer picture of the situation in the air by flying again. On 8 and 11 November, Molders borrowed a Bf109 of III./JG77 and shot down three more Soviet aircraft over Sevastopol and the Kertsch peninsula, though he did not record them officially. Future Ritterkreuztriiger, Herbert Hahne, remembered serving as Molders' wingman at this time. After spotting enemy aircraft, the Inspector led his Kaczmarek, giving him instructions by radio and 'donating' him his victories. It would seem that 'Vati’ Molders enjoyed the role of 'counsellor' and adviser.

On 17 November 1941, Generaloberst Ernst Udet committed suicide and Molders was called back to Berlin to assist with the funeral. Four days later, he began his journey to the capital as a passenger in a He-111 of III./KG27 piloted by Oblt. Kolbe, another former flyer from Spain. The weather was bad and following an interim stop at Lemberg, the Heinkel took off again but the weather conditions continued to deteriorate. Near Breslau, the port engine failed and the crew tried to land at the nearest available airfield, Schmiedefelde. At low altitude, the second engine cut and the He-111 (1G+TH) hit the ground near Martin Quander Farm at N°132 Flughafenstrasse. Molders was killed at 11.30 on 22 November. He was succeeded as Inspector of Fighters by Adolf Galland.

As is often the case after a plane crash (Balbo, Sikorsky, Todt, etc.), rumors circulated in some quarters about a plot to kill Molders but post-war research has found these to be totally without foundation. It is true that Molders, as a devout Catholic, criticized the Nazi Party many times for its activities against the church. But to kill Germany's greatest ace for such beliefs at such a critical period in the war is, in the author's opinion, inconceivable.

Werner Molders was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof at Berlin where Manfred von Richthofen already lay. His Geschwader, JG51, later adopted the honor name 'Jagdgeschwader Molders'. As a postscript to this biography it is worth quoting the words of another ace, Dietrich Hrabak: "Wir waren nur jagdflieger. Molders was mehr als das!": "We were only fighter pilots. Molders was more than that!".

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Messerschmitt Bf.109D

The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted coup detat committed by parts of the army against the government of the Second Spanish Republic. The Civil War devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939, ending with the victory of the rebels and the founding of a dictatorship led by the Fascist General Francisco Franco and the defeat of the supporters of the Republic. Republicans (republicanos), gained the support of the Soviet Union and Mexico, while the followers of the rebellion, nacionales (Nationalists), received the support of the major European Axis powers, namely Italy, Germany, as well as neighbouring Portugal.

The war increased tensions in the lead-up to World War II and was largely seen as a possible war by proxy between the Communist Soviet Union and the Fascist Axis of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. In particular, tanks and bombing of cities from the air were features of the later war in Europe. The advent of the mass media allowed an unprecedented level of attention (Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, George Orwell and Robert Capa all covered it) and so the war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired, and for atrocities committed on both sides of the conflict. Like other Civil Wars, the Spanish Civil War often pitted family members and trusted neighbors and friends against each other. Apart from the combatants, many civilians were killed for their political or religious views by both sides, and after the war ended in 1939, Republicans were at times persecuted by the victorious Nationalists.

Prelude to the war

Historical context

There were several reasons for the war, many of them long-term tensions that had escalated over the years.

The 19th Century was a turbulent one for Spain. The country had undergone several civil wars and revolts, carried out by both reformists and the conservatives, who tried to displace each other from power. A liberal tradition that first ascended to power with the Spanish Constitution of 1812 sought to abolish the absolutist monarchy of the old regime and to establish a liberal state. The most traditionalist sectors of the political sphere systematically tried to avert these reforms and to sustain the monarchy. The Carlists - supporters of Infante Carlos and his descendants - rallied to the cry of God, Country and King and fought for the cause of Spanish tradition (absolutism and Catholicism) against the liberalism and later the republicanism of the Spanish governments of the day. The Carlists, at times (including the Carlist Wars), allied with nationalists (not to be confused with the nationalists of the Civil War) attempting to restore the historic liberties (and broad regional autonomy) granted by the fueros of the Basque Country and Catalonia. Further, from the mid-19th century onwards, the liberals were outflanked on their left by socialists of various types and especially by anarchists, who were far stronger and more numerous in Spain than anywhere else in Europe aside from (possibly) Russia.

Los Cuatro Generales and Viva La Quince Brigada

Spain experienced a number of different systems of rule in the period between the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century and the outbreak of the Civil War. During most of the 19th century, Spain was a constitutional monarchy, but under attack from these various directions. The First Spanish Republic, founded in 1873, was shortlived. A monarchy under Alfonso XIII lasted from 1887 to 1931, but from 1923 was held in place by the military dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. Following Primo de Riveras overthrow in 1930, the monarchy was unable to maintain power and the Second Republic was declared in 1931. This Republic soon came to be led by a coalition of the left and center. A number of controversial reforms were passed, such as the Agrarian Law of 1932, distributing land among poor peasants. Millions of Spaniards had been living in more or less absolute poverty under the firm control of the aristocratic landowners in a quasi-feudal system. These reforms, along with anticlericalist acts, as well as military cut-backs and reforms, created strong opposition.

Constitution of 1931

Spanish Constitution of 1931

The neutrality of this article is disputed.

A new constitution was adopted on 9 December 1931. The document generally accorded thorough civil liberties and representation, the notable exclusion being the rights of Catholics, a flaw which prevented the forming of an expansive democratic majority. The document provided for universal suffrage and proclaimed a purported complete separation of Church and State, but in actuality it provided for significant governmental interference in church matters, including the prohibition of teaching by religious even in private schools, confiscation of and prohibitions on ownership of church property, and the banning of the Society of Jesus. The revolution of 1931 essentially established an anticlerical government.

Not only advocates of establishment of religion but also advocates of church/state separation saw the constitution as hostile; one such advocate of separation, Jose Ortega y Gasset, stated the article in which the Constitution legislates the actions of the Church seems highly improper to me. On June 3, 1933, Pope Pius XI condemned the Spanish Governments deprivation of the civil liberties on which the Republic was supposedly based in the encyclical Dilectissima Nobis (On Oppression Of The Church Of Spain ), noting in particular the expropriation of Church property and schools and the persecution of religious communities and orders.

Since the far left considered moderation of the anticlericalist aspects of the constitution as totally unacceptable, commentators have argued that the Republic as a democratic constitutional regime was doomed from the outset. Commentators have posited that such a hostile approach to the issues of church and state were a substantial cause of the breakdown of democracy and the onset of civil war.

1933 election and aftermath

Leading up to the Civil War, the state of the political establishment had been brutal and violent for some time. In the 1933 elections to the Cortes Generales, the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (Confederacion Espanola de Derechas Autonomas or CEDA) won a plurality of seats. It was however not enough to form a majority. Despite the results, then President Niceto Alcala-Zamora declined to invite the leader of the CEDA to form a government and instead invited the Radical Republican Party and its leader Alejandro Lerroux to do so. CEDA supported the Lerroux government; it later demanded and, on 1 October 1934, received three ministerial positions. Hostility between both the left and the right increased after the formation of the Government. Spain experienced general strikes and street conflicts. Noted among the strikes was the miners revolt in northern Spain and riots in Madrid. Nearly all rebellions were crushed by the Government and political arrests followed.

Lerrouxs alliance with the right, his harsh suppression of the revolt in 1934, and the Stra-Perlo scandal combined to leave him and his party with little support going into the 1936 election. (Lerroux himself lost his seat in parliament.)

1936 Popular Front victory and aftermath

In the 1936 Elections a new coalition of Socialists (Socialist Workers Party of Spain, PSOE), liberals (Republican Left and the Republican Union Party), Communists, and various regional nationalist groups won the extremely tight election. The results gave 34 percent of the popular vote to the Popular Front and 33 percent to the incumbent government of the CEDA. This result, when coupled with the Socialists refusal to participate in the new government, led to a general fear of revolution. This was made only more apparent when Largo Caballero, hailed as the Spanish Lenin by Pravda, announced that the country was on the cusp of revolution. However these statements were meant only to remove any moderates from his coalition. Moderate Socialist Indalecio Prieto condemned the rhetoric and marches as provocative.

Aims of the Popular Front

From the Cominterns point of view the increasingly powerful, if fragmented, left and the weak right were an optimum situation. Their goal was to use a veil of legitimate democratic institutions to outlaw the right and to convert the state into the Soviet vision of a peoples republic with total leftist domination, a goal which was repeatedly voiced not only in Comintern instructions but also in the public statements of the PCE (Communist Party of Spain).

Azana becomes president

Without the Socialists, Prime Minister Manuel Azana, a liberal who favored gradual reform while respecting the democratic process, led a minority government. In April, parliament replaced President Niceto Alcala-Zamora, a moderate who had alienated virtually all the parties, with Azana. The removal of Zamora was made on specious grounds and in violation of the constitution. Although the right also voted for Zamoras removal, this was a watershed event which inspired many conservatives to give up on parliamentary politics. Azana was the object of intense hatred by Spanish rightists, who remembered how he had pushed a reform agenda through a recalcitrant parliament in 1931-33. Joaquin Arraras, a friend of Francisco Franco, called him a repulsive caterpillar of red Spain. The Spanish generals particularly disliked Azana because he had cut the armys budget and closed the military academy while war minister (1931). CEDA turned its campaign chest over to army plotter Emilio Mola. Monarchist Jose Calvo Sotelo replaced CEDAs Gil Robles as the rights leading spokesman in parliament.

Rising tensions and political violence

This was a period of rising tensions. Radicals became more aggressive, while conservatives turned to paramilitary and vigilante actions. According to official sources, 330 people were assassinated and 1,511 were wounded in politically-related violence; records show 213 failed assassination attempts, 113 general strikes, and the destruction (typically by arson) of 160 religious buildings.

Deaths of Castillo and Calvo Sotelo

On 12 July 1936, in Madrid, a far right group murdered Lieutenant Jose Castillo of the Assault Guards, a special police corps created to deal with urban violence, and a Socialist. The next day, leftist gunman Luis Cuenca killed Jose Calvo Sotelo, a leader of the conservative opposition in the Cortes (Spanish parliament), in revenge. Cuenca was operating in a commando unit of the Assault Guard led by Captain Fernando Condes Romero. Condes was close to the Socialist leader Indalecio Prieto, but there is no indication that Prieto was complicit in Cuencas assassination of Calvo Sotelo. However, the murder of such a prominent member of parliament, with involvement of the police, aroused suspicions and strong reactions amongst the Center and the Right. Calvo Sotelo was the leading Spanish monarchist. He protested against what he viewed as escalating anti-religious terror, expropriations, and hasty agricultural reforms, which he considered Bolshevist and anarchist. He instead advocated the creation of a corporative state and declared that if such a state was fascist, he was also a fascist.

He also declared that Spanish soldiers would be mad to not rise for Spain against Anarchy. In turn, the leader of the communists, Dolores Ibarruri, known as La Pasionaria, allegedly vowed that Calvo Sotelos speech would be his last speech in the Cortes. Although the Nationalist generals were already at advanced stages of planning an uprising, the even provided a convenient catalyst and public justification for their planned coup.

Outbreak of the war

Nationalist military revolt

On 17 July 1936, the nationalist-traditionalist rebellion long feared by some in the Popular Front government began. Its beginning was signaled by the phrase Over all of Spain, the sky is clear that was broadcast on the radio. Casares Quiroga, who had succeeded Azana as prime minister, had in the previous weeks exiled the military officers suspected of conspiracy against the Republic, including Puerto Rico-born General Manuel Goded Llopis and General Francisco Franco, sent to the Balearic Islands and to the Canary Islands, respectively. Both generals immediately took control of these islands. A British MI6 intelligence agent, Major Hugh Pollard, then flew Franco to Spanish Morocco in a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide to see Juan March Ordinas, where the Spanish Army of Africa, led by Nationalist ranks, were almost unopposed in assuming control.

Government reaction

The rising was intended to be a swift coup detat, but was botched in certain areas allowing the government to retain control of parts of the country. At this first stage, the rebels failed to take any major cities - in Madrid they were hemmed into the Montana barracks. The barracks fell the next day with much bloodshed. In Barcelona, anarchists armed themselves and defeated the rebels. General Goded, who arrived from the Balearic islands, was captured and later executed. However, the turmoil facilitated anarchist control over Barcelona and much of the surrounding Aragonese and Catalan countryside, effectively breaking away from the Republican government. The Republicans held on to Valencia and controlled almost all of the Eastern Spanish coast and central area around Madrid. Except for Asturias, Cantabria and part of the Basque Country, the Nationals took most of northern and northwestern Spain and also a southern area in central and western Andalusia including Seville.

The combatants

Republicans (also known as Spanish loyalists) received weapons and volunteers from the Soviet Union, Mexico, the international Socialist movement and the International Brigades. The Republicans ranged from centrists who supported a moderately capitalist liberal democracy to revolutionary anarchists and communists; their power base was primarily secular and urban, but also included landless peasants, and it was particularly strong in industrial regions like Asturias and Catalonia. This faction was called variously the loyalists by its supporters, the Republicans, the Popular Front or the Government by all parties, and the reds by its enemies.

The conservative, strongly Catholic Basque country, along with Galicia and the more left-leaning Catalonia, sought autonomy or even independence from the central government of Madrid. This option was left open by the Republican government. All these forces were gathered under the Ejercito Popular Republicano (EPR) or Republican Popular Army.

Scholar Stanley G. Payne claimed that by the time of the outbreak of war Republicans had abandoned constitutional republicanism for leftist revolution:

The leftist zone has been variously designated Republican, loyalist, and Popular Front. Of those terms, the adjective loyalist is somewhat misleading, for there was no attempt to remain loyal to the constitutional Republican regime. If that had been the scrupulous policy of the left, there would have been no revolt and civil war in the first place. Thus after July 1936 what remained of the constitutional Republic gave way to the revolutionary Republican confederation of 1936-1937.

The Nationalists

The Nationalists on the contrary opposed the separatist movements, but were chiefly defined by their anti-communism and their fear of Spain breaking up, which served as the galvanizing agent of diverse or even opposed movements like falangists or monarchists. This side was called the Nationalists, the rebels, or the insurgents. Their opponents referred to them as the Fascists or Francoists.

Their leaders had a generally wealthier, more conservative, monarchist, landowning background, and they favoured the centralization of state power. In turn, their support for the Catholic Church, provided them with popular support.Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, as well as most Roman Catholic clergy, supported the Nationalists, while Portugals Estado Novo provided logistical support. Their forces were gathered into the Ejercito Nacional or National Army.

Other factions in the war

The active participants in the war covered the entire gamut of the political positions and ideologies of the time. The Nationalist (nacionales) side included the Carlists and Legitimist monarchists, Spanish nationalists, the Falange, Catholics, and most conservatives and monarchist liberals. On the Republican side were socialists, communists, liberals and anarchists. Catalan and Basque nationalists were not univocal. Left-wing Catalan nationalists were on the Republican side. Conservative Catalan nationalists were far less vocal supporting the Republican government due to the anti-clericalism and confiscations occurring in some areas controlled by the latter (some conservative Catalan nationalists like Francesc Cambo actually funded the rebel side). Basque nationalists, heralded by the conservative Basque nationalist party, were mildly supportive of the Republican government, even though Basque nationalists in Alava and Navarre sided with the uprising for the same reasons influencing Catalan conservative nationalists.

To view the political alignments from another perspective, the Nationals included the majority of the Catholic clergy and of practicing Catholics (outside of the Basque region), important elements of the army, most of the large landowners, and many businessmen. The Republicans included most urban workers, most peasants, and much of the educated middle class, especially those who were not entrepreneurs.

The genial monarchist General Jose Sanjurjo was the figurehead of the rebellion, while Emilio Mola was chief planner and second in command. Mola began serious planning in the spring, but General Francisco Franco hesitated until early July, inspiring other plotters to refer to him as Miss Canary Islands 1936. Franco was a key player because of his prestige as a former director of the military academy and the man who suppressed the Socialist uprising of 1934. Warned that a military coup was imminent, leftists put barricades up on the roads on July 17. Franco avoided capture by taking a tugboat to the airport. From there he was flown to Morocco by British intelligence, where he took command of the battle-hardened colonial army in Spanish Morocco. Sanjurjo was killed in a plane crash on July 20, leaving effective command split between Mola in the north and Franco in the South. Franco was chosen overall commander at a meeting of ranking generals at Salamanca on September 21. He outranked Mola and by this point his Army of Africa had demonstrated its military superiority.

One of the Nationalists principal claimed motives was to confront the anti-clericalism of the Republican regime and to defend the Roman Catholic Church, which had been the target of attacks, and which many on the Republican side blamed for the ills of the country. Even before the war religious buildings were burnt and clergy killed without action on the part of the Republican authorities to prevent it. As part of the social revolution taking place, others were turned into Houses of the People. Similarly, many of the massacres perpetrated by the Republican side targeted the Catholic clergy. Francos Moroccan Muslim troops found this repulsive as well, and for the most part fought loyally and often ferociously for the Nationalists. Articles 24 and 26 of the Constitution of the Republic had banned the Jesuits, which deeply offended many within the conservatives. The revolution in the republican zone at the outset of the war, killing 7,000 clergy and thousands of lay people, constituted what Stanley Payne called the most extensive and violent persecution of Catholicism in Western History, in some way even more intense than that of the French Revolution, driving Catholics, left then with little alternative, to the Nationalists even more than would have been expected. After the beginning of the Nationalist coup, anger flared anew at the Church and its role in Spanish politics. Notwithstanding these religious matters, the Basque nationalists, who nearly all sided with the Republic, were, for the most part, practicing Catholics.

Republican sympathizers proclaimed it as a struggle between tyranny and democracy, or fascism and liberty, and many non-Spanish youth, committed reformers and revolutionaries joined the International Brigades, believing that the Spanish Republic was the front line of the war against fascism. Francos supporters, however, portrayed it as a battle between the red hordes of communism and anarchism on the one hand and Christian civilization on the other. They also stated that they were protecting the Establishment and bringing security and direction to what they felt was an ungoverned and lawless society.

The Republicans were also split among themselves. The left and Basque or Catalan nationalist conservatives had many conflicting ideas. The Cortes (Spanish Parliament) consisted of 16 parties in 1931. When autonomy was granted to Catalonia and the Basque Provinces in 1932, a nationalist coup was attempted but failed. An attempt by the communists to seize control resisted by anarchists resulted in the massacre of hundreds of rebels and intra civil war between anarchists and communists in Catalonia.

Foreign involvement

The Spanish Civil War had large numbers of non-Spanish citizens participating in combat and advisory positions. Foreign governments contributed large amounts of financial assistance and military aid to forces led by Generalisimo Francisco Franco. Forces fighting on behalf of the Second Spanish Republic also received limited aid but support was seriously hampered by the arms embargo declared by France and the UK.

These embargoes were never extremely effective however, and France especially was accused of allowing large shipments through to the Republicans - though the accusations often came from Italy, itself heavily involved for the Nationalists. The clandestine actions of the various European powers were at the time considered to be risking another Great War.

Italy and Germany

Both Fascist Italy, under dictator Benito Mussolini, and Nazi Germany, under dictator Adolf Hitler, sent troops, aircraft, tanks, and other weapons to support Franco. The Italian government provided the Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie) and Germany sent the Condor Legion (Legion Condor). The CTV reached a high of about 50,000 men and as many as 75,000 Italians fought in Spain. The German force numbered about 12,000 men at its zenith and as many as 19,000 Germans fought in Spain.

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union primarily provided material assistance to the Republican forces. While Soviet troops amounted to no more than 700 men, Soviet volunteers often piloted aircraft or operated tanks purchased by the Spanish Republican forces. The Republic had to purchase Soviet assistance with the official gold reserves of the Bank of Spain (see Moscow Gold), obtaining armament of marginal quality that, in addition, was sold at deliberately inflated prices. The cost for the Republic of the Soviet support raised more than US$500 million, which made up two-thirds of the gold reserves that Spain had at the beginning of the war.

International brigade volunteers

The troops of the International Brigades represented the largest foreign contingent of troops fighting for the Republicans. Roughly 30,000 foreign nationals from possibly up to 53 nations fought in the various brigades. Most of them were communists or trade unionists, and while organised by communists guided or controlled by Moscow, they were almost all individual volunteers.

Mexico

The Mexican Republic supported fully and publicly the claim of the Madrid government. Mexico refused to follow the French-British Non-Intervention proposals, recognizing immediately the great advantage they offered the Insurgents. Contrary to the United States, Mexico did not feel that neutrality between an elected government and a military junta was a proper policy. Mexicos attitude gave immense moral comfort to the Republic, especially since the major Latin American governments - those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru - sympathized more or less openly with the Insurgents. But Mexican aid could mean relatively little in practical terms if the French border were closed and if the dictators remained free to supply the Insurgents with a quality and quantity of weapons far beyond the power of Mexico.

However, Mexico provided some material assistance, which included a small amount of American made aircraft such as the Bellanca CH-300 and Spartan Zeus that served in the Mexican Air Force.

Irish volunteers

Ireland was the only country where pro-Franco volunteers outnumbered the anti-Franco volunteers. Despite the declaration by the Irish government that participation in the war was illegal, around 250 Irishmen went to fight for the Republicans and around 700 of Eoin ODuffys followers ( The Blueshirts ) went to Spain to fight on Francos side.

On arrival, however, ODuffys Irish contingent refused to fight the Basques for Franco, seeing parallels between their recent struggle and Basque aspirations. They saw their primary role in Spain as fighting communism, rather than defending Spains territorial integrity. Eoin ODuffys men saw little fighting in Spain and were sent home by Franco after being accidentally fired on by Spanish Nationalist troops.

Evacuation of children

As war proceeded in the Northern front, the Republican authorities arranged the evacuation of children. These Spanish War children were shipped to Britain, Belgium, the Soviet Union, other European countries and Mexico. Those in Western European countries returned to their families after the war, but many of those in the Soviet Union, from Communist families, remained and experienced the Second World War and its effects on the Soviet Union.

Like the Republican side, the Nationalist side of Franco also arranged evacuations of children, women and elderly from war zones. Refugee camps for those civilians evacuated by the Nationalists were set up in Portugal, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Pacifism in Spain

In the 1930s Spain also became a focus for pacifist organizations including the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the War Resisters League and the War Resisters International (whose president was the British MP and Labour Party leader George Lansbury). Many people including, as they are now called, the insumisos (defiant ones, i.e., conscientious objectors) argued and worked for non-violent strategies.

Prominent Spanish pacifists such as Amparo Poch y Gascon and Jose Brocca supported the Republicans. As American author Scott H. Bennett has demonstrated, pacifism in Spain certainly did not equate with passivism, and the dangerous work undertaken and sacrifices made by pacifist leaders and activists such as Poch and Brocca show that pacifist courage is no less heroic than the military kind (Bennett, 2003: 67-68). Brocca argued that Spanish pacifists had no alternative but to make a stand against fascism. He put this stand into practice by various means including organising agricultural workers to maintain food supplies and through humanitarian work with war refugees.

Atrocities during the war

At least 50,000 people were executed during the civil war. In his recent, updated history of the Spanish Civil War, Antony Beevor reckons Francos ensuing white terror claimed 200,000 lives. The red terror had already killed 38,000. Julius Ruiz concludes that although the figures remain disputed, a minimum of 37,843 executions were carried out in the Republican zone with a maximum of 150,000 executions (including 50,000 after the war) in Nationalist Spain.

The atrocities of the Bando Nacional were common and were frequently ordered by authorities in order to eradicate any trace of leftism in Spain; many such acts were committed by reactionary groups during the first weeks of the war. This included the execution of school teachers (because the efforts of the Republic to promote laicism and to displace the Church from the education system by closing religious schools were considered by the Bando Nacional side as an attack on the Church); the execution of individuals because of accusations of anti-clericalism; the massive killings of civilians in the cities they captured; the execution of unwanted individuals (including non-combatants such as trade-unionists and known Republican sympathisers etc) An example of this kind of tactics on the Nationalist side was the Massacre of Badajoz in 1936.

The Nationalist side also conducted aerial bombing of cities in the Republican territory, carried out mainly by the Luftwaffe volunteers of the Condor Legion and the Italian air force volunteers of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Guernica, and other cities). The most notorious example of this tactic of terror bombings was the Bombing of Guernica.

Atrocities by the Republicans have been termed Spains red terror by those on the Nationalist side. Republican attacks on the Catholic Church, associated strongly with support for the old monarchist and hierarchical establishment, were particularly controversial.

Nearly 7,000 clerics were killed and churches, convents and monasteries were attacked (see Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War). Some 13 bishops, 4184 diocesan priests, 2365 male religious (among them 114 Jesuits) and 283 nuns were killed. There are unverified accounts of Catholics being forced to swallow rosary beads and/or being thrown down mine shafts, as well as priests being forced to dig their own graves before being buried alive. Pope John Paul II beatified several hundred people murdered for being priests or nuns, and Pope Benedict XVI beatified almost 500 more on October 28, 2007.

Other repressive actions in the Republican side were committed by specific factions such as the Stalinist NKVD (the Soviet secret police). In addition, many Republican politicians, such as Lluis Companys the Catalan nationalist president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the autonomous government of Catalonia -which remained initially loyal to the Republic before proclaiming independence from it- carried out numerous actions to mediate in cases of deliberate executions of the clergy.

Spanish Civil War chronology: The War

1936

In the early days of the war, over 50,000 people who were caught on the wrong side of the lines were assassinated or executed. In these paseos ( strolls ), as the executions were called, the victims were taken from their refuges or jails by armed people to be shot outside of town. The corpses were abandoned or interred in graves dug by the victims themselves. Local police just noted the appearance of the corpses. Probably the most famous such victim was the poet and dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca. The outbreak of the war provided an excuse for settling accounts and resolving long-standing feuds. Thus, this practice became widespread during the war in conquered areas.

Any hope of a quick ending to the war was dashed on 21 July, the fifth day of the rebellion, when the Nationalists captured the main Spanish naval base at Ferrol in northwestern Spain. This encouraged the Fascist nations of Europe to help Franco, who had already contacted the governments of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy the day before. On July 26, the future Axis Powers cast their lot with the Nationalists. A rebel force under Colonel Beorlegui Canet, sent by General Emilio Mola, advanced on Guipuzcoa. On September 5th, after heavy fighting it took Irun closing the French border to the Republicans. On September 13th the Basques surrendered San Sebastian to the Nationalists who then advanced toward their capital, Bilbao but were halted by the Republican militias on the border of Viscaya at the end of September. The capture of Guipuzcoa had isolated the Republican provinces in the north.

To the south, Nationalist forces under Franco won another victory on 27 September when they relieved the Alcazar at Toledo. A Nationalist garrison under Colonel Moscardo had held the Alcazar in the center of the city since the beginning of the rebellion, resisting for months against thousands of Republican troops who completely surrounded the isolated building. The inability to take the Alcazar was a serious blow to the prestige of the Republic, as it was considered inexplicable in view of their overwhelming numerical superiority in the area. Two days after relieving the siege, Franco proclaimed himself Generalisimo and Caudillo ( chieftain ) while forcibly unifying the various and diverse Falangist, Royalist and other elements within the Nationalist cause.

In October, the Francoist troops launched a major offensive toward Madrid, reaching it in early November and launching a major assault on the city on 8 November. The Republican government was forced to shift from Madrid to Valencia, out of the combat zone, on 6 November. However, the Nationalists attack on the capital was repulsed in fierce fighting between November 8 and 23. A contributory factor in the successful Republican defense was the arrival of the International Brigades, though only around 3000 of them participated in the battle. Having failed to take the capital, Franco bombarded it from the air and, in the following two years, mounted several offensives to try to encircle Madrid. (See also Siege of Madrid (1936-39))

On 18 November, Germany and Italy officially recognized the Franco regime, and on 23 December, Italy sent volunteers of its own to fight for the Nationalists.

1937

With his ranks being swelled by Italian troops and Spanish colonial soldiers from Morocco, Franco made another attempt to capture Madrid in January and February 1937, but failed again.

On 21 February the League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee ban on foreign national volunteers went into effect. The large city of Malaga was taken on 8 February. On 7 March German Condor Legion equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes arrived in Spain; on 26 April the Legion was responsible for the infamous massacre of hundreds, including numerous women and children, at Guernica in the Basque Country; the event was committed to notoriety by Picasso. Two days later, Francos army overran the town.

After the fall of Guernica, the Republican government began to fight back with increasing effectiveness. In July, they made a move to recapture Segovia, forcing Franco to pull troops away from the Madrid front to halt their advance. Mola, Francos second-in-command, was killed on June 3, and in early July, despite the fall of Bilbao in June, the government actually launched a strong counter-offensive in the Madrid area, which the Nationalists repulsed with some difficulty. The clash was called Battle of Brunete (Brunete is a town in the province of Madrid).

After that, Franco regained the initiative, invading Aragon in August and then taking the city of Santander. With the surrender of the Republican army in the Basque territory and after two months of bitter fighting in Asturias (Gijon finally fell in late October) the war was effectively ended in the north front with a Francoist victory.

Meanwhile, on August 28, the Vatican recognized Franco, and at the end of November, with Francos troops closing in on Valencia, the government had to move again, this time to Barcelona.

1938

The Battle of Teruel was an important confrontation between Nationalist and Republican troops. The city belonged to the Nationalists at the beginning of the battle, but remarkably, the Republicans conquered it in January. The Francoist troops launched an offensive and recovered the city by 22 February. However, in order to do so, Franco had to rely heavily on German and Italian air support and subsequently repaid them with extensive mining rights. On March 7, the Nationalists launched the Aragon Offensive. By April 14, they had pushed through to the Mediterranean Sea, cutting the Republican government-held portion of Spain in two. The Republican government tried to sue for peace in May but Franco demanded unconditional surrender, and the war raged on. The Nationalist army pressed southward from Teruel and along the coast toward the capital of the Republic at Valencia but was halted in heavy fighting along the fortified XYZ Line.

The Republican government then launched an all-out campaign to reconnect their territory in the Battle of the Ebro, beginning on July 24 and lasting until November 26. The campaign was militarily unsuccessful, and was undermined by the Franco-British appeasement of Hitler in Munich with the concession of Czechoslovakia. This effectively destroyed the last vestiges of Republican morale by ending all hope of an anti-fascist alliance with the Western powers. The retreat from the Ebro all but determined the final outcome of the war. Eight days before the new year, Franco struck back by throwing massive forces into an invasion of Catalonia.

1939

Francos troops conquered Catalonia in a whirlwind campaign during the first two months of 1939. Tarragona fell on 14 January, followed by Barcelona on 26 January and Girona on 5 February. Five days after the fall of Girona, the last resistance in Catalonia was broken.

On 27 February, the governments of the United Kingdom and France recognized the Franco regime.
Only Madrid and a few other strongholds remained for the Republican government forces. Then, on 28 March, with the help of pro-Franco forces inside the city (not as effective as described by General Mola in his propagandistic broadcasts of 1936 referring to the so-called fifth column ), Madrid fell to the Nationalists. The next day, Valencia, which had held out under their guns for close to two years, also surrendered. Franco proclaimed victory in a radio speech aired on 1 April, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered.

After the end of the War, there were harsh reprisals against Francos former enemies, when thousands of Republicans were imprisoned and at least 30,000 executed. Others have calculated these deaths at from 50,000 to 200,000. Many others were put to forced labour, building railways, drying out swamps, digging canals (La Corchuela, the Canal of the Bajo Guadalquivir), construction of the Valle de los Caidos monument, etc. Hundreds of thousands of other Republicans fled abroad, especially to France and Mexico. Some 500,000 of them fled to France.

On the other side of the Pyrenees, refugees were confined in internment camps of the French Third Republic, such as Camp Gurs or Camp Vernet, where 12,000 Republicans were housed in squalid conditions (mostly soldiers from the Durruti Division). The 17,000 refugees housed in Gurs were divided into four categories (Brigadists, pilots, Gudaris and ordinary Spaniards). The Gudaris (Basques) and the pilots easily found local backers and jobs, and were allowed to quit the camp, but the farmers and ordinary people, who could not find relations in France, were encouraged by the Third Republic, in agreement with the Francoist government, to return to Spain. The great majority did so and were turned over to the Francoist authorities in Irun. From there they were transferred to the Miranda de Ebro camp for purification according to the Law of Political Responsibilities.

After the proclamation by Marshall Petain of the Vichy regime, the refugees became political prisoners, and the French police attempted to round-up those who had been liberated from the camp. Along with other undesirables, they were sent to the Drancy internment camp before being deported to Nazi Germany. About 5,000 Spaniards thus died in Mauthausen concentration camp. The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who had been named by the Chilean President Pedro Aguirre Cerda special consul for immigration in Paris, was given responsibility for what he called the noblest mission I have ever undertaken : shipping more than 2,000 Spanish refugees, who had been housed by the French in squalid camps, to Chile on an old cargo ship, the Winnipeg.

After the official end of the war, guerrilla war was waged on an irregular basis, well into the 1950s, being gradually reduced by the scant support from an exhausted population and military defeats. In 1944, a group of republican veterans, who also fought in the French resistance against the Nazis, invaded the Val dAran in northwest Catalonia, but they were defeated after 10 days.

Social revolution
In the anarchist-controlled areas, Aragon and Catalonia, in addition to the temporary military success, there was a vast social revolution in which the workers and peasants collectivised land and industry, and set up councils parallel to the paralyzed Republican government. This revolution was opposed by both the Soviet-supported communists, who ultimately took their orders from Stalins politburo (which feared a loss of control), and the Social Democratic Republicans (who worried about the loss of civil property rights). The agrarian collectives had considerable success despite opposition and lack of resources, as Franco had already captured lands with some of the richest natural resources.

As the war progressed, the government and the communists were able to leverage their access to Soviet arms to restore government control over the war effort, through both diplomacy and force. Anarchists and the Workers Party of Marxist Unification (Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista, or POUM) were integrated with the regular army, albeit with resistance; the POUM was outlawed and falsely denounced as an instrument of the fascists. In the May Days of 1937, many hundreds or thousands of anti-fascist soldiers fought one another for control of strategic points in Barcelona, recounted by George Orwell in Homage to Catalonia.

People
Important figures in the Spanish Civil War
Figures identified with the Nationalist side
* Francisco Franco
* Miguel Cabanellas
* Jose Sanjurjo
* Emilio Mola
* Gonzalo Queipo de Llano
* Juan Yague
* Jose Enrique Varela
* Rafael Garcia Valino
* Luis Carrero Blanco
* Fidel Davila
* Jose Millan Astray
* Roy Campbell
* Juan March Ordinas
* Eoin ODuffy
* Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera
* Mohammed ben Mizzian
* Salvador Dali
* Juan de la Cierva
* Ramon Serrano Suner
* Heli Rolando de Tella y Cantos
* Carlos Asensio Cabanillas
* Antonio Castejon Espinosa

Figures identified with the Republican / Loyalist side Others
* Manuel Azana
* Claud Cockburn
* Joaquin Arderius
* Norman Bethune
* Pedro Garcia Cabrera
* Santiago Carrillo, Communist youth leader
* Buenaventura Durruti, anarchist officer
* Francisco Sabate Llopart, anarchist guerrilla
* Federico Garcia Lorca, assassinated poet
* Fernando Gerassi
* Pablo Picasso, plastic artist
* Jose Giral Pereira
* Valentin Gonzalez ( El Campesino ), military officer
* Ernest Hemingway, American writer
* Miguel Hernandez, captive poet
* Dolores Ibarruri ( La Pasionaria ), Communist leader
* Francisco Largo Caballero, Socialist leader
* Enrique Lister
* Andre Malraux
* Diego Martinez Barrio
* Jose Miaja
* Juan Modesto
* Juan Negrin
* Andres Nin
* George Orwell, British volunteer and writer
* Indalecio Prieto, Socialist leader
* Melchor Rodriguez Garcia
* Vicente Rojo Lluch
* James Robertson Justice
* Henri Rol-Tanguy
* Laurie Lee

Journalists and spies

* Ernest Hemingway, American author
* Emma Goldman, anarchist writer
* Ilya Ehrenburg
* Samuel Krafsur
* Ethel MacDonald, anarchist propagandist
* Carl Marzani
* Robert Miller
* Ture Nerman, Swedish Communist
* Pablo Neruda
* Kim Philby
* Ludwig Renn
* Arthur Koestler
* Alexander Orlov
* Langston Hughes
* Nicolas Guillen
* Martha Gellhorn
* Eddie August Schneider, American pilot
* Bert Acosta, American pilot
* Frank Glasgow Tinker, American pilot

Political parties and organizations
The Popular Front (Republican)
Supporters of the Popular Front (Republican)
Nationalists (Francoist)

The Popular Front was an electoral alliance formed between various left-wing and centrist parties for elections to the Cortesin 1936, in which the alliance won a majority of seats.

* UR (Union Republicana - Republican Union): Led by Diego Martinez Barrio, formed in 1934 by members of the PRR who had resigned in objection to Alejandro Lerrouxs coalition with the CEDA. It drew its main support from skilled workers and progressive businessmen.
* IR (Izquierda Republicana - Republican Left): Led by former Prime Minister Manuel Azana after his Accion Republicana party merged with Santiago Casares Quirogas Galician independence party and the PRRS (Socialist Radical Republican Party). It drew its support from skilled workers, small businessmen and civil servants. Azana led the Popular Front and became President of Spain. The IR formed the bulk of the first government after the Popular Front victory, with members of the UR and the ERC.
o ERC (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya - Republican Left of Catalonia): The Catalan faction of Azanas Republicans, led by Lluis Companys.
* PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol - Spanish Socialist Workers Party): Formed in 1879, its alliance with Accion Republicana in municipal elections in 1931 saw a landslide victory that led to the Kings abdication and the creation of the Second Republic. The two parties won the subsequent general election, but the PSOE left the coalition in 1933. At the time of the Civil War the PSOE was split between a right wing under Indalecio Prieto and Juan Negrin, and a left wing under Largo Caballero. Following the Popular Front victory it was the second largest party in the Cortes, after the CEDA; it supported the ministries of Azana and Quiroga but did not actively participate until the Civil War began. It had majority support amongst urban manual workers.
o UGT (Union General de Trabajadores - General Union of Workers): The socialist trade union. The UGT was formally linked to the PSOE and the bulk of the union followed Caballero.
o Federacion de Juventudes Socialistas (Federation of Socialist Youth)
* PSUC (Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya - Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia): An alliance of various socialist parties in Catalonia, formed in the summer of 1936, controlled by the PCE.
* JSU (Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas - Unified Socialist Youths): Militant youth group formed by the merger of the Socialist and the Communist youth groups. Its leader, Santiago Carrillo, came from the Socialist Youth but had secretly joined the Communist Youth prior to merger, and the group was soon dominated by the PCE.
* PCE (Partido Comunista de Espana - Communist Party of Spain): Led by Jose Diaz in the Civil War, it had been a minor party during the early years of the Republic but came to dominate the Popular Front after Negrin became Prime Minister.
* POUM (Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista - Workers Party of Marxist Unification): An anti-Stalinist revolutionary communist party of former Trotskyists formed in 1935 by Andreu Nin.
o JCI (Juventud Comunista Iberica - Iberian Communist Youth): the POUMs youth movement.
* PS (Partido Sindicalista - Syndicalist Party): a moderate splinter group of CNT.
* Union Militar Republicana Antifascista (Republican Anti-fascist Military Union): Formed by military officers in opposition to the Union Militar Espanola.
* Anarchist groups. The anarchists boycotted the 1936 Cortes election and initially opposed the Popular Front government, but joined during the Civil War, when Largo Caballero became Prime Minister.
o CNT (Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo - National Confederation of Labour): The confederation of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions.
o FAI (Federacion Anarquista Iberica - Iberian Anarchist Federation): The federation of anarchist groups, very active in the Republican militias.
o Mujeres Libres (Free Women): The anarchist feminist organisation.
o FIJL (Federacion Iberica de Juventudes Libertarias - Iberian Federation of Anarchist Youth)
* Basque separatists.
o PNV (Partido Nacionalista Vasco - Basque Nationalist Party): A Catholic Christian Democrat party under Jose Antonio Aguirre, which campaigned for greater autonomy or independence for the Basque region. Held seats in the Cortes and supported the Popular Front government before and during the Civil War. Put its religious disagreement with the Popular Front aside for a promised Basque autonomy.
o ANV (Accion Nacionalista Vasca - Basque Nationalist Action): A leftist socialist party which at the same time campaigned for independence of the Basque region.
o STV (Solidaridad de Trabajadores Vascos - Basque Workers Solidarity): A trade union in the Basque region, with a Catholic clerical tradition combined with moderate socialist tendencies.
* SRI (Socorro Rojo Internacional - International Red Aid): Communist organization allied with the Comintern that provided considerable aid to Republican civilians and soldiers.

Virtually all Nationalist groups had very strong Roman Catholic convictions and supported the native Spanish clergy.

* Union Militar Espanola (Spanish Military Union) - a conservative political organisation of officers in the armed forces, including outspoken critics of the Republic like Francisco Franco. Formed in 1934, from its inception the UME secretly courted fascist Italy. After the electoral victory of the Popular Front, it began plotting a coup with monarchist and fascist groups in Spain. In the run-up to the Civil War it was led by Emilio Mola and Jose Sanjurjo, and latterly Franco.
* Alfonsist Monarchist - supported the restoration of Alfonso XIII. Many army officers, aristocrats and landowners were Alfonsine, but there was little popular support.
o Renovacion Espanola (Spanish Restoration) - the main Alfonsine political party.
o Accion Espanola (Spanish Action) - a fascist party led by Jose Calvo Sotelo, formed in 1933 around a journal of the same name edited by Ramiro de Maeztu.
+ Bloque Nacional (National Block) - the militia movement founded by Calvo Sotelo.
* Carlist Monarchist - supported Alfonso Carlos I de Borbon y Austria-Estes claim to the Spanish throne and saw the Alfonsine line as having been weakened by Liberalism. After Alfonso Carlos died without issue, the Carlists split - some supporting Carlos appointed regent, Francisco-Xavier de Borbon-Parma, others supporting Alfonso XIII or the Falange. The Carlists were clerical hard-liners led by the aristocracy, with a populist base amongst the farmers and rural workers of Navarre providing the militia.
o Comunion Tradicionalista (Traditionalist Communion) - the Carlist political party
+ Requetes (Volunteers) - militia movement.
+ Pelayos - militant youth movement, named after Pelayo of Asturias.
+ Margaritas - womens movement, named after Margarita de Borbon-Parma, wife of Carlist pretender Charles VII (1868-1909).
* Falange (Phalanx):
o FE (Falange Espanola de las JONS) - created by a merger in 1934 of two fascist organisations, Primo de Riveras Falange (Phalanx), founded in 1933, and Ramiro Ledesmas Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista(Assemblies of National-Syndicalist Offensive), founded in 1931. It became a mass movement after the defeat of the PRR and the collapse of the CEDA in the 1936 General Election, when it was joined by Jose Maria Gil-Robles y Quinoness Accion Popular, and Accion Catolica, led by Ramon Serrano Suner.
+ OJE (Organizacion Juvenil Espanola) - militant youth movement.
+ Seccion Femenina (Feminine Section) - womens movement in labour of Social Aid.
o Falange Espanola Tradicionalista y de las JONS - created by a merger in 1937 of the FE and the Carlist party, bringing the remaining political and militia components of the Nationalist side under Francos ultimate authority.

Puente Nuevo, the bridge that links together the two parts of Ronda in Spain. Behind the window near the center of the bridge is a prison cell. There have been allegations that during the Civil War the nationalists threw people who supported the Republicans from the bridge to their deaths many meters down at the bottom of the El Tajo canyon. On the other hand, authorities confirm the atrocities committed by the Republicans against the Nationalists at Ronda. Thus the description in Ernest Hemingways novel For Whom the Bell Tolls of how the inhabitants of a small pueblo first beat all male members of the fascist party with heavy flails and then flung them over a cliff is near to the reality of what happened in the superb Andalusian town of Ronda. There 512 were murdered in the first month of the war.

Puente Nuevo, the bridge that links together the two parts of Ronda in Spain. Behind the window near the center of the bridge is a prison cell. There have been allegations that during the Civil War the nationalists threw people who supported the Republicans from the bridge to their deaths many meters down at the bottom of the El Tajo canyon. On the other hand, authorities confirm the atrocities committed by the Republicans against the Nationalists at Ronda. Thus the description in Ernest Hemingways novel For Whom the Bell Tolls of how the inhabitants of a small pueblo first beat all male members of the fascist party with heavy flails and then flung them over a cliff is near to the reality of what happened in the superb Andalusian town of Ronda. There 512 were murdered in the first month of the war.

Bibliography

* Alpert, Michael (2004). A New International History of the Spanish Civil War. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-1171-1.
* Beevor, Antony (2001 reissued). The Spanish Civil War. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-100148-8.
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* Bennett, Scott (2003). Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915-1963. Syracuse NY: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-3028-X.
* Brenan, Gerald (1990, reissued). The Spanish labyrinth: an account of the social and political background of the Civil War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39827-4.
* Cox, Geoffrey (1937). The Defence of Madrid. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 1 877372 3 84 (reprinted 2006 review).
* Doyle, Bob (2006). Brigadista - an Irishmans fight against fascism. Dublin: Currach Press. ISBN 1-85607-939-2.
* Francis, Hywel (2006). Miners against Fascism: Wales and the Spanish Civil War. Pontypool, Wales (NP4 7AG): Warren and Pell.
* Graham, Helen (2002). The Spanish republic at war, 1936-1939. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45932-X.
* Greening, Edwin (2006). From Aberdare to Albacete: A Welsh International Brigaders Memoir of His Life. Pontypool, Wales (NP4 7AG): Warren and Pell.
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* Ibarruri, Dolores (1976). They Shall Not Pass: the Autobiography of La Pasionaria (translated from El Unico Camino by Dolores Ibarruri). New York: International Publishers. ISBN 0-7178-0468-2.
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Web Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_civil_war

Who Sent What:

USSR sent to Spain:
800 planes (25 I-15/M-22 and 171 I-15/M-25), I-152; UTI-4, I-16 type 5, type 6, type 10; R-5; R-Z; SB-2)
350 tanks (~300 T-26; 50 BT-5)
120 arm.cars (80 BA-6; 33 FAI; 7 BA-I)
1500 guns (45mm, 76mm etc.)
20000+ MGs (DT, Maxim) ; ~500000 rifles (Mosin)
torp.boats, trucks, radiostations, searchlights, ammunition, fuel, and so on.
InterBrigades (31000 men):
9000 French, 3000 Germans, 3000 Poles, 3500 Italians, 2500 Americans, 2000 British, 1000 Chehoslovaks, 1000 Autsrians, also Yugoslavians, Hungarians, Scandinavians, Canadians, Belgians, Romanians...

Bf109-B1
Germany used in Spain:
650 planes (He51, He112, Ar69, Bf109B, Bf109C, Bf109E, Ju52, Ju86, Ju87, He45C, He46C, He59B, He60D, He70F, He111B, HS123, HS126, Do17E, Do17P, ..)
200 tanks (Pz.IA and Pz.IB)
military ships; over 700 guns (37mm PAK36, ..), infantry weapon and so on.

Fiat CR.32
Italy sent to Spain:
1000 planes (CR.32. CR32bis, Ro.37, G.50, SM.81, SM.79, CANT Z.501, CANT Z.506, BA.65, BR.20, CA.310)
150 tankettes (CV-3/33, CV-3/35, CVLF-3)
16 arm.cars (17M)
about 2000 guns (20mm, 47mm, 65mm, ..),
infantry weapon (incl. 240 000 rifles),
2 submarines and 4 destroyers,
8000 cars,
ammunition and so on

Also, German, Italian and even British fleets supported the rebels.
France acted against law-voted Spanish republican goverment, stopping weapon transit aid.

Some aerial combats
4th November 1936: the first I-15 combat. 11 Chatos led by P.V.Rychagov attacked 9 He51 and shot down 4 of them. (It's the one of few examples when the Republicans had number superiority. In most cases that was on the contrary, especially in the end of the war - because of huge German and Italian help to the Nationalists.) In the same day, I-15s downed and damaged some Fiats. Soviet planes had no combat losses, but 2 pilots mistakenly sat to an enemy airfield. The fascists killed them and cut one of them and drop his body parts in a box to Republican positions - what a chivalry...

6th November 1936: the first air combat over Madrid Junkerses and Fiats tried to bomb the capital again. But this time the Republicans have Soviet fighters and shot down 9 fascist planes.

November 1936: The big melee over 200 planes (I-15, I-16, R-5 vs He51, CR.32). the Republican losses: 4 planes ; the Nationalist losses: 15 planes

15th May 1937: the 1st downed Messerschmitt-109, the victory of Leopoldo Morquillas Rubio.

29th May 1937: German brand-new heavy cruiser "Deutschland" was attacked by two SB bombers (commanded by Ostryakov) which achieved two direct hits and one point-blank explosion. There were destroyed: the 3rd 150mm turret, the one of boilers, a hydroplane; 23 men killed and 77 wounded.

14 June 1937: 14 I-15 along with I-16 engaged big group of enemy planes (Ju52/3m, He46, He51, CR-32). Nationalists losses: 1 Junkers and 6 ftrs, Republican losses two I-15 and two I-16.

8th July 1937: the 1st Messerschmitt combat over Madrid. It was initiated as I-15's (10 planes) combat vs bigger number of Fiats (20..30). Three CR.32's were shot down; and one I-15 was flamed, but managed to ditch. Then 10 I-16's arrived and 8 Bf109's appeared too. In result two brand new German planes were shot down.

27th July 1937: the 1st night victory (a Junkers by Soviet pilot M.Yakushin). 1st September 1937, Belcite area: During the day Republicans managed to shot down at least 26 (downed to Republican territory) Nationalist planes by cost of only 2 own planes. 19 fascist pilots were POWed, including famous Carlos Bayo.

15th October 1937: ground strike to Garapinilios. It was the preventive and well-planed action which had great success. I.Eremenko was the flight leader of 64 ftrs. Two I-15 sqds led by Serov and Chindosvindo attacked the airfield by MG fire and little bombs. Four I-16 sqds led by Zarausa, Pleschenko, Devotchenko, Gusev wasted time in close escort, then strafed some ground targets too. Meanwhile 16 bmrs (SB-2's led by A.Senatorov) hit military targets of Saragossa. About 60 Nationalist planes (which were almost ready to take off to hit Republican airfields) were destroyed and damaged; AA batteries were caught at surprise and suppressed; 2 109's were flamed when they tried to scramble; fuel tanks and ammo storages blowed up; personnel barracks and just arrived buses with pilots were strafed. The Republicans had no losses.

5th September 1938: Intercept (I-16 vs Bf109, CR.32, Ju86).
the Republican losses: 2 Moscas ; the Nationalist losses: 6 CR.32's + 2 Bf109's + 2 Ju86's

The best mission of the time. In 1938, Sergey Gritsevets shot down 7 (seven!) Nationalist planes (incl. 5 Chirries) during one half of hour. The Soviet ace flew I-16 type 10, which one was badly damaged, but the talent pilot was able to land even in such situation. It was the best record until famous combat of Alexander Gorovets in 1943.

18th September 1938: 1st combat of I-16's type 10 equiped with instandart F-54 engine with improved hight-alt capabilities. In company with regular I-16's type 10 and I-15's eleven Bf109's were shot down with no Republican losses.

Web References:
http://wio.ru/spain/spain-a.htm