Spanish Civil War: Practices of War and the Impact on the Outcome Notes

Key Questions

1. Which side had the strongest armed forces at the outbreak of the war?
2. What was the impact of foreign intervention on the outcome of the war?
3. What was the role of the mobilisation of human and economic resources on the outcome of the war?

The Combatants of the War

1. Initial Balance and Shift

1. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, the Nationalists and Republicans fielded forces that were relatively balanced in size, with each controlling about half of the country’s garrisons and manpower.
   1. The Nationalists, however, had several strategic advantages from the outset, including better access to trained officers, a stronger core of professional soldiers, and crucial territorial control over much of Spain’s grain, livestock, and mineral production.
   2. Key cities like Seville and much of rural Andalusia quickly fell under Nationalist control, while the Republicans held Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and most of industrial Catalonia and the Basque Country.
   3. In the early months, the Republicans were able to mobilize large numbers of volunteers and retain loyalty from significant portions of the navy and air force.
2. Over time, however, the Nationalists benefited from more efficient mobilization, early foreign assistance, and a centralized command structure.
   1. By early 1938, the Nationalists had consolidated their territorial gains and achieved a significant numerical advantage, fielding about one-third more troops than the Republicans.
   2. This shift was aided by a steady influx of trained reinforcements, the systematic integration of regional forces under Franco’s leadership, and the progressive weakening of Republican unity.

2. Republican Forces

1. The Republican side brought together an unlikely coalition of groups united only by opposition to the Nationalist rebellion.
   1. This included loyal units from the pre-war army, workers’ militias, regional autonomy movements, and revolutionary socialists and anarchists.
   2. Prominent political and union organizations such as the CNT (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo), the FAI (Federación Anarquista Ibérica), and the POUM (Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista) raised their own armed units, which initially operated independently from government control.
2. In the early weeks, many militias armed themselves with whatever weapons were on hand, including hunting rifles, pistols, and looted army depot equipment.
   1. Supplies were inconsistent, with some units well-equipped and others desperately short of arms.
3. The militias were highly motivated and ideologically committed, but they often lacked formal training in tactics, military discipline, or logistics.
   1. Their loyalty was usually to their own political faction or locality rather than to the central Republican command.
4. Deep ideological differences hampered coordination.
   1. Anarchists pushed for an immediate social revolution, socialists sought to defend the Republic within a more traditional state structure, and communists, under Soviet influence, pushed for centralized authority.
   2. Local political priorities could take precedence over military strategy, as in Catalonia, where revolutionary collectivization of industry and agriculture often consumed more attention than front-line operations.
   3. This fragmentation created inefficiencies in supply distribution, planning, and leadership, with multiple command committees issuing conflicting orders.
5. Political tensions erupted in violent conflict within the Republican zone.
   1. In the May Days of 1937 in Barcelona, armed street fighting between anarchists, POUM members, and communist-aligned police and troops resulted in hundreds of casualties.
   2. These internal conflicts led to the resignation of Prime Minister Largo Caballero, who was replaced by Juan Negrín, a socialist with close ties to the Spanish Communist Party.
6. In September 1936, in an effort to bring order, the Republican leadership merged the militias into a centralized force known as the Ejército Popular de la República (Popular Army).
   1. This included the introduction of Soviet-style political commissars to enforce discipline and ideological unity.
   2. Soviet advisers provided training and oversaw the integration of modern weaponry such as T-26 tanks, artillery, and aircraft, which played key roles in battles such as Madrid and Guadalajara.
   3. Soviet-supplied aircraft like the Polikarpov I-16 fighter and the Tupolev SB-2 bomber allowed the Republicans to challenge Nationalist air superiority in certain campaigns, although chronic shortages of spare parts, fuel, and trained pilots remained an issue.

3. Nationalist Forces

1. The Nationalist camp was composed of rebel army units, right-wing militias, monarchists, and conservative factions such as the Carlists, along with the fascist-inspired Falange Española.
2. From the beginning, Franco and his allies enjoyed the loyalty of most senior army officers and access to the battle-hardened Army of Africa, elite Moroccan colonial troops renowned for their discipline and effectiveness.
   1. These Moroccan units, combined with Spanish Legionnaires, played decisive roles in the early seizure of territory in southern Spain and the rapid push towards Madrid in 1936.
3. The Nationalists quickly imposed compulsory military service in their territory, steadily increasing their manpower. By the end of the war, they commanded more than one million troops.
4. Franco’s leadership ensured a high degree of unity and centralized control, contrasting sharply with the Republican side’s fragmented decision-making.
5. Nationalist forces also benefited from immediate and large-scale military aid from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. This included aircraft such as the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Italian Fiat CR.32, as well as artillery, machine guns, and logistical support.
   1. German Panzer I tanks and Italian CV-33 tankettes provided armored mobility, though these were generally outclassed by Soviet T-26 tanks in direct combat. However, the Nationalists used them effectively in coordination with infantry and artillery to exploit breakthroughs.
   2. Airpower, particularly from the German Condor Legion, gave the Nationalists a decisive edge in bombing campaigns, as seen in the destruction of Guernica in 1937.
6. The Nationalists also maintained strong internal discipline and minimized internal political disputes, enabling them to focus on coordinated offensives and long-term strategic goals.

Strategic Operations

1. Early Days of the Insurrection

1. The early days of the insurrection saw the rebels take control of only one major city – Seville.
   1. All major industrial centres were in the government’s hands.
   2. The Nationalists’ best troops remained stranded in Morocco when the Spanish navy, which the generals had anticipated would carry the elite Moroccan army to the mainland, remained loyal to the government.
2. Logistical support for the uprising came from unlikely corners.
   1. The British Royal Navy at Gibraltar helped relay messages for the rebels.
   2. When the Spanish naval ships that were to transport the troops from North Africa to the Spanish mainland refused to join the revolt, Hitler ordered German transport planes to take up the slack and transport the Moroccan regulars to the mainland.
3. This marked the beginning of increasing international intervention in Spain.
4. These Moroccan troops were the most experienced in the Spanish army and would prove vital to the early survival and eventual success of the Nationalist cause.

2. Escalation and Retribution

1. After the initial uprising of the generals, it became evident that there would be no quick end to the rebellion.
2. Citizens on both sides took the opportunity afforded by the control of their respective sides to settle old scores with any number of political or even personal enemies.
   1. This led to a pattern of violent retribution whenever one side conquered new territory, further increasing the suffering of non-combatants.
3. Republican targets were generally Falange members and Catholic clergy.
4. The Nationalists sought out anarchists, communists, and trade union members.
5. Both sides eventually used sham legality in the form of tribunals to lend an air of legitimacy to the violence.
6. Fame was no protection from the vigilante violence – Nationalist militia in Granada executed the poet Federico García Lorca early in the war.

3. Republican Defence and Madrid Siege

1. Throughout most of the war, the Republican forces were generally on the defensive.
   1. They managed to stop a Nationalist offensive towards Bilbao, the Basque capital, in September 1936 and repulse the first of several attacks on Madrid in November of that year.
   2. After failing to conquer the capital city, Franco’s forces laid siege to it.
2. The resistance of Madrid would continue for three years and became the emotive rallying point for the Republic, immortalized in the words of Dolores Ibárruri, known as La Pasionaria, “No Pasarán!” (“They shall not pass!”).
3. Franco’s army was bolstered in 1937 by the arrival of more Italian and German troops and materials.
   1. He used this increase to launch two more attacks on Madrid, both of which failed.

4. Basque Region and the Fall of Bilbao'

1. The isolated Basque region was also a target of the Nationalists early in the year, leading to one of the most notorious atrocities of the war.
   1. The Basque region would hold out against Nationalist offensives until June 1937, when its capital, Bilbao, fell.
2. In March 1937 the Nationalists captured the Basque region in the north of Spain and its major industrial centre of Bilbao.
3. The Basque region was geographically isolated from the other Republican-held territory and could therefore not be reinforced.
   1. Command and control proved difficult due to both ideological and practical causes.
   2. Basque commanders, reflecting the fiercely independent personality of the Basques, ignored orders from Madrid and conducted the campaign as they saw fit.
4. From March to June the Nationalist forces pushed the defending Basques back to the city of Bilbao.
   1. Enjoying command of the skies over the region, the Nationalists had a distinct advantage.
   2. The Republicans’ air force could have challenged this command, but it was unwilling to risk its aircraft flying over Nationalist-held territory on its way to the Basque region.
   3. The defences around Bilbao were antiquated and undermanned, easily reduced by a combination of aerial bombardment and artillery fire.
5. By 10 June the defences were collapsing and the defenders abandoned the city to the Nationalists.

5. Guernica

1. By not contesting the Nationalist control of the skies over the Basque region in the north of Spain, the Republicans – by default – allowed the German Condor Legion to conduct a terror bombing campaign against Basque cities and towns.
   1. On 26 April the German Condor Legion launched an air attack on the Basque city of Guernica.
   2. The city was essentially undefended although it did dominate two important roads that led to Bilbao.
2. The decision to bomb the city was taken by Franco and carried out by the German commander Wolfram von Richthofen, cousin of the famous First World War flying ace Manfred von Richthofen known as the Red Baron.
3. The German bombers flew side by side, carpet bombing the city for two and a half hours.