'The Soul of Spain' - A Spanish Civil War HoI3 AAR

Hello folks. Let me step out of character for a moment to say welcome to my first AAR. A few points I would like to clear up before continuing.

1. The Spanish government will be run by the AI in all ways but for cases where a choice has to be made (Push the button). The military will be run by me, the player. The AI will control Diplomacy, Production, Technology, Politics, and Intelligence.

2. Outside of the above opening introduction I will unlike talk about the causes of the war again, as being half Spanish I understand how sensitive the topic is and I will focus only on the military actions much of the time.

3. I will report the action in a history book style with only a few out of character postings, mostly to point out interesting events or facts. For example, the real Spanish Civil War started in July.

I would also point out, just as a funny side note, that while waiting for the war to start, I was playing Cuba. As Cuba I used the Diplomacy screen to keep an eye on the Spanish Republic. And yes, in the start of January it saw Italy as the greatest threat. By the 15th it was Australia, by January 19th is was Germany. By February is was the Soviet Union and by the 24th, and up until the Civil War started, it thought the United Kingdom as the greatest threat. And that is even AFTER Italy defeated Ethiopia on the 26th of February.

Please enjoy and while advice is welcome I don't plan to do anything too "gamey". I plan to only play a day or so ahead of time, so the first chapters will be very detailed but very slow.
Also remember I don't control the government - I am but a humble soldier of the fatherland.

Gormytorysh said:

I'll be tagging along to see how this first AAR from your hands will turn out. Good luck and have fun!

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Thanks! I am about to put up the first chapter - a kind of overview. It IS kind of fun reorganizing the armed forces. Of course I had a detailed idea on how to organize everything and that went into the trash basket once I started going over the forces available. :laugh:

On paper, the Nationalist forces did not look, at first glance, to be in a bad position.


At the top was the La Coruna Headquarters (which for some reason had been named the Seville HQ) commanded by Mola Vidal. Under him was 1 Army Group commanded by Sanjurgo Sacanell (who was, with the Nationalist Tanks already attacking Madrid).

Under the Army Group was 5 Corps, who had a total of 11 Infantry Divisions (26 Brigades), 3 Mountain Divisions (6 Brigades), 2 Cavalry Divisions (5 Brigades), 3 Infantry Support* Units (3 Brigades), 1 Cavalry Support* Unit (1 Brigade), 1 Tank (Light) Support Unit* (1 Brigade).


Out of this list 6 of the Infantry Brigades were either in Spanish Morocco or on the Mediterranean Islands.

That list of forces did not include the units that answered directly to the La Coruna HQ. There were some units that just did not fit anywhere into the command structure, or refused to take orders from anybody lower down the chain of command, and therefore answered directly to the Theater HQ.

There was a Colonial Militia unit (which many in the high command dismissed as not being useful) and 2 Colonial Guards (2 Brigades worth) in the African colonies.

Then there were the 'Fronts'.

The Zaragoza Front, commanded by d'Harcount had 3 infantry brigades under his command attacking Zaragoza.

Then there was the Cartagena Front, led by Gambara who, as far as anybody could tell, had no troops to speak of. Yet, he was attacking Cartagena with just his HQ staff.

Sadly, even though many of this units were tossed into the flames of conflict the second the rebellion started, none had been given a chance to mobilize before hand, being under the watchful eye of the Republican command. Only now were they trying to bring themselves up to strength.

In fact, Mola Vidal was fighting for his life, as the Infantry Division stationed within La Coruna stayed loyal to the Republic!

Still, Franco, Chief of Staff and of the Army, felt the size and the starting positions of the ground forces would allow them, with careful planning, to push back the Republican forces.



Then there was the air force which had joined the Nationalist side in mass. 2 Tactical Groups ( 3 Wings), 1 Interceptor Group (3 Wings), and 1 Strategic Bomber Group (2 Wings).


Sadly, none of the air fields were in secure areas and the first act of this force was to flee (though the Chief of the Air force, Alfredo Kindelan Duany, preferred the term ‘rebase’) to southern Spain, in Seville.

All air units would under the direct control of the La Coruna HQ, if they survived, to support ground offensives.


The Navy seemed to be split and intelligence on what the Republic had available was limited, which upset both Franco and Nicolas Franco Bahamode (who was Chief of the Navy). What the Nationalist did receive were 2 Light Cruisers, 1 Flotilla of Destroyers, 2 Flotillas of Transport Ships, and a Flotilla of C'-Class Subs.


While a few government members were worried about the Republican Naval forces, as it was believed to have at least one battleship, the Nationalist Naval Officers were quick to point out that the war would be decided on land. As the National troops took ports the Republican Navy would find itself homeless.

In the mean time the force was being sent to the port of Mallorca. The coastal ports they had been stationed in were in the hands of the Republic.

But unlike the air forces who were not able to even suggest a plan of action yet the Navy already had a plan. First, the subs would be used for convey hunting, trying to hurt the Republic's industry by blocking incoming resources. In fact Mallorca’s port would make a perfect base for the subs, allowing it to patrol the coast of Spain.

A few pointed out that any supplies from friendly nations would likely come from the Atlantic or over the border with France. And while the Navy admitted this to be true they pointed out that in order for the subs to work in the Atlantic, they needed a secure port for access to it. And La Coruna, while perfect for such an operation, was full of Republican ships.

Second, they continued to explain their plan, the transports, starting with the islands, would move the Infantry Brigades back to Spain, to reinforce their fellow brothers in arms.

Then those same transports, escorted by the warships, could carry out the more dangerous task of picking up the military units from Africa.

Franco, understanding the value of the ships and the fact that they would not be replaceable any time soon, gave his blessing and any one who felt the Navy should take a more active part in the war kept it to themselves.

As the government officials, general staff, and bureaucrats organized themselves they kept close to their radios. The first battles would very likely be the most important ones...

* Any Division found to have only one Brigade was either merged with another unit to make a "proper" Division (this in fact only happened once) or, if found to be in a good position or already in combat, renamed a Support Unit.

(Sorry about any spelling mistakes)

The first day felt so slow to the government officials and command staff waiting for news from the front. While they moved about the storage rooms, military offices, and meeting chambers, which made them look very busy, there was in fact little for them to do. The plans, those that could be made, were being carried out. Most of the work now was packing what was not needed or thought of as not to important, as the Capital of the Nationalist Government had been picked and, soon, many of the workers, files, and even desks would be moved to Burgos (once it was completely secure)*.

Of course the move could take weeks and maybe longer if access by sea was blocked by Republican ships.


The list of battles seemed so long to them yet all they could do is wait, till something happened. Rumors were already being produced. The Republicans had been defeated. The Republicans had won. The French would invade to save the Republic. The French would invade to annex the Republic.


While they waited, there were a few changes made to the chain of command, the equivalent of busy work.

First the Zaragoza Front and the Cartagena Front were put under the command of the 1 Army Group. It was felt that the Theater HQ was a tad too busy to deal with General Gambara's demands at the moment.

Franco was also in multiply meetings with the heads of state, as there was many discussions the next moves, but not just of the military forces. But the next moves of Nationalist Spain in general. Once Spain was united under rule of law, what would the goals of the reborn nation be? What would they demand from their men, their women, their people?

There was great debate about this. Many felt that there had been far too much change already. While others realized that time stood for no man or nation.


Around 3:00 there were reports of Republican units launching their own attacks. This caused some alarm but it was pointed out by many of the more senior and older staff that the enemy was bound to react sooner or later. It wasn't like they would just sit down and let themselves be killed!


Around 9:00, The Chief of the Air force then announced his units had settled into their quarters and Franco ordered them back into the air to launch attacks against the enemy. Because of the need to refuel and arm, the aircraft would not start to deliver their deadly payloads to the battlefields until just after 10:00. By 13:00 Madrid was also being bombed.



While this was going on, the navy transports were docking in Mallorca, preparing to take on the Infantry Support Brigade. The Infantry Division stationed on Menorca, made up of 2 Brigades, were already using tug boats, fishing boats, and other private craft to move to Mallorca. That way they would be picked up after the transports had delivered the Support Brigade.

By 15:00 the Naval officers were pleased to announce that the subs had left port and had started on their patrols. Any ship carrying goods for the Republic of Spain that used the Strait of Gibraltar would be taking a chance of being sunk.


At 21:00, while people were refilling their coffee mugs and a few cots were being placed in the hallways, it was announced that the Italians were offering to help the cause. Franco, while busy in one of his meetings, took some time out to made sure that the answer passed back to the Italian government was 'Yes'.


The first results from the battlefields came in from Ciudad Rodrigo. While victorious the fact that the Nationalists had suffered twice the amount of casualties was slightly upsetting.

Soon two more reports came in.

A victory at Salvaleon cost the Nationalist 2 men and the Republicans 5. It is likely some of those Republican casualties were caused by the attacking aircraft.


At Villafranca del Bierzo the Nationalist victory cost nothing as Republican’s forces, no doubt not prepared for the combat, stopped the attack. The Republican officers who launched the attack may have done so more out of zeal and less out of sound military reasoning.

By the end of the day, the numbers were added up. The Republican Forces had lost 15 men. The Nationalists had lost 19 soldiers.

It looked like a long war ahead.


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* At the time the Nationalist leadership and command centers were housed in Seville which may explain the confusion about what the Theater HQ's name was meant to be.
** Not all battles listed.

(Sorry about any spelling mistakes)

Gormytorysh said:

Your ministers aren't the best but I've also seen worse. What does your production screen look like? Also, do you have any decent generals? Just asking out of curiousity .

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I, in fact, have a screenshot for my next chapter which will show the production screen. It has one unit on it. You will have to wait and see what the AI selected. I don
t agree with the selection but that's me. I am but a lowly army commander.

My generals I carefully selected for their units and the landscape they could be fighting in and I think they will do well. I think they are decent for what I need them to do. I can't seem to give any 1 brigade units a leader and I am not sure if I am not allowed to or if my mouse is acting up. The enemy seems to be able to put leaders into 1 brigade Divisions...why can't I? :unsure:

After Midnight, in the earlier hours of April 10th, a government announcement was released, not just to those loyal to Nationalist Spain, but to the world. Franco and his people were gearing up for war.


A series of laws have been passed that would mobilize the nation's industry, increase military service, and repress freedom of speech and freedom of the press.


After that surprise nothing happened for a few more hours.


Then slightly before 4:00 there came news of a battle having broken out in Tenerife, a tiny chain of islands off the western coast of Africa, between Republican forces and one of the Colonial Guard units. Reports clearly showed that the Republicans had launched the attack and seemed, so far, to be winning.


Outside of the fact that many staff members couldn't find the islands on a map, the fighting made very little sense, as the chain of islands were quite worthless. In the long run, victory would be decided in Spain. Who ever won in Tenerife would have to wait till the end of the war to see if they were on the winning side. Or the losing side.


The news of this battle was soon pushed to one side when it became known that Germany was asking if the Nationalist needed any help and, of course, Franco said yes to that also.


By 15:00, outside of Burgos, the Capital of Nationalist Spain, a new Corps of Infantry had been formed. The Nationalist had created the 11.6 Corps out of an already existing Spanish Division, plus two new "Spanish" Divisions made up of "Volunteers" from Italy and Germany. Once commissioned and properly equipped the Corps headed in a South-by-Southwest direction, to join the fighting between the city of Madrid and the border with Portugal.


In doing so they had, in fact, also created a second Spanish Division as the original Division had 4 Brigades and it was felt that making them into two would be more effective. So in fact the Nationalist had three new Divisions on the map.

Reports came in from the latest bombing run on Madrid, that the enemy units inside the city had increased. At first this seemed to alarm many of the younger clerks, government employees, and other support staff until one of the junior officers pointed out that the more units poured into Madrid to protect it the less units out on the battlefields fighting against their brave soldiers.

This seemed to calm people down just a tad.


At 17:00 the Navy reported that the 115.2 Infantry Support Unit had landed on the coast, in the province of Lloret de Mar, and was now heading west.

The idea was that such a tiny unit could not hope to take one of the coastal cities but COULD help cut Republican Spain from France and mainland Europe. At least for a short period of time before reinforces arrived.


To the northwest, things were not looking so good for the Theater HQ. While it seemed to be slowly winning the battle, it looked like Republican forces were slowly absorbing the provinces in that region of Spain. Either Mola Vidal had to somehow win the battle soon or disengage and flee the area, to reorganize and return with greater forces. Both were unlikely to happen in the minds of the Nationalist Generals and even Mola Vidal, when he could be contacted via wireless, preferred that the energy and men of the military focus on other areas of the Spain.

Before midnight arrived there was a rumor that the government had commissioned the first new military unit to be created under the new regime. It seemed there had been some heated debates behind closed doors. Many people trying to sleep in the hallways heard a lot of loud voices talking about fuel and man power. When it was finally announced that the new military unit would be a Tank Division there was a few raised eyebrows but nobody said anything. At least not in front of the leaders themselves.

While many people ended up sleeping in that morning due to exhaustion. Therefore only a few operators manning the radios or a few curious staff members checking on the military bulletin boards noticed that the aerial attacks against Republican forces had continued through the night.


In fact, after Franco’s ordering them into battle, the Air Force had kept up their attacks, only stopping to rest, eat, refuel, load their bays with more bombs and their weapons with more ammo. While the bombers flew into Republican air space the fighters searched the sky, to keep it clear of enemy aircraft.

While the Nationalist leadership assumed they had the whole of the pre-war Republican Air Force there was no telling when Madrid may receive planes. If Germany and Italy was willing to send men to help the rebellion who was to say some other country might not send planes to help the Republicans?


Franco was very interested in what the outside world was thinking. Yet while a few nations might see Nationalist Spain as a threat the only one that mattered to him was Portugal. Much of the fighting was happening right on the Spanish-Portuguese border. A attack by Portugal against his troops, in support of the Republic, could be devastating.

The irony was is seemed the Republican government still thought that the United Kingdom was the greatest threat to Spain and continued, on the radio, in the cinema, in the printed word, to attack the English with a passion.


By 7:00 most were up to notice the increased activity over the wireless and in many of the military meeting rooms. The 112.4 Infantry Division had finally met with the 112.1 Infantry Support Unit in Spanish Morocco and both were now heading east, towards Melilla, where a Republican unit was coming from the east. It has been noticed days ago, though how it had gotten there was a mystery.

After things had calmed down a tad again Franco, and his staff, used this time wisely to go over the big picture, and direct a few units here and there, to keep up the pressure on the Republican forces. One of the tactical air groups was redirected towards a fresh target, a division here was ordered into battle, so on, so forth.


The fighting on Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, was still going on and still looked like a Republican victory. On the other hand, many on-the-spot observers reported that the condition of the enemy unit was, in some causes, worse than the Colonial Guard it was fighting. It was highly likely that in victory the enemy unit would be totally useless afterwards.

Also, it seemed that the 115.3 Infantry Division on Menorca had been forced to stop their deployment to Mallorca due to some Republican naval activity in the area. They would try again when night fell to see if they could do so without being spotted.


The rest of Spain was, to be honest, a mess. There were few suggestions of any thing close to being a front, no matter how many times both sides used that term in their media.


At 14:00 news came that one of the many battles had finally ended. The Nationalist units had won at Badajoz with the cost of 38 killed or wounded. The cost for the Republicans has been 58.

Shortly after that another report came over the wireless. The Nationalists had won the battle for Almendralejo but at the cost of 59 soldiers. The Republicans had only lost 10.

Therefore the total for three days of fighting was 116 soldiers of the Nationalist cause against 75 of the Republican troops.

Franco went to bed, with a dark expression on his face, but also a thoughtful one. If only the Nationalists could some how get the upper hand....

Thanks folks! I got the idea of using AI to run the government when playing Germany. I needed to focus on the Military AIs more without all the windows and alerts getting in my way so I handed the government over to the AIs. They changed a few people in the leadership positions, made a few deals and, bang, I didn't have to worry about the government any more. Course, they started building all naval units....hmy:

I did have to CHEAT once in this AAR so far - the AIs do not seem to be able to change the laws (or refused to do so at the time) so I had to change them myself. It did not seem gamey and made sense at the time any way.

DarthShizNit said:

VIVA LA REPUBLIC!!! You cannot stand against the glorious might of the people!!!

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Don't make me put you in the comforty chair and poke you with cushions!

Hello folks! What I am going to show you here is what the AI government has been up to, or is doing as of April 12th. It is not doing what I would do but, to be honest, as long as it keeps my men fed and my guns loaded that’s all I care about.

Just as long as it does not start a war with the USA.








By the way, this is the German game I played, if anybody is interested in seeing how well Theater AIs can do on their own (and where I got the idea for this AAR :
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...As-Germany&p=18195929&viewfull=1#post18195929

Franco was feeling depressed when he woke early the next morning. He felt the need to do something, to change the way the war was going. Even if the Nationalist won victory after victory they were paying too high a cost for it. What was the point of winning the war against the Republic if France could walk in right afterwards because there was no army to defend the Spanish borders?

By 8:00 some bad news came over the radio. The 115.3 Infantry Division, which had been trying to deploy from Menorca to Mallorca, had become so disorganized that it could take up to the 20th of April (at the earliest) to properly transfer to Mallorca’s port.


Instead of getting upset Franco decided to put the transports, who would have spent the time just waiting around, to good use.


He ordered them to Laayoune to pick up the 2 Colonial Guard. It was a dangerous move, yes, but both he and the Naval officers preferred it to inaction.


Alfredo also suggested that the Interceptor Group, which was doing nothing but patrolling empty skies, be sent down to Laayoune also. There was an airfield there. Why not launch ground attacks on the Republicans in the Canary Islands? It would help the 1 Colonial Guard and maybe turn the tide of battle.

“Excellent!” said Franco as he finally started on his breakfast. “Once we win the battle we can pick them up also. Instead of sitting out the war in the middle of no where. Every man counts!”

Yet at around 19:00 Alfredo was forced to report, to his embarrassment, that the leader of the Interceptor Group, Sala Larrauzabal, had sent a message of failure. The airplanes were not capable of launching ground assaults against the Republican infantry.

Franco ordered them back to the mainland and went back to his, now, ruined late lunch.


His digestion would be farther troubled by the report, at 20:00 that the 1 Navy Group had run into the Republican naval forces, which included BOTH of their Battleships, the Jaime I and the Espana.


As they waited for news of victory or defeat for the Nationalist Navy, two reports came in, almost on top of each other. One was the fact that another battle at Badajoz had flared up.


But the second report announced that the battle was over, the Nationalists had won and neither side had lost a man.


Franco had a late dinner and went to bed, feeling even more depressed then before. Being a career officer he knew that the results from the naval battle might not come in till the next day and decided, like a good soldier, to get as much sleep as he could while he had the time.

blklizard said:

How much progress are you making thus far? I'm not familiar with the HOI3 map so I couldn't tell if you are making progress or not.

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Not really much in the way of progress. The Republicans have taken a few provinces in the northwest and some of my units, not in combat, are trying doing the same. But it is slow going and nothing has really been gained by either side. Not yet. What has to happen before I can make any real gains is some of their Divisions have to die. Then I can fight a "two" front war. One against their units and one against their cities.

When Franco woke up late that morning he was greeted with a report waiting for him on his breakfast tray from Zaragoza.


The Republican forces, after four days of fighting, had broken. The Battle for Zaragoza was a Nationalist victory. The cost? 3 soldiers. And the Republicans? They had lost 280!


Still, this did little to cheer him up.

Franco was a very patient man. He was known for being practical, calm, and a great believer of self-control. As a young officer he never drank and never went out when he had free time. He was always a hard worker and a harsh disciplinarian.

But right now he could not hide his worry. Ironically, it was not about the war ships. It was the transport ships. If they could escape...

Around noon the Chief of the Navy, Nicolas, sent a pretty officer with the bad news. They had lost contact with the destroyers. Either they had been sunk and so badly damaged they had fled the battle. The rest of the fleet had not yet been able to disengage. They were, basically, outnumbered and outgunned.

The rest of the day was slow and nothing come over the wires till around 17:00 when the news of the Army’s first defeat was announced.


The Battle of Ledesma was a Republican victory. They had lost 25 soldiers verses the Nationalists losing 104.

Much of the staff tried to brush off the numbers. After all, that was just one victory for the Republican government while the Nationalist leadership had seven! The total amount of causalities was now 223 for the rebellion when compared to the 380 the Left-wingers had suffered.

Franco tried to put on a calm face. A almost cheerful face for the government staff, his officers, and for the media.

He did not point out how the Republicans, in the northwest, had taken a few provinces without a shot being fired. He knew, as many of them did, that gaining land was not as important as destroying the Republican army on the battlefield. The land would likely change hands a couple of times before the war ended.

The lone victory for the enemy did not worry him. His worry was about the naval battle.

What of the transport ships?