So I take it now would also be a bad time to mention the German rugby teams less than stellar results?
Same answer there.
This time we try the indirect route to World Domination.-
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Same answer there.
This time we try the indirect route to World Domination.
Surprising decision by the Spanish Monarchy, hopefully it'll lead to a more democratic and reasonable Spain although Azaña's government is going to alienate many conservatives and he's probably going to lose a lot of credibility on the left now he's working with the establishment.
Part Three: The Dogs of War.
22. Double betrayal.
One could think that Azaña's attempt was going to be a short-lived one when, on the next day to his arrival to power, a sea of people rolled into the streets of Madrid on June 7th. Expecting machine-gun fire as they marched to the barracks and Government buidlings, the inhabitants of Madrid that that day were demonstrating for freedom were prepared to march to their death, carrying placards: "Brothers, don't shoot!". In the rear, however, some carried arms. With grim determination they marched to their fate, with a sense of foreboding and ill omen, a proper day for dying.
And then, nothing happened. The soldiers did not shoot. They threw open the barracks and helped to hoist the red and black flags and joined the masses. Or, like the police guards of several districts, just unstrapped their weapons and went home. There was some bloodshed when a few officers fired when the workers entered into the room they had barricaded themselves. There was blood, indeed, but it was the other side the responsible for that.
The Carcel Modelo, a well know prison of Madrid, with the barricades erected
by the workers when they thought that they were to have to besiege the building.
A sense of celebration overcame the city, as the duped readiness to face death has left them with a odd feeling. The masses began to organize itself, and they occupied the railway stations, the main post officers and several newspapers. Unguarded Government buildings were left untouched, as it was said that they were occupied buy the "People's Government". Then, someone shouted "To the Palace!". And they marched towards the Palacio de Oriente, the royal residence. But they king was not there. He had fled to Toledo that very morning.
Then Azaña found himself facing the masses, and was betrayed by one of his own, who also betrayed the king. It is not know whether Julio Álvarez del Vayo meant what he said, thinking that Azaña could do undo it later on or if he was a traitor. Anyway, del Vayo annouced that the king had just abdicated -which was not true- and, here and there, he rushed to proclame the Free Socialist Republic of Spain.
Azaña raged when he heard that, but the masses were happy and just went back home, while some determined wrokers began to form a popular council in the Senate that they had just "liberated". Azaña berated del Vayo for his act, a turbulent, random, unlected and, worse still, eficient parliament that was organizing itself.
When he knew taht and despairing of any peaceful solution, Azaña sold his soul to the devil and called to the General Headquarters, not knowing that the "Popular Senate" had agreed on creating a body to overrule Azaña's government and decided to meet on the next day to elect its members. Azaña could not find not a single general willing to collaborate with him, the president of the "Socialist Republic" and it was until the next morning, on June 8th, when he talked with General Francisco Franco, who promised to send his troops to quell the rebellion. Azaña was relieved. At least a decent person whom one could tak sensibly!
Ironically, the rebellion had defeated itself by then. The election of the "Soviet" that was to overrule Azaña turned soon into a farse, when its leaders -la Pasionaria, José Díaz and several others- began to fight between them for achieving the victory of their particular vision of how the Soviet had to be organized. It was their tragedy that they could not see the enemies they had created themselves on the Right. They could only see their old familiar enemies on the Left. Then the workers began to shout their own proposals. And then the soldiers. And then the waiters. And then... and then chaos ensued. The day ended with no decision taken. The election was to be postponed to the next day.
Dolóres Ibarruri, la Pasionaria, during the meeting at the Las Ventas,
the famous bullring where the meetings of early June took place.
That day Azaña was present in the election and managed to defeat La Pasionaria and the extremists. He persuaded the turbulent mass to celebrate free elections for a National Assembly, while rejecting the Soviet as a provisional government while that. Amazingly, the workers accepted that. There he defeated himself by promising something that was to create him an eternal enemy: the army. Agreeing to the pressure of the soldiers, he agreeded to allow that the Soldier's Councils were to have supreme command, under the control of the People's Commissars, that is, him; those Councils were to have also disciplinary powers, and officers were to be elected freely and, finally, there was no need to show any deference to superior officers outside service hours.
Happy, everyone went home thinking they have won. The workers and the soldiers believed that they had the power. Azaña, that he had struck down the revolution in Madrid. Just a man was not happy: Francisco Franco.
On June 9th, Madrid was awakened by the roar of the cannons.
@trekaddict: Don't worry. Whitehall has a cunning plan.
@Sudaxe: Just the Reborn British Empire.
@FlyingDutchie: Who is going to save the Left from itself?
@Zhuge Liang: Well, it's not the first time that the Spanish Monarchy sees one of its decisions backfiring ("Let's go to Bayona and see what had this nice fellow called Napoleon in store for us".)
PS: I'm afraid that the "Madrid question" is taking me a bit too much to solve it that expected... Be patient, folks... It¡s almost over.
22. Double betrayal.
One could think that Azaña's attempt was going to be a short-lived one when, on the next day to his arrival to power, a sea of people rolled into the streets of Madrid on June 7th. Expecting machine-gun fire as they marched to the barracks and Government buidlings, the inhabitants of Madrid that that day were demonstrating for freedom were prepared to march to their death, carrying placards: "Brothers, don't shoot!". In the rear, however, some carried arms. With grim determination they marched to their fate, with a sense of foreboding and ill omen, a proper day for dying.
And then, nothing happened. The soldiers did not shoot. They threw open the barracks and helped to hoist the red and black flags and joined the masses. Or, like the police guards of several districts, just unstrapped their weapons and went home. There was some bloodshed when a few officers fired when the workers entered into the room they had barricaded themselves. There was blood, indeed, but it was the other side the responsible for that.
The Carcel Modelo, a well know prison of Madrid, with the barricades erected
by the workers when they thought that they were to have to besiege the building.
A sense of celebration overcame the city, as the duped readiness to face death has left them with a odd feeling. The masses began to organize itself, and they occupied the railway stations, the main post officers and several newspapers. Unguarded Government buildings were left untouched, as it was said that they were occupied buy the "People's Government". Then, someone shouted "To the Palace!". And they marched towards the Palacio de Oriente, the royal residence. But they king was not there. He had fled to Toledo that very morning.
Then Azaña found himself facing the masses, and was betrayed by one of his own, who also betrayed the king. It is not know whether Julio Álvarez del Vayo meant what he said, thinking that Azaña could do undo it later on or if he was a traitor. Anyway, del Vayo annouced that the king had just abdicated -which was not true- and, here and there, he rushed to proclame the Free Socialist Republic of Spain.
Azaña raged when he heard that, but the masses were happy and just went back home, while some determined wrokers began to form a popular council in the Senate that they had just "liberated". Azaña berated del Vayo for his act, a turbulent, random, unlected and, worse still, eficient parliament that was organizing itself.
When he knew taht and despairing of any peaceful solution, Azaña sold his soul to the devil and called to the General Headquarters, not knowing that the "Popular Senate" had agreed on creating a body to overrule Azaña's government and decided to meet on the next day to elect its members. Azaña could not find not a single general willing to collaborate with him, the president of the "Socialist Republic" and it was until the next morning, on June 8th, when he talked with General Francisco Franco, who promised to send his troops to quell the rebellion. Azaña was relieved. At least a decent person whom one could tak sensibly!
Ironically, the rebellion had defeated itself by then. The election of the "Soviet" that was to overrule Azaña turned soon into a farse, when its leaders -la Pasionaria, José Díaz and several others- began to fight between them for achieving the victory of their particular vision of how the Soviet had to be organized. It was their tragedy that they could not see the enemies they had created themselves on the Right. They could only see their old familiar enemies on the Left. Then the workers began to shout their own proposals. And then the soldiers. And then the waiters. And then... and then chaos ensued. The day ended with no decision taken. The election was to be postponed to the next day.
Dolóres Ibarruri, la Pasionaria, during the meeting at the Las Ventas,
the famous bullring where the meetings of early June took place.
That day Azaña was present in the election and managed to defeat La Pasionaria and the extremists. He persuaded the turbulent mass to celebrate free elections for a National Assembly, while rejecting the Soviet as a provisional government while that. Amazingly, the workers accepted that. There he defeated himself by promising something that was to create him an eternal enemy: the army. Agreeing to the pressure of the soldiers, he agreeded to allow that the Soldier's Councils were to have supreme command, under the control of the People's Commissars, that is, him; those Councils were to have also disciplinary powers, and officers were to be elected freely and, finally, there was no need to show any deference to superior officers outside service hours.
Happy, everyone went home thinking they have won. The workers and the soldiers believed that they had the power. Azaña, that he had struck down the revolution in Madrid. Just a man was not happy: Francisco Franco.
On June 9th, Madrid was awakened by the roar of the cannons.
@trekaddict: Don't worry. Whitehall has a cunning plan.
@Sudaxe: Just the Reborn British Empire.
@FlyingDutchie: Who is going to save the Left from itself?
@Zhuge Liang: Well, it's not the first time that the Spanish Monarchy sees one of its decisions backfiring ("Let's go to Bayona and see what had this nice fellow called Napoleon in store for us".)
PS: I'm afraid that the "Madrid question" is taking me a bit too much to solve it that expected... Be patient, folks... It¡s almost over.
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That was spectacularly stupid. I mean really "Greek Campaign" level of stupid, were he not a politician I'd struggle to believe anyone could make such a f*ck up.
A serious question, did anyone ever actually propose elected officers? Even by the low standards of Communism it just seems a bit ridiculous.
Didn't the Red Army have them before they got a royal Shoeing at the hands of ze Germanz or someone and then Trotsky reinstatet the Traditional Idea of the Officer?
My understanding was the idea of elected officers never actually got past the 'That's a nice idea' stage, something for theorists to discuss while everyone else ignored. However I may well be wrong on that point.
Also the interweb reports the Confederates in the US Civil War had elected company-level officers. However as senior officers were appointed and there was a military board to veto any elected officers I'm not sure that counts.
Ah yes.. the infamous 'Officers' of the ACW. On both sides some turned out well, Lee, Grant and perhaps Jackson come to mind while most didn't.
Well this is certainly a mess and it looks like none of the factions are in any way organised by this point (if it's even clear what the factions are) so this is the perfect chance for someone like Franco to step in. Everyone's embarking on their various schemes to seize power or create a new Spain but is anyone listening to the Monarchy at this point? The masses clearly no longer respect it and Franco never struck me as a man who was keen on having anyone above him.
Part Three: The Dogs of War.
23. The Crisis.
In the morning hours of June 9th, Revolution and Counter-Revolution fought a bloody battle on the streets of Madrid. Seemingly, Revolution won. Then it gave victory away.
Since the beginning of the Revolution, the mood of the troops was an enygma. Both Azaña and Franco hoped to use them to liquidate the Revolution. The soldiers, on their part, only wanted to go home, with their families. Only the officers were left - and those among the men who liked being soldiers. The Madrid garrison which still held the balance of power had shown that in their present if reduced condition, it was of more use to the Counter-Revolution that to the Revolution.
But there was an exception. It was, oh what an irony, the Royal Guard (Guardia Real), an independent unit of the Spanish Army dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and the members of the Royal Family. It was formed by the soldiers who had not deserted or abandoned the unit once the King fled. They were nothing but several hundred men, who had been arrested first by the Provisional Government, and then returned by the military to their barracks and kept under close eye.
It was sheer bad luck or, bearing in mind that we are talking about Spain (1), just fate, that they were billeted to the Royal Palace of Madrid, also known as the Palacio de Oriente (Orient Palace, or Far East Palace), the official residence of the King of Spain in the city of Madrid. Then Azaña decided to disband the unity. The Royal Guard was suddenly "suspected" of being "Syndicalist" and was now held to blame for the looting of the palace, which they had, in fact, stopped. They were to be moved from the palace and their strenght reduced to three hundred men. To pressure them, the pay was held back the same very day that the people conquered the streets of Madrid (June 7th).
That was Azaña's (another) big mistake. The unit, hardly six hundred men right now, felt cheated by its own government. This ridiculous situation led to a grimly serious situation. The unit felt that its survival was at stake. And their wanted their money. So they asked for it. No answer came back.
Then the patience of the Guardsmen ran out. At noon they went, not to the command, but directly to see Azaña. That movement caused a crisis. Azaña's government panicked and the soldiers were treated as the enemy and sent packing with a verdict: hand over the keys of the palace and you'll get your pay. Two hours later they were back, with the keys, but also with their guns. The Guardsmen, led by a coronel called Granados, asked to be taken to meet Azaña. But the president had just fled.
Thus, they were taken to the first available minister that the terrified civil servant could find, Santiago Carrillo, and the Guardsmen handed him the keys. Carrillo phoned the War Minister, Indalecio Prieto. Carrillo told Prieto that he should now pay up, but Prieto answered that he had no instructions from Azaña, that he was unable to contact the president -no wonder, bearing in mind he was running away (2)- and thus refused to comply. Carrillo, with a huge grin, send the Guardsmen to argue about that with Prieto.
Alàs! Now the Guardsmen's patience was at end. They barred all exists from the palace, occupied the telephone exchange and cut the lines. The "Popular Government" was under house arrest. The Guardsmen could have arrested most of the members of the government and shot them. If they had wanted to. But all they wanted was their pay. And now they were really furious.
Azaña was informed of that move when he had reached Franco's headquarters, for once, was able to think fast and clearly. Who had the arms? Who was the stronger? Thundering, he phoned Prieto to pay them at once. He would never again consider it wise to refuse revolutionary soldiers its pay. However, General Franco had to spoil everything.
The Guardsmen had their pay. The government had the keys. Then, as they left the building, an armoured car followed by some truck filled with troops appeared outside and fired at them. There were three dead. Now the Guardsmen stormed the building and arrested the ministers. They were dragged to the Royal Palace, beaten and threatened to be put to death on the way. A panicked civil servant, who managed to run away arrived to a police station to give the alarm.
When news arrived to Franco, he was quite appalled. However, if his first solution had backfired, he decided to strike boldy. He muttered "I shall arrange at once for loyal troops to liberate them" and began to act. All the units which were still loyal to the government -or to Franco- were gathered in the environs of Madrid and sent to storm the Royal Palace.
It is not clear how the Guardsmen came to know about the approaching troops, but, when the heavily armed columns advanced, shouldering their rifles and with horse-drawn field guns, they found the entire Royal Guard facing them, battle-ready. If one side did not withdraw, fighting would ensue here and there. General Franco headed one of the columns. He had proved his courage in action in Morocco, where he had been severly wounded. However, now he was not quite keen of heading a charge against soldiers armed with modern rifles and machine guns, and moved to the back.
There is disagreement about what took place then, but, somehow, the loyalist troops charged and the guns thundered. The battle lasted, with interruptions to eat, until noon, and ended in the defeat of the Loyalist troops. Their artillery failed to defeat the Guardsmen, and when workers, women and children appeared on the scene, pouring out of the side streets, their appareance demoralized the government troops and began to change sides. The Guardsmen were puzzled by the black and red flags, but were happy to see the end of the battle.
Franco ordered his troops the clear the battle area and departed, unmolested. The Guardsmen returned to their quarters. Both sides carried off their dead and wounded, whose numbres remain unknown to this day. Azaña began to pack his belongings, ready to abandon the city. He repeated over and over "It cannot go on like this... One simply cannot govern like this". But nothing happened. The revolution had no leadership and it did not see the chance to take power. In fact, the Royal Guard did not bother about the revolution at all. This was probably the biggest favour they could do to Azaña.
Oe the day following to the Revolution's first and only military victory in Madrid, that is, on June 10th, its decisive political defeat took place, when Azaña, in a desperate bid had formed a "Government of Socialist Unity". Now the political Left had disintegrated itself. The Radicals departed and formed the Spanish Worker's Syndicalist Party (PSOE - Partido Sindicalista de los Trabajadores Españoles), led by La Pasionaria and José Diaz. However, no one cared a jot about them.
A "provisional Revolutionary Commitee" was formed, but with no real executive power, a paper tiger. It issued a proclamation for the renewed mass gathering on the next day, June 10th, that filled the streets. And nothing happened. The soldiers, workers, women and children waited for an order to take power. Their leaders remained silent. The day grew darker. And no order came. The food had been eaten and hunger returned. By the end of the afternoon, the massed began to go home. By evening they had dispersed. Then the "commitee" issued their statement. But there was no one to listen to them. Madrid lay deserted.
Then the army, reinforced with swaths of Royalist militias, began to enter into Madrid, again. The day of reckoning approaches, said a proclamation from Franco. For three hours battle raged in Madrid. The revolution in tha capital was mown down with gunfire. There were violent street and house to house battles. And there all was over. The Revolution in Madrid had been crushed. Azaña claimed that democracy had won its decisive battle. The Spanish Civil War had started.
In London, the MI6 branded Azaña as a traitor and Franco as a coward. The King was puzzled. To him Azaña was a coward and Franco a useless fool. Churchill was angered and. Halifax had his blood pressure reaching the boiling point. Both were united in their agreement that both Azaña and Franco were useless fools. However, there was little difficulty. No one in Westminster had the slightest idea about how to solve the bloody puzzle.
(1) Bad luck? This is... SPAAAAAAAARR... erm... SPAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!
(2) Gandaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalf... are you there?
@El Pip: Well, Spaniards politicans have been able to be more foolish than that, trust me. About the elected officers. For instance, it was suggested (and promised by Ebert) during the German Revolution of 1918-19.
@trekaddict: Probably.
@El Pip: That and the political officers and the CS Army -and the US- wouldn't have needed an enemy to lose the war
@Zhuge Liang: This, a mess? The fun is just starting! About Paquito... well, our beloved (and dwarfish) General would have to wait. Soon he'll have plenty of reasons not to worry about who's who in the chain of command.
23. The Crisis.
In the morning hours of June 9th, Revolution and Counter-Revolution fought a bloody battle on the streets of Madrid. Seemingly, Revolution won. Then it gave victory away.
Since the beginning of the Revolution, the mood of the troops was an enygma. Both Azaña and Franco hoped to use them to liquidate the Revolution. The soldiers, on their part, only wanted to go home, with their families. Only the officers were left - and those among the men who liked being soldiers. The Madrid garrison which still held the balance of power had shown that in their present if reduced condition, it was of more use to the Counter-Revolution that to the Revolution.
But there was an exception. It was, oh what an irony, the Royal Guard (Guardia Real), an independent unit of the Spanish Army dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and the members of the Royal Family. It was formed by the soldiers who had not deserted or abandoned the unit once the King fled. They were nothing but several hundred men, who had been arrested first by the Provisional Government, and then returned by the military to their barracks and kept under close eye.
It was sheer bad luck or, bearing in mind that we are talking about Spain (1), just fate, that they were billeted to the Royal Palace of Madrid, also known as the Palacio de Oriente (Orient Palace, or Far East Palace), the official residence of the King of Spain in the city of Madrid. Then Azaña decided to disband the unity. The Royal Guard was suddenly "suspected" of being "Syndicalist" and was now held to blame for the looting of the palace, which they had, in fact, stopped. They were to be moved from the palace and their strenght reduced to three hundred men. To pressure them, the pay was held back the same very day that the people conquered the streets of Madrid (June 7th).
That was Azaña's (another) big mistake. The unit, hardly six hundred men right now, felt cheated by its own government. This ridiculous situation led to a grimly serious situation. The unit felt that its survival was at stake. And their wanted their money. So they asked for it. No answer came back.
Then the patience of the Guardsmen ran out. At noon they went, not to the command, but directly to see Azaña. That movement caused a crisis. Azaña's government panicked and the soldiers were treated as the enemy and sent packing with a verdict: hand over the keys of the palace and you'll get your pay. Two hours later they were back, with the keys, but also with their guns. The Guardsmen, led by a coronel called Granados, asked to be taken to meet Azaña. But the president had just fled.
Thus, they were taken to the first available minister that the terrified civil servant could find, Santiago Carrillo, and the Guardsmen handed him the keys. Carrillo phoned the War Minister, Indalecio Prieto. Carrillo told Prieto that he should now pay up, but Prieto answered that he had no instructions from Azaña, that he was unable to contact the president -no wonder, bearing in mind he was running away (2)- and thus refused to comply. Carrillo, with a huge grin, send the Guardsmen to argue about that with Prieto.
Alàs! Now the Guardsmen's patience was at end. They barred all exists from the palace, occupied the telephone exchange and cut the lines. The "Popular Government" was under house arrest. The Guardsmen could have arrested most of the members of the government and shot them. If they had wanted to. But all they wanted was their pay. And now they were really furious.
Azaña was informed of that move when he had reached Franco's headquarters, for once, was able to think fast and clearly. Who had the arms? Who was the stronger? Thundering, he phoned Prieto to pay them at once. He would never again consider it wise to refuse revolutionary soldiers its pay. However, General Franco had to spoil everything.
The Guardsmen had their pay. The government had the keys. Then, as they left the building, an armoured car followed by some truck filled with troops appeared outside and fired at them. There were three dead. Now the Guardsmen stormed the building and arrested the ministers. They were dragged to the Royal Palace, beaten and threatened to be put to death on the way. A panicked civil servant, who managed to run away arrived to a police station to give the alarm.
When news arrived to Franco, he was quite appalled. However, if his first solution had backfired, he decided to strike boldy. He muttered "I shall arrange at once for loyal troops to liberate them" and began to act. All the units which were still loyal to the government -or to Franco- were gathered in the environs of Madrid and sent to storm the Royal Palace.
It is not clear how the Guardsmen came to know about the approaching troops, but, when the heavily armed columns advanced, shouldering their rifles and with horse-drawn field guns, they found the entire Royal Guard facing them, battle-ready. If one side did not withdraw, fighting would ensue here and there. General Franco headed one of the columns. He had proved his courage in action in Morocco, where he had been severly wounded. However, now he was not quite keen of heading a charge against soldiers armed with modern rifles and machine guns, and moved to the back.
There is disagreement about what took place then, but, somehow, the loyalist troops charged and the guns thundered. The battle lasted, with interruptions to eat, until noon, and ended in the defeat of the Loyalist troops. Their artillery failed to defeat the Guardsmen, and when workers, women and children appeared on the scene, pouring out of the side streets, their appareance demoralized the government troops and began to change sides. The Guardsmen were puzzled by the black and red flags, but were happy to see the end of the battle.
Franco ordered his troops the clear the battle area and departed, unmolested. The Guardsmen returned to their quarters. Both sides carried off their dead and wounded, whose numbres remain unknown to this day. Azaña began to pack his belongings, ready to abandon the city. He repeated over and over "It cannot go on like this... One simply cannot govern like this". But nothing happened. The revolution had no leadership and it did not see the chance to take power. In fact, the Royal Guard did not bother about the revolution at all. This was probably the biggest favour they could do to Azaña.
Oe the day following to the Revolution's first and only military victory in Madrid, that is, on June 10th, its decisive political defeat took place, when Azaña, in a desperate bid had formed a "Government of Socialist Unity". Now the political Left had disintegrated itself. The Radicals departed and formed the Spanish Worker's Syndicalist Party (PSOE - Partido Sindicalista de los Trabajadores Españoles), led by La Pasionaria and José Diaz. However, no one cared a jot about them.
A "provisional Revolutionary Commitee" was formed, but with no real executive power, a paper tiger. It issued a proclamation for the renewed mass gathering on the next day, June 10th, that filled the streets. And nothing happened. The soldiers, workers, women and children waited for an order to take power. Their leaders remained silent. The day grew darker. And no order came. The food had been eaten and hunger returned. By the end of the afternoon, the massed began to go home. By evening they had dispersed. Then the "commitee" issued their statement. But there was no one to listen to them. Madrid lay deserted.
Then the army, reinforced with swaths of Royalist militias, began to enter into Madrid, again. The day of reckoning approaches, said a proclamation from Franco. For three hours battle raged in Madrid. The revolution in tha capital was mown down with gunfire. There were violent street and house to house battles. And there all was over. The Revolution in Madrid had been crushed. Azaña claimed that democracy had won its decisive battle. The Spanish Civil War had started.
In London, the MI6 branded Azaña as a traitor and Franco as a coward. The King was puzzled. To him Azaña was a coward and Franco a useless fool. Churchill was angered and. Halifax had his blood pressure reaching the boiling point. Both were united in their agreement that both Azaña and Franco were useless fools. However, there was little difficulty. No one in Westminster had the slightest idea about how to solve the bloody puzzle.
(1) Bad luck? This is... SPAAAAAAAARR... erm... SPAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!
(2) Gandaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalf... are you there?
@El Pip: Well, Spaniards politicans have been able to be more foolish than that, trust me. About the elected officers. For instance, it was suggested (and promised by Ebert) during the German Revolution of 1918-19.
@trekaddict: Probably.
@El Pip: That and the political officers and the CS Army -and the US- wouldn't have needed an enemy to lose the war
@Zhuge Liang: This, a mess? The fun is just starting! About Paquito... well, our beloved (and dwarfish) General would have to wait. Soon he'll have plenty of reasons not to worry about who's who in the chain of command.
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Here ends the Spanish Revolution and we'll move to the customary Spanish Civil War. First things first, however, as in the next chapter/s we shall see how Blackadder and Baldrick put an end to the Second American Civil War.
And thus Spain finally succumbs to Civil War, if only anybody involved on either side had been competent and ambitious. If only the Guardsmen had tried to form a government, they probably could have pulled it off and could hardly be worse than the alternative!
It's a pity how much of this could have been avoided if anyone in the government had shown the slightest degree of competence or common sense.
Oh bugger. Can't there even be ONE timeline where spain goes through the 1930s without this war?
Not without fundamentally changing Spain I fear.
Maybe a Rif War POD (like not starting it) could change things, but the fundamental problems would remain. Kurty will probably have a better answer.
Part Three: The Dogs of War.
24. The lesser of two evils.
Finally, the American Civil War looked as if it was coming to an end. With the remants of the Combined Syndicates of America formally surrendering on May 30th as Reed and a few hardliners vanished from the face of the earth, only the American Union State kept fighting, albeit for a doomed cause. Meanwhile, the Syndicalist Alliance began to show some signs of internal cracking. Brazil -where Reed was to reemerge a few weeks later, before leaving the country to meet his doom leading a failed revolutionary movement in Chile- had publically announced its support to the Anarco-Syndicalist uprising in Spain, while Mexico offered moral support but nothing more compromising, and the Commune of France claimed that Anarchists were not true Syndicalist and restorted to adopt a neutral position in the war.
This events had no effect whatsoever in the American war. Reduced the AUS to two pockets, one in the coast of the Mexico Gulf and the other one hopeless isolated in Eastern Tennesse and Northern Luoisiana, it was just a question of time before Long's nightmare came to an end.
In the Northern pocket the food was soon drastically rationed. The political officers still loyal to Long repeated that a great army was gathering in the harbors of the Mexico Gulf and would come to their rescue. This idea gave some hope to the surrounded army. Everywhere there was chaos. The construction of trenches and dugouts was random and it varied from the situation of each division, regiment, batallion or company. Soon the situation of the last defender of the CSA closely resembled the grim days of the Western Front in the past war. The soldiers made use of a black sense of humour. However, discipline was maintained by all means.
Finally the end came. It was a kind of anti-climax. After months of hardships, of vicious fightings, of digging like rats and live like beasts, when Washington ordered the attack, its armies just found abandoned trenches or enemy soldiers that threw their weapons and marched willingly, almost with a smile of relief, to the US Army. No last battle, no fanatical resistance, just a small walk and then, it was over. So easy.
In Britain the end of the war caused a deep happiness for many. Finally, the Foreign Office had decided what to do about Spain: they will pitch the two warrying parties against each other for a while. After all, this policy had made England great during many centuries. In due time, London would take a look about how the events had developed and once they get a clearer picture of where Spain was going, then they would recommend a solution to the Prime Minister. Oddily enough, after the gruesome figthing in America, this suggestion was widely accepted. Even Lord Halifax was considering to take a holidays in the countryside when the Carlist uprising changed Spain upside down.
That man, Francisco Javier de Borbón-Parma y Braganza, was the cause of the turmoil. He was the head of the ducal House of Bourbon-Parma, pretender to the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, and Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the name (Francisco) Javier I. The FO still remembered him for his lame role in the so-called Sixtus Affair, a failed attempt to arrange a peace treaty between Austria and France.
Thus, when the Carlists went to arms and followed the old war cry of "Dios, Patria, Fueros, Rey" ("God, Fatherland, Charters, King"), many in London could neither believe neither his eyes nor his hears. Apparently, the hard wing of the Conservative Carlists were again on the war path. Churchill called for an emergecy meeting of the cabinet. As Neville Chamberlain later remembered in his memories (1), it was a dreadful moment. Churchill took a look at the picture of the Carlist pretender, gasped ("Dear Lord, what a foolish chap... From all the possible pretenders of the world, we have to side with the ugliest sod of all of them...") and, while giving the image to Lord Halifax, he went on:
-My Lord, it is simple. We have to reach an agreement with the Carlists before they go out of control and become even more reactionary than the are now- Halifax absent mindedly looked at the picture ("Yikes! What a silly looking bast.. erm... pwetender..."), rubbed his chin and answered.
-We must weleash the might of the Empire to cwush the...
Eden took a look at the picture of Francisco Javier ("Holy shit! Even Suez looks -or will look- more promising that this fellow!!!!.") and gave a huge sigh.
-My Lord, don't start with that again...
Then Neville ("Shit... ... well, at least he doesn't look like a SynDiE...") raised a finger and began to summarize:
-One, even if Germany is clearly uninterested in the Spanish affair, we cannot allow Vienna to...
-But... -Eden began.
-But me no buts, you pansy! - Chamberlain shouted-. What but! War, that's it! You have said all this yourself, Winston. Action now!
When Churchill saw that even Chamberlain (what a surprise) agreed on it, he knew that he would have not only to go to war in and for Spain, but side by side with the lesser evil of the three all.
(1) "SyNDiEz, sYnDiEz, EvErYwHeRe!". MacMillan, London, 1941
@El Pip: Old Spaniard habits die hard, you know... if only... so many "if only"s in the Spanish history...
@Zhuge Liang: Anyone in the government had shown the slightest degree of competence or common sense? In Spain? That's sci-fi, sorry.
@trekaddict: Well... I was tempted to do something about it, but too many funny things would be lost without this war...
@El Pip: True, very true. Being myself some kind of heretic optimistic when it refers to the SCW, I must confess that, to avoid the Spanish Civil War, you must go back to 1800-1820s. In short, no, there is no way to avoid the Spanish Civil War. It's like 1914, there was too much effort to have war than to avoid it.
24. The lesser of two evils.
Finally, the American Civil War looked as if it was coming to an end. With the remants of the Combined Syndicates of America formally surrendering on May 30th as Reed and a few hardliners vanished from the face of the earth, only the American Union State kept fighting, albeit for a doomed cause. Meanwhile, the Syndicalist Alliance began to show some signs of internal cracking. Brazil -where Reed was to reemerge a few weeks later, before leaving the country to meet his doom leading a failed revolutionary movement in Chile- had publically announced its support to the Anarco-Syndicalist uprising in Spain, while Mexico offered moral support but nothing more compromising, and the Commune of France claimed that Anarchists were not true Syndicalist and restorted to adopt a neutral position in the war.
This events had no effect whatsoever in the American war. Reduced the AUS to two pockets, one in the coast of the Mexico Gulf and the other one hopeless isolated in Eastern Tennesse and Northern Luoisiana, it was just a question of time before Long's nightmare came to an end.
In the Northern pocket the food was soon drastically rationed. The political officers still loyal to Long repeated that a great army was gathering in the harbors of the Mexico Gulf and would come to their rescue. This idea gave some hope to the surrounded army. Everywhere there was chaos. The construction of trenches and dugouts was random and it varied from the situation of each division, regiment, batallion or company. Soon the situation of the last defender of the CSA closely resembled the grim days of the Western Front in the past war. The soldiers made use of a black sense of humour. However, discipline was maintained by all means.
Finally the end came. It was a kind of anti-climax. After months of hardships, of vicious fightings, of digging like rats and live like beasts, when Washington ordered the attack, its armies just found abandoned trenches or enemy soldiers that threw their weapons and marched willingly, almost with a smile of relief, to the US Army. No last battle, no fanatical resistance, just a small walk and then, it was over. So easy.
In Britain the end of the war caused a deep happiness for many. Finally, the Foreign Office had decided what to do about Spain: they will pitch the two warrying parties against each other for a while. After all, this policy had made England great during many centuries. In due time, London would take a look about how the events had developed and once they get a clearer picture of where Spain was going, then they would recommend a solution to the Prime Minister. Oddily enough, after the gruesome figthing in America, this suggestion was widely accepted. Even Lord Halifax was considering to take a holidays in the countryside when the Carlist uprising changed Spain upside down.
--
--
--
That man, Francisco Javier de Borbón-Parma y Braganza, was the cause of the turmoil. He was the head of the ducal House of Bourbon-Parma, pretender to the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, and Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain under the name (Francisco) Javier I. The FO still remembered him for his lame role in the so-called Sixtus Affair, a failed attempt to arrange a peace treaty between Austria and France.
-My Lord, it is simple. We have to reach an agreement with the Carlists before they go out of control and become even more reactionary than the are now- Halifax absent mindedly looked at the picture ("Yikes! What a silly looking bast.. erm... pwetender..."), rubbed his chin and answered.
-We must weleash the might of the Empire to cwush the...
Eden took a look at the picture of Francisco Javier ("Holy shit! Even Suez looks -or will look- more promising that this fellow!!!!.") and gave a huge sigh.
-My Lord, don't start with that again...
Then Neville ("Shit... ... well, at least he doesn't look like a SynDiE...") raised a finger and began to summarize:
-One, even if Germany is clearly uninterested in the Spanish affair, we cannot allow Vienna to...
-But... -Eden began.
-But me no buts, you pansy! - Chamberlain shouted-. What but! War, that's it! You have said all this yourself, Winston. Action now!
When Churchill saw that even Chamberlain (what a surprise) agreed on it, he knew that he would have not only to go to war in and for Spain, but side by side with the lesser evil of the three all.
(1) "SyNDiEz, sYnDiEz, EvErYwHeRe!". MacMillan, London, 1941
@El Pip: Old Spaniard habits die hard, you know... if only... so many "if only"s in the Spanish history...
@Zhuge Liang: Anyone in the government had shown the slightest degree of competence or common sense? In Spain? That's sci-fi, sorry.
@trekaddict: Well... I was tempted to do something about it, but too many funny things would be lost without this war...
@El Pip: True, very true. Being myself some kind of heretic optimistic when it refers to the SCW, I must confess that, to avoid the Spanish Civil War, you must go back to 1800-1820s. In short, no, there is no way to avoid the Spanish Civil War. It's like 1914, there was too much effort to have war than to avoid it.
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I'd missed the madness of the British cabinet, this AAR had been getting far too sensible frankly.
As to Spain I would ask Kurty when he thought the problem started? I'd personally put it at Philip V being forced on the country, if only because French monarchs never end well, but I'd be interested in a more reasoned argument!
As to Spain I would ask Kurty when he thought the problem started? I'd personally put it at Philip V being forced on the country, if only because French monarchs never end well, but I'd be interested in a more reasoned argument!
That is one ugly map of the states...
Glad to see Sir Neville stil hasn't lost his gentle touch in sensitive matters. Truth be told, that funny hat of Javier inreason enough for war.
Glad to see Sir Neville stil hasn't lost his gentle touch in sensitive matters. Truth be told, that funny hat of Javier inreason enough for war.
Part Three: The Dogs of War.
25. The bright side of politics
The Carlist government was an amusing collection of different factions that kept the Prime Ministers, Winston Churchill and his loyal ministers, being Lord Halifax and Neville Chamberlain very primus inter pares, with an eternal grin on their faces. Good old Nev ("BuGGeRs, BuGGeRs eVeRYwHeRe!!!!") took a deep breath and began to listen Winnie's summary ("Oh, GoSH... WhAt a NooBbBbBbBbB!!!!!", Lord Flasheart dixit).
The Carlist pretender to the throne, Francis Xavier of Borbon Parma, who styled himself Francis I, was in no speaking terms with most of his government and, seriously enough, with most of his followers, as they thought that he was a Syndicalist in the closet (1). He, on his part, did not trust too much his Prime Minister, Manuel Fal Conde, who he blamed of being too "right-winged". Conde, too, was considered a "leftist" by his Minister of Armaments, Onésimo Redondo Ortega, who represented Falange in the government, as Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera was unwilling to join the ranks of the Carlist "debauched and corrupted monarchist regime". However, Primo hoped that, once Falange was inside the government, they would be able to bring the Revolution to fruition and to create a better Spain.
There was also a curious mixture of Carlism and Falangism, that is, José Luis Arrese Magra, Francis' Minister of Interior. Arrese, whose family was of firm Carlist ideas, had helped to create Falange and was also related to Primo de Rivera, as Arrese was married with María Teresa Sáenz de Heredia y Arteta, a half cousin of Primo. Again, Francis disliked him and saw him as another Radical.
Then there were the military. Juan Vigón Suerodíaz, his minister of Armament, had been, in the past, a supporter of Alfonso XIII, but he had joined the Carlist ranks as he blamed Alfonso's regime of being too "liberal". Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra, CiC of the Carlist Armed Forces,was, simply stated, a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. He had initially supported the moderate wing of the Popular Front, but he was also critical of his most radical policies and finally joined the Carlist cause. However, as he stated himself, he was "loyal only to those who were loyal to him". The CiC of the land forces, Emilio Mola Vidal, was in favour of a military dictatorship which kept the basic Republican principles. Thus, the reasons for his to him the Carlist were, as with Queipo, a mistery. Only one could guess that both disliked the corrupted decay of the dying Bourbon monarchy and hated the chaos of the Revolution.
Finally, the commander of the navy, Tomás Domínguez Arévalo, earl of Rodezno, was a veteran Carlist politician who had no idea about his job, but was devoted to his duty. At least the commander of the air force, General Alfredo Kindelán Duany, was a monarchist. He had been a follower of Alfonso XIII, but the Revolution had made him to join the Carlist cause.
In short, that was the regime that London had promised to support...
At least, they were not the only ones...
-Erm... -Churchill was aghast.
-Yes, Winston? -Alàs, good old Lord Halifax saw no reason for that.
-Excuse me, Edward, but we are siding with the Pope!!!!
-PaPiSTs! PaPiSTs eVeRYwHeRe!!!!
-Come on, Neville, take it easy. -began Halifax-. It could be worse.
-Really, you pansy? -Neville was trembling of sheer anger while showing a closed fist to Halifax. It was such an impudent show of bellicosity that Eden fainted - We are siding with the Italians! And with the French! And remember what happened in the last war!!!!
Lord Halifax went mute for what it seemed a whole eternity. Then, King George VI entered into the room and was informed of the events. For a second he remained silent, while his mind raced ("With Draco or Trekkie that wouldn't had happened, for my great-grandma Vicky's whiskers!!!! Er... well, my great-grandpa, I meant my great-grandpa Albert... oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..."). Eventually, he muttered just one word:
-B-b-b-bugger.
(1) In OTL, Francis Xavier was arrested by the Gestapo. He was imprisoned for a month at Vichy and then at Clermont-Ferrand where he was classified as a "Nacht und Nebel" political prisoner. On account of the approaching Allied armies Xavier was sent to Natzweiler-Struthof, then to Dachau, and finally to Prax. He was accused by the Nazis of being "a terrorist, a Comunist and an English agent". Not bad, isn't it
@Zhuge Liang: Do you think so?
@trekaddict: Don't worry. Sir Nev's here to put sense to that mess. With God's and Halifax's help, of course.
@El Pip: Madness? Where?
About the problem with Spain, after taking some time to think, I guess that the problem was there even before Nappy's trip to Spain. Then Spain was a backwards old-regime-style Empire. When the Great Fool of Ferdinand VII (ey, I don't mean that he was a bad king, I just think that he was just a retarded, liar, easy-going, useless, corrupt and brainless bastard, just that... Even Mussolinni was smarter than him, trust me. What the hell, even Homer Simpson is smarter that Ferdy!!!) decided to keep ruling as if the French Revolution never took place and he was Charles V revisited. Then all began to go to hell, as Liberals and Conservatives politicians began to quarrell and Ferdy began to go back and forth, ("today I'm Liberal, tomorrow I'm a vicious Dictator").
To sum up. In 1936 they were trying to solve the problems of two centuries of neglection, mistakes and the biggest passion of any Spanish politician (to do nothing and to hope that the next government would solve the problem, while filling their purses, of course...) that had ruled Spain for the last century and a half. And I'm being quite charming and polite here and not going a bit backwards, or we would end blaming poor old Pelayo.
@FlyingDutchie: Sir Nev will never lost his marbles. Heaven forbid!
PS: BTW. Dunno why I fail to try to give some air of seriousness to the meetings of my British Cabinet. I hope that nobody feels hurt for my silly jokes. I try to refrain myself, but... to no avail. After all, I have something in common with Halifax...
Next time, perhaps.
25. The bright side of politics
The Carlist government was an amusing collection of different factions that kept the Prime Ministers, Winston Churchill and his loyal ministers, being Lord Halifax and Neville Chamberlain very primus inter pares, with an eternal grin on their faces. Good old Nev ("BuGGeRs, BuGGeRs eVeRYwHeRe!!!!") took a deep breath and began to listen Winnie's summary ("Oh, GoSH... WhAt a NooBbBbBbBbB!!!!!", Lord Flasheart dixit).
The Carlist pretender to the throne, Francis Xavier of Borbon Parma, who styled himself Francis I, was in no speaking terms with most of his government and, seriously enough, with most of his followers, as they thought that he was a Syndicalist in the closet (1). He, on his part, did not trust too much his Prime Minister, Manuel Fal Conde, who he blamed of being too "right-winged". Conde, too, was considered a "leftist" by his Minister of Armaments, Onésimo Redondo Ortega, who represented Falange in the government, as Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera was unwilling to join the ranks of the Carlist "debauched and corrupted monarchist regime". However, Primo hoped that, once Falange was inside the government, they would be able to bring the Revolution to fruition and to create a better Spain.
There was also a curious mixture of Carlism and Falangism, that is, José Luis Arrese Magra, Francis' Minister of Interior. Arrese, whose family was of firm Carlist ideas, had helped to create Falange and was also related to Primo de Rivera, as Arrese was married with María Teresa Sáenz de Heredia y Arteta, a half cousin of Primo. Again, Francis disliked him and saw him as another Radical.
Then there were the military. Juan Vigón Suerodíaz, his minister of Armament, had been, in the past, a supporter of Alfonso XIII, but he had joined the Carlist ranks as he blamed Alfonso's regime of being too "liberal". Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra, CiC of the Carlist Armed Forces,was, simply stated, a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. He had initially supported the moderate wing of the Popular Front, but he was also critical of his most radical policies and finally joined the Carlist cause. However, as he stated himself, he was "loyal only to those who were loyal to him". The CiC of the land forces, Emilio Mola Vidal, was in favour of a military dictatorship which kept the basic Republican principles. Thus, the reasons for his to him the Carlist were, as with Queipo, a mistery. Only one could guess that both disliked the corrupted decay of the dying Bourbon monarchy and hated the chaos of the Revolution.
Finally, the commander of the navy, Tomás Domínguez Arévalo, earl of Rodezno, was a veteran Carlist politician who had no idea about his job, but was devoted to his duty. At least the commander of the air force, General Alfredo Kindelán Duany, was a monarchist. He had been a follower of Alfonso XIII, but the Revolution had made him to join the Carlist cause.
In short, that was the regime that London had promised to support...
At least, they were not the only ones...
-Erm... -Churchill was aghast.
-Yes, Winston? -Alàs, good old Lord Halifax saw no reason for that.
-Excuse me, Edward, but we are siding with the Pope!!!!
-PaPiSTs! PaPiSTs eVeRYwHeRe!!!!
-Come on, Neville, take it easy. -began Halifax-. It could be worse.
-Really, you pansy? -Neville was trembling of sheer anger while showing a closed fist to Halifax. It was such an impudent show of bellicosity that Eden fainted - We are siding with the Italians! And with the French! And remember what happened in the last war!!!!
Lord Halifax went mute for what it seemed a whole eternity. Then, King George VI entered into the room and was informed of the events. For a second he remained silent, while his mind raced ("With Draco or Trekkie that wouldn't had happened, for my great-grandma Vicky's whiskers!!!! Er... well, my great-grandpa, I meant my great-grandpa Albert... oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..."). Eventually, he muttered just one word:
-B-b-b-bugger.
(1) In OTL, Francis Xavier was arrested by the Gestapo. He was imprisoned for a month at Vichy and then at Clermont-Ferrand where he was classified as a "Nacht und Nebel" political prisoner. On account of the approaching Allied armies Xavier was sent to Natzweiler-Struthof, then to Dachau, and finally to Prax. He was accused by the Nazis of being "a terrorist, a Comunist and an English agent". Not bad, isn't it
@Zhuge Liang: Do you think so?
@trekaddict: Don't worry. Sir Nev's here to put sense to that mess. With God's and Halifax's help, of course.
@El Pip: Madness? Where?
About the problem with Spain, after taking some time to think, I guess that the problem was there even before Nappy's trip to Spain. Then Spain was a backwards old-regime-style Empire. When the Great Fool of Ferdinand VII (ey, I don't mean that he was a bad king, I just think that he was just a retarded, liar, easy-going, useless, corrupt and brainless bastard, just that... Even Mussolinni was smarter than him, trust me. What the hell, even Homer Simpson is smarter that Ferdy!!!) decided to keep ruling as if the French Revolution never took place and he was Charles V revisited. Then all began to go to hell, as Liberals and Conservatives politicians began to quarrell and Ferdy began to go back and forth, ("today I'm Liberal, tomorrow I'm a vicious Dictator").
To sum up. In 1936 they were trying to solve the problems of two centuries of neglection, mistakes and the biggest passion of any Spanish politician (to do nothing and to hope that the next government would solve the problem, while filling their purses, of course...) that had ruled Spain for the last century and a half. And I'm being quite charming and polite here and not going a bit backwards, or we would end blaming poor old Pelayo.
@FlyingDutchie: Sir Nev will never lost his marbles. Heaven forbid!
PS: BTW. Dunno why I fail to try to give some air of seriousness to the meetings of my British Cabinet. I hope that nobody feels hurt for my silly jokes. I try to refrain myself, but... to no avail. After all, I have something in common with Halifax...
Next time, perhaps.
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