The Cortes
, or Spanish Parliament. This body had been only in existence as an actual governing body for a few years--far too few for the institutions necessary for the survival of a democratic state to put down roots.
Spain had been a republic barely five years when war broke out in 1936. King Alfonso XIII abdicated after local elections made it clear that most of Spain was unsatisfied with his rule. Initially dominated by liberal and leftist parties, the parliament could not satisfy the Catholic hierarchy through their drives for such modern contrivances as civil marriage, divorce and the enfranchisement of women. The Army allied themselves to the Church, who had contributed to the end of the monarchy when the King had failed to maintain the army’s loyalty through declining prestige and influence, opposed the liberal democratic institutions. Further reductions to the authority of the army through the disbanding of the Supreme Military Council and to its strength with a reduction in commissions for officers led to the army finding an ally in the Church. Land reform schemes and agrarian strikes threatened the large landholders and in response those landholders made up another portion of the reactionary faction.
Socialist recruitment poster. Never a very unified front, their inability to work with one another meant that Republicans were unable to fully exploit their victories.
The left wing in Spanish politics was not majority socialists and communists as it was in other European nations; it was made up largely of anarchists with little use for parliamentary government and who wanted to devolve authority away from the central government entirely. Anarchist activities also brought them the hatred of the upper and middle classes through strikes, direct action and church burnings. The future leader of Nationalist Spain, Francisco Franco Bahamonde had been dispatched with his colonial troops to quell an anarchist insurrection in Asturias in 1934 which led to an orgy of killing. Socialists, in an attempt to appeal to the anarchists, gave up their desire to reform a democratic government in favor of a leftist dictatorship. Communists had little patience with either of the other two left-wing groups and all three continually challenged the government’s ability to maintain order within its borders.
Nationalist propaganda. They exploited the fears of the aristocrats and religious citizens, reinforced by the actions of the anarchists on the left.
With opposition from both flanks, the government of Spain sought to maintain order by giving into the Catalonian and Basque demands for some autonomy. These efforts were not enough for the separatists in both regions and angered the conservative Spaniards who desired the maintenance of a “Greater Spain”. After a scandal in February 1936, a “Popular Front” of communists, socialists and anarchists emerged with a narrow victory over the right. The Azaña government, to appeal to his radical leftist base, ordered the release of political prisoners from the Asturias insurrection and other strikes while reviving a land-reform program.
Manuel Azaña, during his inauguration as President, 1936. His inability to placate those on the right while subduing those on the left led to the inevitable flashpoint.
The anarchists took this as justification to resume their direct action against landowners and factories. In response, the right also resumed their own policy of attempting to kill anyone on the left. Indeed, the killing of two men--one each from the left and the right--led the military leadership to begin their rebellion; government inaction on the part of the Spanish Prime Minister at the time only assisted the junta’s takeover of about a third of the nation. Almost immediately, nations in Europe began issuing statements concerning the deplorable situation that emerged. Italy was one of the first pledges of support for the Nationalist forces; on the obverse, the Soviet Union declared for the Republicans.
General Francisco Franco. After the death of General Sanjuro, Franco grabbed for the reins of power, fully assuring the Italians and Germans that he would be “their man,” thus guaranteeing the flow of arms and additional manpower to overcome his adversaries.
Because of the declared support from the Soviet Union, nations that would have otherwise openly supported the Republican forces were deterred from doing so. Especially in the United Kingdom and France, the populace might have condoned some form of support for the duly elected government; even the United States could have begrudgingly been encouraged to at least proceed with a “cash and carry” scheme that didn’t leave banks or manufacturing holding the bag if the war went south for the official government. With the Soviet Union’s intervention, anti-communist forces provided a vocal mouthpiece which tied the hands of those liberal governments.
Hollywood, mobilized to support the Republicans. Given the fashion which attached itself to Communism and other left-leaning tendencies in the West, support was always unofficial as no nation could bear to hold hands with the actual Soviets in Spain.
Germany threaded a careful line. On the one hand, Germany publicly pledged non-intervention, wishing to avoid some global outcry and to not give their neighbors and trading partners any sense of animosity. Indeed, the Kriegsmarine did contribute a small squadron to provide for the naval non-intervention patrols around the Iberian peninsula, even coming under fire from shore batteries and responding in kind. Privately, Frick directed Canaris to send several members of the GD into Spain by way of Portugal, and both the Heer and the Luftwaffe sent advisors to work with the Nationalist army and air forces.
Italian aircraft sent in support of the Nationalists. Germany and Italy long saw the conflict as a way to dispose of old and outdated equipment as well as a live-fire proving ground for their newest designs. Indeed, after some engagements both sides would comb the battlefields in an unspoken “gentleman’s agreement” to see the results of their equipment.
The initial dispositions of the Nationalists did not convey the strengths of their position. Much of Spain’s overseas territories went with the
junta. Seville, Granada and Cadiz in the south had been rapidly taken over by the Nationalists, but they controlled little territory beyond the outskirts of the cities. Rapid deployment of their ground forces and the airlift of Franco’s forces from Morocco allowed the Nationalists to secure Bilbao and the important naval base at La Coruna. These areas were not entirely secure, however, as the Republicans held some territory on Portugal’s border and the key city of Salamanca.
For the first several weeks, operations focused on either linking up with friendly forces or clearing the areas around those already held. Direct confrontations were few and far between as the troops of both sides formed up to fight the war. The majority of these engagements lent credence to a statement from one of the volunteers in the war: “Civil wars are rarely civil or wars.”
The first two weeks of fighting in Spain. As noted, much of the operations centered
around centralizing forces rather than any grandiose plan to win the war.
Forces throughout Spain on both sides--given their decentralized dispersion--conducted their operations in a manner which was, at best, disjointed. At worst, the lack of centralized planning and clear operational goals caused near-disasters for both sides. Nationalist forces exploded out of Seville, working desperately to secure the south of the country, while forces in the north concentrated on bringing the Basque regions to heel. The Nationalists also worked to cut off the important ports of Malaga and Almeria to prevent shipments of Soviet materiel from reaching the Republican forces.
Fighting in the August heat, 1936.
Alterations to the overall situation, September 1936.
September was a month described as
dos pasos adelante, tres pasos atras, or “two steps forward, three steps back.” Gains made in one area caused other areas to be lost, especially those in the direction of the Catalan region, and a Republican counter-offensive in the south to cut off Cadiz and thus hopefully prevent significant support from reaching the Nationalists in the south. In the north, Madrid was largely free from any Nationalist threat by the end of September when the Republicans drove a large salient into Nationalist lines. Burgos--the city in which the Nationalist command authority resided--was prepared for their evacuation.
The situation through October, 1936.
By October, however, Republican attentions swung south, as their supplies dwindled for the offensive. Malaga and Barcelona were significant ports, but infighting between factions meant that more ports were needed. The “Southern Snake,” which described the shape that Nationalist lines held, was chopped into several pieces to be reduced by the end of the month and the Republicans were knocking on the door to Seville.
The overall situation through November, 1936.
As the Nationalist holdings in the south were reduced, the Nationalists in the north went on the offensive. Foregoing any idea of flank security or of listening to their German and Italian advisors, a hard drive on Madrid, long seen as the lynchpin for the conflict, once again brought the sounds of war to the city. By mid-November, the city was encircled, but the Nationalists had lost control of Seville in the south and much of their border with Portugal, through which significant supplies were flowing. Madrid proper would fall within the week, however.
The situation through the end of December, 1936. Despite losing control of
Seville for a few weeks, the Nationalists were staging for a massive assault
towards Madrid for the coming year.
As the year came to a close, much of the territory which had been under the control of the Nationalists was lost; the diversion of troops to the south to shore up support around Seville and Cadiz had opened significant exploitable holes in the lines of the Nationalists in the north and once again found Burgos under threat. As a Christmas present to their side, the Republicans reclaimed the capital, which had largely been stripped of anything useful by the departing Nationalists. Not all was positive: the Nationalists had fairly exploded off of the southern coast and were striking into the center of the Peninsula.
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Author's Note: My gifs aren't working... Please Stand By... Fixed. Whew. That was an ordeal. I don't know why Imgur wasn't cooperating with me, but I've gone with Giphy for these. Lemme know if they start dying.