Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Hitler agreed to help out the Nationalists. What began as a failed coup spiraled into a proxy war between Europe’s fascist and communist countries, with the future Allies backing the Republicans and the Axis powers supporting Franco’s Nationalists. Nationalist troops in Irun, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War. Berber armies led by Abd el-Krim force the Spanish garrison at Annual (Anwal), Morocco, to retreat in disarray, marking the start of a military campaign that would come to be known as the Rif War. Omissions? Among the most notable artistic responses to the war were the novels Man’s Hope (1938) by André Malraux, Adventures of a Young Man (1939) by John Dos Passos, and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) by Ernest Hemingway; George Orwell’s memoir Homage to Catalonia (1938); Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica (1937); and Robert Capa’s photograph Death of a Loyalist Soldier, Spain (1936). The Nationalists drove a salient eastward through Teruel, reaching the Mediterranean and splitting the republic in two in April 1938. Half-a-million people died in the war, and many atrocities were committed by both sides. On one side, the Nationalist, were most Roman Catholics, important elements of the military, most landowners, and many businessmen. Spain spent much of the 1920s under the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, and the economic hardships caused by the Great Depression intensified polarization within the Spanish public. A dark period in Spanish history and a prelude to World War II, the conflict unleashed passions for close to three years. The captaincy of the Nationalists was gradually assumed by General Franco, leading forces he had brought from Morocco. Most battles were in northern states until 1862 and in southern states after 1862. The Condor Legion. Even if we cannot quite claim to have “Spain in our hearts”, histories of the conflict have kept alive the liberal conviction that the republican cause was just, while Franco’s emerging dictatorship was not. Spanish Civil War, (1936–39), military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements within the country. This does not include all those who died from malnutrition, starvation, and war-engendered disease. The war ended on 1 April 1939, when the last Republican troops surrendered. Italian troops shelling Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War, October 1936. Psychology & Ideology in the Spanish Civil War 221 stimulated specific physical reactions. Individual citizens of various countries often volunteered to fight. During the days that followed the bombings, Spain seemed to some as tense as it had been before the Civil War of the 1930s, as the government at first refused to believe that this was an Islamist attack and the public sensed a cover-up. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. German involvement in the Spanish Civil War commenced with the outbreak of war in July 1936, with Adolf Hitler immediately sending in powerful air and armored units to assist General Francisco Franco and his Nationalist forces. August The Spanish Civil War decided Spain’s government until the 1970s. However, the on of the main causes was all sides’ Catherine helps bring 1930's-era Barcelona to life and boils the Civil War and its "alphabet soup" of political factions into easily digestible terms. Germany and Italy sent troops, tanks, and planes to aid the Nationalists. The rebel force predicted that the war would end with a victory quickly … This page was last changed on 27 March 2021, at 23:18. The Spanish Civil War (18 July 1936 – 1 April 1939) was a war in which General Francisco Franco and his troops successfully took control of Spain. The Civil War took place because the rising was successful only in Old Castile, in Navarra, where Carlist support was decisive, and, of the…. The Spanish civil war is frequently remembered as a crucial and important moment in the history of Spanish people. Hidden label . The Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union as well as from the International Brigades, composed of volunteers from Europe and the United States. In Spain, the Republican defenders of Madrid raise the white flag over the city, bringing to an end the bloody three-year Spanish Civil War. Thus pushed … By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Before the Spanish … In fact, there are five main reasons or causes (fig.1) which almost simultaneously led to the civil war in Spain in 1936. Politically, their differences often found extreme and vehement expression in parties such as the Fascist-oriented Falange and the militant anarchists. The upper and middle classes, however, defended their interests, as they dominated the officer corps. -Political Instability: -Struggle between periods of conservatism and liberalism -Weakness of Government: -Power was held by the wealthy oligarchs -Elections were rigged or decided by corruption -Seen as protector of the nation -Intervened in politics if a crisis should occur For their part, the bombers imagined that the loss of Al-Andalus was finally being avenged. From, The military uprising started in Morocco on July 17, 1936, and quickly spread to the garrisons of metropolitan Spain. Franco launched an uprising aimed at overthrowing the country's democratically elected republic. They laid siege to it but were unable to get beyond the University City area. Similarly, comparisons between America today … It was (Largo Caballero's) avowed, nay, his proclaimed policy to rush Spain on to the dictatorship of the proletariat. Around 32,000 volunteers joined … Home » Modern World History » The Spanish Civil War. What made the Spanish Civil War inevitable was the civil war within the Socialist party. The Battle for Madrid. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Both the Nationalist and Republican sides, seeing themselves as too weak to win a quick victory, turned abroad for help. Spanish Civil War (1936–39), military revolt by Nationalist rebels, supported by conservative elements within the country, against the Republican government of Spain. Search More results... Generic filters. General Francisco Franco. From bombings, Guernica, forced labor camps, and starvation, the Spanish Civil War was a long-burning tragedy that tore Spain in two. For Germany and Italy, Spain was a testing ground for new methods of tank and air warfare. Following the end of the Spanish civil war in 1939, the bodies of 1,700 Republicans –soldiers, civilians, people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time – … From 1936 to 1939, two opposing groups of citizens waged a bitter fight for control of Spain. Let no one argue that it was fascist violence that developed socialist violence. A well-planned military uprising began on July 17, 1936, in garrison towns throughout Spain. The Nationalists, as the rebels were called, received aid from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Republican government, beginning in September 1936, was headed by the socialist leader Francisco Largo Caballero. Eighty years ago, civil war broke out in Spain: a painful, bloody wound that has yet to heal. Within months Barcelona would fall, and on March 28, 1939, some 200,000 Nationalist troops entered Madrid unopposed. The Nationalists were supported by Mussolini’s Italy and Nazi Germany. George Orwell arrived in Barcelona at the tail end of 1936, just months into the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War began on 17•July 1936 when significant numbers of military garrisons throughout Spain and Spanish Morocco , led by senior army officers, revolted against the left-wing Republican government. The final Republican offensive stalled at the Ebro River on November 18, 1938. Military uprisings in Spanish Morocco and some parts of mainland Spain. The Causes of the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil Española) was a civil war in Spain fought from 1936 to 1939. Primo de Rivera. Examine the role of communism and fascism in the Spanish Civil War, Spanish Republicans, abandoned by the democracies and relying on aid from the communists, carried on a losing struggle against fascism. The war was an outcome of a polarization of Spanish life and politics that had developed over previous decades. The governments of Germany and Italy provided troops and supplies for Franco, and the communist Soviet Union sold the Republican forces weapons. It was not at the Fascists that Largo Caballero's gunmen shot but at their brother socialists. In August 1936, France joined Britain, the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy in signing a nonintervention agreement that would be ignored by the Germans, Italians, and Soviets. As the clock ticked further, humanity had to forcefully understand that the Spanish Civil War wasn’t only meant to be fought by Spanish citizens – foreign countries such as Soviet Union, Portugal, Italy, and Germany also got involved in the war. A succession of governmental crises culminated in the elections of February 16, 1936, which brought to power a Popular Front government supported by most of the parties of the left and opposed by the parties of the right and what remained of the centre. Nationalist forces put the figure at 1,000,000, including not only those killed in battle but also the victims of bombardment, execution, and assassination. No wonder Fascism grew. The matter of how many were killed remains highly contentious; however, it is generally believed that the toll of Nationalist violence was higher. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Surviving veterans of the Spanish Civil War, https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_Civil_War&oldid=7446115, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. Engaging, informative, and approachable—but never pretentious or overly academic—Catherine … The Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union as well as from the International Brigades, composed of volunteers from Europe and North America. He was followed in May 1937 by Juan Negrín, also a socialist, who remained premier throughout the remainder of the war and served as premier in exile until 1945. A Mexican auxiliary battalion (fighting on the Republican side) marching through Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, late 1930s. The bombing was reported all over the world in newspapers and made people aware of the German involvement. Certainly this force of attraction cannot be explained in terms of the geographical or human scale of the conflict or the technological horrors it witnessed. The political and emotional reverberations of the war far transcended those of a national conflict, for many in other countries saw the Spanish Civil War as part of an international conflict between—depending on their point of view—tyranny and democracy, or fascism and freedom, or communism and civilization. German and Italian planes airlift Franco’s army to the Spanish mainland. On the other side, the Republican, were urban workers, most agricultural labourers, and many of the educated middle class. Many people from other countries volunteered to fight against Franco, sometimes against the orders of their own countries, including people from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy. Search. It was between the In 1931, Spanish They captured the Basque northern provinces in the summer of 1937 and then Asturias, so that by October they held the whole northern coast. The Falange. In December 1938 they moved upon Catalonia in the northeast, forcing the Republican armies there northward toward France. The government dissolves the regular army. The Spanish Civil War started in July 1936. They formed groups known as the International Brigades. On one side were the anarchists and militant socialists, who viewed the war as a revolutionary struggle and spearheaded widespread collectivization of agriculture, industry, and services; on the other were the more moderate socialists and republicans, whose objective was the preservation of the Republic. The Spanish Civil War. July 19th, Franco arrives to take command of the army in Morocco. On March 7 a civil war broke out in Madrid between communist and anticommunist factions. The rout marks the greatest defeat of a European colonial power by indigenous forces since the Battle of Adwa. When an initial military coup failed to win control of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. The Soviet Union sent in smaller forces to assist the Republican government, while Britain and France and two dozen other countries set up an embargo on any munitions or … Many different groups worked together to help the government, the Spanish Republic, to stop him, including socialists, communists, anarchists, and other leftist groups. By November 1936 the Nationalists had advanced to the outskirts of Madrid. Gen. Francisco Franco's troops in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, late 1930s. Explained: Why Spain plans to open a mass grave of 33,000 civil war victims Spain’s socialist government has asked for permits to start exhuming the bodies from the vast mausoleum on the outskirts of Madrid, which was originally built by former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. The Republican forces had put down the uprising in other areas, except for some of the larger Andalusian cities, including Sevilla (Seville), Granada, and Córdoba. During the first weeks of the war, the Popular Front government of France also supported the Republicans, but internal opposition forced a change of policy. The war began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, a fort in South Carolina that was held by Union soldiers. Republican violence occurred primarily during the early stages of the war before the rule of law was restored, but the Nationalist violence was part of a conscious policy of terror. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Below is the full article. The war also had mobilized many artists and intellectuals to take up arms. By July 21 the rebels had achieved control in Spanish Morocco, the Canary Islands, and the Balearic Islands (except Minorca) and in the part of Spain north of the Guadarrama mountains and the Ebro River, except for Asturias, Santander, and the Basque provinces along the north coast and the region of Catalonia in the northeast. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Spanish-Civil-War, History Learning Site - The Spanish Civil War, The Holocaust Encyclopedia - Spanish Civil War, Spanish Civil War - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Spanish Civil War - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. While ground combat was somewhat reminiscent of World War I—tanks had a comparatively limited role, and lines remained fixed for months at a time—Hermann Göring’s Luftwaffe offered a glimpse of the role that air power would play in the German blitzkrieg. To be possible to understand how thousands of persons were killed during this war, it must be ask why the Spanish civil war broke out in first place. “The Internationals—United with the Spaniards We Fight the Invader,” poster by Parrilla, published by the International Brigades, 1936–37. For the Spanish strife is dwarfed by other conflicts – in terms of material destruction and human tragedy. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Updates? The International Brigade. In any event, the proliferation of executions, murders, and assassinations on both sides reflects the great passions that the Civil War unleashed. About 40,000 foreigners fought on the Republican side in the International Brigades largely under the command of the Comintern, and 20,000 others served in medical or auxiliary units. The main antagonists were the Nationalists under Gen. Francisco Franco and the Republicans under Francisco Largo Caballero and, later, Juan Negrín. Many different groups worked together to help the government, the Spanish Republic, to stop him, including socialists, communists, anarchists, and … The number of persons killed in the Spanish Civil War can be only roughly estimated. Fascist and extreme-right forces responded in July 1936 with an army mutiny and coup attempt that expanded into a civil war. September 13, 1923 Seeking allies against the threat of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union had embraced a Popular Front strategy, and, as a result, the Comintern directed Spanish communists to support the Republicans. 12 CIVIL WAR CASE STUDY 1: THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (1936–39) The army was in need of reform. It was too big, and had too many officers. The Spanish Civil War. Internecine conflict compromised the Republican effort from the outset. The Spanish Civil War was caused by many factors, including major socio-economic problems, such as poverty and inequality. Spain operates by the incorrect time zone today because Francisco Franco changed the time to align with Nazi Germany's in 1940. For Britain and France, the conflict represented a new threat to the international equilibrium that they were struggling to preserve, which in 1939 collapsed into World War II. For the article summary, see. Guernica. When the Spanish Civil War began, in 1936, fascism was on the march across Europe, as a new breed of strongman leader emerged from the horrors and economic ravages of the First World War … ...The Spanish Civil War Spanish civil war began on 17 July 1936 and ended on 1 April 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists to wrest the dominated power. Spain, at the dawn of the 20 th century, was caught in a crisis of identity and purpose. The city had endured a siege of nearly two-and-a-half years, and its residents were in no condition to resist. When an initial military coup failed to win control of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. When progressive Popular Front government was elected in February 1936, Nationalists gathered to plan resistance and they were led by Francisco. Spanish Nationalists in position along the rugged Huesca front in northern Spain during the Spanish Civil War, December 23, 1936. It was the first time that an air bombing caused so many civilian casualties. Explain some of the causes and consequences The Spanish civil war was a major conflict between the Republicans and Nationalists, which was fierce and bloody as over 500,000 people were killed. The Spanish Civil War holds a perennial fascination for a non-Spanish audience. Timeline of the Spanish Civil War. 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