Download 01 Spanish Civil War Lecture Notes (Blackmon)

IB Contemporary World History
Mr. Blackmon
The Spanish Civil War
I.
The Antecedents: 1898-1931 (Ellwood 5-12)
A.
Conservative ideology in Spain, which is well established by 1700, is based upon
1.
Spanish imperial greatness
2.
National identity
3.
Catholicism
4.
National unity
B.
Conservatives equated these qualities with Spain itself, and regarded any
questioning or disagreement with those values as un-Spanish, foreign and
subversive.
C.
The crisis of the Conservatives
1.
The French Revolution
a.
Liberalism ("Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité")
b.
Loss of empire
2.
"Expressed very simply, the partisans of absolutism, empire, inherited
wealth and social inequality gave their support to authoritarian,
conservative political groupings, while those who favored parliamentary
rule based on universal suffrage, democratic freedoms and measures to
reduce social and economic inequality backed liberal and, from the latter
part of the century onwards, socialist formations" (Ellwood 7)
a.
Socialism as an outgrowth of Enlightenment and Liberalism
D.
Government in Spain in 19th century characterized by frequent coups or
pronunciamentos led by the military on behalf of civilian forces too weak or
fragmented to effect change. The military was not necessarily acting to preserve
status quo automatically, but as caretakers for the nation as a whole, at least as the
generals understood the nation. (Ellwood 8)
1.
This establishes a tradition by which direct military action substitutes for
parliamentary or democratic methods in order to achieve change.
E.
The Spanish-American War and the loss of the Philippines and Cuba were
particularly heavy blows for the Conservatives, who begin to yearn for a national
reawakening.
F.
The Algeciras Conference in 1906 provides Spain with an opportunity to
regenerate the nation by the conquest and pacification of Spanish Morocco (sort of
El Cid's revenge, I suppose).
G.
War in Africa
1.
The Army of Africa provides a forum for professional soldiers to earn
honors and promotions. It develops a fierce sense of identity among the
officers, but is physically and spiritually separated from the bulk of the
nation; yet the Army of Africa tended to see itself as the embodiment of
the nation and the hope of the future. They tend to blame Spain's loss of
greatness on the cowardice and ineptitude of the civilians. In other words,
they represent a coup waiting to occur.
IB Contemporary World History
The Spanish Civil War
2.
H.
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The cost of war weighs heavily upon a nation that is not wealthy.
a.
A saying from the American Civil War, "It's a rich man's war but a
poor man's fight," sums up the problem. The costs in casualties
and treasure was borne unequally. For peasant and working class
families, whose sons were conscripted to fight, sweat and die, the
war became very unpopular.
b.
A disastrous offensive at Annual in Morocco in 1921 led to scandal
and investigation. Rumors that the King, Alfonso XIII, had
authorized the offensive without the knowledge of his own war
minister, generated such unhappiness as to actually threaten the
crown itself.
3.
General Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja intervened to protect the
crown and established a dictatorship.
a.
Primo de Rivera ends the war in Morocco in 1925, and thus saves
the monarchy, but at the cost of transferring effective government
from the king to the military.
(1)
Dictatorship, however well-intentioned, was not popular
with liberals, socialists, and anarchists, and eventually
Primo's high handed ways cost him the support of the other
generals.
(2)
In 1930, Primo felt compelled to resign and go into selfimposed exile. He is replaced by two military governments
which, however, came under increased pressure to provide
a modern democracy.
4.
A "Revolutionary Committee" is formed in 1930, including liberals,
socialists--The Spanish Socialist Party or Partido Socialista Obrero
Español, or PSOE--as well as disaffected conservatives.
The Second Spanish Republic
1.
Elections in April 1931 left the king in command of the rural regions but
defeated in the urban and manufacturing centers, from whence economic
and political power derived. Alfonso reluctantly left the country to save
face
2.
The republic is proclaimed on April 14, 1931
3.
The Provisional Government was emphatically not Socialist or
Communist, although these groups had influence. The government was
reformist and dominated by Liberals.
a.
The first President was Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, an Andalusian
landowner.
b.
Spanish conservatives, and conservatives everywhere in Europe,
had a great difficulty in distinguishing the difference between a
Liberal, a Socialist, and a Communist. All of them looked like
Satan to the Conservatives.
IB Contemporary World History
The Spanish Civil War
II.
Mr. Blackmon
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The Second Republic: 1931-1936 (Ellwood 13-27)
A.
Conservatives were not reconciled to republican government
1.
These people believed that Spain should be governed by a monarch who
would rule by divine right and the natural inequality of men.
a.
Parliamentary government requires accountability of the governors
to the governed, which is fundamentally opposed to these
conservative values.
b.
These conservatives came primarily from upper-middle class and
aristocratic classes whose wealth originally was based on land
ownership.
(1)
The latifundia were concentrated in the south, west and
center: Castile, Andalusia, and Estramadura.
2.
Formation of Conservative political groups
a.
Acción Española (Spanish Action)
b.
Acción Nacional (National Action) (later Acción Popular)
3.
The Republic is severely hampered by this political opposition which is
fundamentally hostile to its very existence. They are unable in to achieve
needed (and promised) reforms in large part due to this opposition.
Furthermore, the Republic's very commitment to democratic freedoms
made it impossible to defend itself effectively against those who would
destroy it.
a.
The implication of this ironic situation for all free societies is quite
serious. At the very least, democracy cannot survive unless there is
a societal consensus that it should survive. The lesson of Spain
also suggests that a democratic society under deliberate attack may
be in very deep trouble unless it suspends or restricts the very
rights and liberties that distinguish a democratic society from
authoritarian or totalitarian ones.
B.
Opposition of the Catholic Church to the Republic
1.
It would be difficult to understate the importance of the Church in molding
Spanish life. The Church saw the Republic as an atheistic threat.
2.
The Church's fears were exaggerated but not imaginary. Republican
leaders wished to
a.
Establish lay schools (control of education has been one of the
Catholic Church's most important goals where ever it has been the
dominant religion. Throughout the Hispanic world, the struggle
over religious or secular education is often the first fault line for a
deeply divided society, and often also serves to define
Conservatives and Liberals.)
b.
Allow divorce
c.
Permit freedom of religion for other Christian denominations
3.
For Conservatives, "Catholicism was inseparable from national identity."
IB Contemporary World History
The Spanish Civil War
C.
D.
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(Ellwood 15)
Fear of the Latifundists
1.
Land reform was a high priority issue for the Republicans.
2.
The latifundia were very inefficient economically, since the owners had
little incentive to invest in such innovations as fertilizer or machinery.
3.
Latifundia are typically tied into inheritance, political dominance, social
class, etc. They act as powerful conservative forces within a society.
dividing the population into a very small number of wealthy, patriarchal,
semi-feudal landholders and masses of desperately poor, ignorant
dependant peasants.
a.
Problems which we may see in Spain may also be seen throughout
Latin America.
4.
The most difficult issue was compensation for the landowners for the
redistribution of land.
5.
A Law of Agrarian Reform was introduced into the Cortes in March 1932
but was blocked by the Conservatives.
a.
The Republicans did something very nasty in this bill: they
established that compensation would be on the basis of the taxable
value of the land declared by the latifundists. The latifundists had
grossly undervalued their land (to avoid having to pay any taxes)
but could hardly admit that they had been defrauding the
government all along.
Opponents from the Left who felt that republican reform was much too limited
and hesitant
1.
The PSOE (socialists), their trade union (Unión General de Trabajadores,
General Workers Union, or UGT)
2.
The Partido Communista de España (Communist Party of Spain, or PCE)
3.
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of
Labour, or CNT, an anarcho-syndicalist organization
a.
Anarchism as an intellectual movement had its roots in Russia,
with Mikhail Bukharin as its most famous spokesman. The
anarchists viewed all government as evil. They dreamed of a
primitive socialism of genuine equality, without having much idea
how to achieve that (beyond random violence) or how to maintain
it. By definition, anarchists were much better at destroying
governments than in creating them. They were enthusiastic and
often very destructive revolutionaries, but not successful. The
much more disciplined Bolsheviks were vastly more effective.
b.
Syndicalism has as its chief spokesman the French philosopher
Georges Sorel. Georges Sorel (1847-1922) accepted Marx' idea of
a class war as well as the idea of violence as an end in itself (a
concept that is irrational or even antirational, as opposed to the
IB Contemporary World History
The Spanish Civil War
E.
F.
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rationalism of the Enlightenment) from Nietzsche. (Blum 249-50)
He urged a campaign of violence on the part of the workers,
including sabotage and strikes. The ultimate revolutionary weapon
is the general strike. (Bernstein 195) Syndicalism was especially
influential in Latin America.
c.
The elections of November 1933 resulted in right-wing victories.
Reasons for this surprising result are
(1)
The political system favored coalitions. The Right was
willing to work together despite differing agendas; the Left
was less willing.
(2)
Universal suffrage permitted women to vote for the first
time. They proved to be generally conservative (a pattern
true for other societies as well; male conservatives have
tended to fear that permitting the vote to women would
result in a sharp turn to the left and the end of modern
civilization; more often than not, women have voted
conservatively; I attribute--without the research to prove it-that to traditional concerns for children, family, and
stability.)
The Rightist Coalition included
1.
Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (Spanish Confederation
of Autonomous Rightist Parties, or CEDA) led by José María Gil Robles.
Robles is a monarchist and a Catholic, and he is reactionary, nor
revolutionary.
2.
Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista
(Spanish Phalanx and the Committees for National Syndicalist Offensive
or Falange Española de las JONS [do you mind if I call them the
Falange?} They were led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the son of
the former dictator.
The "Black Biennium" (November 1933 to February 1936)
1.
Economic conditions were harsh (Spain was not immune to the Great
Depression)
2.
Rural protest was crushed savagely by the Guardia Civil, who were viewed
as the instrument of the landlords and the political caciques)
3.
In the Asturian mining districts, the strikers fought back desperately
against the police and Guardia Civil. General Francisco Franco was
called in to suppress the strikers.
4.
Franco deployed Spanish regulars, Spanish Legionnaires, and Moroccan
troops (the latter had a well-deserved reputation for ferocity and cruelty;
Ellwood notes that Asturias never submitted to Moorish rule and was the
springboard for the Reconquest; the use of Moorish troops in Asturias by
the devoutly Catholic Franco seems a bit ironic) (19)
IB Contemporary World History
The Spanish Civil War
5.
6.
7.
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Rightist rule was weakened by financial scandals in 1935
The Left began to organize its opposition in November 1935
a.
Indalecio Prieto of the PSOE
b.
Manuel Azaña Díaz of the Republican Left
c.
UGT, the trade unionists
d.
PCE, the Stalinist Communists
e.
Juventudas Socialistas (Socialist Youth or JS)
f.
Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista (Workers' Party of
Marxist Unification, or POUM, which was anti-Stalinist)
The Seventh Congress of the Comintern (Communist International) in
1935, an organization thoroughly controlled by Stalin, gave orders for all
Communist Parties to cooperate with other Socialist organizations to
oppose fascism. From this came the term "Popular Front," which is
applied to the Republicans in Spain and to the Socialist government in
France.
a.
Stalin was trying to be very clever here. He hoped to assist
Germany (indirectly) to rearm. Then he hoped for Germany to
wage war against Great Britain and France, fellow capitalists; the
result would be the exhaustion and collapse of all three. Then,
Stalin reasoned, he could move into the power vacuum and pick up
the pieces. He did not, however, want Germany to become too
strong nor France too weak. Hence, the Popular Fronts, which
would act as a counter-weight to growing German strength. Since
Stalin was unable to distinguish the difference between the
Conservative Neville Chamberlain or Edouard Daladier and the
Nazi Adolf Hitler, this complex and risky policy turns out to be
one of the worst foreign policy disasters in history. One would
think that someone as pathologically paranoid as Stalin, not to
mention ruthless, amoral, cruel, cynical, and evil, would recognize
a kindred spirit. Actually, he did. He just didn't expect Hitler to
attack him.
b.
Stalin's attempts to be clever has a profound effect on the Spanish
Civil War. What must be firmly understood about Stalin's policy
towards Spain is that ideology (the fostering of the world socialist
revolution so beloved by Trotsky and Lenin) had been perverted
into "What's good for the Soviet Union is good for world
Socialism" or "Socialism in One Country," the official slogan. All
Communist Parties were expected to function as extensions of
Soviet foreign policy, and the immediate benefit of the Soviet
Union (a concept which Stalin tended to treat as if it were the old
Imperial Russia, but that is impossible, isn't it, since Stalin was a
Communist, and Communists are not imperialists, are they, only us
IB Contemporary World History
The Spanish Civil War
III.
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Capitalist-Imperialist running-dog paper tiger pigs.) took absolute
precedence over every thing else. Stalin cares nothing for Spain or
Spanish Communists (or anyone else for that matter).
G.
The elections of February 1936
1.
The Popular Front won a narrow victory in popular vote which became a
much larger victory as a result of proportional representation in the Cortes.
2.
Manuel Azaña Díaz became the new Prime Minister.
3.
This change of government was interpreted by the Right as tantamount to
a Communist takeover (ie the deionization of one's political enemies,
which paves the way to killing them ruthlessly). This is nonsense; the
Popular Front implies cooperation with the bourgeois parties, not Red
October.
a.
Having lost the election, the Right began to look to other measures.
4.
Rightist conspiracies were revealed in February 1936, and Azaña posted
the conspirators in the army to distant posts.
a.
Franco was sent to the Canary Islands.
b.
Unfortunately, radio and secret codes permitted continued plotting.
5.
Tensions within the nation rose as Primo de Rivera was arrested and sent
letters from prison urging war, and the PSOE and Falangists battled in the
streets.
6.
The Republican cause was hurt when José Calvo Sotelo, the leader of the
RE, was murdered by government police. This caused fears that the
government could not control its own adherents (a not unjustified fear,
under the circumstances, one must admit; the Republicans will have an
unfortunate tendency to commit real atrocities, which provide a pretext for
the Nationalists to commit much larger, thorough, and devastating
atrocities.
a.
Friedrich Engels' analyses of Revolution of 1848 are quite a propos
here:
(1)
Do not start an insurrection unless prepared to face the
consequences
(2)
Once begun, always maintain the offensive and initiative
The Rising: July 17, 1936-August 1, 1936 (Ellwood 28-41)
A.
Conspiracy turned into actual rebellion as the result of fears among the rebels at
Melilla, along the North African coast about 400 km east of Gibraltar, that the plot
would be exposed.
B.
Precipitate action led to arrests and proclamations in Tetuán and Ceuta.
C.
Leadership in Morocco was exercised by Lt. Col. Juan Yagüe Blanco, who was
known as the "Hyena of Asturias."
D.
The rebels seize control of North Africa but cannot get to the metropolis, since the
navy and air force remain loyal.
E.
Francisco Franco arrived from the Canaries to take command.
IB Contemporary World History
The Spanish Civil War
1.
F.
G.
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I was raised to regard Franco as a fascist, just like Hitler and Mussolini.
Since I have begun teaching fascism, I realize now that he is really a
reactionary. Order, discipline, hierarchy, Catholicism, national unity are
all hallmarks of his personality. However odious he was, he still remains
within the context of traditional Judaeo-Christian values, which is not true
of Lenin, Hitler or other genuinely totalitarian leaders.
On the mainland, the rising is successful at
1.
Pamplona, under the direction of Gen. Emilio Mola Vidal.
2.
Castile
3.
Provincial capitals such as Burgos, León, Valladolid, Salamanca, Segovia,
and Soria.
4.
Ellwood finds it significant that savage repression of all perceived
dissidents began in Castile immediately, despite the lack of organized
opposition or real fighting. (31-2)
a.
A standard defense used by revolutionaries for the use of terror as
an instrument of statecraft is that the threat of reactionary
resistance or outside intervention (or both) forced the use of terror
to ensure the very survival of the revolution. This is a very
plausible defense.
b.
Close examination of several such events, including the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia, and the Spanish Civil War, lead me to regard
such claims with suspicion. In both of the above cases, these
claims are a deliberate attempt to disguise the murderous nature of
the regime.
(1)
If you are wondering why I did not include Hitler among
those, it is because Hitler never pretended that he was
forced to the use of terror.
The rebels fail in Asturias, Santander, Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa remained under
Republican control.
1.
These provinces ensure that the rail and maritime links with France and
the outside world are secure.
2.
Outside support is therefore not precluded.
3.
For this reason, the struggle on the northern front is the decisive theater of
the war.
4.
Republican response was rather slow, since the Liberals were reluctant to
arm the workers, which implied a deep, class-driven civil war. Of course,
that is what they already had.
Italian and German Intervention
1.
Benito Mussolini provided aircraft to Franco to transfer the battle
hardened Army of Africa to Spain.
2.
Adolf Hitler chipped in with more transport aircraft.
a.
Without this assistance, the Nationalists would have failed.
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The Spanish Civil War
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Catalonia
1.
The Catalans had been granted self-government in 1938.
2.
The destruction of Catalan and Basque nationalism were very high
priorities throughout Franco's life since they posed a fundamental threat to
the Conservatives' entire concept of Spanish nationhood. In neither case
were the Nationalists successful.
3.
Divisions within Republican ranks seriously hurt the government in
Catalonia, and this is virtually the story of their defeat in the war.
a.
The Catalan government was middle-class and generally
conservative; in all but Catalan autonomy they were more in
sympathy with the Nationalists than with the Republicans.
However, nationalism is an enormously powerful force, and so the
Catalans remain loyal to the government.
b.
Barcelona was stronghold for the anarchists. The CNT saw an
opportunity enact a thorough anarnicho-communist social and
economic revolution.
(1)
Part of that revolution was persecution of the Church
(including desecration of churches, relics, and the graves of
nuns.)
(2)
Such scenes make it hard for the disparate elements in the
Republican government to work together smoothly and they
also harden the determination of the Nationalists to fight to
the bitter end and to give no mercy.
(3)
Throughout the war, the anarchists tended to place social
revolution first and defeating the Nationalists second, while
the socialists and communists reversed the order. Their
bitter internecine feud is a terrible weakness. We shall see
that Franco does not make this mistake.
(a)
Of course, as an authoritarian reactionary, Franco
would not be expected to tolerate internal dissent.
And as anarchists, one would expect them to rebel
against centralized authority of whatever kind and
to refuse to subordinate their particular desires to a
common cause. In this respect, the Nationalists
hold an inherent advantage.
Madrid
1.
A lack of unified leadership weakened the rebels in Madrid. There, police,
leftist paramilitary militias, and citizens besieged the rebels in their own
barracks.
2.
The defenders of the Montaña Barracks surrendered, but were massacred
by the populace. This demonstration that the government lacked effective
control of its own forces is not helpful.
IB Contemporary World History
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3.
4.
IV.
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The failure to seize the capital is a major defeat for the Nationalists.
With so much of the regular army disloyal, the government now must turn
to socialists, paramilitary militias to defend itself
5.
Nationalist forces launch a drive on Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama.
While the Nationalists were successful at driving the Republicans out of
the mountains, they stalled before Madrid itself.
K.
The chance of a relatively swift coup d'etat has been lost. Now Spain is faced
with a civil war which will force everyone in the country to choose up sides.
A Failed Coup Turns Into War: August 1-October 1, 1936 (Ellwood 42-55)
A.
The Nationalists quickly established military rule in their zones of control. The
Republicans attempted to maintain civilian control in theirs.
B.
Offensive Against Extramadura
1.
A column from Seville, composed of Legionnaires and Moroccans headed
towards Extramadura, with the crossroads of Mérida the goal. They hoped
to link up with Gen. Mola, who was advancing south from Castile. This
would link up Nationalist enclaves that were physically separated. These
columns were later joined by one under the command of Juan Yagüe.
2.
Badajoz was assaulted on August 13, and taken after hand to hand
fighting. An unknown number of Republicans were then massacred; the
count is certainly well into hundreds.
C.
By the end of July, the Nationalists held the agricultural regions of the west,
northwest, and south-west, and north-central regions, but the Loyalists held the
industrial and manufacturing centers of Madrid, Vizcaya and Catalonia, and the
agricultural regions of Andalusia, Murcia, Alicante and Valencia. In particular,
the Loyalists still held rail links through the Pyrenees.
D.
French policy
1.
France had just established a Popular Front government with Leon Blum, a
Socialist, as Premier.
2.
Blum's instinct was to defend the French Popular Front by defending the
Spanish Popular Front. Since the Popular Front had been formed to
provide unity against the Nazi resurgence, this made sense.
3.
France is a deeply divided society. Blum's attempts at support raised a
maelstrom of opposition domestically.
4.
The British then waded in and warned the French against any meaningful
support of the Republicans. If French assistance led to war with Nazi
Germany, the British told the French they would be on their own. This left
Blum with little choice.
5.
Under British pressure, Blum closed the Spanish border, which is not a
neutral act--it is hostile to the Republicans. Neutrality would have allowed
the purchase of equipment and munitions and the movement of food,
volunteers and medicines into the country.
6.
Also under British pressure, Blum supports a non-intervention agreement,
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which is signed by Britain, France, Germany, and Italy
a.
The fascists begin breaking the agreement almost immediately.
(Sontag 304-5)
7.
The failure of the Popular Front to take a firm stand really destroys it.
Blum resigned in June 1937. Afterwards, the French government was
incapable of effective action.
8.
French conservatives preferred the order and discipline which Hitler was
imposing on Germany to the "godless" socialists. "Better Hitler than
Blum!" All too soon, Hitler would show them what kind of order and
discipline he meant.
British policy
1.
I cannot find much good to say about British policy. Frankly, it makes me
ill.
2.
The government was really hoping for a stalemate leading to a British
negotiated peace settlement with Franco in charge.
a.
Neville Chamberlain is a Conservative and is quite hostile to any
government that includes socialists.
3.
British intellectuals, like George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Bertrand
Russell, were all pro-Red. Unfortunately, they were also pacifists.
4.
Pacifism remained very strong in Britain among all segments of society. It
was especially strong among intellectuals. Cambridge students voted a
resolution that they would never fight for king and country, for instance.
Russell is on record with some fatuous comments about greeting German
invaders with open arms. (Sontag 309-10)
5.
British policy is quite hostile to the Republic in practice (British merchant
vessels were barred from bringing food and medicine into Barcelona, for
example.)
6.
Such short sighted policies are difficult to stomach. Neville Chamberlain
will live to see German bombers over London and the city in flames.
Somehow it seems not to have occurred to him until far too late that the
defense of the home islands required the defence of France.
7.
British intellectual pacifists failed to grasp the idea that letting an
aggressor have his way with you does not discourage the aggressor. If
someone is punching you in the face, it is rather too much to expect that he
will quit because your face is hurting his fist.
Stalin's policy
1.
Stalin was primarily interested at this time in the first great show trials in
his Great Purge.
2.
The Spanish Civil War put Stalin in an embarrassing situation. The Purge
required him to follow a cautious policy, since the Soviet Union was very
vulnerable. A Socialist or Communist victory would have benefits for him
so far as a world wide revolution were concerned, but Adam Ulam points
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out that Spanish history gave Stalin little expectation that the Spanish
would become tools of any foreigner. Furthermore, such a victory would
be purchased at the hostility of France and Britain, and Stalin was
beginning to test the waters for cooperation against Hitler. On the other
hand, a Franco victory could not have been desired in Moscow. As the
self-proclaimed leader of international socialism, Stalin could not sit idly
by in a war which pitted the left against the right, especially when
Trotskyite Communists were accusing Stalin of betraying the revolution.
Stalin's hatred and fear of Trotskyites was real, hence his concern to crush
POUM and the NKVD assassinations. (244-6)
3.
Stalin had the PCE under strict discipline, which is a great advantage, and
he also controlled the Comintern.
4.
The Comintern recruited the famous International Brigades.
a.
Most, but not all, of the volunteers were Communists. Others were
idealists fighting dictatorship. Many equated communism with
freedom.
b.
A total of 25,000-35,000 men served in the Brigades. (Bell 215)
c.
Brigade commanders were under Stalin's control.
d.
Stalin organized the financing and equipping of the brigades.
e.
Unlike either Italy or Germany, Stalin carefully refrained from
deploying Soviet troops.
5.
Stalin also decided to send substantial aid to the Republicans. (Sontag
302) including 700 tanks and 1,500 aircraft (Messenger 100-101) [P.M.H.
Bell has somewhat different figures: 1,000 aircraft and 900 tanks.] (Bell
214) Among the officers were four future marshals, and heroes of World
War II
6.
Stalin does require the Republicans to turn over Spain's entire gold
reserves before delivery. (I thought he was a Communist, not a capitalist?)
Mussolini's policy
1.
Mussolini's contribution to the Nationalist cause was very substantial.
2.
He sent an entire corps (about 50,000 men and 700 aircraft, plus very
substantial munitions. [Bell offers 73,000 men total, 759 aircraft, 157
tanks, 1,800 guns and 320,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition]
(Bell 213)
3.
Mussolini's motives are more obscure.
a.
He claimed to have wished to avoid a Communist government so
close to Italy. This is not worth his effort.
b.
More likely is Mussolini's wish for glory, to gain victories for
Italian arms. Mussolini's rhetoric was filled with images of war
and violence; he seems to have felt he had to put his money where
his mouth was. (Sontag 301)
c.
Italy emerged from the war weaker economically and socially
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4.
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Whatever his reasons, the decision is disastrous. The Italian economy was
in no position to support even so small a war as the Spanish
Hitler's policy
1.
Hitler was never as deeply involved in Spain as Mussolini, contrary to
popular belief.
2.
German forces never exceeded 10,000 men, of whom 6,000 were the
Condor Legion from the Luftwaffe (about 600 aircraft in all according to
Bell (214)).
a.
The Condor Legion included the very best Hitler had, which was
very very good indeed. Included were two fighter pilots and
combat leaders who became legendary: Werner Mölders and
Adolph Galland
b.
Werner Mölders invented the fighter formation which the US calls
the "finger four." It is still the standard fighter formation in use
today.
c.
Galland specialized in close-air to ground support, an essential
component of Blitzkrieg war and, certainly, the most notable single
characteristic of the method of waging war by the US armed forces.
German air support was a basic part of all Nationalist offensives.
d.
Wolfram von Richthofen was sent over to test out the new Junkers
Ju-87 dive bomber. Especially early in World War II, the Ju-87
Stuka is THE airplane associated with Blitzkrieg. (Messenger 100103)
3.
Hitler's motive was mostly to complicate the strategic problems faced by
France. (Sontag 321) He is more interested in the fastening an iron grip on
his military and on the annexation of Austria, to be followed by the rape of
Czechoslovakia.
4.
Hitler's observation of the weak-kneed, pusillanimous policies of France
and Britain strengthen his opinion that the democracies would never fight.
The Largo Caballero Government
1.
The execution of a number of prisoners held in Madrid, which was in
retaliation to the Badajoz massacre, helped discredit the government of
José Giral on September 4, 1936.
2.
He is replaced by Francisco Largo Caballero, a socialist, and his
government reflects the leverage exerted on the Republic by the PCE,
operating under Stalin's orders.
Toledo
1.
While the Nationalist drive on Madrid stalled, attention was drawn to the
siege of Nationalists in Toledo, which was both the religious center and
the location of the officer cadet school.
2.
Toledo was not militarily important, but the siege of Nationalists by the
Republicans there assumed great emotional significance for the
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Nationalists.
3.
Although suffering terribly from casualties, and lack of food, water and
medicine, the Nationalists refused to surrender.
4.
Franco showed his political acumen by diverting forces from Madrid to
fight their way into Toledo. He could not afford to allow such a symbol to
fall, and he also wanted the credit for saving such as symbol--he wanted a
triumphal entry, like a modern day El Cid.
K.
Creation of a Nationalist Government
1.
Since the mining and manufacturing districts were in Loyalist hands, the
Nationalists would have to obtain weapons and munitions from abroad,
which meant Hitler and Mussolini.
2.
Neither Hitler nor Mussolini would provide the assistance for free. They
would have to be paid for by economic concessions (Hitler drove some
very hard bargains) Only a functioning government could make such
agreements.
3.
The Nationalist Defence Committee began to discuss how to organize
itself and who should lead the state. They quickly concluded that the
military commander should lead the state, and the only viable choice was
Franco.
4.
Franco is declared "Head of the Spanish state" on September 30, 1936.
The Battle for Madrid: October 1936-May 1937 (Ellwood 56-74)
A.
The Republicans granted the Basques self-government in July, both to ensure their
loyalty and to recognize the fact that they were cut off from the rest of the Loyalist
territory.
B.
José Antonio Aguirre became the President of Euzkadi in October.
C.
The Nationalists fought their way close enough to Madrid on November 13 to
begin direct bombardment of the city.
D.
The Republican President, Manuel Azaña left Madrid for Barcelona.
E.
Also in November, 4 members of the anarchist CNT join Largo Caballero's
cabinet. The cabinet then abandons Madrid for Valencia.
F.
Despite being abandoned, the madrileños refused to surrender. They organized
themselves for stubborn defense, and organized themselves for life under siege
and bombardment--a siege that lasted two and a half years.
G.
By January 16, 1937, stalemate had been reached on the Madrid front.
H.
In the south, Italian and Moroccan troops captured Málaga on February 8, 1937.
German warships bombarded civilians as they fled along coastal roads. Fleeing
civilians were also subjected to air attack. Hundreds of prisoners were executed
after summary trials.
I.
The Battle of Jarama Valley
1.
The Jarama Valley controlled the Madrid-Valencia road. The Nationalists
wanted to sever that. Fighting lasted from January 30 to February 17, cost
16,000 dead, and ended in stalemate.
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The Battle of Guadalajara (March 1937)
1.
Spanish and Italian troops attacked east of the capital.
2.
The Republicans routed the Italians and drove the Nationalists back.
a.
It was following this battle that the Russian Gen. Pavlov concluded
that tanks were unsuitable for operations independently of infantry,
and he recommended that the new Soviet panzer divisions be
broken up and the tanks distributed among infantry divisions.
b.
The German observers drew different conclusions; the attack had
been conducted by Italians and therefore any lessons to be drawn
were useless.
c.
Pavlov was rewarded for his insight by being surrounded, routed,
and crushed by German panzers in 1941. Stalin decorated him
with a nine millimeter bullet worn intercranially (a standard
Stalinist decoration for services rendered). As Danton once
remarked, "Pour l'encourager les autres!"
The Fall of Bilbao
1.
Gen. Mola began a drive on the port of Bilbao with the purpose of
isolating the Republic from maritime resources and from Cantabria
2.
The Basque defenders put up much stiffer resistance than expected, and
although the Nationalists advanced, it was slow and costly.
3.
Guernica
a.
On April 26, 1937, the German Condor Legion conducted a
deliberate terror bombing attack on the town of Guernica, the
cradle of Basque nationalism.
b.
The bombers struck on Sunday, and waited until the market place
would be crowded with civilians. The legitimate military targets in
Guernica (an arms factory and a bridge) were carefully avoided.
The target was the civilian population itself. After bombing (both
high explosive and incendiary were used), the Germans came down
and strafed the survivors. About 1,500 people were killed.
c.
The Nationalists have claimed that the Germans acted without their
knowledge. Ellwood correctly points out that this is tantamount to
Franco confessing that foreigners acted with contempt for his
sovereignty. (68) The Germans have claimed that the timing and
target were accidental. Captured German records prove that that is
a lie.
d.
Ellwood believes that Franco asked for the attack, and I believe the
Germans gladly obliged.
(1)
The Scripture says that he who sows the wind shall reap the
whirlwind.
(2)
On July 24, 1943, the British and Americans began
Operation Gomorrah against the city of Hamburg,
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Germany
(a)
Some 791 bombers from Bomber Command
mounted the first attack 2,396 tons are dropped in
2.5 hours. (Caidin 63) Water mains ruptured, in
many cases beyond repair. Fires rage
uncontrollably, in some areas for weeks.
(b)
On July 25, 1943 218 B-17s from the USAAF 8th
Air Force attack the docks. Damage is very heavy.
(c)
July 26, 1943 56 B-17s bomb the electrical works,
destroying it.
(d)
July 27, 1943 The Firestorm
i)
739 bombers from Bomber Command drop
2,417 tons of high explosive and
incendiaries between 23:40 and 23:55 hours.
ii)
All defense systems are overwhelmed and
collapse abruptly.
iii)
The most heavily populated district in
Hamburg, with a pre-war population of over
400,000 in 6 square miles is targeted.
iv)
Thousands of individual fires merged into
increasingly larger fires. In the still air,
flames shot up buildings like chimneys. A
pressure differential built up between the
center of the fire and outside. Super heated
air rushed upward explosively. Cooler,
oxygen laden air rushed in at ground level,
stoking the fire hotter, and accelerating the
process.
v)
Temperatures rocketed upward. The larger
fires merged into a single inferno beyond
imagining.
vi)
Pressure differential built so sharply that the
air flow is visible in smoke flowing
horizontally. Flames streaked out down
streets.
vii)
Wind speed in the suburbs reach gale force-30-40 mph. Trees are stripped. The sound
is like locomotives roaring by. Think of
Hurricane Andrew outside your window.
viii) Wind speed near the edge of the firestorm
reached 150 mph (that is not a typo) (Caidin
91-93)
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ix)
L.
Temperatures reached 1472/ F. (that is also
not a typo) (Caidin 133) At that
temperature, lead melts, wood will
spontaneously explode, glass melts, and
humans are simply devoured. Doctors
conducting autopsies discovered that most
the those who died died of cellular
disruption.
x)
Flames roared upwards to altitudes of
15,000 feet.
xi)
It is a scene from Dante. People threw
themselves into canals and lakes, only to die
from heat. Parents held children up with
heads above water until they died.
Hurricane winds drove blasts of this heat
reducing humans to cinders without flames.
People huddled in courtyards and bomb
cellars suffocated as oxygen is sucked out of
the air.(Caidin 112)
(e)
In all, 2,630 British bombers dropped 8,261 tons of
bombs on Hamburg, of which 4,309 were
incendiary. (Caidin 129)
i)
According to the United States Strategic
Bombing Survey, conducted after the war,
the firebombing of Hamburg " 'destroyed 55
to 60 percent of the city, did damage in an
area of 30 square miles, wiped out 300,000
dwelling units, and made 750,000 people
homeless. German estimates range from
60,000 to 100,000 persons killed.' " (Caidin
129)
4.
Bilbao fell on June 19, 1937.
The nature of the Nationalist Government
1.
Like the Republicans, the Nationalists represented a coalition. They all
agreed that the Republic must go, but they were not all united as to what
should replace it. There were Alfonsists, Falangists, Carllists, and CEDA
conservatives.
2.
Franco pre-empted any attempt to divide his coalition or threaten his postwar power. All party militias were forcibly incorporated into the army
forces, and all parties merged into one party.
3.
The execution of Primo de Rivera by the Republicans helped in this.
Primo feared precisely just such a military led coalition since that meant
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reaction rather than revolution. Once he is safely dead, he can become a
martyr instead of a rival.
4.
Franco's brother in law, Ramón Serrano Suñer provided the intellectual
underpinning for the new regime.
5.
On October 19, 1937, Franco issued the Decree of Unification, which
combined the Falange with the Carlists (the CT) into a new, wholly
subservient organization called FET y de las JONS. All other parties
were dissolved, a state of affairs that lasted 40 years.
6.
When the Falange successor to Primo, Manuel Hedilla, he was arrested,
saved from execution only by the direct intervention of the German
ambassador, and sentenced to a harsh prison term. (Ellwood 74)
7.
Franco is authoritarian and he will brook no opposition.
The Republic's Desperate Struggle: May 1937-April 1938 (Ellwood 75-88)
A.
The Failure of the Republic to Unify Its Effort
1.
The Republican's failure is in sharp contrast with Franco's success
2.
A very important factor is the leverage with the PCE wielded. They were
not large, and did not represent the bulk of the Spanish people or even the
bulk of the leftists. However, since the Republic could not survive
without Soviet aid, and since the PCE and Stalin played hard ball with the
Republic, it is difficult for the Republican leaders to maneuver.
3.
Very serious conflict developed in Barcelona, which was a stronghold of
POUM and CNT (the anti-Stalinist [or Trotsky] Marxists and the
anarchists.
a.
President Lluis Companys formed a government which included
the Catalan Communists, the Partit Socialist Unificat de Catalunya
or PSUC), POUM, and CNT.
b.
The PCE attacked the inclusion of POUM and the anarchists
resigned rather than disarm the civilians.
c.
CNT and POUM ended up fighting in the streets against PSUC ,
PSOE and left Republicans
4.
Largo Caballero would have liked to have attempted to restore unity by
forming a new cabinet that omitted the PCE, but could not or risk losing
the war.
a.
In the meantime, Stalin had boosted the NKVD representation in
the Soviet embassy. These agents and PCE began a systematic
persecution of POUM.
b.
One of POUM's most important figures, Andreu Nín, was
imprisoned, and died of torture by Stalinists in June 1937.
B.
The Battle of Brunete July 5, 1937
1.
The defenders of Madrid attempted to break the siege with a surprise
attack at Brunete.
2.
The Republicans gained surprise and initially gained ground, but ran out of
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momentum
3.
Moroccan troops counterattacked and finally drove the Republicans out of
the ruins of Brunete after bitter fighting.
4.
The Republicans ended the battle demoralized. "To a large extent, this
battle was a watershed for the Republic. From that point onwards, the
Popular Army was no longer thought of as the instrument for winning the
war, but simply as the means to hold out as long as possible. That the war
lasted another two years was as much due to the grim tenacity of the
Spanish people as to the quality of the Popular Army." (Ellwood 79)
The Fall of Santander August 27, 1937
1.
Basque resistance ended with the destruction of the Santander pocket.
2.
The Basques surrendered to troops from Navarre and Italian "Black
Arrows." They hoped by surrender to mitigate reprisals, which they
expected would be especially severe.
a.
Like the Catalans, the Basque National Party was very Catholic
and inherently very conservative, except for the issue of Basque
autonomy, which was an issue Franco could not abide. Franco had
expressed his displeasure by shooting a group of Basque priests
and, of course, Guernica as a Basque center was not bombed by
accident.
b.
Their surrender did not mitigate the reprisals. The Italians turned
the prisoners over to the Spanish.
The Fall of Gijón and Oviedo
1.
The Asturian militias continued to resist fiercely but were completely
outgunned by this point.
2.
The last pockets were eliminated by October 21, 1937.
3.
The campaign in the north was over. All that remained were the arrests,
reprisals, and executions.
4.
The Nationalists now can concentrate on Madrid and Aragón/Catalonia.
The Battle of Teruel December 15, 1937
1.
The Republicans attempted to ease pressure against Madrid by an attack
on Teruel, which is in the mountains.
a.
This is a frequent strategy for the Republicans, but their
geographical division, lack of coordination and lack of speed,
leadership and resources lead to consistent bloody defeat. Initial
gains were always wiped out after bloody fighting that left the
Republicans relatively weaker than before.
2.
The winter was the most severe in many years, and conditions in the
mountains appalling.
3.
The Republicans entered the outskirts of Teruel on December 21
4.
Franco counterattacked on Christmas Day
5.
After 6 weeks of bitter house to house fighting, the Republicans withdraw,
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having lost 60,000 dead.
F.
Franco promulgates a Labour Charter, which adopts corporatist ideas from the
Italian fascists.
1.
Philippe Schmitter writes, "Corporatism can be defined as a system of
interest representation in which the constituent units [ie, social and
economic sectors] are organized into a limited number of singular,
compulsory, noncompetitive, hierarchically ordered and functionally
differentiated categories, recognized or licensed (if not created) by the
state and granted a deliberate representational monopoly within their
respective categories in exchange for observing certain controls . . . ." (qtd
in Payne 24-25)
2.
It should be noted that Corporatism tends to sound quite nice in theory, but
in practice transforms labor unions into a charade.
G.
On April 15, 1938, the Nationalists captured Vinaroz, cutting the road between
Barcelona and Madrid.
1.
It is now clear that the Republicans cannot win.
The Third and Final Year: April 1938 - March 1939 (Ellwood 89-105)
A.
Some elements within the Republican government, seeing that victory was
impossible, were prepared to negotiate for the best peace they could obtain.
Franco refused to negotiate at all.
B.
The Nationalist Prime Minister, Juan Negrín López, held out in hopes of
intervention by the Western democracies.
C.
The Battle of the Ebro July 1938
1.
As so often previously, the Nationalists hoped to ease pressure by an
offensive, this time across the Ebro River. As before, their offensive
stalled, and an attritional slugging match ensued, which the Nationalists
could not win.
2.
The battle ended in November 1938, with about 40,000 lost on each side.
(Ellwood 92)
D.
The Munich Agreement (September 29, 1938) led Stalin to shift attention to the
growing threat from Germany and to cut back on assistance to the Republicans.
At the same time, German aid flowed unabated to Franco, in exchange for
important economic concessions.
E.
The Fall of Catalonia
1.
Franco launches his offensive on December 23, 1938
a.
It quickly became clear that the Republicans could not stop the
assault.
2.
The Battle of Córdoba January 9, 1939
a.
Once again, the Republicans attempt a spoiling offensive. This
time,, it is stopped dead in its tracks.
3.
Tarragona fell on January 15, 1939.
4.
The Republican government, accompanied by Presidents José Antonio
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Aguirre of Euzkadi and Lluis Companys of Catalonia fled Barcelona. The
President, Manuel Azaña accompanied the other two presidents into
France on February 5. The Republican government followed on February
7.
F.
Foreign Recognition for Franco
1.
Franco signed the Law of Political Responsibilities on February 13,
1939,"Which indicated that there would be no mercy for anyone
considered to have held even the most minor political post under the
Republic or to have 'obstructed' the Nationalist cause." (Ellwood 100) The
law was made retroactive to October 1934.
2.
France and Britain recognized the Nationalists as the de jure government
on February 27; Azaña resigned.
G.
The Fall of Madrid
1.
In this extremity, it is only a matter of time before Madrid fell.
2.
The PCE and PSOE began fighting among themselves.
3.
On March 26, Republican resistance collapsed.
Immediate Aftermath (Ellwood 106-115)
A.
Franco began post-war reprisals immediately. The extent is debated, but Ellwood
quotes figures from 10,000 to 28,000 (108)
B.
The next decade were called the "hungry years" as food shortages were suffered
widely.
C.
Franco effectively destroyed the Republic institutionally.
D.
Franco did however, avoid allowing Hitler to pull him into World War II. He is
the only man I know of off-hand who met Hitler face to face and came out a
winner.
E.
After the Second World War, Franco was anathema to the Western democracies,
who regarded him as little better than Hitler. Spain is diplomatically and
economically isolated until the Cold War heated up.
1.
Franco's bitter anti-Communism helped to rehabilitate him, at least in US
eyes.
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Bell, P.M.H. The Origins of the Second World War in Europe. New York: Longman, 1986
Bernstein, Paul and Green, Robert W. History of Civilization. Vol II. Totowa, NJ: Littlefield,
Adams and Co. 1971.
Blum, Jerome, Cameron, Rondo, and Barnes, Thomas G. The European World Since 1815:
Triumph and Transition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1966.
Caidin, Martin. The Night Hamburg Died. New York: Ballantine, 1960.
Carsten, F.L. The Rise of Fascism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969.
Ellwood, Sheelagh M. The Spanish Civil War. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, Ltd. 1991
Messenger, Charles. The Art of Blitzkrieg. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1991.
Neumann Sigmund and von Hagen, Mark, "Engels and Marx on Revolution, War, and the Army
in Society." Makers of Modern Strategy. Paret, Peter, ed. Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1986.
Payne, Stanley G. Fascism: Comparison and Definition. Madison, WI: University of
Wisconsin
Press, 1980.
Sontag, Raymond J. A Broken World: 1919-1939. New York: Harper and Row, 1972.
Ulam, Adam. Expansion and Coexistence: The History of Soviet Foreign Policy 1917-67. New
York: Frederick Praeger, 1968.