Ebro Battle and Spanish Civil War Political Evolution
The Battle of the Ebro
To halt the rebel advance on Valencia and Catalonia, and aiming for a negotiated peace, Republicans launched a major offensive in the Ebro. The Republican army was reinforced with 200,000 soldiers.
On July 25, Republican troops crossed the Ebro River towards Waldo, advancing 35 kilometers. By mid-November, with over 50% casualties and equipment destroyed, the Republican army retreated.
In late 1938, the Non-Intervention Committee withdrew foreign volunteers fighting with the Republicans. Before Franco’s troops initiated the Catalonia offensive, the Republican fate was clear.
End of the War (December 1938 – April 1939)
After the Ebro victory, rebels intensified bombings of major cities by Italian and Catalan aviation. These bombings prepared for the occupation of Catalonia, which was rapid.
On January 15, 1939, Tarragona fell, Barcelona on the 26th, soon reaching French borders.
With Catalonia’s fall, Republican political and military structures crumbled. Authorities, including Manuel Azaña, went into exile, a path of no return for most refugees.
Negrín and Communists tried to resist in Madrid. In February 1939, the UK and France recognized Franco’s government. Internal clashes erupted, Segismundo Casado’s sector, supported by Republicans, Socialists, and Anarcho-syndicalists, formed a Defense Board seeking an honorable peace, which Franco rejected.
The Defense Board ordered fronts to surrender without resistance. On March 28, Madrid fell to Colonel Casado. On April 1, General Franco declared the war’s end.
War and Revolution: Republican Zone Politics
In the war’s early months, social revolution seized territories, altering ownership and production. This weakened the Republican government, hindering war control and highlighting Popular Front differences.
Republican Revolution and Disintegration
Between July and October 1936, after distributing arms to popular organizations, a spontaneous revolutionary process began. Power was distributed among boards, committees, militias, revolutionary councils, and agencies.
In areas like Catalonia, people’s power was led by CNT-FAI.
A socioeconomic revolution occurred, changing production relations through land confiscation and industrial collectivization. 40-60% of cultivated land was expropriated in regions like Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, and Andalusia.
Collective resources of major industries and services were established in Valencia, Madrid, Asturias, and Catalonia, where the Council of Economy formulated a socialist transformation plan, including the Decree of Collectivization. From October 1936, the government intervened in strategic industries vital for the war.
Attempts to Reorganize Power
In September 1936, a broad coalition government was formed, led by Francisco Largo Caballero, including Socialists, Communists, Republicans, Nationalists, and CNT. Federica Montseny, Spain’s first female minister, and Luis García Oliver were part of this coalition.
Provisional and municipal councils were created, chaired by state representatives. In Catalonia, the Generalitat formed a new government, including Communists and Anarchists, replacing the Central Committee of Antifascist Militias.
The military was reorganized, and the State Major merged militias, forming the Popular Army.
Two divergent conceptions of the revolutionary process emerged. Communists, Socialists, Republicans, and Nationalists prioritized war over revolution, aiming to rebuild the Republican state. CNT-FAI, POUM Communists, and Largo Caballero’s followers advocated simultaneous war and revolution.
May 1937 Events in Catalonia
In May 1937, Barcelona saw clashes between Anarchists and POUM militants against Government forces and pro-Soviet PSUC militias. Street fighting lasted five days, causing 500 deaths and over 1,000 injuries.