Spanish Civil War: A Nation Divided (1936-1939)
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939): Development of the War
The triumph of the Popular Front precipitated the military uprising against the Republic. The coup was planned by General Mola and was intended to rapidly take major Spanish cities and overthrow the Republican regime. The uprising began on July 17th, but the initial failure of the rebels and the government’s inability to defeat them sparked the war. The right-wing political forces joined the uprising, as did traditionally dominant groups (large landowners and gentry), small landowners, and most Catholics. The urban proletariat, laborers, and small progressive bourgeoisie formed the popular resistance to the uprising.
Military Development of the Conflict
There are three phases in the development of the Civil War:
From July 17th, 1936, until mid-1937
General Franco took over the Army of Africa (the best-prepared army in all of Spain) and went to Spain to join the insurgents in Andalusia, whose command was General Queipo de Llano. The rebels marched into Madrid from the north and south but were stopped before they could achieve their goal, which was a severe setback for them. From the beginning, it was found that the rebel army was superior in organization and supplies to the Republican army, made up of improvised battalions of soldiers, civil guards, and volunteers. On the Republican side, General Miaja and General Vicente Rojo stood out.
From mid-1937 until the summer of 1938
Franco’s troops captured the north in mid-1937 and began to break the morale and strength of the enemy with air attacks and bombings against civilians in Valencia, Madrid, and Barcelona. The city of Guernica was completely destroyed by German aircraft. In 1938, Aragon and Castellon were occupied by Franco’s army, and the Republican zone was divided in two.
Final Phase (July 1938 to April 1939)
The failure of General Rojo in the Battle of the Ebro in the summer of 1938 left the Republic almost defeated. It accentuated the divisions among Republicans in favor of extreme resistance (Negrin) and those favorable to attempting peace negotiations, although Franco always rejected this possibility. On March 28th, 1939, Madrid fell. The war was over.
Causes of the Failure of the Second Republic
The Republican regime was always opposed by the right, who considered it too revolutionary. Moreover, it was also plagued by the extreme left, especially the anarchists, who deemed the Republic unchanging and bourgeois. As a result of its failure, it must also be said that the Republic coincided with the global economic crisis of the 1930s and with the resurgence of totalitarianism versus democracy. Finally, there was a sudden attempt to implement a democratic system in a country like Spain, which, in 1931, had cultural and social tensions equivalent to those of other European countries but 50 years earlier.
Causes of the Republican Defeat in the War
Government military forces were very ineffective against the superiority of the rebel army. The rebels had a political system of military rule, and Franco could soon organize a disciplined army. The Republic spent the war trying to organize an army; it had enough professional soldiers, but the middle managers were political or union leaders, with enthusiasm but without technical expertise in warfare. The rebels had the foreign assistance of Italians and Germans, while the Republic saw European democracies turn their backs. Military command and the dictatorship imposed by the rebels were supported by propaganda, which the Church and the Falange helped, explaining to the population that the new regime was walking toward a whole new world, but without changing the old one.
Commentary on the Text
The first document is a map of Spain and northern Africa. It shows how, after the initially failed military uprising, the country was divided into two areas: the rebels and the Republicans. Franco, with a well-equipped army, crossed the peninsula from Morocco, winning a number of regions of Andalusia.
In the second document, Manuel Azana, president of the Second Republic, reflects on the causes that led to the fall of the Republic and the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. He thought the Republican regime was attacked from the outset by the extreme right, who saw in the democratic system the possibility of losing their privileges, and also by the extreme left, who were not satisfied with the Republic either. The country was divided into two irreconcilable parts, which hated and feared each other, and all this led to a war.