The Siege of Alcazar.
When the Nationalists realised that the uprising in Madrid was failing, the Nationalist troops occupied the Alcazar military academy. For two months the Nationalists held out on the besieging Republican army. The Nationalist were finally helped out by armies lead by Colonel Jose Varela who Stormed Toledo.
Soon after, military armaments from France arrived to the Republicans and military aircraft and vehicles arrived from Germany and Italy. The aid from France was soon cut off with the implementation of the non-intervention policy. Meanwhile military aid was still arriving from Germany and Italy. This lead to the Nationalist gaining an advantage and capturing Badajoz and therefore linking the two separate parts of Spain, which were governed by the Nationalists.
Britain’s view
Britain knew that Franco would win the war with the aid of Hitler and so did not want to make an enemy of them and so did nothing to interfere as a country. Many Brits were involved in the war but none were official representatives from the British armed forces. They were too afraid that if they got their German airplanes through to London, then the casualties would be in the thousands. Some Brits believed that this was a chance to stop the advance of Fascism.
The League of Nations contemplated war and deemed inaction illegal as that would mean refusing to help a league member. By this time, though, the league was seen as a joke and was not even properly run anymore.
Germany’s View
Hitler saw the war as a testing ground for his new aircraft i.e. dive bombers for clearing ground targets and the Condor Legion transported troops to their destinations. Hitler also liked the idea that Italy was tied up in the Spanish civil war and so Germany could move in to Austria.
Soviets View
Stalin provided the Republicans with military weapons. The aim was to give them enough to keep the Nationalists at bay but not enough to have a military edge. In his opinion as long as Germany and Italy were fighting in Spain, Russia was safe from attack from them. Because of this, he tried to prolong the war.
International Brigades
The International Brigades were armies of volunteers from many different backgrounds, who were all left wing anti-Fascists. There were people from Britain, France and even Italians and Germans who were against Fascism. Some had military experience but most were untrained in war. They came from all backgrounds, students, workers, trade unionists and some were even communists. They had to give up their jobs to fight but would get the satisfaction that they were fighting the Fascists. The Brigades were given names to reflect their views, i.e. the Germans brigade was called “Thaelmann” Brigade, as he was the leader of the outlawed German communist party. The Brigades withdrew in 1938 because of a peace initiative by the League of Nations.
The Battle of Madrid 1936-37
In the winter of 1936, Franco’s army forced their way to the west of Madrid but could not capture the city. When trying to move north, the French, British and American national brigades held up the Nationalists movement. Despite many casualties, Madrid did not fall. The International Brigades had kept the Nationalists at bay for now.
The End of War.
With the Germans equipping the Nationalists, Franco soon had 100,000 Italians, which was enough to renew his advance. The Republicans with Russian help could not hold back the Nationalists. The Republican armies were made up of people with different political view i.e. some communists, Anarchists etc and so even though they were fighting against the Fascists, they were fighting against themselves too which weakened there armies. In 1939, the cities of Barcelona and Madrid fell to the Nationalists after they retook Teruel and so cut the Republican territory in half.
Cost of War
There were over one million fatalities in the War including many from Britain and many of the towns and cities lay in ruins. Franco seized power and remained there until 1975.
After the war, Hitler knew that he had again beaten Britain and France and Fascism had been triumphant. With the help given during the war, Hitler assumed that Spain would be a profitable ally if he should ever declare war in the future. Hitler had also improved his relationship with Italy after how well they worked together during the civil war. The war also saw the main democracies ( USA, Britain and France) separated by the war. They each had different views on how they should combat the Fascists in Germany and now Spain and so this weakened them in the opinion of Hitler. Spain, though, refused to fight in the Second World War, as Hitler would have hoped as they saw it as nothing to do with Spain or Spanish interests. Hitler had seen how his weapons would behave in a war environment and so could estimate how well they could be used and in what ways in a much larger conflict.
