The Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War lasted from 1936 to 1939. A civil war is a war where groups of civilians fight against other groups of civilians, in this case the government. The Spanish Civil War was fought from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939 between the Republicans, who were loyal to the established Spanish republic, and the Nationalists, a rebel group led by General Francisco Franco. Franco ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from 1939 until his death in 1975. In this war new technology was very significant, especially the dominance of the air power. It was very important to have control of the sea too. These two parts played a decisive role in determining who won the war. On the other hand, most lives were lost in the war on land, and that was one of the most remarkable elements of the war. The Civil War had huge social, economic and political impacts on Spain. Therefore Spain suffered greatly as a result of the war. Around 100,000 Republicans and 70,000 Nationalists lost their lives in the war. The war was something new for them, because they werent involved in World War I and the fact that civilians were targets was very unusual. However, these killings continued even after the war, when Franco decided to purge his regime from the opponents, and that was called the White Terror. The Civil War led to high inflation because of the cost of war. The citizens created councils for the workers. Followed by trading in the cities and of the land districts. The nationalists movement in the first months of the war pressured the republicans to a more effective warfare. In autumn 1926 the anarchists joined the government. The Spanish Communist Party had been a small party since the civil war had begun. In about 1937 the Spanish Communist Party stood stronger than ever, and could be announced as the most powerful and influential political organization. The solution was not to be found without conflicts. In May 1937 the war in Barcelona were between the communists, socialists and anarchists. In the camp of the nationalists the military- and political power was placed in the hands of general Francisco Franco. About 70.000 Italian soldiers participated in the civil war. German war machines gave the nationalists a big advantage during the civil war. They got the support from Germany and Italy because of the non-intervention deal that the European superpowers had signed, though the British non-involvement politic meant no support from most of the Vest of Europe. In 1936 the USSR started sending weapons and military advisers. The help got minimized in 1937, and fully disappeared in 1938.

Francisco Franco.

Francisco Franco was born on December 4, 1892 and died on November 20, 1975. He came from a military background, and was a Spanish military leader, who later ruled as the dictator of Spain. He got in the military when he was 14 years old. Franco was early in the army. From 1912-1926 he was an officer in Marokko. In September 1936 he was appointed as General, and in October he became Head of State in the National Spain. In April 1937 he became leader of the fascist party, Falangen. Franco had no such thing as special speaking skills, like Adolf Hitler or Mussolini, but nonetheless he convinced people to believe in him. Francos politic and ideology was very conservative and catholic. He wanted a stable foreign policy and a tight moral. Franco made a partnership with the fascistic Italy and Nazi Germany, but he never gave anything back to Hitler or Mussolini. Franco was, to Hitler's disappointment, war neutral under the 2. World war. Franco was supported by Hitler and Mussolini under the Spanish civil war. Franco wanted to preserve the Spanish community as it was before 1931.