The Spanish Civil War

Osprey Essential Histories #37

by Frances Lannon

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 was of enormous international as well as national significance. In this gripping volume, Frances Lannon explains how this internal conflict between democracy and its enemies escalated to involve Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union. We go behind the scenes to find out the true story of the bitter fighting within the sides, not just between them. The experiences of the men and women caught up in the fighting are highlighted. For them, and for a world on the brink of the Second World War, the stakes were agonisingly high.

Genres: History, Spanish Civil War, Military History, Nonfiction, Spain, War, European History

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2002

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The horror, the horror

When you finish reading this book, you might wonder, as I did, why fight this war at all? At the end, with Franco a triumphant dictator, Spain still evolved into a democracy despite him. With his death in 1975, the dismantling of authoritarianism proceeded at a rapid and peaceful pace. No one wanted Franco’s despotism anymore or his ruthlessness or his anti-Democratic ways. The viciousness and cruelties of the Civil War were left behind and, if not forgotten completely, not dwelt on as before. Building a modern, liberated, Democratic Spain was what mattered, not obsessing about the violence and terrorism of the past.

Franco was supported by Hitler and Mussolini. The Republic by the Soviet Union. The Republic always hoped war against Hitler and Mussolini would break out and those who opposed fascism come to the Republic’s aid in Spain. But the Spanish Civil War ended before WW2 began in September 1939. Despite his connections with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, Franco survived those dictatorships’ fall and maintained his own dictatorship into the 1970s. The sad lesson is, dictatorships can survive in our modern world, and indeed they survive and thrive in 2021.

Any Civil War is painful to read about and this one is no exception. However this account is not lurid and will not force you to wade in gore and bloodshed. It tells you what occurred in a crisp, clear narrative, quickly read, which will provide you with an overview of events that occurred almost one hundred years ago.

I always find it incongruous to read about God being claimed by one side or the other, in this case, especially by Franco’s pro-Catholic Nationalist forces, where some troops went into battle with the Sacred Heart of Jesus sewn onto their combat uniforms. Prayer will happen on either side but I grow weary of hearing how Jesus longs to kill others that don’t share the political opinions or religious beliefs of one side or the other.

[William Razavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think of this as Cliff’s notes on the Spanish Civil War. It’s a good introduction to the basics with nice illustrations and maps. You certainly will come out of this book knowing enough about the conflict to look at it in more depth or even to just have enough context to know what’s going on in books, films etc set in the time period. The author does a good job of exposing the multiple fracture lines that made this a more multifaceted conflict than high school gym teacher/history channel versions can handle.
However, one thing hasn’t aged well since this work was first published in 2002: the whiny “both sides ism” that pervades the author’s desire to let you know that rounding up priests and landowners and shooting them is very shocking even if they ultimately were in favor of oppressing just a kit everyone and were allied with (or were) murderous fascists. Sure, it’s good to know that the Republic wasn’t pure. And this book is a lot shorter trip than Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia to get to that destination. But in 2019 it’s really not possible to read justifications of General Franco and his friends because they had serious anxiety about their traditional values, economic status etc. without wanting to knock the author’s teeth out. That goes double for the actual Spanish neo Falangists who remain unreconstructed and are as bold as ever thus turning this book into a giant warning for those of us who don’t believe in the medieval values of Francois and its many Fascist friends and maybe need a wake up call as to what the stakes are.
Fun fact hidden in the book: Texaco and Firestone extended General Franco’s rebels a line of credit early on, which along with credit, arms, supplies and troops on the ground from Germany and Italy helped make the ultimate fascist victory possible.
Fun fact #2 Britain and France almost immediately established a one sided arms embargo on the Spanish Republic and then got huffy when Spain got help from the USSR.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and well-illustrated overview of this pivotal period in Spanish and European history.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've known Spaniards who supported opposing sides in this civil war - and they both have legitimate reasons to support their view. The Republic was a mixture of progressives, socialists, pro-Stalin communists, anti-Stalin communists, anarchists, athiests, labourers, low-paid workers, Basques, and landless peasants. The Nationalists were traditionalists, monarchists, capitalists, catholics, militarists, wealthy landowners, landowning peasants, Carlists and fascists. The stage was set: whoever won the election would impose their will on the other. There was no reconciliation. No compromise. The other side would not stand for it. A few sparks were lit in July 1936 that set off the war. Was there a good guy/bad guy? Having talked to Spaniards - the answer is not really. If you were a church-going traditionalist - you were fighting the Reds. If you were a republican - you were fighting the fascists. The truth lied somewhere in between. The writer - however, seemed to have sympathies with the republicans.

As time went on - massacres were committed on both sides. The Nationalists murdered captured prisoners. The Republicans murdered priests, nuns and burned churches. Italy and Germany assisted the Nationalists - - the Soviet Union assisted the Republicans. The International Brigades were primarily foreign communists. The Condor Legion bombed Guernica.

I recommend this book - - but keep an open mind - because you have two sides who fought for what they believed was best for Spain. Tradition and Catholic vs. Progressive and Atheist.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good little synopsis history book of a key "Rehearsal War' for WWII. German, Italian, and Soviet techniques and equipment for WWII were tested in the cauldron of this war with deadly results. Learning about this war can only help us prevent future wars, and learn how dramatically things can change in wartime.

The book, a condensed history for the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast market, starts with a impressively in depth look at the political environment that led up to the war. The Spanish political landscape, with its multiple far right parties, far left parties, and no real center, will seem alien to the modern reader, but is essential to understanding this development. The book covers the descent to war, the Nationalist military Coup Plot, the Outbreak of war, and then the slow sure strangulation by the Nationalist/Fascist armies of the Republic. Along the way, though, there is time to discuss the chaos of the Republic, the infiltration of all the Republican government by Communism, and even the daily lives of civilians, soldiers and the role of woman in the war. The information packed into this slim volume is impressively diverse.

The simple direct prose makes this a good book for junior readers, although the concepts discussed and the horrors of the this war can be very adult. For the Military Enthusiast/Gamer/Modeller, the intended audience, this is a wonderful basic resource. With a lot of maps and photographs, the reader can get a great feel for the period, along with ideas for Scenarios and Dioramas. The best use of this is as an amuse bouche to excite the reader to read more on the period. Mission Accomplished.

[Agnes DiPietrantonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practice run for WWII

The history of the Spanish Civil War, with everyone losing, is a precursor for WWII. The same actors taking sides and supplying war munitions as well as providing personnel. Should be studied more intensely.

[Ian Burrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An great introduction to the Spanish Civil War

This is an introductory book on the Spanish Civil War. It summarises the causes and course of the war with an over of its context of European history. There are no revelations but if you want a brief summary, this book is for you.

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

At under 100 pages this is a very well written account of The Spanish Civil War. It's concise and informative and includes some nice images as well. Worth buying in my opinion.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview covering fhe causes, conduct, and repercussions of the Spanish Civil War.

[John Somers · Rating 3 out of 5]

11/20.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a readable and informative overview. It left me feeling profoundly sad.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the 2d Spanish Republic churches were burned and religion was not tolerated. In 1934 there was an attempt of revolution but it did not go far. It was not until 1936 some of the generals made a military rising. General Franco was in Morocco and he started bringing the Foreign Legion to the fight.
After Franco was made Comander in Chief of the military he turned to his neighbors to ask for help but the British and French adopted a policy of no intervention so Franco had to go depend on the Italians and Germans for help.
A social revolution breaks out and the communist republicans grow stronger with the Soviet help.
The war was blody and casualty list grew day by day.
The war ended March 1939 when the Nationalist enter Madrid and Franco announces the end of the war.
Historical facts are very well stated in chronological order.

[Declan Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This European Civil War started and ended before the beginning of the civil war and led to 40 years of dictatorship under Gneral Franco.

The book give a good overview of some of the battles involved as well as discussion of the politics of both sides and the lead up to the conflict.

Like all the books from Osprey in this series it is a very good - brief - overview of the conflict and well written and researched. I certainly learnt a lot about the war having known almost nothing previously.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although never exploring the revolution and the conflict in great depth, it gives a well rounded oversight to the Spanish Civil War. If you are looking to get a general idea of the war, and want a short but efficient read, this is a great book.

[Loren · Rating 2 out of 5]

As is often the case it seems, the summary is much superior to the bulk of the text.

I felt confused for much of the text-I would not recommend this for novices to the subject.

It is short thankfully (but not short enough).

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most significant point against this presentation of the Spanish Civil War in my mind was the disorganization of themes presented by the author. Otherwise, the information was quite good.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tightly written and comprehensive account of the struggle that serves as an excellent overview and introduction to the conflict. Good stepping stone to take on Beevor or Thomas later.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise summary of Spanish Civil War. Perfect to read before your first trip to Spain.