Arms for Spain: The Untold Story of the Spanish Civil War

by Gerald Howson

The victory of fascism in Spain in 1936 set the stage for World War Two. As Gerald Howson argues in this startling and compelling new look at the Spanish Civil War, that victory was assured by the non-fascist European powers. When military officers and rich landowners rebelled against the left-wing Spanish government in 1936, the Spanish Republic found itself abandoned by other European nations. Hoping to prevent the escalation of the conflict into a world war, European leaders created an international arms embargo against Spain. Arms for Spain reveals that this embargo gave Franco's rebels an enormous advantage against the Republic. While hindering arms from reaching the Republic, it allowed Hitler and Mussolini to equip Franco with enough armaments to win. The Republic was thus forced to buy illegal arms from foreign officials who extorted huge bribes for arms they never delivered. Banks and arms traffickers also swindled the Spanish government, often sending unusable weapons. Russia, long believed to be the Republic's strongest supporter, was one of the worst offenders. The Soviets provided far less aid than has been thought and defrauded the Spanish government of millions of dollars by secretly manipulating the exchange rates. Through a unique combination of exhaustive research, forensic skills and technical expertise on armaments, Gerald Howson establishes that the arms embargo played a much greater part in the Republic's defeat than is usually acknowledged. In so doing, he casts one of the great political tragedies of the century in a wholly new light.

Genres: History, Spanish Civil War, Spanish History, Spain

354 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I missed reviewing you this book when I read it - which is a pity because it is brilliant but most importantly a must read for anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War. I can't find any reviews not behind paywalls to refer yo to so all I can do is insist it is essential and fascinating reading.

[Bill V · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started to read this book, I thought it was a general history of the Spanish Civil War. It actually is a description of how both governments, but primarily the Republican, went about procuring arms for their sides. Breaking it down further, the emphasis is on aircraft and the difficulties the government went through in obtaining them. The government went through several suppliers, buyers and nations and assembled a motley collection of weapons of various calibers and states of repair. Many of the weapons were already obsolete. The book details how the Spanish Republicans were swindled and cheated out of vast about of money, sometimes for weapons that were never delivered. The book is a specific outline of the weapons, delivery dates prices paid and stories related to them.

[Juan Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've discovered a lot about SCW

[Emmanuel Gustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One man's death is another man's business opportunity... Arms for Spain is the enormously entertaining, but often also infuriating, story of the men who supplied the warring factions in the Spanish civil war with arms, and often extracted enormous profits while doing it. Especially the Republicans, who did not have access to the stores of the Spanish armies, found themselves forced to deal with a collection of unloveable rogues.

Nor do Europe's statesmen emerge from this story with much credit. The attitude of British policians to the conflict in Spain was one of breathtaking hypocrisy, but at least they did not regard it as an opportunity for quick profit. Not all governments showed such restraint. Perhaps the French 'Popular Front' government can be praised for its good intentions, but these were not translated into useful action. The most controversial part of the book may be Howson's account of the Soviet support for the Republicans. Howson convincingly argues that this was much more limited than is often thought, and given with greater reluctance and at a more profitable price than is often assumed.

This may be distant history for most readers, but Howson's engaging account induces the reader to care about what happened. It seems to have been the sorry fate of Spain to be regarded as a useful testing ground for new weapons and a profitable market for old ones. One can only feel for the Spanish, because nobody seemed to care about their fate. Modern wars certainly are not different. This is a good read, and a grim lesson.

[Chris Bartholomew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book simplified for me who was who in Spain at a time when varies parties made acronyms a dime a dozen. Unfortunately it is weighted down with numbers of aircraft, pounds of munitions and lists of dollars and pesos spent, borrowed and stolen.