Spain in Arms: A Military History of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939

by E.R. Hooton

This detailed military history of the Spanish Civil War dispels long-held misconceptions and sheds significant new light on the conflict.

Spain in Arms chronicles the development of the Spanish Civil War on the battlefield, examining eight campaigns waged between 1937 and 1939. Through detailed analysis, it demonstrates how many accounts of military operations during this conflict are based upon half-truths and propaganda.

From the Madrid Front to the Catalonia Offensive, each campaigns is chronicled with special focus on the weapons and tactics used, as well as the moment-to-moment decisions of both Republican and Nationalist generals. Hooton also sheds light on the true extent of foreign intervention in the conflict. Using British and French archives, he produces a more accurate--and radically different--account of the battles and the factors that shaped them. Ultimately, Hooton reveals the superiority of the Nationalist alliance in both training and overall command.

Spain in Arms draws on specialized German, Italian and Russian works, and is the first book to quote secret data about Italian air operations intercepted by the British. A magisterial work of military history, it combines detailed analysis with historical context, showing how the events of the Spanish civil War provide a link between the First and Second World Wars.

Genres: Spanish Civil War, History, Military History

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2019

About the author

E.R. (Ted) Hooton is a retired defence journalist who worked for Moench and Jane’s before establishing his own successful newsletter. A member of the Royal United Services Institute and the British Commission for Military History since retirement he has focused upon military history.

Reviews

[Shrike58 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been wondering whether this book was worth my time for awhile, as the publisher (Casemate) is as capable of publishing a book you should miss as not. This book is definitely one to miss, and that's a shame, as Hooton had done 80% of the work on the way to creating a worthwhile synthesis of the recent Spanish-language literature on the war. Maybe the author was up against a hard page count, but there was a crying need for such things as a strong introductory chapter, a chronology, more orders of battle on how the force structures of the two antagonists evolved, and so forth. Also, maybe coming up with a strong thesis to test, as opposed to off-handed commentary about separatist tendencies in the Iberian peninsula, was the biggest quality missing.

[John Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what it claims to be, a military analysis of the Spanish Civil War. There is little in the way of political insights or anything like that, just accounts of battle after battle, and that's really it. If you're looking for a general history of the Spanish Civil War, I recommend starting with either The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas or Antony Beevor's Battle for Spain (both have their detractors and I really don't want to get into a Spanish Civil War nerdfight because this is a site we can all pretend is more respectable than Facebook's International Brigades group) before diving into some work by Agustin Guillamon or Murray Sperber. This book is intended for the armchair historian who already knows the political layout of Spain before and during the war.

[Robert Russek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Factual but hard to follow. Poor connection between text and maps. Text sometimes refers to towns not identified on maps. Hard to follow where people are and a what they're doing.

Best part was description of equipment and people.

[ZorroG · Rating 5 out of 5]

counterweight to all the mythology

Very interesting book that brings the complexity to a level the average person can understand. This is why anarchism consistently loses to autocracy.

[George Polansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Military history of the Spanish Civil War. A balanced presentation. If you are interested in the politics of this war , you have to look elsewhere.