The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 against the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

and Republican faction and sought to depose

Manuel Azaña Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the last President of the Repu ...

, including the

Falange The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

, the

CEDA The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA), was a Spanish political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined itself in te ...

, and two rival

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

claimants: the Alfonsist

Renovación Española Spanish Renovation ( es, Renovación Española, RE) was a Spanish monarchist political party active during the Second Spanish Republic, advocating the restoration of Alfonso XIII of Spain as opposed to Carlism. Associated with the Acción Españo ...

and the

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...

Traditionalist Communion The Traditionalist Communion ( es, Comunión Tradicionalista, CT) was one of the names adopted by the Carlist movement as a political force since 1869. History In October 1931, Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne Duke Jaime died. He was su ...

. In 1937, all the groups were merged into the

FET y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

. After the death of the faction's early leaders, General Francisco Franco, one of the members of the 1936 coup, would head the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

throughout most of the war and emerge as the dictator of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

until his death in 1975. The term Nationalists or Nationals () was coined by Joseph Goebbels following the visit of the clandestine Spanish delegation led by Captain Francisco Arranz requesting war material on 24 July 1936, in order to give a cloak of legitimacy to Nazi Germany's help to the Spanish rebel military. The leaders of the rebel faction, who had already been denominated as '

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

' by

Bishop of Salamanca The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salamanca ( la, Dioecesis Salmantina) is a diocese located in the city of Salamanca in the Ecclesiastical province of Valladolid in Spain.Enrique Pla y Deniel—and also used the term ''Cruzada'' for their campaign—immediately took a liking to it. The term ''Bando nacional''—much as the term ''rojos'' (Reds) to refer to the loyalists—is considered by some authors as a term linked with the propaganda of that faction. Throughout the civil war the term 'National' was mainly used by the members and supporters of the rebel faction, while its opponents used the terms fascistas ( fascists) or facciosos (sectarians) to refer to this faction.

Belligerents

The military rebellion found wide areas of support both inside Spain and in the international sphere. In Spain the Francoist side was mainly supported by the predominantly conservative upper class, liberal professionals, religious organizations and land-owning farmers. It was mostly based in the rural areas where progressive political movements had made few inroads, such as great swathes of the Northern Meseta, including almost all of

Old Castile Old Castile ( es, Castilla la Vieja ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions along the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Sant ...

, as well as

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...

, Navarre, Alava, the area near

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

in Aragon, most of Galicia, parts of Cáceres in

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

and many dispersed pockets in rural

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

where the local society still followed ancient traditional patterns and was yet untouched by "modern" thought.Navarro García, Clotilde. ''La educación y el nacional-catolicismo.'' Univ de Castilla La Mancha, 1993. , pp. 36–37

Political groups

Politically this faction rallied together various parties and organizations which in some cases espoused opposed ideologies, such as the conservative CEDA and

Alejandro Lerroux Alejandro Lerroux García (4 March 1864, in La Rambla, Córdoba – 25 June 1949, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party. He served as Prime Minister three times from 1933 to 1935 and held severa ...

's radicals (liberals), as well as Falangists, Catholics and pro-Monarchic movements such as the ''Agraristas'' and the ''Carlistas (Requetés)''.

Falange

The

Falange Española Falange Española (FE; English: Spanish Phalanx) was a Spanish fascist political organization active from 1933 to 1934. History The Falange Española was created on 29 October 1933 as the successor of the Movimiento Español Sindicalista (ME ...

was originally a Spanish fascist political party founded by

José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish politician who founded the falangist Falang ...

, son of the former Spanish leader

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...

.Michael Alpert. ''A New International History of the Spanish Civil War''. Paperback edition. Hampshire and London, England, UK: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1997; New York, New York, USA: St. Martin's Press Ltd, 1997. Pp. 36. The Falange was created with the financial assistance of Alfonsist monarchist funding.Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 70. Upon being formed, the Falange was officially

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and anti-monarchist. As a landowner and aristocrat, Primo de Rivera assured the upper classes that Spanish fascism would not get out of their control like its equivalents in Germany and Italy. In 1934, the Falange merged with the pro-Nazi

Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (, JONS) was a nationalist and fascist movement in 1930s Spain, merged with the Falange Española into the Falange Española de las JONS in 1934. History JONS was founded on 10 October 1931 as the fusio ...

Ramiro Ledesma Ramos Ramiro Ledesma Ramos (23 May 1905 – 29 October 1936) was a Spanish philosopher, politician, writer, essayist, and journalist, known as one of the pioneers in the introduction of Fascism in Spain. Early life Born in Alfaraz de Sayago (province ...

, to form the

Falange Española de las JONS The Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS; ), was a fascist political party founded in Spain in 1934 as merger of the Falange Española and the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista. FE de las JON ...

. Initially, the Falange was short of funds and was a small student-based movement that preached of a utopian violent nationalist revolution. The Falange committed acts of violence prior to the war, including becoming involved in street brawls with their political opponents that helped to create a state of lawlessness that the right-wing press blamed on the republic to support a military uprising. Falangist terror squads sought to create an atmosphere of disorder in order to justify the imposition of an authoritarian regime.Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 89. With the onset of middle-class disillusionment with the CEDA's legalism, support for the Falange expanded rapidly. By September 1936, the total Falangist volunteers numbered at 35,000, accounting for 55 percent of all civilian forces of the Nationals. Falange Española de las JONS was one of the original supporters of the military coup d'état against the republic, the other being the Carlists.Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 94. After the death of José Antonio Primo de Rivera,

Manuel Hedilla Manuel Hedilla Larrey (born July 18, 1902 in Ambrosero, Cantabria – died February 4, 1970 in Madrid) was a Spanish political figure who was a leading member of the Falange and an early rival for power towards Francisco Franco. He was a mechan ...

sought to take control of the Falange, but this was usurped by Franco who sought to take control of the movement as part of his move to take control of the National faction. In 1937, Franco announced a decree of unification of the National political movements, particularly the Falange and the Carlists into a single movement, nominally still the Falange, under his leadership,Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 214. under the name

Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

. Both Falangists and Carlists were initially furious at the decision, Falangists in particular saw their ideological role as being usurped by the Catholic Church and their revolution being indefinitely postponed. Upon unification and seizure of leadership by Franco, Franco distanced the party from fascism and declared "The Falange does not consider itself fascist; its founder said so personally."Stanley G. Payne. ''Fascism in Spain, 1923–1977''. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: Wisconsin University Press, 1999. Pp. 272. After this announcement, the practice in the National faction of referring to the Falange as "fascists" disappeared by 1937, but Franco did not deny that there were fascists within the Falange. Franco declared that the Falange's goal was to incorporate the "great neutral mass of the unaffiliated", and promised that no ideological rigidity would be allowed to interfere with the goal. Under Franco's leadership, the Falange abandoned the previous anticlerical tendencies of José Antonio Primo de Rivera and instead promoted neotraditionalist

National Catholicism National Catholicism ( Spanish: ''nacionalcatolicismo'') was part of the ideological identity of Francoism, the political system through which the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco governed the Spanish State between 1939 and 1975. Its most vi ...

, though it continued to criticize Catholic

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

. Franco's Falange also abandoned hostility to

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

, with Falange member

Raimundo Fernández-Cuesta Raimundo Fernández-Cuesta y Merelo (5 October 1896, Madrid – 9 July 1992, Madrid) was a leading Spanish politician with both the Falange and its successor movement the Spanish Traditionalist Phalanx of the Assemblies of National-Syndical ...

declaring that Falange's national syndicalism was fully compatible with capitalism.

CEDA

The Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups, CEDA, was a Catholic right-wing political organization dedicated to anti-Marxism.Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 62. The CEDA was led by

José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones de León (Salamanca, 27 November 1898 – Madrid, 13 September 1980) was a Spanish politician, leader of the CEDA and a prominent figure in the period leading up to the Spanish Civil War. He served as Mi ...

. The CEDA claimed that it was defending Spain and "Christian civilization" from Marxism, and claimed that the political atmosphere in Spain had made politics a matter of Marxism versus anti-Marxism. With the advent of the rise of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

to power in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the CEDA aligned itself with similar propaganda ploys to the Nazis, including the Nazi emphasis on authority, the fatherland, and hierarchy. Gil-Robles attended in audience at the Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg and was influenced by it, henceforth becoming committed to creating a single anti-Marxist counterrevolutionary front in Spain. Gil-Robles declared his intention to "give Spain a true unity, a new spirit, a totalitarian polity..." and went on to say "Democracy is not an end but a means to the conquest of the new state. When the time comes, either parliament submits or we will eliminate it." The CEDA held fascist-style rallies, called Gil-Robles "''Jefe''", the equivalent of ''

Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...

'', and claimed that the CEDA might lead a "March on Madrid" to forcefully seize power.Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: reaction, revolution and revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 45, 69. The CEDA failed to make the substantive electoral gains from 1931 to 1936 that were needed for it to form government which resulted in right-wing support draining from it and turning towards the belligerent Alfonsist monarchist leader

José Calvo Sotelo José Calvo Sotelo, 1st Duke of Calvo Sotelo, GE (6 May 1893 – 13 July 1936) was a Spanish jurist and politician, minister of Finance during the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera and a leading figure during the Second Republic. During t ...

. Subsequently, the CEDA abandoned its moderation and legalism and began providing support for those committed to violence against the republic, including handing over its electoral funds to the initial leader of the military coup against the republic, General

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal, 1st Duke of Mola, Grandee of Spain (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936, which started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, Mo ...

. Subsequently, supporters of the CEDA's youth movement,

Juventudes de Acción Popular The Juventudes de Acción Popular (JAP) was the radicalised youth wing of the CEDA, the main Catholic party during part of the Second Spanish Republic. The organization underwent a process of fascistization whereas their members (''japistas'') shar ...

(JAP) began to defect en masse to join the Falange, and the JAP ceased to exist as a political organisation in 1937.

Monarchists

=Carlists

The Carlists were monarchists and ardent ultratraditionalist Catholics who sought the installation of Carlist Pretender Francisco Javier de Borbón as King of Spain.Patrick Turnbull. The Spanish Civil War, 1936–39. 6th edition. Oxford, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Osprey Publishing, 2005. Pp. 10. The Carlists were anti-republican, anti-democratic and staunchly anti-socialist.Patrick Turnbull. The Spanish Civil War, 1936–39. 6th edition. Oxford, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Osprey Publishing, 2005. Pp. 8–9. The Carlists were so anti-socialist that they opposed both Hitler and Mussolini because of their socialist tendencies. The Carlists were led by Manuel Fal Condé and held their main base of support in Navarre. The Carlists along with the Falange were the original supporters of the military coup d'état against the republic. The Carlists held a long history of violent opposition to Spanish

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

, stemming back to 1833 when they launched a six-year civil war against the reformist regency of María Cristina de las dos Sicilias.Patrick Turnbull. The Spanish Civil War, 1936–39. 6th edition. Oxford, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Osprey Publishing, 2005. Pp. 9. The Carlists were strongly intransigent to any coalition with other movements, even believing that no non-Carlist could have honest intentions. During the war, the Carlists' militia, the '' Requetés'' reached a peak of 42,000 recruits but by the end of hostilities in April 1939 their overall strength had been reduced to 23,000. The Carlists contributed some of the Nationalists' most effective shock troops during the war.

= Alfonsists

1937 BandoNacional billete1peseta Burgos escudomonarquia

The Alfonsists were a movement that supported the restoration of Alfonso XIII of Spain as monarch following the founding of the

Spanish Second Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

in 1931. They competed with rival monarchists, the Carlists, for the Spanish throne. After the overthrow of the monarchy of Alfonso XIII, Alfonsist supporters formed the ''

'', a monarchist political party, which held considerable economic influence and had close supporters in the Spanish army.Andrew Forrest. ''The Spanish Civil War''. London, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2000. Pp. 10. ''Renovación Española'' did not, however, manage to become a mass political movement. In 1934, the Alfonsists, led by

Antonio Goicoechea Antonio Goicoechea (21 January 1876, in Barcelona – 11 February 1953, in Madrid) was an Alfonsine monarchist politician and lawyer in Spain during the period of the Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War. He started to become politic ...

, along with the Carlists, met with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to gain support for an uprising against the republic, in which Mussolini promised to provide money and arms for such a rising.Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 69. From 1934 to 1936, the charismatic Alfonsist leader

spoke of the need for the "conquest of the state" as the only means to secure the establishment of an ideal authoritarian,

corporatist Corporatism is a Collectivism and individualism, collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guil ...

state. Sotelo made passionate speeches in support of violent counterrevolution and emphasized the need for a military insurrection against the republic to counter the threats of communism and separatism that he blamed as being caused by the republic. Sotelo was kidnapped and assassinated by political opponents (who were initially searching out Gil-Robles of the CEDA to kidnap) on 13 July 1936 which sparked fury on the political right and helped legitimize the military coup against the republic. When the war broke out, Infante Juan, the son of Alfonso XIII and heir to the Spanish throne, requested the permission of Franco to take part in the Nationals' war effort by enlisting as a member of the crew of the cruiser '' Balaeres'', which was nearing completion.Paul Preston. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. W. W. New York, New York, USA: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. 2006 Pp. 209. He promised to abstain from political activities, but Franco refused, believing that he would become a figurehead for the Alfonsists who held a strong presence in the military.

Military

Army of Africa

The Army of Africa was a field army garrisoned in Spanish Morocco – a legacy of the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several de ...

– under the command of General Francisco Franco. It consisted of the

Spanish Foreign Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the pena ...

and the ''

Regulares The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry ...

'', infantry and cavalry units recruited from the population of Spanish Morocco and with Spanish officers as commanders. The ''Regulares'' operated as the

shock troops Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations. "Shock troop" is a calque, a loose tra ...

of the National forces in exchange for a substantial pay. More than 13,000 Moroccan troops were airlifted on 20 Junkers Ju 52 planes supplied by Hitler between the beginning of the conflict in July and October 1936. Their proverbial cruelty and reckless behaviour were not random, but were part of a calculated plan of the Francoist military leaders in order to instill terror in the Republican defence lines. Julián Casanova, ''República y Guerra Civil.'' in ''Historia de España,'' directed by Josep Fontana y Ramón Villares. Vol. 8, Barcelona: 2007, Crítica/Marcial Pons Publishers. , p. 278 The Army of Africa would be the most decorated unit in the May 1939 victory brigade by the Nationalists; it has been estimated that one in five of its members were killed during the war, a casualty rate twice as high as that of the Spanish. For several years after the war, Franco would have a squadron of Moorish troops act as his escort at public ceremonies as a reminder of the Army's importance in the Nationalist victory.

Civil Guard

Approximately 47% of the Spanish Republican Civil Guard defected to the rebels during the onset of the civil war. With the highest authority of the Spanish Republican Civil Guard, Inspector General Sebastián Pozas, remaining loyal to the republican government, Hugh Thomas (1976); ''Historia de la Guerra Civil Española'', Ed. Grijalbo, p. 254 the rebel units of the Civil Guard were placed under direct command of the Nationalist army until after the war ended.

Foreign support

Italy

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

under the Fascist leadership of Benito Mussolini supported the overthrow of the republic and the establishment of a regime that would serve as a client state to Italy. Italy distrusted the Spanish Republic due to its pro-French leanings and prior to the war had made contact with Spanish right-wing groups. Italy justified its intervention as an action intended to prevent the rise of

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, ...

in Spain. Italy's Fascist regime considered the threat of Bolshevism a real risk with the arrival of volunteers from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

who were fighting for the Republicans. Mussolini provided financial support as well as training to the Alfonsists, Carlists, and Falange. Mussolini met Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera in 1933 but did not have much enthusiasm in the establishment of fascism in Spain at that time. By January 1937, an expeditionary force of 35,000 Italians, the

Corpo Truppe Volontarie The Corps of Volunteer Troops ( it, Corpo Truppe Volontarie, CTV) was a Fascist Italian expeditionary force of military volunteers, which was sent to Spain to support the Nationalist forces under General Francisco Franco against the Spanish ...

, were in Spain under the command of General

Mario Roatta Mario Roatta (2 February 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an Italian general. After serving in World War I he rose to command the Corpo Truppe Volontarie which assisted Francisco Franco's force during the Spanish Civil War. He was the Deputy Chief o ...

. The contingent was made up of four divisions: Littorio, Dio lo Vuole ("God Wills it"), Fiamme Nere ("Black Flames") and Penne Nere ("Black Feathers"). The first of these divisions was made up of soldiers; the other three of

Blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

volunteers. Italy provided the National forces with fighter and bomber aircraft which played a significant part in the war. In March 1937, Italy intervened in the political affairs of the Nationals by sending

Roberto Farinacci Roberto Farinacci (; 16 October 1892 – 28 April 1945) was a leading Italian Fascist politician and important member of the National Fascist Party before and during World War II as well as one of its ardent antisemitic proponents. English histo ...

to Spain to urge Franco to unite the National political movements into one fascist "Spanish National Party".

Germany

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

provided the Nationals with material, specialists, and a powerful air force contingent, the

Condor Legion The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...

German expeditionary forces that provided airlift of soldiers and material from Spanish Africa to

Peninsular Spain Peninsular Spain refers to that part of Spanish territory located within the Iberian Peninsula, thus excluding other parts of Spain: the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, and a number of islets and crags off the coast of Mor ...

and provided offensive operations against Republican forces. Nationalist forces were supplied with tanks and aircraft, including the

Panzer I The Panzer I was a light tank produced in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for ( German for " armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as . The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was '' Sd.Kfz. 10 ...

, Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Heinkel He 111. The Spanish Civil War would provide an ideal testing ground for the proficiency of the new weapons produced during the

German re-armament German rearmament (''Aufrüstung'', ) was a policy and practice of rearmament carried out in Germany during the interwar period (1918–1939), in violation of the Treaty of Versailles which required German disarmament after WWI to prevent Germa ...

. Many aeronautical bombing techniques were tested by the Condor Legion against the Republican Government on Spanish soil with the permission of Generalísimo Franco. Hitler insisted, however, that his long-term designs were peaceful, a strategy labelled as "Blumenkrieg" (Flower War). Germany had important economic interests at stake in Spain, as Germany imported large amounts of mineral ore from Spanish Morocco. The Nazi regime sent retired General Wilhelm Faupel as ambassador to Franco's regime, Faupel supported Franco and the Falange in the hope that they would create a Nazi-like regime in Spain.Michael Alpert. ''A New International History of the Spanish Civil War''. Paperback edition. Hampshire and London, England, UK: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1997; New York, New York, USA: St. Martin's Press Ltd, 1997. Pp. 97. Debt owed by Franco and the Nationals to Germany rose quickly upon purchasing German material, and required financial assistance from Germany as the Republicans had access to Spain's

gold reserve A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of v ...

Portugal

Upon the outbreak of the civil war, Portuguese Prime Minister

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the r ...

almost immediately supported the National forces.Tom Gallagher. ''Portugal: a twentieth-century interpretation''. Manchester, England, UK: Manchester University Press, 1983. Pp. 86. Salazar's '' Estado Novo'' regime held tense relations with the Spanish Republic that held Portuguese dissidents to his regime in it.Filipe Ribeiro De Meneses. ''Franco and the Spanish Civil War''. London, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2001. Pp. 96. Portugal played a critical role in supplying

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

's forces with ammunition and many other logistical resources. Despite its discreet direct military involvement – restrained to a somewhat "semi-official" endorsement, by its authoritarian regime, of an 8,000–12,000-strong volunteer force, the so-called "

Viriatos Viriatos, named after the Lusitanian leader Viriathus, was the generic name given to Portuguese volunteers who fought with the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.

" – for the whole duration of the conflict, Portugal was instrumental in providing the National faction with a vital logistical organization and by reassuring Franco and his allies that no interference whatsoever would hinder the supply traffic directed to the Nationals, crossing the borders of the two Iberian countries – the Nationals used to refer to Lisbon as "the port of Castile". In 1938, with Franco's victory increasingly certain, Portugal recognized Franco's regime and after the war in 1939 signed a treaty of friendship and non-aggression pact that was known as the

Iberian Pact The Iberian Pact (''Pacto Ibérico'') or Peninsular Pact, formally the Portuguese–Spanish Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression,; pt, Tratado de Amizade e Não Agressão entre Portugal e Espanha was a non-aggression pact that was signed at ...

. Portugal played an important diplomatic role in supporting the Franco regime, including by insisting to the United Kingdom that Franco sought to replicate Salazar's ''Estado Novo'' and not Mussolini's Fascist Italy.

Holy See

Among many influential Catholics in Spain, mainly composed of conservative Traditionalists and people belonging to pro-Monarchic groups, the religious persecution was squarely and based on evidence probably rightly mostly blamed on the government of the Republic. The ensuing outrage was used after the 1936 coup by the nationalist/monarchist faction and readily extended itself. The Catholic Church took the side of the rebel government and defined the religious Spaniards who had been persecuted in Republican areas as 'martyrs of the faith'. The devout Catholics who supported the Spanish Republic included high-ranking officers of the Popular Army such as republican

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

general Vicente Rojo Lluch, as well as the Catholic

Basque nationalists Basque nationalism ( eu, eusko abertzaletasuna ; es, nacionalismo vasco; french: nationalisme basque) is a form of nationalism that asserts that Basques, an ethnic group Indigenous peoples, indigenous to the western Pyrenees, are a nation an ...

who opposed the rebel faction. Initially the Vatican held itself from declaring too openly its support of the rebel side in the war, although it had long allowed high ecclesiastical figures in Spain to do so and to define the conflict as a 'Crusade'. Throughout the war, however, Francoist propaganda and influential Spanish Catholics labelled the secular Republic as "the enemy of God and the Church" and denounced the Republic, holding it responsible for anti-clerical activities such as shutting down Catholic schools and the desecration of religious buildings, as well as the killing of priests and nuns by frenzied mobs. Forsaken by the Western European powers, the republican side mainly depended from Soviet military assistance, which played into the hands of the portrayal of the Spanish Republic as a 'Marxist' and godless state in the Francoist propaganda. By means of its extensive diplomatic network the Holy See used its influence to lobby for the rebel side. During an International Art Exhibition in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1937, in which both the Francoist and the Republican governments were present, the Holy See allowed the Nationalist pavilion to display its exhibition under the

Vatican flag The flag of Vatican City was adopted on 7 June 1929, the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The Vatican City flag is modeled on the 1808 yellow and white flag of the ...

, for the rebel government's flag was still not recognized. By 1938, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

had already officially recognized Franco's Spanish State, being one of the first to do so. Regarding the position of the Holy See during and after the Civil War,

Manuel Montero Manuel "Pantera" Montero (born November 20, 1991 in Buenos Aires)Manuel player profi ...

, lecturer of the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initiall ...

commented on 6 May 2007:

Other supporters

1,000 to 2,000 English, Irish, French, Filipino, White Russians, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Belgian volunteers came to Spain to fight on the side of the Nationals.Fighting for Franco: International Volunteers in Nationalist Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Pp. vi, viii.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Alpert, Michael. ''A New International History of the Spanish Civil War''. Paperback edition. Hampshire and London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1997; New York: St. Martin's Press Ltd, 1997. * Beevor, Antony. ''The Battle for Spain; The Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006. * * Casanova, Juliàn. ''The Spanish Republic and Civil War''. Cambridge University Press, 2010. * Davis, Paul K. ''Besieged: an encyclopedia of great sieges from ancient times to the present''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc, 2001. * Gallagher, Tom. ''Portugal: a twentieth-century interpretation''. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1983. * * De Meneses, Filipe Ribeiro . ''Franco and the Spanish Civil War''. London; New York: Routledge, 2001. * Payne, Stanley G. ''Fascism in Spain, 1923–1977''. Madison: Wisconsin University Press, 1999. * Preston, Paul. ''The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge''. 3rd edition. New York: Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. * * Turnbull, Patrick. ''The Spanish Civil War, 1936–39''. 6th edition. Oxford; New York: Osprey Publishing, 2005. *

External links

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