The Spanish Civil War: Coup, International Intervention, and Republican Revolution
The Coup D'état and the Start of the Civil War
On July 17, 1936, in North Africa, and July 18 in the Peninsula, a coup was organized to overthrow the government and the Popular Front. It was staged by a major sector of the army (Franco, Mola, etc.), with the support of Falangists and other conservative forces.
The rebels rapidly overcame the Canary Islands, North Africa, Seville, Castile and León, Galicia, Navarre, and parts of Aragon.
On July 19, the Republican government gave arms to militias of unions and parties of the Popular Front to stop the coup. Partial success was achieved in stopping the uprising led by General Goded because it had little support from the civilian population and thanks to the police who remained loyal to the Republic.
Besides Catalonia, the uprising was quelled in Madrid, in the industrial areas of the Basque Country, Asturias, Castile-La Mancha, in Santander (Cantabria), and the eastern parts of Extremadura and Andalusia. Spain was divided into two areas, thus beginning the Civil War.
The Internationalization of the Conflict
The military rebels had help from the outset from Germany and Italy (fascist regimes). Germany contributed mainly through its Aviation (the Condor Legion), artillery, tanks, and equipment. Italy provided volunteers.
In order not to aggravate tensions, European democratic countries led by France and Britain decided to remain neutral in the Civil War (forming the Committee of Non-Intervention).
The Republic received help from the USSR, which supplied weapons and military advisers. There was also a wave of international solidarity focused on the formation of the International Brigades, formed by thousands of volunteers who arrived from different countries to defend the Republican legality.
Key International Supporters
- Republicans: USSR
- Nationalists (Franco): Fascist Italy (Mussolini), Nazi Germany (Hitler)
The Republican Zone: War and Revolution
During the first months of the Civil War, a social revolution was unleashed in the Republican zone.
Under anarchist influence, committees and organs of popular power were formed, which collectivized factories and large estates (latifundis). All symbols considered aristocratic, religious, or bourgeois were pursued and could be cause for imprisonment or death.
The Largo Caballero government tried to curb the social revolution and, to win the war, merged the militias into a Popular Army. However, military failures against the rebels led to the division of the Republican forces and armed confrontation between different sectors (of the left).