Editing History of Spain (section)

==Spanish Civil War (1936–39)==
{{Main|Spanish Civil War}}

The Spanish Civil War was started by a [[1936 Spanish coup d'etat|military coup d'etat in 17–18 July 1936]] against the Republican government. The coup, intending to prevent social and economic reforms carried by the new government, had been carefully plotted since the electoral right-wing defeat at the [[1936 Spanish general election|February 1936 election]].{{sfn|Romero Salvadó|1999|p=94}} The coup failed everywhere but in the Catholic heartland (Galicia, Old Castile and Navarre), Morocco, [[Zaragoza]], Seville and Oviedo, while the rest of the country remained loyal to the Republic, including the main industrial cities (such as [[Madrid]], [[Barcelona]], [[Valencia]] and [[Bilbao]]), where the putschists were crushed by the combined action of workers and peasants.{{Sfn|Romero Salvadó|1999|p=95}}
[[File:Attack on Rebel Position, Somosierra, Madrid - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|People's militias attacking on a Rebel position in Somosierra in the early stages of the war.]]
The Republic looked to the Western democracies for help, but following an earlier commitment to provide assistance by French premier [[Léon Blum]], by 25 July the latter had already backtracked on it, as to the mounting inner division within his country the British opposition to intervention added up, as the sympathies of the UK lied in the [[Spanish Civil War|Rebel faction]].{{Sfn|Romero Salvadó|1999|p=96}}

The Rebel faction enjoyed direct military support from [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]] and [[Nazi Germany]], while since the very beginning they also enjoyed the support of [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Salazarist Portugal]], the power-base of one of the leading rebels, [[José Sanjurjo]]. The [[Soviet Union]] sold weapons to the Republican faction and [[Mexico]] sent in monetary aid as well as giving Republican refuges the option to seek refuge in Mexico,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beevor|first=Antony|title=The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939|date=2006|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson.|isbn=0297848321|location=London|pages=139–140}}</ref> while left-wing sympathizers around the world went to Spain to fight in the [[International Brigades]], set up by the [[Communist International]]. The conflict became a worldwide ideological battleground that pitted the left and many liberals against Catholics and conservatives. Worldwide there was a decline in pacifism and a growing sense that another world war was imminent, and that it was worth fighting for.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Payne|first=Stanley G.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/132223|title=The Spanish revolution|date=1970|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|isbn=0-297-00124-8|oclc=132223|pages=262–276}}</ref>

After the Spanish Civil War, the active agrarian population began to decline in Spain, the provinces with latifundia in Andalusia continued being the ones with the greatest number of day laborers; at the same time this was the region with the lowest literacy share.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pérez-Artés|first1=Mari Carmen|last2=Baten|first2=Joerg|date=2021|title=Land inequality and numeracy in Spain during the seventeenth and eighteenth century|journal=Historia Agraria|issue=83|pages=7–39|doi=10.26882/histagrar.083e08p|s2cid=233531248|doi-access=free|hdl=10234/194230|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

===Political and military balance===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-P0214-516, Spanien, Schlacht um Guadalajara.jpg|thumb|right|Advance of Italian [[tankette]]s during the [[Battle of Guadalajara]].]]
The Spanish Republican government moved to Valencia, to escape Madrid, which was under siege by the Nationalists. It had some military strength in the Air Force and Navy, but it had lost nearly all of the Army.  After opening the arsenals to arm local militias, it had little control over the Loyalist ground forces.  Republican diplomacy proved ineffective, with only two useful allies, the Soviet Union and Mexico.  Britain, France and 27 other countries had agreed to an arms embargo on Spain, and the United States went along. [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Italy|Fascist Italy]] both signed that agreement, but ignored it and sent supplies and vital help, including a powerful air force under German command, the [[Condor Legion]]. Tens of thousands of Italians arrived under Italian command.  Portugal supported the Nationalists, and allowed the trans-shipment of supplies to Franco's forces. The Soviets sold tanks and other armaments for Spanish gold, and sent well-trained officers and political commissars.  It organized the mobilization of tens of thousands of mostly communist volunteers from around the world, who formed the [[International Brigades]].

In 1936, the Left united in the Popular Front and were elected to power. However, this coalition, dominated by the centre-left, was undermined both by the revolutionary groups such as the [[anarchist]] [[Confederación Nacional del Trabajo]] (CNT) and {{lang|es|[[Federación Anarquista Ibérica]]}} (FAI) and by anti-democratic far-right groups such as the [[Falange Española de las JONS|Falange]] and the [[Carlists]]. The political violence of previous years began again. There were gunfights over strikes; landless labourers began to seize land, church officials were killed and churches burnt. On the other side, right wing militias and hired gunmen assassinated left-wing activists. The Republican democracy never generated the consensus or mutual trust between the various political groups. As a result, the country slid into civil war. The right wing of the country and high ranking figures in the army began to plan a coup, and when Falangist politician [[José Calvo-Sotelo]] was [[The Assassination of José Calvo Sotelo|shot by Republican police]], they used it as a signal to act while the Republican leadership was confused and inert.<ref name=abspc>{{Cite book|last=Beevor|first=Antony|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=QdQOAAAACAAJ|page=49}}|title=The Spanish Civil War|date=2001|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-100148-7|pages=49–50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Stanley G.|last=Payne|title=Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=xAolA_AgCG4C|page=106}}|year=2004|publisher=Yale University Press|page=106|isbn=0300130783}}</ref>

===Military operations===
[[File:Women at the Siege of the Alcázar in Toledo - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Two women and a man during the siege of the Alcázar]]
The Nationalists under Franco won the war, and historians continue to debate the reasons. The Nationalists were much better unified and led than the Republicans, who squabbled and fought amongst themselves endlessly and had no clear military strategy. The Army went over to the Nationalists, but it was very poorly equipped – there were no tanks or modern airplanes.  The small navy supported the Republicans, but their armies were made up of raw recruits and they lacked both equipment and skilled officers and sergeants.  Nationalist senior officers were much better trained and more familiar with modern tactics than the Republicans.<ref>{{Citation|last=Alpert|first=Michael|title=The Clash of Spanish Armies: Contrasting Ways of War in Spain, 1936–1939|date=2017-05-15|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315234335-14|work=Warfare in Europe 1919—1938|pages=341–362|publisher=Routledge|doi=10.4324/9781315234335-14|isbn=9781315234335|access-date=2022-08-17}}</ref>

On 17 July 1936, General [[Francisco Franco]] brought the colonial army from Morocco to the mainland, while another force from the north under General Mola moved south from [[Navarre]]. Another conspirator, General Sanjurjo, was killed in a plane crash while being brought to join the military leaders.  Military units were also mobilised elsewhere to take over government institutions. Franco intended to seize power immediately, but successful resistance by Republicans in the key centers of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, the Basque country, and other points meant that Spain faced a prolonged civil war. By 1937 much of the south and west was under the control of the Nationalists, whose [[Spanish Army of Africa|Army of Africa]] was the most professional force available to either side. Both sides received foreign military aid: the Nationalists from Nazi Germany and Italy, while the Republicans were supported by organised far-left volunteers from the Soviet Union.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H25224, Guernica, Ruinen.jpg|thumb|right|Ruins of [[Guernica (town)|Guernica]]]]
The [[Siege of the Alcázar]] at [[Toledo (Spain)|Toledo]] early in the war was a turning point, with the Nationalists successfully resisting after a long siege. The Republicans managed to [[Siege of Madrid|hold out in Madrid]], despite a Nationalist assault in November 1936, and frustrated subsequent offensives against the capital at [[battle of Jarama|Jarama]] and [[battle of Guadalajara|Guadalajara]] in 1937. Soon, though, the Nationalists began to erode their territory, starving Madrid and making inroads into the east. The North, including the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque country]] fell in late 1937 and the Aragon front collapsed shortly afterwards. The [[bombing of Guernica]] on the afternoon of 26 April 1937 – a mission used as a testing ground for the German [[Luftwaffe]]'s [[Condor Legion]] – was probably the most infamous event of the war and inspired [[Guernica (painting)|Picasso's painting]]. The [[Battle of the Ebro]] in July–November 1938 was the final desperate attempt by the Republicans to turn the tide. When this failed and [[Barcelona]] fell to the Nationalists in early 1939, it was clear the war was over. The remaining Republican fronts collapsed, as civil war broke out inside the Left, as the Republicans suppressed the Communists. Madrid fell in March 1939.<ref name=ppscw>{{Cite book|last=Preston|first=Paul|url=http://worldcat.org/ocltrc/1017857283|title=The Spanish Civil War : reaction, revolution and revenge|year=2006|isbn=978-0-00-723207-9|oclc=1017857283|pages=266–300|publisher=Harper Perennial}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The war cost between 300,000 and 1,000,000 lives. It ended with the total collapse of the Republic and the accession of Francisco Franco as dictator. Franco amalgamated all right wing parties into a reconstituted fascist party [[FET y de las JONS|Falange]] and banned the left-wing and Republican parties and trade unions.  The Church was more powerful than it had been in centuries.<ref name=ppscw/>{{rp|301–318}}

The conduct of the war was brutal on both sides, with widespread massacres of civilians and prisoners. After the war, many thousands of Republicans were imprisoned and up to 150,000 were executed between 1939 and 1943.  Some 500,000 refugees escaped to France; they remained in exile for years or decades.