Overview
In July 1936 army officers rose against Spain’s elected Popular Front Key term · 1936 Popular Front An electoral alliance of left-wing and liberal parties that won Spain's February 1936 election (a similar Popular Front governed France in 1936–38). Why it matters Its victory alarmed the right, the Church and the army, and the violence that followed was used to justify the military rising. See in glossary → government. The coup failed in the big cities but succeeded across much of the country, and Spain split into two zones. For almost three years Franco’s Nationalists Key term · 1936–1939 Nationalists (Spain) The coalition that rebelled against the Republic — the army, monarchists, the fascist Falange and the Catholic right — led from 1936 by General Franco. Why it matters Franco forced its factions into a single movement in 1937, giving the Nationalists a unity the Republic never achieved. See in glossary → , backed by Germany and Italy, fought the Republic, backed by the USSR and the International Brigades Key term · 1936–1938 International Brigades Units of foreign volunteers, organised by the Comintern, who fought for the Republic. Why it matters They helped defend Madrid in 1936 and became a symbol of international anti-fascism, but were withdrawn in 1938 in a failed attempt to secure the withdrawal of German and Italian forces. See in glossary → . The war ended in April 1939 with a Nationalist victory and a dictatorship that lasted until Franco’s death in 1975.
Key dates
- Apr 1931 The king leaves Spain; the Second Republic Key term · 1931–1939 Second Spanish Republic The democratic republic proclaimed when King Alfonso XIII left Spain in 1931. Why it matters Its reforms to land, religion, the army and regional autonomy polarised Spanish politics and created the coalitions that fought the civil war. See in glossary → is proclaimed.
- Oct 1934 A miners’ rising in Asturias is crushed by the army, including Moroccan troops.
- Feb 1936 The Popular Front wins the general election.
- 17–18 Jul 1936 Military rising begins in Spanish Morocco and spreads to the mainland.
- Sep 1936 The Non-Intervention Committee Key term · 1936–1939 Non-Intervention Committee A committee in London through which European powers, including Germany, Italy and the USSR, agreed not to send arms or troops to Spain. Why it matters Britain and France kept to it; Germany, Italy and the USSR did not. It became a symbol of the democracies' reluctance to confront the dictators. See in glossary → meets in London; Franco becomes Nationalist leader.
- Nov 1936 Madrid holds out against the Nationalist assault.
- 26 Apr 1937 German and Italian aircraft bomb Guernica Key term · 26 April 1937 Guernica A Basque town destroyed by German and Italian bombers during the Nationalist campaign in the north. Why it matters It became a symbol of the terror bombing of civilians, immortalised by Picasso's painting, and seemed to foreshadow the air war to come. See in glossary → .
- May 1937 Fighting among Republicans in Barcelona (the May Days).
- Jul–Nov 1938 The Republic’s last great offensive, on the Ebro, fails.
- Jan–Mar 1939 Barcelona and then Madrid fall; the war ends on 1 April 1939.
Causes
Long-term divisions. Spain was split between landowners and landless labourers in the south, between a powerful Catholic Church and anticlerical workers, between a centralising state and Catalan and Basque nationalists, and over the army’s place in politics.
The Second Republic’s reforms — land reform, secular education, army reform and Catalan autonomy — went too far for the right and not far enough for many on the left. Politics polarised: a centre-right government (1933–35) reversed reforms, the Asturias rising was brutally crushed, and the Popular Front’s victory in 1936 was followed by strikes, land seizures and political killings.
The trigger. The murder of the monarchist leader José Calvo Sotelo on 13 July 1936 convinced waverers to join the conspiracy of generals that had already been planned.
The war and foreign intervention
The Nationalists’ crucial early advantage was Franco’s Army of Africa — Spain’s most effective troops — which German and Italian aircraft carried across the Strait of Gibraltar. Britain and France led a policy of non-intervention, fearing a wider war, but Germany, Italy and the USSR ignored it.
| Nationalists received | The Republic received |
|---|---|
| Germany’s Condor Legion (aircraft, tanks, advisers) | Soviet tanks, aircraft and advisers — paid for with Spain’s gold reserves |
| Tens of thousands of Italian troops | International Brigades of volunteers from dozens of countries |
| Supplies from Portugal; oil on credit from US companies | Limited help from Mexico |
When Madrid was threatened, the communist deputy Dolores Ibárruri rallied its defenders with the slogan “¡No pasarán! — They shall not pass!” Quotation · July 1936 Dolores Ibárruri ('La Pasionaria') Radio broadcast Why it matters The slogan became the rallying cry of the Republic's defence of Madrid — and of anti-fascists across Europe.
It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle.
Why this quote matters
Orwell describes revolutionary Barcelona in late 1936. His later account of the communist suppression of the POUM in 1937 is key evidence for the divisions that weakened the Republic — but remember he wrote as a participant with his own political commitments.
Why did the Nationalists win?
- Unity. Franco combined military and political command, merging the right-wing parties into one movement in 1937. The Republic was divided between liberals, socialists, communists and anarchists, who fought over whether to make a revolution or win the war first.
- Foreign aid. German and Italian help was more consistent and effective than Soviet aid, and non-intervention hurt the legal government more than the rebels.
- Military professionalism. The Nationalists had most of the army’s officers and its best troops.
- Economic and international factors. The Nationalists held the main food-producing areas for much of the war and found credit abroad more easily.
Significance
The war was seen as a battle between fascism and democracy — or between order and revolution. Germany and Italy tested weapons and tactics, including terror bombing; the Rome–Berlin Axis was strengthened; and Britain and France’s non-intervention looked to many like another form of appeasement. Both sides committed mass killings; Nationalist repression continued long after 1939.
Historians’ debate
Thomas’s comprehensive account set the war in its international context and remains the starting point for its political and military history.
Preston emphasises the right’s responsibility for the war and the systematic, planned character of Nationalist repression, which he distinguishes from the often uncontrolled killings in the Republican zone.
Payne places more weight on the radicalisation and political violence of the left in 1934–36, which he argues destabilised the Republic before the rising.
Test yourself
Why was the Army of Africa so important in 1936? Reveal
It was Spain’s most experienced fighting force. Airlifted to the mainland by German and Italian aircraft, it gave the Nationalists the professional troops to advance rapidly on Madrid in the war’s first months.
How did divisions within the Republican side weaken it? Reveal
Republicans disagreed on whether to prioritise revolution or winning the war. The conflict came to a head in the Barcelona May Days of 1937, when communists and government forces fought anarchists and the POUM — undermining unity and morale.
Why did non-intervention favour the Nationalists? Reveal
Britain and France observed it, denying the legal government arms it could otherwise have bought, while Germany and Italy broke it openly and supplied the Nationalists with troops, aircraft and equipment.
Key terms
- Guernica 26 April 1937
-
A Basque town destroyed by German and Italian bombers during the Nationalist campaign in the north.
Significance: It became a symbol of the terror bombing of civilians, immortalised by Picasso's painting, and seemed to foreshadow the air war to come.
- International Brigades 1936–1938
-
Units of foreign volunteers, organised by the Comintern, who fought for the Republic.
Significance: They helped defend Madrid in 1936 and became a symbol of international anti-fascism, but were withdrawn in 1938 in a failed attempt to secure the withdrawal of German and Italian forces.
- Nationalists (Spain) 1936–1939
-
The coalition that rebelled against the Republic — the army, monarchists, the fascist Falange and the Catholic right — led from 1936 by General Franco.
Significance: Franco forced its factions into a single movement in 1937, giving the Nationalists a unity the Republic never achieved.
- Non-Intervention Committee 1936–1939
-
A committee in London through which European powers, including Germany, Italy and the USSR, agreed not to send arms or troops to Spain.
Significance: Britain and France kept to it; Germany, Italy and the USSR did not. It became a symbol of the democracies' reluctance to confront the dictators.
- Popular Front 1936
-
An electoral alliance of left-wing and liberal parties that won Spain's February 1936 election (a similar Popular Front governed France in 1936–38).
Significance: Its victory alarmed the right, the Church and the army, and the violence that followed was used to justify the military rising.
- Second Spanish Republic 1931–1939
-
The democratic republic proclaimed when King Alfonso XIII left Spain in 1931.
Significance: Its reforms to land, religion, the army and regional autonomy polarised Spanish politics and created the coalitions that fought the civil war.