The Spanish Civil War

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The Spanish Civil War

• What was the course and nature of the war?

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(No Transcript)
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The first map shows the immediate success
achieved by General Francisco Franco's invasion
from Spanish Morocco, which was co-ordinated with
a military uprising in the North. Franco and a
group of generals launched their attack after a
coalition of Socialists and Catalonian and Basque
Separatists had gained control of the Spanish
Republican government
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The second map shows Franco's rapid advance
against the ill-trained Republican army, but
despite the professionalism of its military
staff, the rebels were unable to capture Madrid
and after six months of heavy fighting had failed
to defeat the Basques.
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Eighteen months into the bloody Spanish Civil War
still saw little change. Utilizing air support
provided by Adolf Hitler, and ground troops
offered by Mussolni, the Nationalists had finally
captured the Basque country, but remained stuck
outside the major population centres of Barcelona
and the capital city of Madrid.
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Despite aide from abroad, the Nationalist Rebels
were unable to advance much at all in the third
year of the war. Twenty-four months of tremendous
fighting had produced 200,000 deaths but little
gain. After laying siege to Valencia, in May 1938
the Nationalist forces fought their way through
to the coast thus cutting the Republican forces
in half.
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With world attention concentrating almost
exclusively upon menacing events in Central
Europe (the Munich Conference was held in
September 1938, followed by Hitler's invasion of
Rump Czechoslovakia in March 1939), Franco
finally achieved his breakthrough. In February
1939, as this final map shows, Nationalist forces
captured Barcelona and all of Catalonia. On 28
March 1939 Franco entered Madrid and the rest of
the country surrendered in the following days.
The Civil War was over.
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Nature of the War?

• Brutality / atrocities
• Bombing of Guernica
• Treatment of prisoners
• Lack of mercy - propaganda
• Statistics?
• Reasons for Nationalist victory?