The Hispano-Suiza E-34 , later renamed Hispano HS-34 , was a Spanish single engine, tandem seat biplane , designed as a basic trainer . Twenty five were ordered by the Aeronáutica Naval , but only five had been completed when the Spanish Civil War intervened.
132-570: In 1934, the Aeronáutica Militar called a competition for a Spanish-designed and built basic trainer. Three companies responded, including Hispano-Suiza . The E-34 was a single engine biplane , seating two in tandem . It had unswept single bay wings of the same span and constant chord , with some stagger . The wings were fabric -covered wooden structures. Only the lower wing carried dihedral . The N-shaped interplane struts were assisted by flying wire bracing. The upper wing
264-666: A National Defence Council ( Consejo Nacional de Defensa ) by Segismundo Casado , commander of the Central Army , and Julián Besteiro . But General Franco vehemently refused any compromise and wanted only total victory and the humiliation and disbandment of the Spanish Republic. The Spanish Republican Army broke up towards the end of March 1939 when the Soldiers of the Republic surrendered their posts and weapons to
396-653: A Spanish colonial outpost. Under Capitan Warlela cadastral surveys of Spain were carried out using modern methods of aerial photography in 1933 and the following year Commander Eduardo Sáenz de Buruaga became new chief-commander of the Aeronáutica Militar . Following a Government decree dated 2 October 1935, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica was placed under the authority of the War Ministry, Ministerio de la Guerra , instead of under
528-632: A collapse as in Spain at this moment. Abroad, Spain is classified as insolvent. This is not the road to socialism or communism but to desperate anarchism without even the advantage of liberty". The disenchantment with Azaña's ruling was also voiced by Miguel de Unamuno , a republican and one of Spain's most respected intellectuals who, in June 1936, told a reporter who published his statement in El Adelanto that President Manuel Azaña should commit suicide "as
660-649: A lesser scale also took place in areas controlled by the Republicans, with the participation of local authorities varying from location to location. The 19th century was a turbulent time for Spain. Those in favour of reforming the Spanish government vied for political power with conservatives who intended to prevent such reforms from being implemented. In a tradition that started with the Spanish Constitution of 1812 , many liberals sought to curtail
792-547: A monarchy and rose as a republic" became instantly famous, going quickly around Madrid and around Spain, making people accept the fact and setting a more relaxed mood. Republicans within the Spanish Armed forces were then a minority, but so were pro-monarchist reactionaries; the majority within the military were at first indifferent. What began to antagonize the Spanish Military against the new government were
924-404: A monopoly on hiring; strikes; and efforts by unions to limit women's employment, all done to preserve a labour monopoly for their members. Class struggle intensified as landowners turned to counterrevolutionary organisations and local oligarchs. Strikes, workplace theft, arson, robbery and assaults on shops, strikebreakers, employers and machines became increasingly common. Ultimately, the reforms of
1056-516: A new "constituent parliament" which would be chosen by a new politically purged electorate, who would vote on the issue of republic versus monarchy. Liberal elements would remain, such as separation of church and state as well as freedom of religion. Agrarian issues would be solved by regional commissioners on the basis of smallholdings, but collective cultivation would be permitted in some circumstances. Legislation prior to February 1936 would be respected. Violence would be required to destroy opposition to
1188-662: A number of companies . A regular brigada mixta would not exceed 3,000 men. As the war unfolded, the Spanish Republican Army would include regiments , divisions , corps and field armies . Most of the foreign volunteer combatants would be part of the International Brigades' ( Brigadas internacionales ) own sections until they were asked to withdraw in order to satisfy the demands of the Non-Intervention Committee in
1320-539: A patriotic act". Laia Balcells observes that polarisation in Spain just before the coup was so intense that physical confrontations between leftists and rightists were a routine occurrence in most localities; six days before the coup occurred, there was a riot between the two in the province of Teruel. Balcells notes that Spanish society was so divided along Left-Right lines that the monk Hilari Raguer stated that in his parish, instead of playing "cops and robbers", children would sometimes play "leftists and rightists". Within
1452-591: A pro-monarchist general, José Sanjurjo , staged a rebellion in Seville against the Republican Government. He led a group of officers opposed to the military reforms , as well as to the policy of granting autonomy to Catalonia and the Basque Country which they resented as an "affront to the unity of Spain". The rebellion failed and became popularly known as La Sanjurjada . General Sanjurjo
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#17328018263561584-624: A process that was gradually implemented with the goal of completion by February 1937. By 30 October all Spanish males aged between 20 and 45 were being conscripted. The restructuring of the Spanish Republican Army showed the Communist influence in the new discipline imposed by the Popular Front authorities. The new Republican People's Army instituted the Comisariado de Guerra by means of which political commissars were charged with
1716-480: A rectangular cross-section fuselage formed from steel tubing with internal wire bracing. Its cockpits were open. The undercarriage used a pair of internally sprung mainwheels with balloon tyres and a tailskid. A split axle was mounted on a short V-strut below the fuselage. On the prototype, the undercarriage main legs were short, mounted on the lower fuselage longerons and assisted by short forward struts. The second prototype and production aircraft had longer legs fixed to
1848-449: A reprisal for Castillo's murder. But he was not at home, so they went to the house of José Calvo Sotelo , a Spanish monarchist and prominent parliamentary conservative. Luis Cuenca, a member of the arresting group and a Socialist who was known as the bodyguard of PSOE leader Indalecio Prieto , summarily executed Sotelo. Reprisals followed. The killing of Calvo Sotelo with police involvement aroused suspicions and reactions among
1980-566: A socialist Republic in association with the Soviet Union". Francisco Largo Caballero declared that "the organized proletariat will carry everything before it and destroy everything until we reach our goal". The country had rapidly become anarchic. Even the staunch socialist Indalecio Prieto , at a party rally in Cuenca in May 1936, complained: "we have never seen so tragic a panorama or so great
2112-460: A struggle between dictatorship and republican democracy , between revolution and counterrevolution , and between fascism and communism . According to Claude Bowers , U.S. ambassador to Spain during the war, it was the " dress rehearsal " for World War II . The Nationalists won the war, which ended in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975. The war began after
2244-533: A taxi driver was attacked outside a monarchist club sparked anti-clerical violence throughout Madrid and south-west portion of the country. The slow response on the part of the government disillusioned the right and reinforced their view that the Republic was determined to persecute the church. In June and July, the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) called several strikes , which led to
2376-654: A violent incident between CNT members and the Civil Guard and a brutal crackdown by the Civil Guard and the army against the CNT in Seville . This led many workers to believe the Second Spanish Republic was just as oppressive as the monarchy, and the CNT announced its intention of overthrowing it via revolution . Elections in June 1931 returned a large majority of Republicans and Socialists. With
2508-453: A war of religion, and military authorities increasingly deferred to the Church and to the expression of Catholic sentiment. Mola's program was vague and only a rough sketch, and there were disagreements among coupists about their vision. On 12 June, Prime Minister Casares Quiroga met General Juan Yagüe , who falsely convinced Casares of his loyalty to the republic. Mola began planning in
2640-613: A year of intense pressure, CEDA, the party with the most seats in parliament, finally succeeded in forcing the acceptance of three ministries. The Socialists (PSOE) and Communists reacted with an insurrection for which they had been preparing for nine months. The rebellion developed into a bloody uprising known as the Revolution of 1934 . Fairly well armed revolutionaries managed to take the whole province of Asturias, murdering numerous policemen, clergymen and civilians, destroying religious buildings including churches, convents and part of
2772-531: A year. Events in the period after November 1933, called the " black biennium ", seemed to make a civil war more likely. Alejandro Lerroux of the Radical Republican Party (RRP) formed a government, reversing changes made by the previous administration and granting amnesty to the collaborators of the unsuccessful uprising by General José Sanjurjo in August 1932. Some monarchists joined with
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#17328018263562904-649: Is unforgivable. The argument that Mr Gil Robles tried to destroy the Constitution to establish fascism was, at once, hypocritical and false. With the rebellion of 1934, the Spanish left lost even the shadow of moral authority to condemn the rebellion of 1936." Reversals of land reform resulted in expulsions, firings and arbitrary changes to working conditions in the central and southern countryside in 1935, with landowners' behaviour at times reaching "genuine cruelty", which included violence against farmworkers and socialists, causing several deaths. One historian argued that
3036-748: The Presidencia del Gobierno , following which in 1936 the regional units became restructured. Accordingly, the Spanish Navy-based Escuadra model was replaced by Región Militar divisions which are still operative today. The Aeronáutica Militar was merged with the air arm of the Spanish Republican Navy in September 1936, after the reorganization of the armed forces following the July 1936 coup, becoming part of
3168-533: The Air Force and, in a lesser degree, the Navy . Officers such as Gonzalo Queipo de Llano and Ramón Franco with a background in the pro-republican Jaca and Cuatro Vientos-Getafe uprisings during the monarchy rose to high posts for which they were not the most competent. In the same manner Spanish Republican Navy officers who displayed pro-republican fervor were rewarded with political posts. On 10 August 1932
3300-560: The Battle of the Ebro , during the last half of 1938, but it was also the battlefield where it was broken. Very young soldiers, averaging 17 and a half in age, whose unit was known as the 'Baby bottle conscription' ( "quinta del biberón" ) would be mobilized for this last big battle of the Civil War, the last one in which the International Brigades operated. These large war operations fulfilled
3432-621: The Camp de concentration d'Argelès-sur-Mer which held about 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans at a certain point in time. From there some managed to go into exile or went to join the armies of the Allies to fight against the Axis powers , while part of them ended up in Nazi concentration camps . Finally, there was a smaller group of men which scattered and hid in the mountainous areas of Spain, such as
3564-577: The Carlist movement to establish an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty , further destabilized the Spanish monarchy. In 1868, popular uprisings led to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of the House of Bourbon . Two distinct factors led to the uprisings: a series of urban riots and a liberal movement within the middle classes and the military (led by General Joan Prim ), which was concerned about
3696-412: The Communist propaganda goals promoted by Juan Negrín and his clique, but were disastrous and wasteful for the Spanish Republican Army, whose energy and organization would have been better employed in small-scale operations. Opposed by high-ranking officers such as republican Catholic general Vicente Rojo Lluch , 'Stalinist' influence only abated right at the end of the Civil War with the creation of
3828-765: The Guardia de Asalto (Assault Guard). Castillo was a Socialist party member who was giving military training to the UGT youth. Castillo had led the Assault Guards that violently suppressed the riots after the funeral of Guardia Civil lieutenant Anastasio de los Reyes. Assault Guard Captain Fernando Condés was a friend of Castillo. The next day, after getting the approval of the minister of interior to illegally arrest members of parliament, he led his squad to arrest José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones , founder of CEDA, as
3960-560: The Iberian Peninsula to coincide with the risings there. The rising was intended to be a swift coup d'état, but the government retained control of most of the country. Control over Spanish Morocco was all but certain. The plan was discovered in Morocco on 17 July, which prompted the conspirators to enact it immediately. Little resistance was encountered. The rebels shot 189 people. Goded and Franco immediately took control of
4092-806: The Montes de Toledo , the Galician Massif , the Pyrenees and the cordilleras of the Iberian System . There they waged a guerrilla war with the Spanish Maquis , the last military units to fly the flag of the Spanish Republic, well into the 1960s. Faced with a war situation the Republican Army based its organization in the mixed brigades ( brigadas mixtas ). Each of these was composed of four battalions . Every battalion included
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4224-618: The Museo del Aire , Madrid . Data from Lage General characteristics Performance Related lists Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( Spanish : Ejército de la República Española ) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic ( Ejército Popular de la República ) after it
4356-608: The Non-intervention agreements , assisted the beleaguered Republican government chiefly by providing weapons. Despite the fact that the Soviet arms shipments were duly paid at high prices, the USSR used this opportunity to extend its power over the Spanish Republic. In April 1938 Socialist minister of defense Indalecio Prieto resigned in protest at the level of Soviet influence over the Spanish Republican Army. The influence of
4488-642: The POUM , the CNT and the UGT . After the deaths of José Sanjurjo on July 20, 1936, Manuel Goded Llopis on August 12, 1936, and Emilio Mola on June 3, 1937, Franco gradually emerged as the primary leader of the Nationalist side. The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west, capturing most of Spain's northern coastline in 1937. They also besieged Madrid and the area to its south and west for much of
4620-566: The Popular Front ( Frente Popular ), and by the trade unions Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT). The militias that had been hurriedly armed in the wake of General Franco's coup had been loosely coordinated by the Popular Front coalition. The new structure sought to impose a more effective coordination of the loyalist forces, for the Republican government had lost effective control of
4752-740: The Radical Republican Party , had now endured a series of crises. After a number of corruption scandals, President Niceto Alcalá-Zamora , who was hostile to this government, called another election. The Popular Front narrowly won the 1936 general election . The revolutionary left-wing masses took to the streets and freed prisoners. In the thirty-six hours following the election, sixteen people were killed (mostly by police officers attempting to maintain order or to intervene in violent clashes) and thirty-nine were seriously injured. Additionally, fifty churches and seventy conservative political centres were attacked or set ablaze. Manuel Azaña
4884-516: The Spanish Civil War used three-pointed stars were placed below the rank insignia of officers assigned to the command of units above the size of regiment. One star was used for a brigade, two for a division, three for a corps and four for the commander of an army. Examples: Spanish Civil War Nationalist victory [REDACTED] Republicans [REDACTED] Nationalists 100,000–200,000 civilians killed inside
5016-577: The USSR was largely the consequence of the western democracies, like France , the United Kingdom and the United States not helping the young Spanish Republic. Fearing the " Communist threat ", Neville Chamberlain and Léon Blum were ready to sacrifice Spain (as they later would sacrifice Czechoslovakia ) in the belief that Adolf Hitler could be appeased. In the void thus created, only
5148-594: The corrupt central government of the country in Madrid , but these circles were ultimately unsuccessful. Popular perception of communism as a major threat significantly increased during this period. In 1923, a military coup brought Miguel Primo de Rivera to power. As a result, Spain transitioned to government by military dictatorship. Support for the Rivera regime gradually faded, and he resigned in January 1930. He
5280-539: The reforms of the armed forces introduced by newly nominated Republican Minister of War Manuel Azaña within the first months of the newly installed republic. The officers of the Armed Forces resented that a man without a military background had been appointed to lead the War Ministry. Later in October the same year Azaña became Prime Minister and continued the reform of the bloated and old-fashioned military
5412-645: The Army of Africa, made up of 35,000 men, and just under half of Spain's militaristic police forces, the Assault Guards, the Civil Guards , and the Carabineers . Republicans controlled under half of the rifles and about a third of both machine guns and artillery pieces. The Spanish Republican Army had just 18 tanks of a sufficiently modern design, and the Nationalists took control of 10. Naval capacity
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5544-523: The Bourbons were restored to the throne in the figure of Alfonso XII , Isabella's son. After the restoration, Carlists and anarchists emerged in opposition to the monarchy. Alejandro Lerroux , Spanish politician and leader of the Radical Republican Party , helped to bring republicanism to the fore in Catalonia —a region of Spain with its own cultural and societal identity in which poverty
5676-576: The Carlists, Mola was chief planner and second in command. José Antonio Primo de Rivera was put in prison in mid-March to restrict the Falange. However, government actions were not as thorough as they might have been, and warnings by the Director of Security and other figures were not acted upon. The revolt was devoid of ideology. The goal was to put an end to anarchical disorder. Mola's plan for
5808-478: The Catholic country, which included the abolition of Catholic schools and charities, a move which was met with opposition. At this point, once the constituent assembly had fulfilled its mandate of approving a new constitution, but fearing an increasing popular opposition, the Radical and Socialist majority postponed the regular elections, prolonging their time in power for two more years. Diaz's Republican government initiated numerous reforms to, in their view, modernize
5940-436: The GERC, for this army group would be annihilated by the rebel forces during the Catalonia Campaign . It was composed by the following armies: The following was the order of battle of the GERO in December 1938: The Aeronáutica Militar was the aviation of the Spanish Republican Army. It had been established during the time of the monarchy through a Royal decree on 28 February 1913. Another Royal decree published in
6072-441: The Gaceta de Madrid on 18 March 1920 led to the establishment of the first four air bases in Spain: the Getafe Air Base near Madrid, the Zaragoza Air Base , the Tablada Aerodrome near Seville and the León Military Aerodrome . On 17 December 1913, during the war with Morocco , a Spanish expeditionary squadron of the Aeronáutica Militar led by Eduardo Barrón became the first organized military air unit to see combat during
6204-408: The HS-34 might find a rôle as a glider tug. On 18 April 1942, a successful test took place, flown by the usual Hispano test pilot Fernando Floes Solis, but the type was not accepted by the military. Instead, it flew with the civil Aero Club of Seville . Lage suggests that this aircraft may be the HS-41 referred to in the 1942 Hispano catalogue. Hispano E-34 EC-AFJ , ex-AdE E.34-1 is on display at
6336-486: The Nationalist zone 50,000–72,000 civilians killed inside the Republican zone The Spanish Civil War ( Spanish : guerra civil española ) was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists . Republicans were loyal to the left -leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic , and consisted of various socialist , communist , separatist , anarchist , and republican parties, some of which had opposed
6468-468: The Popular Front's victory in the 1936 election, groups of officers, both active and retired, got together to discuss a coup . By the end of April General Emilio Mola emerged as the leader of a national conspiracy network. The Republican government reacted by reshuffling suspect generals from influential posts, Azana however acutely aware that as he did so, the Army still served as a possible buffer to leftist power brokers threatening his government. Franco
6600-432: The Republic had inherited. This was seen as a necessary step with the goal to modernize the Spanish Military and cut down the expenses of the state in the aftermath of the Great Depression . In order to implement its reforms the Republican Government promoted to high posts military men that it perceived as loyal. As a result, it tended to display favoritism towards the branches of the Armed Forces more amenable to its reforms,
6732-419: The Republican People's Army in its combat. Anti-fascist volunteers from all over the world that joined the brigades were trained at Albacete . The Spanish Republican Army units often lacked proper equipment. The situation improved somewhat by spring 1937, but a large proportion of units remained short of equipment and ammunition throughout the war. The shortage of proper clothing, boots, weapons and ammunition
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#17328018263566864-420: The Republican People's Army. The first six Mixed Brigades were created on 18 October 1936. The first was led by Communist colonel Enrique Líster , the second by Jesús Martínez de Aragón , the third by José María Galán , the fourth by Eutiquiano Arellano , the fifth by Fernando Sabio and the sixth by Miguel Gallo Martínez . The reorganization included as well the XI and XII International Brigades joining
6996-425: The Republican-Socialist government alienated as many people as they pleased. Republican Manuel Azaña became prime minister of a minority government in October 1931. Fascism remained a reactive threat and it was facilitated by controversial reforms to the military. In December, a new reformist, liberal and democratic constitution was declared. It included strong provisions enforcing a broad secularisation of
7128-415: The Soviet Union helped the Spanish government effectively, but its assistance came at a high monetary cost. At the end of October 1936, three months after the rebels had been supplied with German and Italian weapons by Hitler and Mussolini , the first Soviet war supplies arrived to alleviate the lack of material in the loyalist side. The People's Republican Army reached its highest level of organization in
7260-423: The Spanish Armed Forces became henceforward a "State within the State" that would interfere in civilian matters in an overbearing manner, becoming a major player in Spanish politics. Other Spanish intellectuals such as Miguel de Unamuno and Ramiro de Maeztu were seriously worried at the time about the future implications of the " Law of Jurisdictions ". Unamuno openly expressed his concern that it would be left to
7392-420: The Spanish Republican Air Force. In the Civil War, and following the reorganization of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, the five pointed red star became an insignia of Spanish Republican Army uniforms. The new insignia mainly replaced the former eight-pointed and six-pointed silver stars that had been part of the Republican Army officers' uniforms between 1931 and 1936. The republican forces of
7524-465: The United States, continued to recognise the Republican government but followed an official policy of non-intervention . Despite this policy, tens of thousands of citizens from non-interventionist countries directly participated in the conflict. They fought mostly in the pro-Republican International Brigades , which also included several thousand exiles from pro-Nationalist regimes. Smaller numbers of pro-Republican international volunteer fighters fought in
7656-445: The armed units defending it. The changes in the structure began on 16 October 1936, doing away with the War Ministry which was replaced by the 'National Defence Ministry' ( Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional ), led by the president of the republic, Largo Caballero . By means of this new structure, the Regular Popular Army unified all the branches of the military, including the renowned Fifth Regiment , as well as all scattered militias,
7788-448: The attitude of the Spanish politicians and the public opinion who unjustly blamed the Spanish Military for the failures in the colonies. In November 1905 Spanish Army personnel stormed the offices of Catalan magazine Cu-Cut! , where En Patufet and La Veu de Catalunya were also located, for having published a caricature ridiculing the military. Following the attacks, the Captain generals of Sevilla, Barcelona and Madrid openly opposed
7920-445: The authority of the Spanish monarchy as well as to establish a nation-state under the ideology and philosophy that they believed in. The reforms of 1812 were short-lived as they were almost immediately overturned by King Ferdinand VII when he dissolved the aforementioned constitution. This ended the Trienio Liberal government. Twelve successful coups were carried out between 1814 and 1874. There were several attempts to realign
8052-413: The behaviour of the right in the southern countryside was one of the main causes of hatred during the Civil War and possibly even the Civil War itself. Landowners taunted workers by saying that if they went hungry, they should "Go eat the Republic!" Bosses fired leftist workers and imprisoned trade union and socialist militants; wages were reduced to "salaries of hunger". In 1935, the government, led by
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#17328018263568184-535: The company of armed militants. Conservatives, the middle classes, businessmen and landowners became convinced that revolution had already begun. Prime Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga ignored warnings of a military conspiracy involving several generals, who decided that the government had to be replaced to prevent the dissolution of Spain. Both sides had become convinced that, if the other side gained power, it would discriminate against their members and attempt to suppress their political organisations. Shortly after
8316-431: The country. In 1932, the Jesuits were banned and their property was confiscated, the army was reduced, landowners were expropriated. Home rule was granted to Catalonia, with a local parliament and a president of its own. In June 1933, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Dilectissima Nobis , "On Oppression of the Church of Spain", raising his voice against the persecution of the Catholic Church in Spain. In November 1933,
8448-444: The coup to prevent it from being crushed swiftly. The rebels termed themselves Nacionales , normally translated "Nationalists", although the former implies "true Spaniards" rather than a nationalistic cause . The result of the coup was a nationalist area of control containing 11 million of Spain's population of 25 million. The Nationalists had secured the support of around half of Spain's territorial army, some 60,000 men, joined by
8580-525: The coup very quickly. Conversely, if the coup had risen everywhere in Spain on the 18th rather than be delayed, it could have triumphed by the 22nd. While the militias that rose to meet the rebels were often untrained and poorly armed (possessing only a small number of pistols, shotguns and dynamite), this was offset by the fact that the rebellion was not universal. In addition, the Falangists and Carlists were themselves often not particularly powerful fighters either. However, enough officers and soldiers had joined
8712-413: The coup, though it seems Mola did not envision the mass atrocities and repression that would manifest during the civil war. Of particular importance to Mola was ensuring the revolt was an Army affair, not subject to special interests, ensuring the position of the armed forces as the basis for the new state. However, the separation of church and state was forgotten once the conflict assumed the dimension of
8844-404: The creation of the Juntas de Defensa (Boards of Defence) during the 1917 Spanish crisis caused by the First World War . The Spanish military had an excess of officers, as much as 16,000 officers for 80,000 troops at one point and the economic crisis, coupled with a low pay, brought the problem of the economic hardships of military families to the fore. Allegedly the aim of the Juntas de Defensa
8976-478: The deteriorating military situation, Colonel Segismundo Casado led a military coup against the Republican government , intending to seek peace with the Nationalists. These peace overtures, however, were rejected by Franco. Following internal conflict between Republican factions in Madrid in the same month, Franco entered the capital and declared victory on 1 April 1939. Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards fled to refugee camps in southern France . Those associated with
9108-431: The distribution of weapons among the civilian population. This facilitated the defeat of the army insurrection in the main industrial centres, including Madrid, Barcelona , and Valencia , but it allowed anarchists to take control of Barcelona along with large swathes of Aragón and Catalonia. General Goded surrendered in Barcelona and was later condemned to death. The Republican government ended up controlling almost all
9240-412: The east coast and central area around Madrid, as well as most of Asturias , Cantabria and part of the Basque Country in the north. Hugh Thomas suggested that the civil war could have ended in the favour of either side almost immediately if certain decisions had been taken during the initial coup. Thomas argues that if the government had taken steps to arm the workers, they could probably have crushed
9372-408: The electoral results but did not succeed. Despite CEDA's electoral victory, President Alcalá-Zamora declined to invite its leader, Gil Robles, to form a government, fearing CEDA's monarchist sympathies and proposed changes to the constitution. Instead, he invited the Radical Republican Party 's Alejandro Lerroux to do so. Despite receiving the most votes, CEDA was denied cabinet positions for nearly
9504-667: The failed coup, the resistance of the Artillery branch of the Spanish Army to General Primo de Rivera's attempts to integrate and reorganize the Spanish military, created uneasiness within the ranks and in the face of the stubbornness of the Artillery officers in Pamplona , he had to declare Martial law ( Estado de Guerra ). Henceforward the Artillery officers would develop a pro-Republican stance. The Second Spanish Republic
9636-728: The fall of 1938. In May 1937 the Popular Army was structured in the following field armies in the territory that was still under its control: Towards the end of 1937, after the loss of the Northern Zone, the structure of the People's Republican Army underwent some important changes, even though it kept the structure of the previous six months. After the Spanish Republican territory was split in two in April 1938, there
9768-549: The first month of the Popular Front's government, nearly a quarter of the provincial governors had been removed due to their failure to prevent or control strikes, illegal land occupation, political violence and arson. The Popular Front government was more likely to prosecute rightists for violence than leftists who committed similar acts. Between February and July, approximately 300 to 400 deaths occurred from political violence, while hundreds of churches, religious buildings and monuments were destroyed, damaged, or vandalised. Azaña
9900-699: The first systematic bombing in history by dropping aerial bombs from a Lohner Flecha (Arrow) airplane on the plain of Ben Karrix in Morocco. During the years that followed, most of the warfare activity of the Aeronáutica Militar took place in Spanish Morocco. Shortly thereafter the Aeronáutica Naval , the air branch of the Spanish Navy , already established through a Royal decree four years earlier, became functional in El Prat , in
10032-406: The government in the pre-war period. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists , monarchists , conservatives , and traditionalists led by a military junta among whom General Francisco Franco quickly achieved a preponderant role. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war had many facets and was variously viewed as class struggle , a religious struggle ,
10164-400: The government's opponents on the right. Although the nationalist generals were planning an uprising, the event was a catalyst and a public justification for a coup. Stanley Payne claims that before these events, the idea of rebellion by army officers against the government had weakened; Mola had estimated only 12% of officers reliably supported the coup and Mola considered fleeing for fear he
10296-531: The hands of the government, leaving Spain militarily and politically divided. The Nationalists and the Republican government fought for control of the country. The Nationalist forces received munitions, soldiers, and air support from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany while the Republican side received support from the Soviet Union and Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, France , and
10428-868: The help of the British intelligence agents, the rebels chartered a Dragon Rapide aircraft to transport Franco from the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco . Franco arrived in Morocco on 19 July. Franco was offered this position as Mola's planning for the coup had become increasingly complex and it did not look like it would be as swift as he hoped, instead likely turning into a miniature civil war that would last weeks. Mola had concluded troops in Spain were insufficient and it would be necessary to use elite units from North Africa, something Franco had always believed would be necessary. On 12 July 1936, Falangists in Madrid killed police officer Lieutenant José Castillo of
10560-424: The islands to which they were assigned. On 18 July, Casares Quiroga refused an offer of help from the CNT and Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), leading the groups to proclaim a general strike—in effect, mobilising. They opened weapons caches, some buried since the 1934 risings, and formed militias. The paramilitary security forces often waited for the outcome of militia action before either joining or suppressing
10692-401: The law shut out workers seeking extra income as pickers. Newly established labour arbitration boards regulated salaries, contracts, and working hours, but were more favourable to workers than employers. A decree in July 1931 increased overtime pay and several laws in late 1931 restricted whom landowners could hire. Other efforts included decrees limiting: the use of machinery; efforts to create
10824-460: The losing Republicans who stayed were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists. Franco established a dictatorship in which all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of his regime. The war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired worldwide and for the many atrocities that occurred. Organised purges occurred in territory captured by Franco's forces so they could consolidate their future regime. Mass executions on
10956-556: The military to define what was correct regarding patriotism. The "Moroccan Question" ( Spanish : la cuestión marroquí ), however, would be the main cause of the ensuing fractures in the political and social life in Spain. The disastrous wars in Morocco ended up bringing about severe social reactions in Spain that could no longer be silenced by means of the " Law of Jurisdictions ". The Tragic Week protests in Barcelona in July 1909, which quickly turned anticlerical , were primarily
11088-747: The militias of the Socialist Youth ( Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas ), the Communist Fifth Regiment, as well as the Anarchist militias were rallied under one banner and given proper military training. In places such as the Aragon Front, however, the Anarchist and minority Communist groups, such as the POUM , resisted what they saw as Communist-led "militarization". They distrusted the Communist leadership and perceived
11220-477: The mission of lifting the morale of the troops and ensuring their cooperation with their high-rank officers in all units. The commissar had to overcome the mistrust of the troops towards the officers in order to achieve the necessary discipline for proper coordination. Based on a model that would replace the columns ( columnas ) and militias, the Mixed Brigade ( Brigada mixta ) was the basic military unit of
11352-466: The move as an effort to force them to abandon their militia model, making them depend from a single central power, which was against their ideals. The power and leadership of the Communists within the armed forces was promoted by the government of Juan Negrín and its Communist Party of Spain allies. The Soviet Union , profiting from the international isolation of the Spanish Republic imposed by
11484-521: The new regime was a "republican dictatorship", modelled after Salazar's Portugal and along the lines of being semi-pluralist authoritarian, rather than fascist totalitarian. The initial government would be an all-military "Directory", which would create a "strong and disciplined state". Sanjurjo would be the head of this new regime, due to being liked and respected within the military, though his position would be symbolic due to his lack of political talent. The 1931 Constitution would be suspended, replaced by
11616-642: The onset of the Great Depression , the government tried to assist rural Spain by instituting an eight-hour day and redistributing land tenure to farm workers. The rural workers lived in some of the worst poverty in Europe at the time and the government tried to increase their wages and improve working conditions. This estranged small and medium landholders who used hired labour. The Law of Municipal Boundaries forbade owners from hiring workers outside their locality. When some localities had labour shortages,
11748-408: The orders of General Franco . Although relatively more successful than the 1932 Sanjurjada , this rebellion succeeded only in fractioning Spain, with roughly half of the territory still loyal to the Republic. Instead of giving up or calling for a compromise, Franco began a bloody war of attrition, the Spanish Civil War . During the Civil War the part of the army loyal the Spanish republican government
11880-607: The partial failure of the coup d'état of July 1936 against the Republican government by a group of generals of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces , with General Emilio Mola as the primary planner and leader and General José Sanjurjo as a figurehead. The government at the time was a coalition of Republicans, supported in the Cortes by communist and socialist parties, under the leadership of centre-left president Manuel Azaña . The Nationalist faction
12012-468: The people before the military took over. The prime minister was hesitant. The uprising's timing was fixed at 17 July, at 17:01, agreed to by the leader of the Carlists, Manuel Fal Conde . However, the timing was changed—the men in the Morocco protectorate were to rise up at 05:00 on 18 July and those in Spain proper a day later so that control of Spanish Morocco could be achieved and forces sent back to
12144-407: The political system to match social reality. Until the 1850s, the economy of Spain was primarily based on agriculture . There was little development of a bourgeois industrial or commercial class. The land-based oligarchy remained powerful; a small number of people held large estates called latifundia as well as all of the important positions in government. The mid-century Carlist Wars , fought by
12276-473: The primarily conservative and Catholic areas of Old Castile and León , which fell quickly. They took Cádiz with help from the first troops from Africa. The government retained control of Málaga , Jaén , and Almería . In Madrid, the rebels were hemmed into the Cuartel de la Montaña siege , which fell with considerable bloodshed. Republican leader Casares Quiroga was replaced by José Giral , who ordered
12408-591: The problems of the Spanish Armed Forces for the support of the military institution for General Primo de Rivera's move was not unanimous. Already in 1926 there was the first serious attempt of a coup, popularly known as La Sanjuanada (after St John), against the dictator in which four high-ranking generals — Valeriano Weyler , Domingo Batet , Francisco Aguilera and José Riquelme y López-Bago , as well as Colonel Segundo García and Lieutenant colonel Cristino Bermúdez de Castro — were involved. Besides
12540-470: The prosecution of those members of the military involved in the storming. This crisis led in 1906 to the approval of the Ley de Jurisdicciones ("Law of Jurisdictions"), which severely restricted freedom of expression in Spain by making speech against "Spain and its symbols"—the Spanish Armed Forces including themselves as one of the symbols— a criminal offence. According to renowned writer Salvador de Madariaga
12672-513: The provincial capitals and, following the resignation of Aznar's government, Alfonso XIII fled the country. At this time, the Second Spanish Republic was formed. This republic remained in power until the beginning of the civil war five years later. The revolutionary committee headed by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora became the provisional government, with Alcalá-Zamora himself as president and head of state . The republic had broad support from all segments of society. In May 1931, an incident in which
12804-424: The rebellion and was released from prison in January 1935. In sparking an uprising, the non-anarchist socialists, like the anarchists, manifested their conviction that the existing political order was illegitimate. The Spanish historian Salvador de Madariaga , an Azaña supporter and an exiled vocal opponent of Francisco Franco, wrote a sharp criticism of the left's participation in the revolt: "The uprising of 1934
12936-516: The rebellion. Quick action by either the rebels or anarchist militias was often enough to decide the fate of a town. General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano secured Seville for the rebels, arresting a number of other officers. The rebels failed to take any major cities with the critical exception of the July 1936 military uprising in Seville , which provided a landing point for Franco's African troops, and
13068-417: The rebels. Finally in October the Republican government reorganized its armed forces around the military units that had remained loyal and the militias were merged with the new army. The government of the areas that had not joined the rebels, known as 'Victory Government' ( Gobierno de la Victoria ), quickly organized a 'Regular Popular Army' ( Ejército Popular Regular ) (EPR). Led by all the parties composing
13200-627: The restructuring of the Republican Armed Forces in September 1936, the Aeronáutica Naval was merged with the Aeronáutica Militar in order to form the Spanish Republican Air Force . Hispano-Suiza became Hispano Aviación after the Spanish Civil War . In 1941 a final unit was assembled using recovered parts of an E-34 and a Gipsy engine. Hispano had hopes of restarting production, suggesting
13332-463: The result of the unpopular Moroccan wars that "merely satisfied the needs of the Military" in the eyes of the public. The consequence of such developments was that the division between the Spanish military and the Spanish people became deeper. The liberal traditions that the Spanish Army had spearheaded in the 19th century were replaced by a defensive, reactionary outlook. The mutual suspicion led to
13464-613: The right-wing parties won the general election . The causal factors were increased resentment of the incumbent government caused by a controversial decree implementing land reform, by the Casas Viejas incident , and the formation of a right-wing alliance, Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups (CEDA). Another factor was the recent enfranchisement of women, most of whom voted for centre-right parties. According to Stanley G. Payne and Jesús Palacios Tapias , left Republicans attempted to have Niceto Alcalá Zamora cancel
13596-578: The same location as present-day Barcelona Airport . In 1921, following the Spanish defeat at Annual , known as Desastre de Annual in Spain, the Zeluán Aerodrome was taken over by the Rif army and another aerodrome was built at Nador . Lieutenant Colonel Kindelán was named Jefe Superior de Aeronáutica , becoming chief-commander of the Aeronáutica Militar in 1926, at the time when Spanish Morocco
13728-499: The spring. Franco was a key player because of his prestige as a former director of the military academy and as the man who suppressed the Asturian miners' strike of 1934 . He was respected in the Army of Africa, the Army's toughest troops. He wrote a cryptic letter to Casares on 23 June, suggesting the military was disloyal, but could be restrained if he were put in charge. Casares did nothing, failing to arrest or buy off Franco. With
13860-406: The start of the civil war; for comparison, the 1931–33 land reform had granted only 6,000 peasants 45,000 hectares. As many strikes occurred between April and July as had occurred in the entirety of 1931. Workers increasingly demanded less work and more pay. "Social crimes"—refusing to pay for goods and rent—became increasingly common by workers, particularly in Madrid. In some cases, this was done in
13992-486: The then fascist-nationalist Falange Española y de las JONS ("Falange") to help achieve their aims. Open violence occurred in the streets of Spanish cities, and militancy continued to increase, reflecting a movement towards radical upheaval, rather than peaceful democratic means as solutions. A small insurrection by anarchists occurred in December 1933 in response to CEDA's victory, in which around 100 people died. After
14124-400: The ultra-conservatism of the monarchy. In 1873, Isabella's replacement, King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy , abdicated due to increasing political pressure, and the short-lived First Spanish Republic was proclaimed. The Republic was marred with political instability and conflicts and was quickly overthrown by a coup d'état by General Arsenio Martínez Campos in December 1874, after which
14256-612: The university at Oviedo. Rebels in the occupied areas proclaimed revolution for the workers and abolished the existing currency. The rebellion was crushed in two weeks by the Spanish Navy and the Spanish Republican Army , the latter using mainly Moorish colonial troops from Spanish Morocco . Azaña was in Barcelona that day, and the Lerroux-CEDA government tried to implicate him. He was arrested and charged with complicity. In fact, Azaña had no connection with
14388-418: The upper longerons. The prototype and production series aircraft were powered, as the rules of the competition required, by a 105 hp (78 kW) Walter Junior four-cylinder inverted inline engine , although the second prototype was fitted with the more powerful 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major of the same configuration. The E-34 did not win the Aeronáutica Militar competition, and
14520-476: The victorious Francoist armies. Many of them had to face immediately the firing squad , especially the professional officers and the volunteers, while the remainder were brought to concentration camps where some of them would be shot later, as their records would be checked. Among the members of the Republican Armed Forces who escaped, many were interned in concentration camps in Southern France, such as
14652-525: The war. After much of Catalonia was captured in 1938 and 1939, and Madrid cut off from Barcelona, the Republican military position became hopeless. Following the fall without resistance of Barcelona in January 1939, the Francoist regime was recognised by France and the United Kingdom in February 1939. On 5 March 1939, in response to an alleged increasing communist dominance of the Republican government and
14784-496: Was an emergency reorganization of the military units that implied deep changes both in the structure as well as in the general distribution of the remaining battle-ready armies. Two army groups were formed: The Central Region Army Group , Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Central (GERC), was an army group that gathered all the republican units that fought in the Republican Central Zone ( zona centro ). The GERC
14916-517: Was called to form a government before the electoral process had ended. He shortly replaced Zamora as president, taking advantage of a constitutional loophole. Convinced that the left was no longer willing to follow the rule of law and that its vision of Spain was under threat, the right abandoned the parliamentary option and began planning to overthrow the republic, rather than to control it. PSOE's left wing socialists started to take action. Julio Álvarez del Vayo talked about "Spain being converted into
15048-402: Was compromised. He had to be convinced to remain by his co-conspirators. However, the kidnapping and murder of Sotelo transformed the "limping conspiracy" into a revolt that could trigger a civil war. The arbitrary use of lethal force by the state and lack of action against the attackers led to public disapproval of the government. No effective punitive, judicial or even investigative action
15180-565: Was especially acute during the first months of the war, right after the reorganization. Priority, however, was given to ensure that the Republican troops received adequate food rations and that they received their salaries. Usually the latter were paid to the soldier's families in their homes. The reorganization of the Spanish Republican Army was almost complete by mid-1937. Groups such as the Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias, Milicias Antifascistas Obreras y Campesinas (MAOC),
15312-404: Was forced to fight against the better equipped fraction of the army in revolt and their powerful Third Reich and Italian Fascist supporters. After the partly successful coup of the pro- fascist generals in July 1936, militias were formed in many cities in Spain that had not sided with the rebellion lest the units of the Spanish Republican Army stationed in their territory be tempted to join
15444-485: Was hesitant to use the army to shoot or stop rioters or protestors as many of them supported his coalition. On the other hand, he was reluctant to disarm the military as he believed he needed them to stop insurrections from the extreme left. Illegal land occupation became widespread—poor tenant farmers knew the government was disinclined to stop them. By April 1936, nearly 100,000 peasants had appropriated 400,000 hectares of land and perhaps as many as 1 million hectares by
15576-420: Was led by Defence of Madrid hero, General José Miaja Menant . It was the most powerful section of the republican military that would endure until the 1939 surrender. The Eastern Region Army Group Grupo de Ejércitos de la Región Oriental (GERO) , included the armies that were defending Catalonia that were still loyal to the Spanish Republic led by General Juan Hernández Saravia . It was more short-lived than
15708-526: Was particularly acute at the time. Conscription was a controversial policy that was eventually implemented by the government of Spain. As evidenced by the Tragic Week in 1909, resentment and resistance were factors that continued well into the 20th century. Spain was neutral in World War I . Following the war, wide swathes of Spanish society, including the armed forces, united in hopes of removing
15840-726: Was preceded by two pro-Republican coup attempts, the Jaca Uprising led by Fermín Galán and a rebellion of Air Force officers in Cuatro Vientos and Getafe air bases. In 1931, following the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, the armed forces of the Spanish Kingdom became the Spanish Republican Armed Forces. Admiral Aznar 's casual comment: "Do you think it was a little thing what happened yesterday, that Spain went to bed as
15972-421: Was reorganized, following the disbandment of the voluntary militias that were formed in July 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War . The Spanish Republican Army went through two clear phases during its existence: Following the loss of Spain's last colonies, Cuba and Philippines , in 1898, the country's armed forces grew disgruntled and the public's view toward them worsened. Military leaders resented
16104-494: Was replaced by General Dámaso Berenguer , who was in turn himself replaced by Admiral Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas ; both men continued a policy of rule by decree . There was little support for the monarchy in the major cities. Consequently, King Alfonso XIII of Spain relented to popular pressure and called municipal elections for 12 April 1931. Left-wing entities such as the Socialist and Liberal Republicans won almost all
16236-502: Was retained by the government—however, the whole of the Republican Air Force was very outdated. The war was cast by Republican sympathisers as a struggle between tyranny and freedom, and by Nationalist supporters as communist and anarchist red hordes versus Christian civilisation. Nationalists also claimed they were bringing security and direction to an ungoverned and lawless country. Spanish politics, especially on
16368-726: Was retaken and the Rif War ended. In 1930 a pro-Republican revolt in the Cuatro Vientos military aerodrome near Madrid was quashed. After the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, General Luis Lombarte Serrano replaced Kindelán as chief-commander of the Aeronáutica Militar , but he would be quickly succeeded by Commander Ramón Franco, younger brother of later dictator Francisco Franco . Captain Cipriano Rodríguez Díaz and Lieutenant Carlos de Haya González flew non-stop to Equatorial Guinea , then
16500-619: Was sacked as chief of staff and transferred to command of the Canary Islands . Manuel Goded Llopis was removed as inspector general and made general of the Balearic Islands . Mola was moved from head of the Army of Africa to commander of Pamplona . This latter reassignment, however, allowed Mola to direct the mainland uprising; General José Sanjurjo became the figurehead of the operation and helped reach an agreement with
16632-635: Was subsequently arrested and court-martialed. Initially he was condemned to death, but his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment in Dueso . In March 1934 Sanjurjo was granted amnesty by the Lerroux government and went into exile in Estoril , Portugal. In July 1936, five years after the proclamation of the republic, a section of the Spanish Republican Army in Spanish Morocco rebelled under
16764-626: Was supported by several conservative groups, including CEDA , monarchists, including both the opposing Alfonsists and the religious conservative Carlists , and the Falange Española de las JONS , a fascist political party. The coup was supported by military units in Morocco , Pamplona , Burgos , Zaragoza , Valladolid , Cádiz , Córdoba , Málaga , and Seville . However, rebelling units in almost all important cities—such as Madrid , Barcelona , Valencia , Bilbao , Murcia , and Almería —did not gain control. Those cities remained in
16896-417: Was supported over the fuselage by a pair of N-shaped struts to the upper fuselage longerons . The upper centre section had a large cut-out in its trailing edge for better upward visibility, and also contained the fuel tank. Ailerons were fitted only on the lower wing. The HS-34 had its tailplane mounted on top of the fuselage, carrying split elevators . The rudder was horn balanced . The E-34 had
17028-534: Was taken; Payne points to a possible veto by socialists within the government who shielded the killers drawn from their ranks. The murder of a parliamentary leader by state police was unprecedented, and the belief the state had ceased to be neutral and effective encouraged important sectors of the right to join the rebellion. Franco changed his mind on rebellion and dispatched a message to Mola to display his firm commitment. The Socialists and Communists, led by Indalecio Prieto , demanded that arms be distributed to
17160-568: Was therefore not ordered by them, but the Aeronáutica Naval placed an order for twenty five in August 1935. Only five had been built before the Spanish Civil War put an end to production of non-combat aircraft. In 1935, before the Spanish Civil War , the second prototype, with its Gipsy engine, new undercarriage and Handley Page slots was displayed at the International Exposition held at Montjuich . Following
17292-418: Was to defend the interests of Spanish military officers, but their intention to get involved in political issues was clear to the public. Finally on 13 September 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera made a successful coup d'etat . After overthrowing the parliamentary government he established himself as dictator with the tacit consent of King Alfonso XIII . The General's dictatorship, however, did not solve
17424-511: Was uneven, with the Republicans retaining a numerical advantage, but with the Navy's top commanders and two of the most modern ships, heavy cruisers Canarias —captured at the Ferrol shipyard—and Baleares , in Nationalist control. The Spanish Republican Navy suffered from the same problems as the army—many officers had defected or been killed after trying to do so. Two-thirds of air capability
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