Why Did the Nationalists Win the Spanish Civil War?

Achilleas Sarantaris 2/10/11 | Republicans| Nationalists| Political Strengths/weaknesses| *Caballero’s rule weakened because Republicans were politically divided due to different ideologies; communists vs. socialists who believed revolution should be postponed, anarchists who believed war could only be won through revolutionary policies. *Terror tactics to control increasing population led to resistance*’May Days† street fighting: communists and socialists vs. narchists enhanced disunity| *main strength was their unity. Franco would assume political and military command because Nationalists wanted unified command. Falange Espaniola Tradicionalista, Franco’s new merged party, had 1,070,000 members. *Supported from the church which opposed the left*Franco gained power and authority from his victories in the battlefield| Military strengths/weaknesses| *Lacked strong military leadership, no unified command; anarchists and Basques refused to be led by a central command structure. Loyal army officers were not trusted by the Republic. Dependent on hazardous ineffective militia units, different fronts operated separately| *Even though initial disunity, Africanistas contained the best troops in the country thus they could cover other forces. *Key to success was unified command. Franco’s leadership was accepted by other right-wing parties, including Italians. *Sound communicators, military equipment and large amount of junior officers together with Franco’s ability as a military leader were decisive factors. | Economic advantages/disadvantages| *Under anarchist control utilities worked by workers’ committees, collective farms set up. However they could not supply the needs of the republic to fight the war. *Production in Catalan fell by 2/3 between 1936 and 1939. *Due to Non-Intervention Committee trade only with USSR, which led to the entire gold reserves of Spain being used up| *Backed by business community, hence they could buy war supplies. *Main industrial areas under their control. *Benefited from unrestricted international trade. USA gave $700 million in credit to the Nationalists. | Foreign Assistance| *Far more limited than that of the Nationalists; main ally USSR. *No Soviet troops send to fight, only 1000 aircrafts, 750 tanks and some advisers, which had to be aid for. *International Brigade sent 35. 000 foreign volunteers with limited impact. 1938 Soviets withdrew support and IB left. Francs initial aid ended when it joined Britain’s Non-Intervention| *Foreign aid was a crucial factor in the Nationalist’s victory. *Rebels benefited from more aid of better quality than that given to Repub licans. Franco’s army airlifted by German’s to mainland. *German condor legion; 10,000 troops, 800 aircraft, 200 tanks. Italians 75,000 troops, 750 planes and 150 tanks. Portuguese 20,000 troops. *Key factor not man power, but advanced technology and equipment they received. | p