Topic Proposal:
Francisco Franco & the Spanish Civil War
Few Americans know much about Francisco Franco, leader of the winning side in the Spanish Civil War and subsequently dictator of Spain. Yet from 1936 until 1975, he was a famous world figure. Now he is forgotten—but not by all. Franco is, and has been for decades, a cause célèbre among the global Left, seen as the devil incarnate for his successful war against Communist domination of Spain. To successfully delay, or worse, block, any Left attempt to establish their permanent rule, thereby revealing that history lacks a progressive direction, is the unforgivable sin. Naturally, therefore, my own impression of Franco was generally favorable. But after reading up on him, my impression of him has changed. Now it is positively glowing.
It is very difficult to grasp the controversial figures of the past century. By “controversial,” I mean right-wing, since no prominent left-wing figure is ever deemed, in the common imagination formed by the left-wing dominance of academia and media, to be “controversial.” Instead, such people are “bold” or “courageous.” The only way to get at the truth about a right-wing figure is to absorb a great many facts about him. It doesn’t matter much if the facts are slanted, or are disputed, or even if lies are told, as they always are about any right-wing figure. Reading enough detail allows the truth to come into focus, which mostly means ferreting out where the Left is lying or where one’s impression has been formed by propaganda or half-truths.
There are enough sources on both Franco and the War overall to get a more three dimensional view of the conflict. Most American biographers and historians are generally left leaning or even far left-wing. I chose Stanley Payne’s biography of Franco because he is a respected historian and has written fairly neutral books. He is an expert of European Fascism and the Spanish Civil War. There are no “pro Franco” biographies or hagiographies written in English or translated.
The American and British Right is very wary of endorsing Franco. Primarily, this is for two main reasons. 1). People don’t know a lot about Franco or Spain so they see Franco =Hitler or Mussolini. This is a wrong. Franco wasn’t a Fascist he was a traditionalist. 2). recently it has become popular to assert that Christians cannot be masculine or marshal. Christianity = granola hippie to the Left and maybe even most of America nowadays. There were countless Christian martyrs that sacrificed themselves for God and Country during those turbulent years.
Solzhenitsyn become renowned for his criticism of the Soviet Union, but he also criticized secular capitalistic America. These things are conveniently left out in the standard historical narrative.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s ringing endorsement of Franco. “I saw that Franco had made a heroic and colossal attempt to save his country from disintegration. With this understanding there also came amazement: there had been destruction all around, but with firm tactics Franco had managed to have Spain sidestep the Second World War without involving itself, and for twenty, thirty, thirty-five years, had kept Spain Christian against all history’s laws of decline! But then in the thirty-seventh year of his rule he died, dying to a chorus of nasty jeers from the European socialists, radicals, and liberals.”
Only in a cynical post Enlightenment world could someone like Franco not be seen as on the right side of history. Only when Christianity has become mostly devoid of all its masculine virtues and the religion itself something more akin to a sort of perennialism/occultism/pacifism admixture could the Nationalist during the Spanish Civil War be seen as “Fascist criminals” or evil doers or some such nonsense. Before the War gone were the knights of old, the gold, and the majesty of the Empire. Spain was a country filled with peasants and the beginnings of intense industrialization in certain regions.
Franco came from a long line of naval officers but joined the army instead. He went to Morocco , the only place were combat was likely. Spending time in Spanish Morocco he was involved in actual combat missions. Franco was wounded in the stomach by machine gun fire and somehow escaped essentially unharmed. This helped to establish his reputation for good luck, and it probably fostered a genuine belief in his own providential mission to save Spain.
During the chaotic tumultuous years leading up to the War, Franco like most officers was nonpolitical.
16 February 1936 Elections held for the Cortes (Spanish parliament). They are won by the 'Popular Front' (a coalition of left-wing political parties).
8 March 1936 Meeting of army officers in Madrid (including General Mola and General Franco) to discuss a military coup against the Popular Front government.
15 March 1936 The government bans the Falange, a Spanish fascist organisation. Its leader, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, is arrested for illegal possession of weapons.
The Falange was banned after members tried to assassinate Luis Jiménez Asúa, a Socialist member of the Cortes, on 10 March, and the trade union leader Francisco Largo Caballero on 14 March.
17-18 July 1936 Start of military rebellion against the Spanish government in North Africa, then mainland Spain.
19-20 July 1936 The military uprising is defeated in Madrid and Barcelona. Morocco, Galicia, Navarre, Old Castile and Seville soon come under the control of the rebels. The intended leader of the coup, General Sanjurjo, is killed when the aeroplane carrying him from Portugal to Spain crashes.
21 July - 27 September 1936 Members of the Civil Guard and military cadets are besieged in the Alcazar citadel, in Toledo, by pro-government forces. After more than two months the siege was raised by Nationalist troops commanded by General Franco.
The relief of Alcazar was seen as a great symbolic victory by the Nationalists, and stories of 'red' atrocities towards civilians during the siege were used in anti-government propaganda.
Late July 1936 onwards Italian and German military supplies, including aircraft, are received by the rebels in North Africa and Spain. The Soviet Union agrees to send aid to the Republican side.
August 1936 A "non-intervention" agreement, banning military intervention in Spain by other countries, is proposed and promoted by the French and British governments. Key governments (including those of Portugal, Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union) agree to this in principle. In practise Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union continue to send military supplies throughout the war.
14 August 1936 Capture of the city of Badajoz (near the Portuguese border) by Nationalist forces commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Juan Yagüe. The massacre of an estimated 2,000 - 4,000 civilians followed.
Badajoz was used in Republican propaganda as a symbol of Nationalist barbarism. The Nationalists' use of Moroccan troops ("Moors") to carry out atrocities against Spaniards in Badajoz and elsewhere was often highlighted.
4 September 1936 Francisco Largo Caballero becomes Republican Prime Minister. His coalition government would include socialists, communists, Left Republicans, Basque nationalists and (after 4 November 1936) anarchists.
5 September 1936 The Basque town of Irun is taken by the Nationalists.
Large areas of the town were set on fire as Republican troops retreated (an act usually attributed to supporters of the anarchist CNT-FAI). Nationalists would later use the example of Irun as supporting evidence when they argued that the destruction of towns such as Guernica was caused by Republican arson rather than Nationalist bombing.
21 September 1936 Rebel leaders agree that General Franco should be appointed supreme commander of the Nationalist forces (Generalissimo).
October 1936 The first International Brigades (Brigadas Internacionales) are formed. Their members are foreign volunteers who had travelled to Spain to fight on behalf of the Republican government.
1 October 1936 General Franco is formally invested as Caudillo (leader of Spain) in the throne room at Burgos (Burgos was the location of the alternative Nationalist government).
2 November 1936 Nationalist troops capture the town of Brunete, west of Madrid.
7 November 1936 Start of Nationalist ground assault on Madrid.
6 February 1937 Start of the Battle of Jarama - a Nationalist offensive to cross the river Jarama, to the east of Madrid. It continued for most of February.
8-18 March 1937 Battle of Guadalajara (Nationalist offensive). The city of Guadalajara is 34 miles north east of Madrid.
6 April 1937 Nationalists announce a blockade of Republican ports on the north (Cantabrian) coast - threatening ships with attack if they sail to these areas.
26 April 1937 Bombing of the Basque capital of Guernica by German aeroplanes. The air raid was an attack on civilians, rather than a military target, and resulted in the destruction of much of the town.
3-8 May 1937 'Events of May' in Barcelona: Divisions between several Republican political groups (Communists, Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista (POUM), and anarchists) result in street fighting between supporters of the different factions.
17 May 1937 Juan Negrín becomes Republican Prime Minister, replacing Francisco Largo Caballero. His new government contains more Communists.
16 June 1937 The revolutionary socialist group Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista (POUM) is declared illegal by the Republican government. Its leaders are arrested, (including Andres Nin, who was killed several days later).
1 July 1937 Spanish Bishops collectively endorse Franco as the legitimate ruler of Spain.
6-26 July 1937 Battle of Brunete - Republican offensive against Nationalist forces to the west of Madrid.
21 October 1937 Capture of the city of Gijon (and district of Asturias) by Nationalist forces. All of the north (Cantabrian) coast is now under Nationalist control.
14 December 1937 - 22 February 1938 Battle of Teruel. In the middle of a harsh winter, Republican forces capture Teruel before being forced to retreat by a Nationalist counter-attack.
15 April 1938 Catalonia is cut off from the rest of Republican Spain, as Nationalist troops take the Mediterranean coastal town of Vinaroz.
25 July-16 November 1938 Battle of the Ebro. Republican troops launch an offensive across the River Ebro. Despite initial success, the Republican army is eventually forced back across the river by Nationalist counter-attacks.
4 October 1938 Withdrawal of the International Brigade from the front.
The Republican Prime Minister Juan Negrín ordered the unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops fighting in the International Brigades, in the hope that international pressure might then force the withdrawal of Italian and German troops fighting on behalf of the Nationalists. It didn't.
26 January 1939 Nationalist forces enter Barcelona.
9 February 1939 'Law of Political Responsibilities' introduced by Franco.
The new law allowed penalties (including imprisonment and confiscation of property) to be imposed on anyone who had supported the Republican government in the past or present. This could include people who had voted for them in February 1936.
10 February 1939 Fall of Catalonia to Nationalist troops. In the previous week, thousands of refugees had fled to France.
28 March 1939 Madrid taken by Nationalist forces.
1 April 1939 Republican armies surrender. General Franco declares the war to be over.
Bibliography
Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu5f9hp0IP4
Franco: A Personal and Political Biography
Franco's International Brigades: Adventurers, Fascists, and Christian Crusaders in the Spanish Civil War
The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
The Victorious Counterrevolution: The Nationalist Effort in the Spanish Civil War
Homage to Catalonia
Mine Were of Trouble: A Nationalist Account of the Spanish Civil War
The Last Stalinist
