Post by Adler69 on Jul 1, 2009 14:02:13 GMT -5
The Army uprising in Melilla, led by General Francisco Franco on 17th July 1936, was the signal for a series of revolts in other garrisons in Spain, in a military coup which had been under preparation for some time during a long period of political unrest.
The military did not have the immediate success they had expected, and the Civil War was to see between 500,000 and one million people lose their lives over the next three years, with thousands more dying from starvation and disease. Many others fled the country.
It was marked by numerous bloody battles for control of the country, and by Nationalist forces slowly gaining on territory held onto by the Republican government.
Both had aid to some lesser or greater extent from abroad: support came for government forces from the International Brigade, and Nationalist forces were receiving support from Italy and Germany.
The Nationalists named General Franco head of their government and commander of the Armed Forces at the end of September 1936, a little over a month before the Republicans moved their seat of government from Madrid to Valencia.
In November that year, Germany and Italy both officially recognized the Nationalist government.
It was followed by the German bombing of the Republican stronghold of Guernika, in the Basque Country, in April 1937, in a bombardment which saw most of the city destroyed and more than 1,500 people killed.
Seen as practice for Hitler’s war machine, it was immortalised by Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica,’ the mural the artist painted in response to a commission from the Republican government for the 1937 Paris International Exhibition.
Guernika was preceded by a devastating defeat for the Republicans earlier in the year, when Nationalist forces took the city of Malaga, in the south. The air and sea bombardment of the tens of thousands of refugees who fled the city, walking along the coast road to Almería, more than 200 kilometers away, in ‘La Desbanda’ – The Exodus, is referred to as ‘La Caravana de la Muerte’ – The March of Death.
By 1938, the Basque Country had fallen to the Nationalists, and the three months of the Battle of the Ebro ended with a defeat for the Republican forces. That struggle for control saw 70,000 casualties.
By November, Nationalist forces had control of approximately two thirds of the country.
The Republicans’ last stronghold in Cataluna was taken in February 1939, and at the end of that month, France and the UK recognized the Nationalist government.
The exile of the Republican government soon followed, and Madrid and Valencia both fell at the end of March.
The remaining Republic forces surrendered, and, on 1st April 1939, General Franco announced an end to the war.
The military did not have the immediate success they had expected, and the Civil War was to see between 500,000 and one million people lose their lives over the next three years, with thousands more dying from starvation and disease. Many others fled the country.
It was marked by numerous bloody battles for control of the country, and by Nationalist forces slowly gaining on territory held onto by the Republican government.
Both had aid to some lesser or greater extent from abroad: support came for government forces from the International Brigade, and Nationalist forces were receiving support from Italy and Germany.
The Nationalists named General Franco head of their government and commander of the Armed Forces at the end of September 1936, a little over a month before the Republicans moved their seat of government from Madrid to Valencia.
In November that year, Germany and Italy both officially recognized the Nationalist government.
It was followed by the German bombing of the Republican stronghold of Guernika, in the Basque Country, in April 1937, in a bombardment which saw most of the city destroyed and more than 1,500 people killed.
Seen as practice for Hitler’s war machine, it was immortalised by Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica,’ the mural the artist painted in response to a commission from the Republican government for the 1937 Paris International Exhibition.
Guernika was preceded by a devastating defeat for the Republicans earlier in the year, when Nationalist forces took the city of Malaga, in the south. The air and sea bombardment of the tens of thousands of refugees who fled the city, walking along the coast road to Almería, more than 200 kilometers away, in ‘La Desbanda’ – The Exodus, is referred to as ‘La Caravana de la Muerte’ – The March of Death.
By 1938, the Basque Country had fallen to the Nationalists, and the three months of the Battle of the Ebro ended with a defeat for the Republican forces. That struggle for control saw 70,000 casualties.
By November, Nationalist forces had control of approximately two thirds of the country.
The Republicans’ last stronghold in Cataluna was taken in February 1939, and at the end of that month, France and the UK recognized the Nationalist government.
The exile of the Republican government soon followed, and Madrid and Valencia both fell at the end of March.
The remaining Republic forces surrendered, and, on 1st April 1939, General Franco announced an end to the war.