The Spanish Civil War

Study Notes

The Spanish Civil War was a conflict between the government of the Second Spanish Republic and a part of the army and right-wing organizations.
It began with a military uprising on July 17, 1936, and lasted from 1936 to 1939.
The government ordered the distribution of weapons among the civilian population, facilitating the defeat of the insurgents in Madrid and the Mediterranean capitals.
The troops of General Francisco Franco crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and joined forces with General Queipo de Llano in Seville.
The war was fought on three fronts in 1937, with Franco attempting to conquer Madrid and the industrial north while the Republicans tried to dominate the main cities of Aragon.
Franco launched an offensive in the Aragon front in May 1938 to reach the Mediterranean and divide the territory dominated by the Republicans.
The Republican reaction was an offensive on the Ebro line, which resulted in the longest and bloodiest campaign of the war.
The Battle of the Ebro ended with the Republican army's defeat and left the way clear for Franco's occupation of Catalonia.
The Republican rearguard faced difficulties due to divisions between political parties and labor unions attempting to organize a social revolution.
The rebel rearguard had a more centralized political and military leadership, which, with the support of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, was more effective in repression and continued during the Franco dictatorship against left-wing movements and the Catalan, Basque, and Galician culture and language.