Foreign Intervention in the Spanish Civil war
...llowed the Nationalists to have a better trained and experience fighting force in Spain. The aid that Hitler gave and continued to give to the Nationalists has often been scrutinized, was Hitler acting out of ideological principles or that of expediency? On the one side, Hitler was dedicated to the eradication of communism, and was himself a fascist. More realistic though, is the knowledge that Hitler hoped to gain a share of the mineral wealth that could be found in Spain. Also, Hitler was able to use the situation in Spain as a testing ground for military techniques. This can be seen in two ways, through the use of the elite Condor Legion in action, and also the introduction of Blitzkrieg (or lightning war). Perhaps the only country that became involved in the conflict for ideology, Italy long supported Fascist uprisings in Spain. Mussolini had given money to a proposed monarchist uprising as early as 1934 and was easily persuaded upon the outbreak of war to give support to the Nationalists, in terms of money and machinery. Mussolini’s personal reasoning for assisting the Nationalists was to combat the threat of Communism and also to keep the Italian national spirit up, as they had completed the Ethiopian campaign. Although it is said that Mussolini hoped to acquire naval bases in return for aid, it is more likely that involvement was based on Italian pride and an attempt to show its power. As Thomas wrote, ‘Mussolini got no real advantage from the war, but it satisfied his ego to see Italy waving a big stick in the world again’. Italy’s contribution of soldiers alone counted around 50,000 and 75,000 troops. Mussolini also sent technological weapons to the Nationalists. As can be seen, the Nationalists (much due to Franco) received large amounts of foreign assistance. In contrast, the Republicans received very little. At the outbreak of war, Azaña (the president of the Republic) immediately appealed to France’s president, Leon Blum for assistance. Blum initially promised aid, but when reviewing the political situation in France, it became apparent that involvement may risk a polarization of the nation and therefore a similar Civil War. France then assumed an official policy of ‘non-intervention’ as will be discussed later on. Britain also made this their policy. This left the Republican government to seek aid from Russia, and none too cheaply. There seem to be conflicting views as to why Russia did not give a lot of aid, some say Stalin hoped to better the image of communism by not being involved, others offer the idea that Stalin did not want to support any government that would not be purely communist. Whatever the idea, Stalin did not completely involve the USSR into the fighting in Spain. Rather he offered armament and ammunition in exchange for gold. By the end of the war, Spain will have paid more than half of its gold reserve to the USSR. However, the armaments that are received will be successful in holding off some Nationalist advances, such as with the protection of Madrid. The USSR was also influential in the creation of things such as the International Brigade, which allowed volunteers to fight in the war. What must also be considered in all of this is the role of non-intervention, and how this may have played into the victory of the Right. Although intervention is often defined as “Any assistance of any kind given to either side” this particular conflict seems to be an exception. For in this struggle non-intervention seemed to have a paradoxical effect, it played right into the willing hands of Franco. As briefly mentioned, France itself was balancing on an unstable political foundation. This combined with pressure from the British government lead to a ‘non-intervention’ policy. Britain adapted this policy as the public opinion seemed to put more emphasis on anti-communism than anti-fascist policies. Politicians also feared the connection of Italy to Germany and were concerned that this would occur should Britain aide the Nationalists. At all costs, both Britain and France wanted to avoid the s...