What Killed the Spanish Revolution?

DRAFT

by John Spritzler

July 22, 2025

Elsewhere (here) I discuss the Spanish Revolution 1936-9 emphasizing how inspirational an event it was, while touching on its mistakes that help explain why it was defeated by the fascist, General Franco, in 1939. In this article I will look more closely at the mistakes made by working class people at the time, not only in Spain, that largely account for the revolution's defeat.

The obvious reason for the defeat of the egalitarian revolutionaries (who called themselves anarchists) is that General Franco had a military force that was stronger than the military force the anarchists had. The question, however, is Why was Franco able to acquire such a stronger military force?

Any answer to this question must start with recognition of the fact that the vast majority of people in the world want to live in what I call an egalitarian world, a world in which he rich are removed from power and there is real, not fake, democracy with no rich and no poor. Very few people, in contrast, want to live in the kind of world that fascists create, in which the rich are in power and there is fake, not real, democracy with some rich and some poor.

To know why Franco was able to defeat the anarchists requires knowing why the vast majority of people in the world were defeated by a small minority, why the small minority of pro-fascists were able to mount a stronger military force that the vast majority of pro-egalitarians.

The reason the role of people outside of Spain is an important factor is because Franco's military force was composed to a large extent of non-Spaniards. In particular, besides Spanish soldiers it was composed of Moroccan and Italian soldiers and it was supported by German (Nazi) aircraft as well as some German soldiers on the ground. We must examine why it is that Franco was able to recruit Moroccans and Italians and Germans to fight the egalitarian revolutionaries despite the fact that most Moroccans and Italians and Germans wanted an egalitarian revolution, not a fascist capitalist world.

From Wikipedia: we learn the following about Franco's reliance on Moroccans, Italians and Germans:

Moroccans:

The Army of Africa was a field army garrisoned in Spanish Morocco – a legacy of the Rif War – under the command of General Francisco Franco. It consisted of the Spanish Foreign Legion and the Regulares, infantry and cavalry units recruited from the population of Spanish Morocco and with Spanish officers as commanders.

The Regulares operated as the shock troops of the National forces in exchange for a substantial pay. More than 13,000 Moroccan troops were airlifted on 20 Junkers Ju 52 planes supplied by Hitler between the beginning of the conflict in July and October 1936. Their proverbial cruelty and reckless behaviour were not random, but were part of a calculated plan of the Francoist military leaders in order to instill terror in the Republican defence lines.[36]

The Army of Africa would be the most decorated unit in the May 1939 victory brigade by the Nationalists; it has been estimated that one in five of its members were killed during the war, a casualty rate twice as high as that of the peninsular forces within the Spanish Nationalist faction. For several years after the war, Franco would have a squadron of Moorish troops act as his escort at public ceremonies as a reminder of the Army's importance in the Nationalist victory.[37]

Italians:

Italy under the Fascist leadership of Benito Mussolini supported the overthrow of the republic and the establishment of a regime that would serve as a client state to Italy. Italy distrusted the Spanish Republic due to its pro-French leanings and prior to the war had made contact with Spanish right-wing groups.[40] Italy justified its intervention as an action intended to prevent the rise of Bolshevism in Spain.[41] Italy's Fascist regime considered the threat of Bolshevism a real risk with the arrival of volunteers from the Soviet Union who were fighting for the Republicans.[42] Mussolini provided financial support as well as training to the Alfonsists, Carlists, and Falange.[25] Mussolini met Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera in 1933 but did not have much enthusiasm in the establishment of fascism in Spain at that time.[12]

By January 1937, an expeditionary force of 35,000 Italians, the Corpo Truppe Volontarie, were in Spain under the command of General Mario Roatta.[27] The contingent was made up of four divisions: Littorio, Dio lo Vuole ("God Wills it"), Fiamme Nere ("Black Flames") and Penne Nere ("Black Feathers"). The first of these divisions was made up of soldiers; the other three of Blackshirt volunteers.[43] Italy provided the National forces with fighter and bomber aircraft which played a significant part in the war.[27] In March 1937, Italy intervened in the political affairs of the Nationals by sending Roberto Farinacci to Spain to urge Franco to unite the various political movements of the Nationalist faction into one fascist "Spanish National Party".[44]

Germans:

Nazi Germany provided the Nationals with material, specialists, and a powerful air force contingent, the Condor Legion German expeditionary forces that provided airlift of soldiers and material from Spanish Africa to Peninsular Spain and provided offensive operations against Republican forces.[27] Nationalist forces were supplied with tanks and aircraft, including the Panzer I, Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Heinkel He 111.[45] The Spanish Civil War would provide an ideal testing ground for the proficiency of the new weapons produced during the German re-armament. Many aeronautical bombing techniques were tested by the Condor Legion against the Republican Government on Spanish soil with the permission of Generalísimo Franco. Hitler insisted, however, that his long-term designs were peaceful, a strategy labelled as "Blumenkrieg" (Flower War).[46]

Germany had important economic interests at stake in Spain, as Germany imported large amounts of mineral ore from Spanish Morocco.[47] The Nazi regime sent retired General Wilhelm Faupel as ambassador to Franco's regime, Faupel supported Franco and the Falange in the hope that they would create a Nazi-like regime in Spain.[48] Debt owed by Franco and the Nationals to Germany rose quickly upon purchasing German material, and required financial assistance from Germany as the Republicans had access to Spain's gold reserve.[48]

Spaniards:

From this AI Google search:

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), General Franco's Nationalist army grew to approximately 600,000 soldiers, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia and The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. This number represents the peak strength of the Nationalist forces, which included regular army units, foreign volunteers (like the Condor Legion), and various paramilitary groups.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Initial Strength:

The Nationalist uprising, led by Franco, involved a relatively small number of soldiers and officers who were part of the regular army.
Growth:

As the war progressed, the Nationalist forces expanded significantly through conscription, mobilization of nationalist militias, and the arrival of foreign volunteers.
Peak Strength:

By the end of the war, the Nationalist army had grown to around 600,000 soldiers.
Composition:

This force was not solely made up of Spanish soldiers; it included German and Italian units, as well as a significant number of foreign volunteers who fought on the Nationalist side, according to The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.

From this AI Google search:

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), General Franco's Nationalist army grew to approximately 1,000,000 soldiers, according to historians. Initially, the Nationalist forces were smaller, composed of rebel troops and some regular army units that joined the uprising. However, as the war progressed, Franco's army swelled with recruits, including conscripts and volunteers, as well as foreign aid from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.