Chapter 653： The Spanish Civil War broke out

The latest website: In Spain in southern Europe, the smoke of gunpowder is getting thicker and thicker.

At the beginning of the century, Spain was an economically poor and politically backward agricultural country. The Spanish political system is still biased towards feudal autocracy, and government officials and military generals are mostly high-ranking figures such as Catholic high-ranking monks or aristocratic landlords. The semi-feudal large manor system prevailed in the rural areas, the big landlords controlled most of the land and resources in the country, and the people of the lower classes lived in hardship.

With the consent of King Alfonso XIII, Miguel Primo de Rivera launched a coup on September 13, 1923, establishing a dictatorship that lasted for 7 years, and forcefully suppressing domestic disturbances.

However, in 1931, a revolution broke out in Spain, de Rivera’s regime was overthrown, Alfonso XIII went into exile, and Niséto Alcala-Zamora established the Second Spanish Republic.

However, the Second Spanish Republic is also in a turbulent situation, with at least 28 governments established successively.

The earliest government was the left-wing socialist alliance led by Zamora, which implemented a series of democratic and agrarian reforms, and implemented a series of measures such as disarmament and the closure of military schools.

But these reforms were not very effective. Landlords and royal officers still accounted for the majority of the Spanish Congress and government forces. The same is true for land reform. When most of the land is acquired by the state or landlord’s land is purchased at a high price, the poor peasants are allocated only a small portion of the royal land.

Catholics also opposed the republican government, attacked each other, and the Constitution stipulated the separation of church and state. However, the government took advantage of the establishment of the Second Republic to organize an anti-Catholic government, forcefully interfered with the Catholic Church, prohibited religious groups from preaching, restricted property rights and investment, and banned the Jesuits.

Even allowing fierce anti-Catholic figures to attack monasteries and believers, the Catholic Church also spread anti-republican ideas to believers.

The welfare system of the working class has not been enforced, and most capitalists do not comply with regulations such as the 8-hour work system. The requirements of the autonomous region are only allowed by Catalonia.

In August 1932, General Jose Sanhuho attempted to stage a coup but was arrested after failure. Internal fighting and the Great Depression of the 1930s made domestic society turbulent, and communism and communism spread rapidly in Spain. The country is full of political forces with different ideologies, the left and right wings are in conflict with each other, and they unite with other activists to expand their power.

Among them, the Communist Party and the Spanish Communist Party are the most fierce. They have had many violent incidents in the country, and they have also intensified the confrontation between the camps in the civil war, leading to the escalation of the scale of the conflict.

In October 1935, the Spanish left-wing group formed the People’s Front by the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), the Marxist Workers’ Party (POUM), the Workers’ Union (UGT), the Basques, Catalans, and anarchists.

The political propositions of the People’s Front before the election include: pardoning political prisoners arrested and imprisoned by the right-wing government, providing basic wages for farm workers and restricting working hours, restoring the constitution and the establishment of autonomous regions, democratizing public institutions and the army, banning *** and imperialism People, lower taxes and land rents, etc., were widely supported by the workers, peasants and petty bourgeoisie. They won the election in 1936 and regained power.

Jose Sanjujo founded an organization called the Spanish Military Alliance, planning to overthrow the Republican government by force, impose a right-wing dictatorship, and restore domestic order.

Supporters are divided into three factions, conservative soldiers representing the interests of the rich peasants, liberals representing the interests of the middle class, and the Pike Party representing the interests of small farmers and handicraftsmen. There are not many active officers in this organization, but many retired officers. Sanjuho himself was still living in Portugal at the time, and the Brigadier General Emilio Mora was commanding him in the country.

At the same time, the royalists also opposed the reform of the Republic. The leader of the royalist party is Antonio Gorechia. He declared in 1937 that the Republic would collapse through a military coup or civil war and went to the Kingdom of Italy to obtain Mussolini's support. The leader of the Orthodox is Far Gent, and they are also preparing to overthrow the Republican government by force and train militias in the Navar Mountains.

In 1933, Spain held elections again, and the right-wing radical Republican Party won, with Alejandro Le Luz as its president and regained power.

Lerus canceled various reforms of the previous government, including ending land reforms, returning church property, abolishing the constitution and autonomous regions, and releasing many right-wing and royalists. The right-wing government imposed armed suppression on opponents.

In the February 1936 election, out of a total of 9.25 million votes, the Left Alliance won 4.75 million votes and regained power again. It won 267 seats in Congress, while the right-wing coalition won 132 seats. Manuel Azania is the president, and Casalos Giroca is the prime minister.

The left-wing government once again changed the various policies of the right-wing, which aroused the dissatisfaction of many nationalist, communist, and royalists in an attempt to overthrow the republican government. Franco’s friend Joaquin Araras once described Azania as "a disgusting caterpillar in Red Spain." Spanish officers particularly dislike Azania, especially when he served as a warrior in 1931. During the ministerial period, many military expenditures were cut and military academies closed.

In these stormy days, both the left and the right have adopted eye-popping "struggle" methods such as gun battles, assassinations, and kidnappings. In 4 months, 260 political murders occurred in Spain, the headquarters of 70 parties and political groups were destroyed, and 10 newspapers were destroyed.

Important politicians are not immune. In 1936, the chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee Azua, the former minister, and the democratic liberal Dr. Martinez were assassinated.

Among them, Sotro's death became the fuse that detonated the two sides.

On July 13, members of the assault guards serving in the government broke into the home of conservative leader, congressman, and former finance minister of the Rivera government, Jose Calvo Sodro, and kidnapped him. In the police truck, Captain Fernando Cuencas of the Assault Guard shot Sodro twice in the head. Afterwards, they threw the blood-stained body of the parliamentarian to the Madrid public cemetery.

When conservatives held massive funerals and demonstrations for them, the Republican police shot at the crowd and killed two people on the spot.

Sodro's death shocked Spain and Europe as a whole. At the same time, other members of the right wing were angry, so the famous "Today the weather throughout Spain is clear" telegraph also caused the Spanish Civil War to break out.

The Spanish "Foreign Legion" and the "Moor Legion" took advantage of military exercises in Spanish Morocco and broke out in rebellion. The pro-right-wing officers of the "Spanish Military Union" rallied against the Republic and elected San Jurjo, who was in exile in Portugal, as their leader.

At the same time, the alliance issued a declaration to all provinces in Spain and Morocco: all officers participating in the campaign will be promoted and life-long pensions, and called for the purge of "unreliable" officers and soldiers in the army.

On the afternoon of the 17th, the foreign legions stationed in Genta and Melia, Morocco, publicly launched rebellions in various cities in Spanish Morocco. The total number of rebels was about 35,000. The rebel forces imprisoned General Gomez, the commander in chief, and executed General Manuel Moslaris who refused to cooperate.

On this day, General Franco, the military governor of the Canary Islands, also instigated his troops to start a rebellion. He issued this call: "The army has decided to restore order in Spain... General Franco has been in place to lead this movement. He appealed to the sentiments of all Spaniards who are willing to work for the restoration of Spain."

Franco then flew to Tetouan, Morocco, to command the rebel forces.

Since Franco was well-respected among the most elite Spanish African army, other troops stationed in Morocco also participated in the rebellion. The insurgent forces have taken over Melilla and Ceuta successively, and controlled the entire territory of Spanish Morocco.

On the morning of the 19th, escorted by a cruiser, the rebel convoy crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and anchored in front of the fortress of Alheciras. After a burst of shelling, the fortress surrendered. Moorish soldiers from the rebels landed and occupied the city.

In the face of the army’s move to stand up against the government (80% of the regular army (120,000 officers and soldiers) turned to oppose the government The Madrid government called on workers to participate in the fight to defend the Republic. More than 200,000 workers responded to the call, They flocked to Madrid from all over the country.

At the same time, fighting between the army and the workers is also unfolding in other parts of the country. Although lack of training, the workers' armed forces performed extremely bravely in battle. . Since no regular weapons were allocated, many of them took shotguns, knives, forks, grenades or explosive packs to participate in the battle to defend the Republic.

In some places, the rebellion was suppressed, and in some places, it was controlled by the National Army. By July 20, when the first round of the contest between the two sides basically ended, the National Army controlled almost all of Morocco, the Canary Islands, the entire Balearic Islands except Minorca, the Guadalama Mountains, and Ebro. A large area north of the river.

The government of the Republic occupies the eastern coast, Basque Country, Catalonia and other places, and cut off the ties between the North and South of the National Army in Badajoz. At the same time, Spain's largest cities Madrid and Barcelona are still in the hands of the Republic. Some areas are stalemate: In Asturias, the government-controlled area and the National Army-controlled area are intertwined.

When both sides discover that the war may continue, seeking foreign aid has become a common choice for both sides.