Spanish Civil War: Final Campaigns and International Involvement
The Battle of the Ebro and the End of the War (July 1938-April 1939)
The Republic attempted to prevent the Nationalist advance on Valencia by launching what became known as the Battle of the Ebro. The aim was to cross the Ebro River and envelop from the rear the Nationalist armies that had advanced from Teruel to the Mediterranean. This initiated a brutal battle of positions, attacks, and counterattacks involving intense artillery and aerial combat, lasting four months. There was immense loss of life on both sides. The last major Republican offensive ultimately ended in failure.
Following the Battle of the Ebro, the conquest of Catalonia was carried out in February 1939, with Barcelona falling to the Nationalists. This marked the last major campaign of the Civil War. The Republican Government and President Manuel Azaña crossed the border into France, accompanied by the Government of the Generalitat.
Between February and April 1939, the final episodes of the war unfolded. Juan Negrín, the Prime Minister, and the PCE (Communist Party of Spain) proposed a policy of resistance to the death. Negrín even returned to Spain from France to continue the war, believing that the only negotiation with Franco would be the total surrender of the Republicans.
This stance clashed with the opposition of important Republican military figures and politicians. Negrín was supplanted by a “Defense Board” headed by Colonel Segismundo Casado. This board was tasked with managing the surrender. They created a National Defense Council whose objective was to negotiate peace with certain conditions and guarantees for the vanquished. However, Franco did not accept any conditions for surrender and demanded unconditional capitulation. On March 28, Franco’s troops entered Madrid without any resistance. In the days that followed, they occupied the entire Mediterranean area.
On April 1, 1939, Franco signed the final war communiqué in Burgos, declaring: “On this day, captive and disarmed, the Red Army troops have reached their final national military objectives. Spaniards, the war is over.”
The Internationalization of the Conflict
The Spanish Civil War was observed with great interest throughout the world and was seen as the start of a military conflict between democracy and fascism, a conflict that would continue after the outbreak of World War II. France and Britain established a Non-Intervention Committee in London in September 1936, which comprised 30 countries that committed, in theory, not to help either side. The committee proved to be a farce because it failed to prevent either side from receiving foreign aid, and it committed a great injustice to the Republic by denying a sovereign state, elected by its people, the right to buy weapons to defend against a military insurgency.
Foreign Aid to the Republicans
The Republic received military aid primarily from:
- The Soviet Union, which provided technical staff, supplies, and weapons that had to be paid for with gold from the Bank of Spain.
- The Mexican President, who sent military equipment.
- France, which initially stopped selling weapons to Spain but later became a host country for asylum-seeking Republican leaders and thousands of Spanish troops fleeing Franco.
The Republic’s largest international aid came from the International Brigades. These fighting units were formed by volunteers from Europe and America of leftist ideology, who came to Spain to fight Spanish fascism. Distributed into six brigades, formed by battalions, the soldiers gathered from various countries. Their intervention was crucial, particularly in the defense of Madrid in autumn 1936.
Foreign Aid to the Nationalists
The Nationalists received significant aid from:
- Italy and Germany, in the form of arms and expeditionary forces (e.g., approximately 40,000 Italian soldiers and 16,000 German soldiers).
- Germany, which notably sent its Condor Legion (an aviation unit).
- Portugal, which closed its border control and sent several thousand fighters.
- The U.S., which remained neutral, but its fear of the advance of the communist revolution led several American companies (such as Ford and General Motors) to supply material to the Francoist side.
- The Vatican’s attitude was favorable to the Nationalists, as it had poor relations with the Republic. Pope Pius XI was a known supporter of Franco.