Spanish Civil War
- Date
- 17 July 1936 – 1 April 1939
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Southwestern Europe (Spain)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
On 17 July 1936 a coalition of conservative, monarchist, and far-right army officers launched a coup against Spain's elected Second Republic, beginning in Spanish Morocco and spreading to mainland garrisons the next day.
The rising only partly succeeded — it failed in Madrid, Barcelona, and other major centres — splitting the country and igniting a three-year civil war between Nationalists, led increasingly by General Francisco Franco, and Republican forces of socialists, communists, anarchists, and regional autonomists. The conflict became an arena for Europe's ideological struggles: Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy supplied Franco with aircraft, troops, and matériel, while the Soviet Union aided the Republic and volunteers from many countries joined the International Brigades. The German bombing of Guernica in 1937 became a symbol of the new terror of aerial warfare. After roughly half a million deaths, the Nationalists captured Madrid and Franco declared victory on 1 April 1939, installing an authoritarian dictatorship that endured until his death in 1975.
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Empires active in 17 July 1936 – 1 April 1939
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
Related military & conflict events
- Italy Invades Ethiopia1935–1936
- Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre7 July 1937 – 2 September 1945
- German invasion of Poland and outbreak of World War II1 September 1939
- Attack on Pearl Harbor7 December 1941
- Operation Barbarossa: German invasion of the Soviet Union22 June 1941
- Battle of Stalingrad23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943
Further reading
The wider story
Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
Fast-paced narrative of Portugal's seaborne empire.
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