Spanish Civil War

In the 1930s, the extremely liberal Popular Front government was being threatened by the Fascist dominated military. In 1936, the military under Francisco Franco attempted a coup against the Popular Front government. Unusual for Civil Wars, the rebels were much better armed then the government forces. That is because the military revolted against the government. So the popular front regime resorted to using worker front militias and foreign fighters known as the international brigade. The rebels called themselves the "nationalists", while the left wing government called itself the "Republicans". International support for the Republicans was mostly arms supplement and some personal supplied by USSR (however, the USSR never supplied troops to the extent of Germany and Italy) and as mentioned above, tens of thousands of foreign fighters form 55 different nations. The Nationalists were greatly supported by Italy and Germany, with the German Luftwaffe conducting aerial operations against the Republicans. Also, Nationalist forces had thousands of Berber tribesmen from Morocco among its personal. A fatal Achilles Heel to the Republicans is the fact that they made up of several leftest ideologies, from Anarchism to Communism. Republican Anarchist and Communist militias were bitter rivals, and often fought amongst themselves as much as they fought the Nationalists. The Republican foreign fighters withdrew after suffering heavy causalities. The withdrawal of the foreign fighters, decreased Soviet support, and infighting weakened the Republican government. The finishing blow to the Republicans occurred after the Nationalists capture Catalonia in 1939. Franco's new Nationalist regime lasted until 1975. The Spanish Civil War was a foreshadow to WW2, with many historians seeing the conflict as a "dress reseal to WW2".  Nazi Germany used Spain's Civil War as a laboratory for its war machine. Luftwaffe pilots would gain valuable experience in aerial combat. Terror bombing (made famous by Pablo Picasso's iconic painting Guernica) in the war would foreshadow the devastating strategic air war in WW2. Both the Nationalists and the Republicans would use terror campaigns against their opponents. Targets of the Nationalist "White Terror" (a brand name for anti communist mass killings) were school teachers, labor unions, intellectuals, and anyone suspected of connections with the Republicans. Groups targeted by the Republican "Red Terror" (a brand name for killings under communist regimes) were mostly Catholic Clergy and perceived supporters of the Nationalists. The White Terror is has gained more attention then the Red Terror because it was more organized and on a more massive scale. Even today, the effects of the Spanish Civil War could be felt by the locals.