Spanish Civil War
The Conflict
The start of the Spanish Civil war can be traced all the way back to January 5th, 1936, where there had been a case in Madrid of Nationalist Rebels opening fire on the Imperial Guard, of course guarding the Imperial Palace of Spain. Countries surrounding Spain had already begun exclaiming their worries for another possible Civil War in Spain, not wishing a repeat of the Spanish Independence War.
The emperor of Spain, Francisco Franco, then authorized the use of lethal force to get rid of any rebel or nationalists that might appear, closing the borders of all of Spain so no one can leave or enter.
The Gibraltar Uprising was the first successful operation by the Nationalist rebellion, and it took place on April 14th, 1936. 1000 Nationalist rebels took to the streets of Gibraltar and quickly seized the city within just a few hours.
Around July 13th, the emperor released another statement on the matter, putting a Complete Marshall Law in affect at once. He had also put a bounty on these "Terrorists" of the state, varying in the price depending on who was captured. The Emperor goes on to state about the Gibraltar situation, that the city itself will be burnt to the ground, many see this as the official start of the Civil War, but it would not be before July 19th, where a large Nationalist group stormed Madrid.
Franco's statement from January 9th
Spanish Newspaper from the start of the war
The War
After July 19th, many were quick to send aid to Spain, on both sides. Die Deutches Reich or The German Reich was one of the first to send support to the Iberian Peninsula, but it was for the Nationalist. They were supplied with the newest German Technology, Panzer I's, and they proved effective in a lot of combat situations.
Other countries like: Denmark, The Russian Empire, and Poland were also quick to jump on the support train, but they were supporting the Imperialist Spaniards. The first real test of power and technology was put to the test, and German field men saw action for the first time since 1919.
If you want to read more about the battles, click here.
However, as the Baltic War kicked off, German focus quickly switched to their own borders rather than the Nationalist, and it is believed this is one of the main reasons Nationalist Spain lost the war.
The Aftermath
After the war had finished, many families, friends and workers were still separated by an invisible wall of dispute, many still believed in the Fascist way of life, whilst others were heavily against it. This lead to some more misfortunes around the country, but the Spanish Civil War overall ended in Imperialist Spanish victory, and the way of the Monarchy would continue on for longer.