Why did the Republicans lose the Civil War?

Résumé du document

"Indeed, there was a confrontation, the will of extermination, one more organized that is true, the other more instinctive, one and the other exacerbated" The Spanish civil war was in fact a bloodshed provoked by the confrontation of two political, ideological and social groups: the Nationalists (los Nationalistas), also called "rebels" "insurgents" or "fascists" and "francists" by their opponents, the Republicans (los Republicanos) also known as "loyalist" "the Popular Front" or "los rojos" by their enemies. Before the beginning of the civil war, the Republicans played an important role in Spanish Politics. After getting rid of the dictator Miguel Primo Rivera, the unpopular king Alfonso XIII tried to pick up the thread of the Republicans allowing a democratic vote in 1931, confident that the traditional Spanish landlords, the Church and the army - would give the majority to the monarchist party. After the Republicans won a resounding majority, he left the country, leaving behind him the Second Spanish Republic and later on, a very controversial constitution. Why, after being so successful at the beginning of the 30s, did the Republicans lose the civil war in 1939? What was the nature of the causes which lead the Republicans to such a dreadful end? What helped the Nationalist and the Generalissimo Franco to put in place a dictatorship?

Extraits

[...] Those few examples pinpoint the strong opposition to the Republican Party on the onset and during the Civil War. Secondly, one of the reasons which disadvantaged the Republicans was the lack of organization owned to the fact that their army was mostly a popular one. Indeed, it was the people who composed the Republican army based on the idea of defending their homeland; a popular defense relied on each citizen without any centered commandment. The republicans tried to create a proper organized army lead by a major, but once again the deep division within the party between the communists - in favor of an organized army and the anarchist partisan of a popular defense. [...]

[...] What helped the Nationalist and the generalissimo Franco to put in place a dictatorship? In a first time, we will have a quick view on the Spanish civil war, focusing on the respective actions of the two opponents, and illustrating the atrocity and particularity of this war with Spanish and foreign literature. In a second time, we will lay the stress on the internal causes which provoked both victory and loss during the war, before concentrating on the foreign help and its repercussions on the conflict. [...]

[...] The day after, Valencia, which had held out under their guns for many years also surrendered. Franco proclaimed the victory of the Nationalist, the supposed end of a bloodshed which would go on with the execution of the Republican - and the begging of a dictatorship that would last until his death in 1975. After giving a general view on the main points which composed the civil war, a relevant analysis other the structure and the internal context of the Republican Party in opposition with the Nationalist is necessary to understand the reason of their defeat. [...]

[...] Last but not least, one of the motives the nationalists claimed was to confront the anti- clericalism of the Republicans in order to defend the Roman Catholic Church. This purpose provided the with popular support, and was also a good argument to motivate Franco's troops in Morocco; as a matter of fact, they fought loyally in front of these revolting actions against religion. The Republicans were therefore disadvantaged in front of the wealthy and organized nationalist. But the internal causes are not sufficient to understand the loss of Republicans in the Civil war; the foreign intervention in Spain totally changed the data of the civil war. [...]

[...] Lastly, after March 1937, the victims of the Republican's massacres also concerned their own side. For instance, many violent conflicts between the anarchists/ communists and Stalin's party PSUC lead, partly, to the fall of Barcelona: members of the POUM were massacred by some groups of soviet intervention supported by the NKVD. The internal cleavage of the Republicans prevented them from concentrating on their common Nationalist enemy. On the contrary, the nationalists managed to gather around common targets: they were chiefly defined by their anti-communism and their fear of Spain breaking up. [...]