Why didn’t Franco join the Spanish Civil War?
- Thread starter Strategos' Risk
- Start date
Timmy811 said:
Franco won the Spanish Civil War, don't you mean "Why didn't Franco join WWII"?
double-blind timmy, double-blind.
Neroon
Banned
Or perhaps he just wanted to sit on the fence a little while longer to see who was going to win and then decided against it when the tide swung.
Just because he was a dictator does not mean he was an idiot and might very well have realized that the early German successes don't automatically mean they'll win the war.
Just because he was a dictator does not mean he was an idiot and might very well have realized that the early German successes don't automatically mean they'll win the war.
In fact the rest of military leaders of the Nationalist side in the civil war sent him an airplane to his HQ in the Canary Islands to force him to join the Coup. He had not decided yet what side would be wiser to be with. His attitude towards WWII was the same, he would have joined the winning side one quarter of an hour before the war was over.
I´d say Spain did not have any real war aims.
-They were overburdened with the rest of their colonial empire already,
so entering the war to get a larger chunk of North African desert doesn´t make sense.
- The same applies for gains on the continent: The Spanish didn´t have any irridentistic movements, an invasion of Portugal doesn´t make sense, and annexing parts of France would bring in
a) a French minority
b) more Basques (exactly what the doctor prescribed, )
So that is out of the question for someone with concerns about the purety of the Spanish, or let´s call it the Castilian Way of Life.
So without any genuine war aims and unsolved issues with the neighbours
a war is unlikely.
If he entered the war on the german side, a quick look on a map shows that he is very vulnerable by seaborne attacks, would require the assistance of the german army. So aside from this assault on spanish pride, I would imagine that Franco would fear of being no longer master in his own country.
Also, the country was depleted from the hardships of a 3 year civil war, and the equipment of the army became rapidly outdated.
Lastly, I´d suppose that the ruling elites in Spain were also a bit thankful for the important assistance by high-standing circles in Great Britain and the US.
-They were overburdened with the rest of their colonial empire already,
so entering the war to get a larger chunk of North African desert doesn´t make sense.
- The same applies for gains on the continent: The Spanish didn´t have any irridentistic movements, an invasion of Portugal doesn´t make sense, and annexing parts of France would bring in
a) a French minority
b) more Basques (exactly what the doctor prescribed,
)So that is out of the question for someone with concerns about the purety of the Spanish, or let´s call it the Castilian Way of Life.
So without any genuine war aims and unsolved issues with the neighbours
a war is unlikely.
If he entered the war on the german side, a quick look on a map shows that he is very vulnerable by seaborne attacks, would require the assistance of the german army. So aside from this assault on spanish pride, I would imagine that Franco would fear of being no longer master in his own country.
Also, the country was depleted from the hardships of a 3 year civil war, and the equipment of the army became rapidly outdated.
Lastly, I´d suppose that the ruling elites in Spain were also a bit thankful for the important assistance by high-standing circles in Great Britain and the US.
Blue Legion
Fellas, Franco did have Spain contribute to WWII, by sending the fascist Blue Legion to fight on the Eastern front during 1941-44. Apparently, even after their formal withdrawal back home, there were some diehard Spanish fascists who remained behind in France to continue serving in the WEHRMACHT or WAFFEN SS.
Fellas, Franco did have Spain contribute to WWII, by sending the fascist Blue Legion to fight on the Eastern front during 1941-44. Apparently, even after their formal withdrawal back home, there were some diehard Spanish fascists who remained behind in France to continue serving in the WEHRMACHT or WAFFEN SS.
Admiral Canaris, head of the Abwehr, German military intelligence, was Hitler's emissary to Franco.
Canaris was executed for his part in the Bomb Plot. He was an enemy of Hitler's and warned Franco not to become inolved.
After Canaris was executed he Spanish government paid his wife a pension.
Also Hitler did not try that hard to woo Franco - The interests of Vichy France and spain potentially clashed in Africa, Vichy would have been a more useful ally than Spain
Canaris was executed for his part in the Bomb Plot. He was an enemy of Hitler's and warned Franco not to become inolved.
After Canaris was executed he Spanish government paid his wife a pension.
Also Hitler did not try that hard to woo Franco - The interests of Vichy France and spain potentially clashed in Africa, Vichy would have been a more useful ally than Spain
Franco was pressed by Serrano Suñer and the Falange to send those troops to the Eastern front. I am sure it was too early for his taste. He kept negociations both with Hitler and the British all along the war.
As for the situation of Spain to participate in a war, I read once that Hitler asked Franco in Hendaya what would need Spain to enter the war on the Axis side. Franco answered that Spain needed regular supplies of several million tons of grain, two thousand fighters, millions of tons of ammo, submarines, destroyers, several thousands tanks… Hitler thought Franco was asking too much in order to make him refuse the Spanish help and he asked Canaris who told him that Franco’s estimations were wrong. If Franco entered the war, HE WOULD NEED EVEN MORE MATERIAL JUST FOR THE DEFENSE OF SPAIN!!
As for the situation of Spain to participate in a war, I read once that Hitler asked Franco in Hendaya what would need Spain to enter the war on the Axis side. Franco answered that Spain needed regular supplies of several million tons of grain, two thousand fighters, millions of tons of ammo, submarines, destroyers, several thousands tanks… Hitler thought Franco was asking too much in order to make him refuse the Spanish help and he asked Canaris who told him that Franco’s estimations were wrong. If Franco entered the war, HE WOULD NEED EVEN MORE MATERIAL JUST FOR THE DEFENSE OF SPAIN!!
Franco would never join Hitler because he wasn't sure Hitler could win the war. A prove of this is, when he saw that the tide had turned against the Axis, the withdrawal of the Blue Division. He also forbade any Spaniard joining the Axis. The Blue Legion was nothing more than a reinforced regiment, and the Spaniards in the W-SS hardly amounted to 500-600 volunteers, in the Einsatzgruppe Ezquerra, the spanish SS Kondor Kommando (Jagdeinsatz Südfrankreich of SS Jagdverband Südwest), the spanish company (5th Co) of the 59 SS Mountain regiment, SS division Karstjaeger and around 20 spaniards in the italian SS division (82nd SS Rgt) .
And, when the war was over, the Allies "forgot" the fascist ally of Hitler and pacted later on with him against the USSR.
Funny indeed.
And, when the war was over, the Allies "forgot" the fascist ally of Hitler and pacted later on with him against the USSR.
Funny indeed.
Franco did save 60,000 Jews by giving them Spanish passports on dubious ancestral grounds. Hitler complained quite a lot about that.
Wozza said:
Perhaps it wasn't an ally, but the USA managed to have some air and naval bases during the Franco's period. Remember the Madrid's Treaty in the 1950sr, for instance.
By the way, how would you call the Falange? And having members of that political movement in your goverment?
France was descended from converted Jews so I think this might have been why he allowed those 60,000 jews in.
Kurt_Steiner said:
The Falange were fascists, but they were not the dominant party in the gov't. Most Western European states had Communists in their government, but they weren't Communist by any stretch.
I think Franco was a European equivalent of a Latin American "caudillo."
Justin Green said:
Possibly. He still allowed them in, at possible risk to himself and his government.
franco was an opportunist. he seized power and sticked to it. he even pursued and killed some falangists