The Spanish Military And Warfare From 1899 To The Civil War

This book explores the attitudes of the Spanish army officer corps towards the evolution of warfare during the early decades of the twentieth century, and their influence on the armies of the Spanish Civil War. It examines how the Spanish military coped with technological innovations such as the machine gun and the tank, how it adapted the army ́s battlefield doctrine to changes in warfare before the Civil War, and the influence of this doctrine on the outcome of the conflict. Of the different armed forces that fought in the Spanish Civil War, it is paradoxically the Spanish army that remains most forgotten - especially its military doctrine. Scholarship on the Spanish military in this period focuses on its politics, ideology and institutional reforms, touching upon 'hard' professional issues only superficially, if at all. Based on original research and using largely unstudied Spanish primary sources, this book fills a major scholarly gap in the history of the Spanish army and the Spanish Civil War.

During the Spanish Civil War, foreign military officers wrote highly elaborate reports of their experiences at the front. One was attaché Col. Stephen O. Fuqua of the U.S. Army, who had once held the rank of major general. His presence was highly unusual, for most military observers were less-experienced captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels. Fuqua’s reports contained important observations about Spanish armament and troop movements, and he managed to acquire Nationalist propaganda and information despite being situated entirely within Republican military lines. His reporting was considered so valuable that during World War II, Fuqua was tapped to be Time’s military commentator. Editor James W. Cortada brings Fuqua’s--and others’--insightful observations to light. The result is a volume of such immediacy that the reader feels transported to a time of great historical uncertainty amid the twentieth century’s great "dress rehearsal” for fascism and the conflagration of World War II.

The Spanish Civil War: A Military History takes a new, military approach to the conflict that tore Spain apart from 1936 to 1939. In many histories, the war has been treated as a primarily political event with the military narrative subsumed into a much broader picture of the Spain of 1936–9 in which the chief themes are revolution and counter-revolution. While remaining conscious of the politics of the struggle, this book looks at the war as above all a military event, and as one in whose outbreak specifically military issues – particularly the split in the armed forces produced by the long struggle in Morocco (1909–27) – were fundamental. Across nine chapters that consider the war from beginning to endgame, Charles J. Esdaile revisits traditional themes from a new perspective, deconstructs many epics and puts received ideas to the test, as well as introducing readers to foreign-language historiography that has previously been largely inaccessible to an anglophone audience. In taking this new approach, The Spanish Civil War: A Military History is essential reading for all students of twentieth-century Spain.

This book contains some 600 entries on a range of topics from ancient Chinese warfare to late 20th-century intervention operations. Designed for a wide variety of users, it encompasses general reviews of aspects of military organization and science, as well as specific wars and conflicts. The book examines naval and air warfare, as well as significant individuals, including commanders, theorists, and war leaders. Each entry includes a listing of additional publications on the topic, accompanied by an article discussing these publications with reference to their particular emphases, strengths, and limitations.

“Recounts in considerable detail how Germany, Italy, and Soviet Russia intervened in Spain, supplying troops and equipment to the warring sides.” —ARMOR Magazine Although Spain had been for many years on the periphery of the great affairs of Europe, within a few months of the Civil War breaking out in 1936, three out of the four major European powers—Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union—decided to intervene. Spain turned out to be the perfect proving ground to carry out controlled, realistic experiments with live weapons and troops. This book covers the theories of the three main contributors that provided armor to the warring parties in the civil war, how those contributions shaped combat, and how the lessons learned were then applied to tank combat in World War II. The use of tanks in the Spanish Civil War wedded traditional war to modern technology. The fighting in Spain did not offer any easy answers, however, to the question of infantry-armor cooperation, primarily because the tanks supplied were not very worthy and had been supplied in small numbers, even though the Republicans organized an “armored division.” The situation for the tanks on the Nationalist side was so bad in practical terms that they reused captured Russian armor in their units. Tank employment in Spain did offer many lessons, but the lessons did not always lie in what was done or accomplished but precisely on what was not done and was not accomplished. “Offers important insight into the employment of tanks during the war, lessons learned (or not learned) by the participating armed forces.” —Globe at War

This detailed military history of the Spanish Civil War dispels long-held misconceptions and sheds significant new light on the conflict. Spain in Arms chronicles the development of the Spanish Civil War on the battlefield, examining eight campaigns waged between 1937 and 1939. Through detailed analysis, it demonstrates how many accounts of military operations during this conflict are based upon half-truths and propaganda. From the Madrid Front to the Catalonia Offensive, each campaigns is chronicled with special focus on the weapons and tactics used, as well as the moment-to-moment decisions of both Republican and Nationalist generals. Hooton also sheds light on the true extent of foreign intervention in the conflict. Using British and French archives, he produces a more accurate—and radically different—account of the battles and the factors that shaped them. Ultimately, Hooton reveals the superiority of the Nationalist alliance in both training and overall command. Spain in Arms draws on specialized German, Italian and Russian works, and is the first book to quote secret data about Italian air operations intercepted by the British. A magisterial work of military history, it combines detailed analysis with historical context, showing how the events of the Spanish civil War provide a link between the First and Second World Wars.

An A–Z encyclopedia covering the principal battles and campaigns, key military and political figures, and the political maneuvering during the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars. America's adventure into colonialism began with the destruction of the U.S. battleship Maine in 1898, presumably by a Spanish mine. The four month war against Spain that followed—the shortest declared war in U.S. history—resulted in the U.S. acquisition of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The young giant of the Western Hemisphere was transformed into a colonial power, and the balance of power in the world was changed forever. In this chronicle of an era that has escaped the attention it deserves, military historian Jerry Keenan explores America's war with Spain and the violence that followed. He shows how the United States muddled the administration of the sprawling Philippine archipelago, guided by a policy that President McKinley called "benevolent assimilation." Within a year, the United States was fighting a war against Philippine nationalists—a three year conflict that would give American soldiers their first bitter taste of counterinsurgency warfare in an Asian jungle.