Chapter 29 Chapter 5 Defending Strong Enemies Together 3

3 The major issue faced in the 1930s—whether to defend within the borders and fight independently, or cross borders to jointly fight with each other—by now the overall situation has become clear, and it obviously belongs to the latter.Among them, the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939 can best reflect this trend.The Spanish Civil War has become the most typical example of international confrontation. Now looking back at that year, we are inevitably puzzled: why a conflict in Spain suddenly evolved and expanded, and quickly inflamed the flames of sympathy between the left and right in Europe and the United States.And the response from the Western intellectual circles is even more surprising.Spain is actually only a supporting role on the fringes of Europe, and its history has always been different from that of European countries bounded by the Pyrenees.Since the days of Napoleon, Spain has been aloof from the wars and wars in Europe; in fact, it does not intend to participate in the Second World War. Since the beginning of the 19th century, European governments have paid little attention to Spain. Only the United States, which is far away on the other side of the Atlantic, has provoked it to go to war.A brief confrontation between the two sides resulted in the loss of all the remaining overseas territory of this old empire established in the 16th century, and was snatched by the international rookie United States—including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands.The author's contemporaries always believed that the Spanish Civil War was the first phase of World War II.actually not.As we have seen, General Franco himself was by no means a fascist; nor did his victories have any significant impact on international politics.The Spanish Civil War simply separated the history of Spain (and Portugal) from the rest of the world for another 30 years.

There is a reason why a political dispute broke out in this closed and self-sufficient country that was always at odds with the outside world and became a symbol of the desperate international struggle in the 1930s.The Spanish Civil War set off the basic political problems of our time: on the one hand, democracy and social revolution;On the first side, Spain was the only country in Europe where a revolution was brewing at that time.As far as the second aspect is concerned, there is the Catholic Church in Spain as the source of reactionary forces, and it rejects all events that have occurred in the world since Martin Luther's Reformation.Strangely enough, however, neither parties of left or right, whether their origins were Moscow-led or Fascist-inspired, had any significant presence in Spain before the outbreak of the civil war.Because Spain has its own eccentric politics: radical anarchists on the left and radical royal legitimists on the right.

In 1931, there was a revolution in Spain, and power was transferred peacefully from the Bourbons to the liberals.These well-intentioned liberals are quite similar to the Masonic spirit of the 19th-century Latino countries that opposed theocracy.However, the resentment of the Spanish poor class was too deep, and this resentment spread across urban and rural areas. The liberal government could neither properly control it nor implement any social reforms (that is, land reform) to alleviate it, so it was ousted by conservative forces in 1933.After the new government came to power, it adopted a high-pressure policy to suppress unrest in various places, such as the miners' rebellion in Asturia in 1934.Under coercive measures, the potential pressure of revolution is increasing day by day.At this critical juncture, the People's Front of the Comintern frequently beckoned from the northern border of France, advocating that people on the left, regardless of party affiliation, work together to use votes against the right.At a time when they didn't know what to do with the Spanish left, it was a good idea to discover this new idea.Even the anarchists with Spain as their last stronghold in the world have turned their contemptuous attitude that elections are not worthy of a real revolutionary cause, and have begun to call on their supporters to use this "evil of the bourgeoisie" method-but voting Despite voting, anarchists have never tarnished their integrity by campaigning. In February 1936, the Popular Front won a victory in the electoral battle, although it was a small victory, after all, it won a majority of the votes.And after coordination, won a considerable majority of seats in the Spanish Congress (Cortes).The result of the leftist alliance is not the birth of a promising leftist government, but it provides an outlet for the long-standing public grievances to vent.In the following months, this situation became more and more obvious.

The traditional right-wing regime failed, and Spain returned to a political method it pioneered that has become characteristic of Latin countries in the Iberian Peninsula-namely military coups.So just as the Spanish leftists are looking beyond the national borders and embracing the global communist popular front, the Spanish rightists are also beginning to move closer to the fascist forces.However, although there are also small-scale fascist movements in Spain, such as the Falange Party, etc., the phenomenon of the alliance between the right and international fascism is mainly done by the church and monarchists.In the eyes of the church and those who advocate the monarchy, the godlessness of liberalism and communism are equally abhorrent, and there is no room for compromise with either of the two evils.As for Italy and Germany, they hope to get a little moral support from the victory of the Spanish right, and maybe some political benefits.So after the elections, Spain's military leaders began seriously brewing a coup d'état.They need financial and material help, and Italy negotiated terms with them at this time.

However, in the atmosphere of the victory of democratic elections and the mobilization of political forces of the whole people at that time, the timing of the military coup was inopportune.The background to the success of a military coup lies in the support of the people, and the will of the soldiers is the decisive factor.Finding that their signals were not accepted, the coupists silently conceded defeat.For a standard military coup, the most appropriate time is when the popular sentiment is not obvious, or when the government loses its legitimacy, but Spain at that time did not meet any of the above conditions.The Spanish generals launched a coup on July 17, 1936. Although they succeeded in several towns, they encountered strong resistance from the people and troops loyal to the government in many places. They originally planned to seize the two major cities, including the capital Madrid. The plan also aborted.The coup d'état aimed at eradicating the revolution accelerated the social revolution in some areas; and furthermore, it developed into a long-term civil war that spread throughout the territory.The two warring parties, on the one hand, are the legal government of the republic formed through elections, and now it has expanded to include socialists, communists, and even some anarchists, and coexistent with them are the people's rebels who defeated the coup d'état .On the other side are the rebel generals, who present themselves as nationalist jihadists against the international communist invasion.Among the generals, Franco was the youngest and most politically intelligent.He was then the leader of a new regime that, as the years of war went on, gradually gained authority and became a one-party monopoly—from fascism to the extremist right of the monarchy and royal legitimacy A big mix, and took a ridiculously strange name: Spanish Traditionalist Falange (Spanish Traditionalist Falange).Both sides in the Civil War desperately needed outside support, and each turned to individual would-be supporters for help.

As soon as the Spanish military mutiny occurred, the anti-fascist public opinion in the outside world immediately supported the Republic.However, the fascist governments in various countries, such as the Soviet Union, and the Socialist Government of the People's Front, which just came to power in France, although they have a heart for the Republic, are far more cautious than public opinion (Italy and Germany immediately dispatched troops, transported arms, and aided the people they supported. military).France was eager to lend a helping hand, and in fact gave some (officially "unrecognized") help to the Republic.Later, due to domestic disagreements and the intervention of the British government, it was forced to adopt an official policy of "non-intervention".As for the British government, it took an extremely hostile attitude towards the situation on the Iberian Peninsula, believing that the local area was falling into a bad situation of social revolution and the upsurge of Bolsheviks.The western middle class and conservative public opinion generally hold the same view.However, apart from the Catholic Church and the Fascists, everyone did not agree with the Spanish generals very enthusiastically.Although Russia firmly stood on the side of the Spanish Republic, it also joined the Non-Intervention Agreement (Non-lntervention Agreement) facilitated by Britain.The main purpose of the agreement is to prevent Germany and Italy from going to help Spanish generals.However, no one takes this goal seriously, and countries have no intention or intention to achieve it.As a result, what was originally "ambiguous and vague agreements quickly became mere formal hypocrisy" (Thomas, 1977, p. 395). Beginning in September 1936, Russia began cheerfully—perhaps not quite officially—delivering personnel and supplies to the republic.In the end, the so-called non-intervention only meant that Britain and France stood by and refused to intervene in the massive involvement of the Axis forces in Spain.This not only meant their complete abandonment of the Republic, but also further confirmed the contempt both fascists and anti-fascists had for those who spoke loudly and advocated non-intervention.Among the great powers, only the Soviet Union helped the legitimate Spanish government, and its reputation was greatly improved.The communists inside and outside of Spain have also risen with the tide, and their momentum has grown.Because they not only organized forces to aid Spain internationally, but also participated in person, becoming the backbone of the Republic's military operations.

Even long before the Soviet Union mobilized aid to the West, liberals, including left extremists, immediately made the struggle of the Spanish people a matter of vital importance. Auden, the best British poet in the 1930s, once wrote: On the dry square ground, that remnant, so hot, A corner of Africa so roughly welded to fertile Europe, On the platform cut vertically and horizontally by the river, Our thoughts take form; our fanaticism takes shape, so precise and alive. The Spanish Civil War meant more than that.Here, and only here, men and women took up arms and went forward to fight the advancing Right and restore the demoralized and retreating Left.Long before the first detachments of the International Volunteer Brigade of the International Communist Organization arrived at their future bases in October, even the first organized volunteer corps, the Italian Liberal Socialist Movement "Justice and Liberty" ( Giustizia e Liberta)——Before the front line appeared, a large number of foreign volunteers had already gone to Spain to fight for the Republic. In the end, more than 40,000 young foreign volunteers from more than 55 countries came to fight.For many of them, their knowledge of this country is at most limited to the knowledge acquired on the school map; but now, many of them died in battle in this strange country.In contrast, only a few thousand foreigners volunteered to fight on Franco's side (Thomas, 1977, 980).Comparing the two, the meaning is quite chewy.To help readers who grew up in the moral world peculiar to the late 20th century, we must clarify one fact here: all these volunteers who went to Spain to help them were not businessmen who wanted to make a fortune; With a few exceptions, they're not thrill-seeking adventurers; they're all fighting for a noble cause with an ideal in mind.

For liberals and leftists living in the 1930s, it is difficult to say what the meaning of the Spanish Civil War was.But for those of us who are old enough to have lived beyond the 70 years that the Bible predestined us to live, this is the only political goal that still has a pure motive and a compelling reason.It was so then, and it is still so today.In retrospect, it seems like a prehistoric event; even in Spain itself, it is also a dream of the past.But in the hearts of those who fought against fascism at that time, this was the center of their struggle and the front line of the battle.Because only in this battle, the actions of resistance continued, which lasted for more than two and a half years.Only in this battle can they participate as individuals; even if they can’t go directly to the battlefield in military uniform, they can raise funds, rescue refugees, and launch activities to continuously put pressure on those cowardly governments. Participate in an indirect way.However, the national government led by Franco is gaining the upper hand day by day, and the situation is obviously irreversible. The defeat of the Republic is set, and the deadline is at hand.The critical situation makes everyone feel the urgency to gather strength and join hands to resist the rampant fascist arrogance all over the world.

As for the Spanish Republic, despite the sympathy (in fact, extremely insufficient) and assistance from all sides, it could only fight a passive defensive battle from the beginning.Looking back now, the crux of the problem obviously lies in its own weakness.Judging by the standards of the people's wars of the 20th century, the results of the 1936-1939 Republican War were poor regardless of whether they were won or lost, and the heroic deeds were lamentable.This was partly because it did not make full use of guerrilla tactics--strangely enough, the best irregular tactic against traditional armies, which, although it owes its name to Spanish origin, was absent from the Spanish war.The Nationalist government led by Franco was unified in government and military; the Republican forces were politically divided and—albeit with the help of the Communist Party—military objectives and operations were also heterogeneous.By the time you wake up, it's too late.The best performance of the Republic is on the defensive. Thanks to its continuous resistance to the opponent's deadly attacks, the war can continue.Otherwise the civil war could have ended as early as November 1936, when Madrid fell.

At that time, the Spanish Civil War showed no sign of a future fascist rout.From an international point of view, this war was just a small European war between fascist and communist countries.The latter is more cautious in attitude and less firm in will than the former.As for the Western democracies, there is nothing to be sure about other than a policy of non-intervention.As far as Spain is concerned, this war has proved that the efficiency of the general mobilization of the right is far more significant than the large gathering of the left.In the end, the left was completely defeated, hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands of refugees were exiled to several countries that were willing to take them in.Spanish intellectuals and artists, with rare exceptions, sided with the Republic in the Civil War.At this time, they were lucky enough to survive the war, and many of them became refugees wandering in other places.And the Comintern gave everything it had, mobilizing every one of its most capable personnel to come to help.Tito, who later became the Marshal of the Liberation of Yugoslavia and the leader of the regime, also recruited and organized batches of volunteers from Paris at this time, and sent them to the International Volunteer Brigade to aid the West.The inexperienced Spanish Communist Party was then de facto led by Togliatti, the leader of the Italian Communist Party; Togliatti was one of the last to flee Spain in 1939.In this battle, the Communist Party of Spain lost and knew it was doomed.Although the Soviet Union sent its most outstanding generals to Spain to help in the war, they also suffered the same fate in the end. This group of Soviet military talents, including many Russian marshals in the future; ), Voronov, Rokossovsky, and later Admiral Kuznetsov, commander of the Soviet Navy, etc.