Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War (Spanish; Guerra Civil Española) is a civil war which has been active in Spain since 1937. The war is being fought between the rebelling Republic of Spain, with backing from both moderate Republicans as well as the inclusion of the far-left C.N.T., who is backed by both the Third Internationale and the German Empire, against the ruling Kingdom of Spain, who is backed by Portugal. The Basque Republic, backed by New England, and its "associated state" (read, puppet), the Spanish State.

Background
Tensions has been running high in Spain over the last couple of years. The recent death of the Spanish Republic, in 1931, lead to many people already having their doubts & skepticism about the re emergent monarchy; a problem only exacerbated by the Spanish people's perceived incompetence of Alfonso XIII's leadership. Minor battles & skirmishes had already begun long before the war, most notably in areas which enjoyed high union membership; the later heartland of the C.N.T, as Spanish Royalist police & military troops would consistently intrude on these unions & attack prominent labor leaders, in an effort to stem further troubles.

On the 17th of June years of bent up tensions and mutual hatred finally broke out. Miguel Primo de Rivera’s government had never been popular, however the advent of Black Monday & its effects reaching Spain, his unpopularity only become more apparent, as a lackluster government response only served to enrage the ever divisive C.N.T., Taking advantage of the central government’s total paralyzation in the face of handling Black Monday, the socialists, who had brought their many distinct parties together in one united front, the C.N.T., instead took upon itself to help the people of Spain and solve the ongoing economic troubles via a grassroots movement.

From creating its own shadow currency, handing out rations to needy, calling for strikes against the horrible conditions in the factories, it became clear that starting with the economic crash, the C.N.T. were seeking to expand their influence across Spain, and become a true rival to the Central Government.

Meanwhile, the Republicans did not sit idly. Becoming increasingly concerned about the King’s overarching control over the government, coupled with his crowning of a Carlist as the heir to Spain, many Spaniards became disillusioned with the old regime, fearing the military becoming more powerful and the nation itself shifting to the right. But even some looked to the left with the same concern, seeing them extremists and warmongers. Thus a third camp of Republicans slowly gained power across Spain.

This culminated in the proclamation of both the Iberian Federation and the Republic of Spain, rival governments propped up by the C.N.T, in Zaragoza, & the Republic, in Madrid respectively.

On the early morning of July the 17th, a company loyal to Vicent Rojo Lluch, a prominent general loyal to the Republic, entered the streets of Madrid, where they immediately moved to arrest the government. President Rivera ordered loyal units in Madrid to crush this rogue division. What followed was a short bit of fighting where outnumbered loyalist forces were quickly overwhelmed and roundly beaten by Republican forces; in the confusion, however, most of the Royalist government to slip out of the city, ensuring the Kingdom’s leadership stayed intact.

Even though the government managed to escape, the dice had been rolled and it was too late to back down. In Madrid, the Spanish Republic was proclaimed. This set off a chain of motion that saw all of Spain descend into chaos. Syndicalist militias, as well as Republican military units, began to engage royalist units across Spain, with the syndicalist units, in particular, raiding several ammunition dumps and arsenals.

While this was happening, 200 syndicalist troops moved to arrest the King of Spain in his Royal Palace. The Royal guards were caught by surprise and were quickly forced to cede ground. During the chaos of the battle, the King, alongside 25 loyal guards attempted to flee to a safer area, but the syndicalists having accounted for this option laid an ambush with over 1500 men. The King was quickly captured and sent to Barcelona.

Across the whole of Spain, fighting begun with the three factions trying to establish their zones of control. The Socialists were able to secure eastern Spain, fielding large amounts of support from the native Catalan population. The Republicans had based their strength around Madrid, establishing a circular defensive perimeter of provinces around the city. The Royalists, following the escape from Madrid were driven to pockets in the North and South. By the end of the first week, it became clear to everyone that a peaceful resolution was not going to be met over such a conflict, and that a civil war was upon them.

Early Confrontations
By early 1938, the Spanish colonies had already been divided & consumed by foreign powers. Spanish Guinea had, after a German occupation, reluctantly folded to them without any armed resistance, whilst Morocco invaded Spanish Sahara, Ifni, and the protectorate in Northern Morcco simultaneously, clashing with the small Royalist garrisons still present in the area.