The Spanish Civil War 1936–39 (1)

Nationalist Forces

Alejandro de Quesada author Stephen Walsh illustrator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:20th May '14

£11.99

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The Spanish Civil War 1936–39 (1) cover

Featuring full-colour artwork, this is the first detailed English-language study of Franco’s German-allied forces in the devastating Spanish Civil War, the ‘rehearsal’ for World War II – an army confronted by volunteers from all over Europe and North America.

The Spanish Civil War, 1936-39, was the curtain-raiser to World War II, and the major international event of the 1930s. Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork, this book depicts the fighting men of the Nationalist forces that strove to take control of Spain alongside their German and Italian allies.The Spanish Civil War, 1936–39, was the curtain-raiser to World War II, and the major international event of the 1930s. It was the first great clash of 20th-century ideologies, between the rebel Nationalist army led by General Franco (right-wing, and aided by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy), and the Republican army of the government (left-wing, and aided by the Communist Soviet Union and many volunteers from liberal democracies). Three years of widespread campaigns involved the most modern weapons available. The war was fought ruthlessly by both sides, and when the Nationalists secured victory they installed a dictatorship that lasted until November 1975 – the last such regime in Western Europe. Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork, this first part of a two-part study depicts the fighting men of the Nationalist forces that strove to take control of Spain alongside their German and Italian allies.

This book describes well the extraordinary range of troop types and their uniforms, included examples of the complex range of unit cross-postings between formations. There is a helpful, albeit brief, historical overview, then chapters on the Nationalist army (including militias), colonial troops, and foreign volunteers, plus the air force, navy and security forces. The text provides useful information on the state of training and 'combat effectiveness' of the various troops, and plentiful photographs and illustration to assist the modeller/gamer. Company and battalion structures are provided, although the author makes plain that these were often theoretical rather than kept to in the field. The back cover implies that there will be an accompanying volume on the Republican forces: together these will provide a nicely balanced profile of troops, uniforms, styles of fighting, weapons, and so on. (Chris Jarvis, Miniature Wargames, June 2014)

ISBN: 9781782007821

Dimensions: 248mm x 184mm x 5mm

Weight: 166g

48 pages