How Did Franco Win The Spanish Civil War?
It took three years for the left and right wing parties to settle down and proclaim the end of the Spanish Civil War. This disastrous war left behind 500,000 people dead and a country that had been damaged and internally divided. Francisco Franco, a Nationalist general, took control of Spain and was named “Caudillo de España”. He then ruled Spain through an authoritarian dictatorship. Franco was a careful and systematic leader, and his main goal after the war was to reconstruct Spain and make the nation powerful again. He was convinced that he could inaugurate a new era in Spanish History, one that would not only transform politics and culture but also achieve economic modernization and, importantly, increase the country’s international role and its standing among the powers. Franco wanted not only to rectify the nation but lead it in the direction of a more rightist and authoritarian system. Since Hitler had supported Franco during the Civil War, Franco returned his favour in 1937 when they signed a secret pact which stated “mutual consultation on issues of common interest and a benevolent neutrality in case of war.” So Franco’s decision on accepting Hitler’s pact and only aiding the Axis Power as “neutral” instead of fully going in
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So when World War II started Spain directly became part of the axis alliance, but Franco’s strategy pursued a long-term political agenda rather than immediate battlefield objectives. So when Mussolini and Hitler started to negotiate Spain’s entrance in the War, Franco backed out since. Hitler kept on trying to make Spain part of the war but Franco told him that Spain had to concentrate on reconstruction and avoid foreign ambitions for the time being since the nation was too weak to go to the battlefield, and that it would not be ready to face any further war for five years, a remarkably optimistic
So when World War II started Spain directly became part of the axis alliance, but Franco’s strategy pursued a long-term political agenda rather than immediate battlefield objectives. So when Mussolini and Hitler started to negotiate Spain’s entrance in the War, Franco backed out since. Hitler kept on trying to make Spain part of the war but Franco told him that Spain had to concentrate on reconstruction and avoid foreign ambitions for the time being since the nation was too weak to go to the battlefield, and that it would not be ready to face any further war for five years, a remarkably optimistic