Tank Combat in Spain: Armored Warfare During the Spanish Civil War 1936–1939

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. Table of Contents Preface A QUICK APPRAISAL OF THE MILITARY OPERATIONS FOREIGN INTERVENTION Part One: The Background The beginning: the early days of tanks in the Spanish Army Organization and structure of Armor in the Spanish Army on the eve of the Civil War Part Two: Foreign Aid Arrives Soviet Participation The Italian aid and the Volunteer Corps Germany enters the arena Part Three: Balance of Forces Organization and Structure of the Nationalist Armored Forces Organization and Structure of the Republican Armored Forces Part Four: Operations The Opening Rounds: Blitzkrieg “Franco’s style” On the Move: Republican armor always “not enough” Stalemate and Attrition The End: The Battle of the Ebro and the Catalonia offensive Antitank warfare Logistics TANK MAINTENANCE ON THE NATIONALIST SIDE AND THE SERVICE FOR WAR EQUIPMENT RECOVERY TANK COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT IN THE PEOPLE’S ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC A KEY FEATURE: THE REPUBLICAN TANK SCHOOL AT ARCHENA Part Five: Aftermath The Experience Reconsidered: Conclusions A Reappraisal on the Equipment and Armament SOVIET EQUIPMENT ITALIAN EQUIPMENT GERMAN EQUIPMENT A SPECIAL CASE: CAPTURED RUSSIAN TANKS IN SERVICE WITH THE SPANISH NATIONALIST ARMY RESUME OF TANKS SUPPLIED BY FOREIGN POWERS Epilogue Gallery Spanish pre-war equipment Italian Aid German Aid Russian aid Russian tanks captured by the Nationalist Army Additional Bibliography and further recommended reading