Section 4: Reasons for Nationalist victory

Question 1

what are the different reasons for Nationalist victory?

Answer 1

-republican weaknesses
-Nationalist strengths
-the role of Franco
-foreign intervention and non-intervention

Question 2

what were the Republican weaknesses that led to the Nationalist victory?

Answer 2

-republican forces were not as well trained or as experienced in conventional warfare as the Nationalist army
-another weakness was that their military supplies from the USSR and other international groups did not match those supplied to Franco by Mussolini and Hitler
-the republics problems of production and distribution were made more difficult by the establishment of agricultural collectives in the early months of the civil war, largely by anarchist groups keen to further their goal of social revolution
-the Popular Army of the republic was organised but lacked military expertise compared with the Nationalist forces. Same goes for the International Brigades

Question 3

what were the Nationalist strengths that led to the Nationalist victory?

Answer 3

-the Nationalists ability to maintain a large and sufficiently skilled armed force, gave them a key advantage over the Republicans.
-the fact that the civil war quickly became a conventional war rather than developing into a guerrilla war gave the Nationalists an advantage. This is because they were more experienced in the tactical requirements of a conventional war and organised their supply routes more effectively than the Republican forces

Question 4

how did the role of Franco help achieve the Nationalist victory?

Answer 4

-he was able to unite the various factions within the Nationalist movement - the Falange, Carlists and monarchists.
-he was politically astute and avoided statements that identified him too closely with a particular strand of the Nationalist movement. Therefore, he was able to appeal to all the groups that made up the Nationalist coalition
-he played a key role in masterminding the military tactics of the Nationalist forces. Significantly, his tactics of attrition and prolonging the war played to the strengths of the better organised and supplied Nationalist forces

Question 5

how did foreign intervention lead to Nationalist victory?

Answer 5

• the Nationalists received almost double the number of aircraft from Germany and Italy as the Republicans received from the USSR. Moreover, the Italians and Germans increased their supplies during the war, while Soviet supplies to the Republicans declined
  -German commanders of the Condor Legion were also important, as they helped develop new tactics
  -foreign assistance played a key role in the Nationalist campaign because it changed the nature of the war. Francos airlift meant the Nationalists could widen the conflict
  -Francos ability to obtain aid from Italy and Germany increased his authority within the Nationalist movement
  -Italian and German aid was relatively cheap. Hitler and Mussolini allowed Franco to pay for their aid through long-term loans. This meant that they would be more motivated to ensure the Nationalists won, as they want their money back

Question 6

how did non-intervention lead to Nationalist victory?

Answer 6

-while the republic was receiving very little aid, Hitler and Mussolini did not respect the non-intervention pact, which meant he Nationalists were receiving a lot of aid