Board index World War II and Inter-War Era Spanish Civil War & Legion Condor
Britons and Americans in the Nationalist forces
Discussions on all aspects of the Spanish Civil War including the Condor Legion, the Germans fighting for Franco in the Spanish Civil War.
Ironmachine
Re: Britons and Americans in the Nationalist forces
Post by Ironmachine » 21 Feb 2021 20:10
Sid Guttridge wrote: The Nationalists were nevertheless outnumbered until near the end.
But not outgunned. And even if outnumbered they still mobilised less "quintas" than the Republicans, so basically they were "outnumbered" because they allowed it to happen. That is, outnumbered or not, they have more than enough men and could have had more if they had wanted without resorting to enlisting foreign volunteers. On the other hand, there is no point in having more men if you don't have enough weapons for them.
Sid Guttridge wrote: Furthermore, they took the Irish Battalion and any other foreign volunteers they got, so I doubt that there was reluctance on their part.
They took it rather reluctantly and they also sent it away as soon as possible when they showed they were not of any value. But I think you are missing my point. It is not that they did not accept any volunteer that arrived, it's that they didn't show any interest in facilitating their arrival in Spain. Other than Moroccans (obviously Germans and Italians are a different matter), any other volunteer had to reach Spain by himself. There was no attempt to organize a recruitment campaing abroad.
Sid Guttridge wrote: Hi Guys,
The Nationalists had the Spanish Foreign Legion. How did it sustain its numbers in the Spanish Civil War?
As it had sustained its number before the Spanish Civil War: mostly by enlisting Spanish volunteers. Despite its initial name, Tercio de Extranjeros, foreigners were always a a small minority, and by the beginning of the SCW much more so: by the summer of 1936, about 95% of the Tercio's men were Spaniards. Some foreigners enlisted in the Tercio/Legión during the war, but the great increase in size during the war, from 6 to 18 banderas (battalions) pluas one tank bandera and a flamethrower company, was accomplished basically with Spanish volunteers.
P.S.: By the way, it has never been named the "Spanish Foreign Legion" (Legión Extranjera Española).
Location: Seeking history
Post by Komi » 22 Feb 2021 13:04
Ironmachine wrote: ↑
It is not that they did not accept any volunteer that arrived, it's that they didn't show any interest in facilitating their arrival in Spain. Other than Moroccans (obviously Germans and Italians are a different matter), any other volunteer had to reach Spain by himself. There was no attempt to organize a recruitment campaing abroad.
This happened to the Irish Brigade. Only a portion of the men who joined were able to make it to Spain, there were many others left behind in Ireland because Franco never facilitated transport for them.
von thoma
Post by von thoma » 21 Aug 2021 02:54
Eoin O'Duffy was an Irish ex-soldier, ex-police commissioner and pro-fascist political activist, who led 700
Irish volunteers to Spain to fight on Franco's side in winter 1936/37– a short-lived and unsuccessful venture.
Here showing him in a tunic sporting Irish harps on his lapels, the badge of the Spanish Foreign Legion on his shoulder straps,
and Spanish ' general de brigada' ranking on his cap and cuffs.
" The right to believe is the right of those who don't know "
UncleBourbon
Post by UncleBourbon » 10 Oct 2021 04:56
Komi wrote: ↑
A cursory glance at the wikipedia article Foreign Involvement in the Spanish Civil War showed a claim that "...volunteers from other nations served in the Nationalist forces, including Britons ... Welsh People ... Americans ... " The source given for this statement is Christopher Othen's book Franco's International Brigades: Foreign Volunteers and Fascist Dictators in the Spanish Civil War, of which I don't have a copy.
Can anyone elaborate on the subject of British and American volunteers for the Nationalist side? Any details on things like names, service history, numbers ... really any details at all? Also if there have been any books written which go into depth on British or American volunteers for the Nationalists, I'd appreciate a recommendation.
I actually previously made a thread on an Italian-American who served in the Italian Regia Aeronautica during the Spanish Civil War (and Italo-Ethiopian War); Vincent Patriarca.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=249234
I've since created a wikipedia article for him
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Patriarca
I had initially read of Vincent in Judith Keene's "Fighting for Franco," which mentioned other English speaking volunteers such as Frank Thomas of South Wales, Nugent Bull of Australia and Englishman Peter Kemp, who also has his own wikipedia page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kemp_(writer)
Tucobenedito
Post by Tucobenedito » 18 Oct 2021 15:17
I recently read IRA General Tom Barry's book. He claimed the Catholic Church encouraged Irish men to join Eoin O Duffys Blueshirt group (originally called the Army Comrades Association)to help Francos forces to fight the atheist communists. He also said that Belfast IRA men joined O Duffys forces in relatively large numbers. He again said this down to the Catholic Church in Belfast being particularly anti communist.
Post by Ironmachine » 04 Jan 2022 11:10
Issue 99 of the International Journal of Military History/ Cuaderno de Historia Militar nº 10 The British Presence in the Spanish Military has a whole chapter about the British volunteers in the SCW, with the names and some data of a number of British volunteers in the National Army and air force. The book (in English) can be downloaded here: https://publicaciones.defensa.gob.es/me ... litary.pdf
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