The role of the great powers in the Spanish Civil War and the war on land that they were able to influence has been much studied. What has not been studied or well understood to a great extent is the role that naval power played and its decisive influence on the war fought on the Iberian Peninsula. To appreciate how the rebels (or Nationalists) were able to overthrow a left of center but very much democratically elected government (the Republicans) it is important to understand the role that sea power played. Spain historically has been very dependent upon imports and diligently maintained sea lines of communication with a relatively strong navy. When the government was not quickly overthrown in a coup, the coup degenerated into a war of attrition. Accordingly, each side quickly became dependent upon the importation of war materials. Should either the Republicans or Nationalists not be able to maintain their sea lines of communication, the war would be lost despite the valiant efforts of the soldiers on land. Fundamentally, the government of Spain, the Republic, lost the Spanish Civil War because they were not able to control the seas and maintain the sea lines of communication.

The role of the great powers in the Spanish Civil War and the war on land that they were able to influence has been much studied. What has not been studied or well understood to a great extent is the role that naval power played and its decisive influence on the war fought on the Iberian Peninsula. To appreciate how the rebels (or Nationalists) were able to overthrow a left of center but very much democratically elected government (the Republicans) it is important to understand the role that sea power played. Spain historically has been very dependent upon imports and diligently maintained sea lines of communication with a relatively strong navy. When the government was not quickly overthrown in a coup, the coup degenerated into a war of attrition. Accordingly, each side quickly became dependent upon the importation of war materials. Should either the Republicans or Nationalists not be able to maintain their sea lines of communication, the war would be lost despite the valiant efforts of the soldiers on land. Fundamentally, the government of Spain, the Republic, lost the Spanish Civil War because they were not able to control the seas and maintain the sea lines of communication.

The Spanish Civil War was a proving ground for new military technologies--but it also served to reaffirm fundamental strategic and geographic principles. In this essay written at the U.S. Army War College, Commander Kersh argues that the Republican cause lost because it was unable to control the sea lines of communication that have always been so important to Spain. The cover photo shows the German pocket battleship ADMIRAL SCHEER in Gibraltar in 1936.

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 underlined the importance of the sea as the supply route to both General Franco's insurgents and the Spanish Republic. There were attempted blockades by Franco as well as attacks by his Italian and German allies against legitimate neutral, largely British, merchant shipping bound for Spanish Republican ports and challenges to the Royal Navy, which was obliged to maintain a heavy presence in the area. The conflict provoked splits in British public opinion. Events at sea both created and reflected the international tensions of the latter 1930s, when the policy of appeasement of Germany and Italy dissuaded Britain from taking action against those countries’ activities in Spain, except to participate in a largely ineffective naval patrol to try to prevent the supply of war material to both sides. The book is based on original documentary sources in both Britain and Spain and is intended for the general reader as well as students and academics interested in the history of the 1930s, in naval matters and in the Spanish Civil War.

The first comprehensive account of the naval aspects of the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War was won and lost upon the high seas. It was won because the Nationalists had an uninterrupted flow of men and materials while Republican sea lanes were attacked by Fascist warships, submarines, and aircraft—the pirates of the title. These attacks also involved dozens of foreign merchantmen and warships, including American, as well as hundreds of men, women, and boys. The worst affected was the British merchant marine, which dominated Spanish trade—some owners used rust buckets to maximise profits in a trade, which resulted in the loss of 66 British lives. The naval element of the Spanish Civil War began with a rebellion followed by a mutiny and a massacre. Both the German and Italian navies became involved in the naval war, attacking Spanish ships and then British warships and merchantmen. A blockade in the north led to confrontations between the Royal Navy and Nationalist Navy, the mining of a British liner and tales of daring among determined British master mariners. Later in the war there were attacks by Italian surface warships, submarines, and aircraft against foreign shipping in the Mediterranean and Aegean leading to the British and French threatening pirate submarines. This is a story of exploitation, heroism, chauvinism, piracy, international inaction, and espionage which has never been told. It includes details of such things as the first aerial campaign against shipping and the first operational use of sonar against a submarine.

Although appearing to be a relatively benign method of warfare when viewed from a distance, a close examination of maritime blockade unveils a sinister character that can, in cases where countries are highly reliant on imports of foodstuffs to feed their populations, prove incredibly deadly, particularly for the young and elderly. This book is unique in that it is the only contemporary book that is dedicated to the study of the law of maritime blockade in the context of modern humanitarian law. Reviewing the development of blockade law over the past four centuries, The Law of Maritime Blockade provides a historical analysis of the law as it emerged, tracing its evolution through armed conflicts between 1684 and the present. Referring to the starvation caused by the blockade of Germany during World War I and the humanitarian crisis caused by the sanctions regime against Iraq (1991-2003), this book demonstrates that blockade can have extremely deleterious effects for vulnerable civilian populations. In this context the current law of blockade is examined, and found to be deficient in terms of its protection for civilians. Recognizing and advocating that blockade should remain as a valid and effective method of warfare, the book offers a template for a modern law of maritime blockade that incorporates many of the traditional aspects of the law, while reducing the possibilities that blockades can cause or exacerbate humanitarian disasters.

This book, which consists of essays by leading scholars in the field of twentieth century international history, examines the wider context of one of the most bitter and bloody civil wars in European history - the Spanish Civil War. The chapters discuss all of the major debates that surround the ideological and political context of the war, including the extent to which it could be regarded as a 'dress rehearsal' for the Second World War. The book also debates the nature of civil war in the twentieth century and as such will be of interest to military and international historians as well as to historians of the history of ideas.