Why didn't Spain join the Axis?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 เม.ย. 2018
- Franco was supported by Germany and Italy during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Yet, he didn't join the Axis during the Second World War? What were the reasons for this? Was he reluctant to join or did the Axis didn't want him? Did the Allies lure him away with threats or provided support to stay out? What about the Blue Division? Was Gibraltar not important enough? Why was Operation Felix cancelled?
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Military History Vlogs is a support channel to Military History Visualized with a focus personal accounts, answering questions that arose on the main channel and showcasing events like visiting museums, using equipment or military hardware.
» SOURCES «
Preston, Paul: Spain: betting on a Nazi victory; in: Cambridge History of the Second World War: Volume II: Politics & Ideology, p. 324-349
Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Band 3: Der Mittelmeerraum und Südosteuropa 1940-1941 (English Version below)
Germany and the Second World War, Volume 3, The Mediterranean, South-east Europe, and North Africa, 1939-1941
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Song: Ethan Meixsell - Demilitarized Zone
#ww2 #why #Axis
At one point I made an error, it should be "English landings in Portugal" NOT "an English attack on Portugal".
Check out the Infographics on Panzers in the Spanish Civil War here: www.redbubble.com/people/mhvis/works/30968662-panzers-and-the-spanis-civil-war-1936-1939?p=poster&finish=semi_gloss&size=medium
You should add the fact that the Spanish nationalists changed the turret on the Pzkpfw I adding a 40mm Breda gun instead of the two MGs, in order to be able to face the T-26B used by the Republican side. Also the tanks were nicknamed "Negrillo" (Little Black) due to their black paintings.
Not to be rude but can you please provide captions, it is a little hard to understand some words. Thanks! Still subscribing :)
Military History for Adults Anschluss?
Hi, talking about the spanish civil war, a friend of mine has always claimed his italian grandfather did not volunteer to go to spain and was sent anyways.
Is there any proof or record of this happening on a any scale or was the
Corpo Truppe Volontarie actually formed by mostly volunteers.
Thanks for such an awesome channel!
As a general point - please use "British" rather than "English". England is only one part of the UK - so you're pissing off the Scots, Welsh and Irish. (You REALLY don't want to piss off the Irish...)
The main reason why Spain didn't join the Axis was probably the war exhaustion from just coming out of civil war.
And I don't think that Spain alone would have much difference to the war effort. But if Hitler had less half-assed allies, then he could probably have gained an extra army group from Spain, Vichy, Finland, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
It seems that Romania and Italy was the only countries who cared to fully commit to the war.
Yes. More is better. And the Romanians fought well, and went far.
And what did they have to gain? They already had colonies around the world.
No. Spain had lost most of her colonies more than 100 years before. I think that the most important factor was that they had no oil, and that they had almost no coal or Iron and other important raw materials for war industry, (and at that moment they had no food). They and their industry were dependent on imports of raw materials and food.
Modern war is dependent on oil. Germany had little oil. All the countries that Germany conquered or were allies of Germany, where dependents on oil imports from outside, except Romania. Germany controlled a territory which was dependent on materials they can not get because of the British blockade.
@@nattygsbord span had strategic location and they could cut british empire on two and sealing medeteranian... that would be devastating for allies. england would be cut off from supplies or would those at least be much harder to get. from there even egypt might fall and germany could have free passage to oil.
Good video, i just wanted to add a couple of things:
About Gibraltar. Franco had two main concerns, first the germans asked him for permission to send troops to conquer Gibraltar, but Franco wanted Gibraltar to be an Spanish possesion, not a german one (there was in Spanish culture the idea that Gibraltar was spanish by right and that the british should be driven out of there, the propaganda played with this at the moment) and second, Franco feared that if he let the germans pass through spanish territory, it would happen something similar to what happened in 1808 when Napoleon entered Spain as an ally and then betrayed it and invaded it. He feared becoming a puppet of germany, drive Spain that deep into the conflict and lose power. Also of course, when Franco saw that Germany couldn't defeat Britain, he thought that maybe the war wasn't going to be that easy and he backed off.
To end my comment, there's something about the Blue Division. In 1941 Franco sent the volunteers to the eastern front, but when they returned the goverment ignored them because the allies won the war, so they didn't receive pensions or anything. But later in the Cold War, when Franco wanted to befriend the allies, he said that the Blue Division was actually sent to fight the communism and the Soviet Union, and not to help the nazis. He convinced the allies that he was a fervient anti-communist (which he was) and was helpful to combat the Soviet influence.
I read somewhere that Hitler suspected that Franco was part Jewish. But the question is, Were all the negatives worth taking control of Gibraltar, which would have gone a long way to locking up the Mediterranean along with the capture of Malta?
According to the treaty, British has G. in perpetuity, with Spain having first option, should Britain wish to withdraw. Spain has essentially reneged on the treaty.
@Grundy Malone seems a pot calling kettle situation. It is absurd for the Spanish to accuse the British of imperialism when the Spanish were up to their necks in the same nonsense. For whatever reason there is actually a treaty between the two countries and it needs to be honoured. The possession of gib does not render Spain defenseless either. If the Spanish wanted to, I mean really wanted to, they could just blockade the place for a few months then invade. But they won't do that because it would cause a mountain of problems. Not least a bizarre civil war between the gibraltatrians and the Spanish mainland. Followed no doubt by more bizarre civil wars between all the various disparate regions and the centre.
The Blue Division was also a way for Franco to remove from Spain many officers who were well to the Right of Franco politically, and were potential domestic opponents, who saw Franco as a "Softie." This is one reason that Franco never traveled outside of Spain while he was in power - he was unsure of what might happen in his absence.
@Scanlon Moon "Spain was not an imperialist power by any stretch. " - LOL! Weren't Franco's troops originally down in Africa fighting in El Rif? I don't know if Ceuta and Meilla compromise Morocco's security.
'Why didnt spain join?'
'Well they were in no position to fight a war against multiple major powers'
'Yeah but.. Italy joined?'
Well they did cause they had a megalomaniac leader that had crazy dreams of resucitating the roman empire again and shit. But looks like joining the axis din't worked at all for Italy...
Come on. I have now said this for the umpteenth time. GERMANY DID NOT NEED TO ACCEPT THE ITALIAN OFFER. THAT IS ON GERMANY
Didn't spain just went through a devastating civil war?
@@marcobaretta9645 , you are wrong. Because german navy was weak, while italian navy was strong, even if it was not well used. Hitler needed a strong navy in mediterranean see. So, italian support was useful. The problem was that Italy was not ptepared for a world war. Italy spent a lot of resources in previous wars, and it needed to modernize all equipments. In facts Mussolini took a bad decision.
@@carlomarini4255 And he realised it pretty soon. In Feb. '41, Franco asked Musso "If you could get out of this war, would you do it?", and Musso burst into tears and said "If only I could."
Spain was basically destroyed by 1940 as a consequence of the civil war.
About the Spanish army, it had good soldiers but insuficient numbers and equipment. The Spanish navy was only half of what it had been at its peak.
Despite having good and experienced soldiers, the lack of resources was a liability. Spain would have needed a lot of resources just to fight.
Spain also needed a reason to join, a valuable prize to risk themselves. The Axis wasn't eager to give Spain what Franco wanted in order to join: Morocco, western Algiers and some French border regions that were disputed (Roussillion).
Podemos URSS
Tronco, "Podemos", escrito en ruso, sería "Подемос" (Мы можем).
"Родемос" sería la transliteración de "Rodemos".
Por cierto, ¿te moló que la Россия (Rusia) de Сталин (Stalin) invadiera la mitad este de Polonia, Estonia, Letonia, Lituania y fuera derrotada cuando intentó invadir Finlandia?
I imagine it would also be hard to try and push the Spanish people into another bloody war at that point..
I'd argue they acted in a similiar way as USA did before they joined the war since there were Spanish troops on the Russian front I belief (blue division).. They were in the news a while ago because they atleast wanted recognition for their part to keep the Soviets at bay or something..
So there were atleast volunteers to fight the Soviet Union but I really don't think it was openly..
So both were pretty active in the war in support of opposite sides even though they were both neutral.. Like USA trained the Airforce of Canada for example, which directly helped the war efforts in Europe and gave them war supplies and destroyers and whatever.. And all of that before Pearl Harbor
I think Franco must have wanted to join, otherwise he wouldn't have given all that support in the first place but also realized it is impossible to do so politically
Podemos URSS Really Franco to join Axis wanted Morocco, Algeria and Some French Borders are really no significances to Hitler.
Hitler could Easily Give it to Franco and Supplied Spain so Most Germany War Weapons Surpluses.
Germany didn't care, but Italy did.. I belief Italy wanted the Northern coasts of Africa for himself
Podemos URSS Mussolini is a Real Fascist Dictator with Insane Delusions Conquests.
He Italian Mussolini can Not even Control Italy Africa Colonies of Libya and Ethiopia thus Desert Fox Rommel to the Axis Italy Rescue. And He Rommel can gain Support from Spain Sahara Morocco and Spain-France Algeria.
Yes, HOI script has it hardcoded that Spain rejects military access. It also has a very low chance of accepting alliance with Germany in any Treaty of Hendaye event(s), even if you make the BEST offer (which Hitler rejected) of providing lots of military equipment + resources.
that is why I usually rofl-stomp them after France :)
I prefer roleplaying some in my HOI games, and considering that Germany (and Wehrmacht especially) had a lot of pro-Spanish sympathies due to the Spanish Civil War, I didn't find that very realistic =P
On the topic of HOI, it's ridiculous though that when you play as the UK, you can't have transit/access rights on Portugal despite the two countries having the oldest existing alliance. Churchill in real life invoked some of the provisions of the alliance so that Portugal would allow British ships to dock in the Canary islands, but without Portugal directly getting tangled in the war.
There are no permanent allies. There are no permanent enemies. There are only permanent *interests*. -- Portugal did not want to give Germany any (more) reasons to get involved in Iberia.
No, in real life Portugal DID allow British ships to dock in the Azores and Canaries.
I would say that the Spanish were for the Axis, a bit like the US was for the allies in the beginning of the conflict. So, 'Neutral' but favoring one side.
Yes, he praised the Axis in public, to discourage an invasion. But he never wanted to risk his army, and the Blue Division was so small, it was no more than a gesture.
Wolfram = Tungsten, for those who got confused
So what's Wolfram Mathematica then? Purity of Mathematics soiled by a discarded German anti-tank round from WW2?
Hence the symbol "W".
👍
Thank you. I had a serious wtf moment.
They took a good look at WW1 and the Spanish civil war and decided to sit that one out, a good decision in hindsight on Spains part.
and then they looked a year later and saw that Poland and France had fallen in less than 3 months combined.
You know it's a good friday when MHV puts up a video
great video. thanks for posting.
I love that you made the Vlogs channel. So much more great content from you!
Franco would most likely not want to go to war for a rock
Can you really blame Franco for not joining the axis? Not many people know actually how devastating the Spanish civil war actually is. Spain ' s military under Franco after the war was not that well equipped even by WW2. The most important thing is in some ways Spain has still not recovered from the civil war
The Seb plays Games pretty sure people don't care about what a country went through before a major conflict, just look at France, and their army's reputation after WWII.
That's not the point. Maybe you can't "blame" Franco por not joining the axis, but we shouldn't either give him credit for staying neutral. Some people try to make him look like he was a master diplomatic strategist and not just a dellusional fascist with dreams of rebuilding the Spanish Empire (just like Mussolini wanted to revive the Roman one).
It also wouldn't have changed the outcome of North Africa. The British supplied the Mediterranean theater through the Suez.
It would've only opened up another front if the Spanish joined to defend and would've probably be the target for the allies for the start I bet Spain wouldn't even have been able to defend it's coast after that civil war than they would've needed German support and that means lesser troops on the east front.
Sixgun Symphony If he had done it, he'll be invaded sooner or later by the brits. The British government was very clear: UK will invade Spain as soon as Franco joined the Axis. He was still in charge just because the brits were ok with him being neutral, but they can easily invade Spain from Portugal as soon as they knew that Franco was ready to flip side.
Brilliant analysis, well done!
Fantastic bit of work, always wondered this.
I am not an armchair historian, more the 'lie down and have a think' type, so always wondered about Franco's relationship with the Axis. This video is really informative. Thanks. Liked. Subscribed.
thank you, I think you will like my other content as well. Also I have a second channel Military History Visualized, the videos there are more thorough and condensed, since they are scripted and animated.
@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized
Could Mussolini have opted for neutrality with the fall of France or not.
Lol - because he was smarter than Mussolini, who should have opted for similar neutrality
Mussolini tried to defect, actually. Before the war really began in earnest.
But Great Britain refused to even answer his telegrams, as they were accusing him of using chemical weapons in Ethiopia at the time.
(Still an open question whether he actually did or not)
Italy might have been a more formidable ally, incidentally, had Hitler honored their agreement not to invade Poland or Czechoslovakia for at least 2 years, to give the Italian Army time to industrialize and rebuild after taking losses in Spain and Africa.
Do you have a source on that? And also a date? Because if it was prior to Italy's declaration of war on Britain and France in June 1940, he didn't need to 'defect' - he could simply have not declared war
Sure. I actually was mistaken about Ethiopia, it was Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia that caused the rift between Italy and Great Britain... but yes, you are correct. It wouldn't have been a 'defection', so much as 'prevented Mussolini from further entering Hitler's grasp'. By 1935, Mussolini had already begun to flirt with the Axis camp, but he was somewhat spooked by Hitler's proposed annexation of Austria. So he reached out to Great Britain to mend fences, which likely would have brought Italy into the Allied camp. Given Mussolini's (sadly underreported) diplomatic abilities, this may even have prevented World War II entirely. Anthony Eden, the newly-appointed Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, was adamantly anti-Mussolini, however. Needless to say, he refused to respond to the telegrams. This limited Italy's options, and he Mussolini was essentially ushered into the Axis whether he wanted to or not.
This is all discussed in Richard Lamb's forward to Benito Mussolini's autobiography: 'My Rise and Fall'.
I'm with you now, as I recall reading something similar on Eden's stance against Mussolini - and indeed, how British foreign policy alienated its two former allies Japan (in the 1920's with its failure to renew the Anglo-Japanese Alliance) and Italy (in the 1930's). Although I agree that these were significant failures in British foreign policy, I'm not sure it's fair to place all the blame on British foreign policy in general and Eden in particular - or to argue that Mussolini "was essentially ushered into the Axis whether he wanted it or not" , given his own character and choices involved in allying with Germany.
I've always thought the Mediterranean was the sea of folly in the Second World War for all parties, but particularly for Mussolini and fascist Italy in going to war in the first place (including against Abyssinia / Ethiopia and Albania as well as its involvement in the Spanish Civil War). He and Italy would have been much wiser to sit out the war as a neutral, indeed similarly to Franco's Spain but probably to considerable more economic profit on its part (potentially joining the Allied cause later in the war if it so decided, perhaps helping to open a front in southern France in 1944 or so). That was particularly so as Italy recognized that it would not be ready for any major war prior to 1942-1943, an assessment that proved accurate in terms of Italian performance in the war. Ironically, Mussolini's Italy was originally aligned with Britain and France, as well as opposing Germany in Austria in 1934. (I recall reading somewhere that the British cabinet considered whether they would be better off with Italy neutral or as a liability on the German side and ultimately concluding the former, but cannot now find or recall the source). Of course, it then compounded its original error in entering the war on Britain by further errors, most notably splitting its forces between Egypt and Greece
@@TheRageaholic
Did Mussolini not have the option of remaining neutral. Would that not have been the case had Italy just waited for France to fall?
Very good analysis.
Nice presentation.
"In Spain, the situation over the winter of 1940-41 approached famine conditions and the inability of Germany to guarantee sufficient grain supplies was a major factor in persuading Franco not to declare on the German side."
-Prof Adam Tooze, Wages of Destruction.
I knew the first part, but not about the reluctancy of the Axis to take in the Spanish.
Corey Brandt it does really make sense why would you want the Spanish in the war when their whole country is still in pieces.
I think one thing that really helps to put things in perspective was that Spain had to buy tires for their German aquired cars to he British.
Rubber was a rare commodity in Germany so they couldn't spare it for the gear they exported. If Spain entered war on the side of the axis, Germany would have to yet again share their limited pool of resources with an "ally" since Spain would no longer be able to get those things from the Allies or neutral nations.
Actually, Franco realised England always win their wars ....... alone of the countries of the world - freedom and liberty followed a uniquely victorious destiny.
The first man on the moon would get there using Newton's Laws, be listening to English pop songs (not "Ode to Joy") and reading Shakespeare.
The Germans did take in thousands of Spanish volunteers they probably did not want more because they had to pay for them .By that I mean pay for there food , clothing, supllies and kit.
@@kayharker712
No the UK not England it is not the same thing won the war because of US assistance. Which it paid for with an empire. Like the yanks say we saved your backsides otherwise you would be talking German today.
Nice video! I found it much nicer to look at you, than at those graphics
Nice videos Keep up the good work! ! !
I heard some story about Adolf saying he`d rather pull his own teeth out,
than have anything to do with/ listen to Franco. sounds believable.
I'd read this too because Hitler had asked Spain about joining and Franco appeared keen, but then came up with lots of excuses saying he first needed this & that to prepare his industries and ready his military. Basically a very long shopping list of equipment and assistance he'd first need. Whether Franco was really sincere or just putting the Germans off I'm not sure, but I inferred Hitler suspected Franco's primary goal was really to rebuild the Spanish economy with German aid.
He didn't realise that Franco had been briefed (by Canaris) to make a whole lot of demands that Hitler was certain to reject.
@@ElGrandoCaymano Franco is very Greedy, Hitler prefer the true allies of Vichy France !
Most people don't see why Spain was crucial to the Axis during ww2: not because of its economy or army but because of its strategic position.
An axis Spain would've allowed the Germans to use the Canaries as a forward base for the U-Boats, allowing the Type VIIs to patrol the central Atlantic by reducing their travel distance by 2400km. Italians subs could've entered the Atlantic ocean more frequently. The battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau could've been based in Cadix instead of Brest and thus would've avoided the coutinuous bombing raids that put them out of action in 1941. In 1943, even with the Canaries invaded, Spain would've allowed the U-Boot to avoid the dangerous journey through the aircraft-patroled Bay of Biscay. So the Battle of the Atlantic would've been way different and more in favour of Germany with an Axis Spain.
In the Med without Gib as a forward base supplying Malta would've been much harder - travel distance would've been multiplied by 6 and the Axis navies more active in the Central Atlantic. It's probable that the island would've fallen in 1941, greatly improving the Axis supply in Libya. The fall of Gib would've also allowed the Italians ships trapped in the Atlantic harbors to re-join the Med, and the 5500km hole between Freetown and England would've allowed more axis blockade runners to pass.
In 1942 simultaneous landings in Marocco and Algeria (op. Torch) would've been impossible and the Axis would've occupied Algiers before the Allies. The Allies would've been fighting 1000km away from the Maroccan ports, through bad roads and a small railway system, with the Axis troops right next to their supply sources and with a larger pool of Italian shipping.
The only way to break the stalemate would've been to land in Spain but the only part of it reachable by air from Marocco would've been the 190km line between Portugal and Gib. Forget about operation Bodyguard fooling the Germans in 1943 - the only landing possible would've been near Cadix and not in Sardignia/Sicilia/Greece.
That's just a quick draft but he strategic implication of an Axis Spain would've been HUGE. The British knew it and that's why they made everything possible to prevent Franco from joining Hitler.
As soon as Spain declars war the Royal Navy will seize the Canaries. U Boats operated out of France where they were safe from invasion. The Axis do not have the naval power to protect island bases in the Atlantic.
"As soon as Spain declars war the Royal Navy will seize the Canaries"
Only if you assumes that the Germans & Spanish were complete idiots not able to garrison the islands before the entry into war of Spain. That's not a very realistic assumption to make. With the Axis having air superiority in the Canaries good luck to invade the islands. As for a blockade, forget it the Canaries were 2,400 km away from the nearest British base.
They're not idiots, that's why they didn't do it. The Axis could not hope to supply an isolated island by sea. They don't have the navy for it.
They didn't do it because Spain was never on the point to enter the Axis.
Otherwise you can choose to ignore all the basics of naval strategy during ww2 and pretend that the Axis couldn't supply the Canaries but that's another not very realistic assumption to make. WW2 wasn't a videogame where ships can stay at sea months without refueling in a zone covered by enemy planes.
Yeah, the Royal Navy could blockade the Moon too.
Thanks for a new perspective on this.
Very interesting and educational video. It was great. I learned from it.
This reminds me a lot of the Entente in WWI not wanting Romania to join because it would are hundred of miles of front for the Russians to defend, thus hurting their chances more than helping. Which is exactly what happened; the Romanian army getting thrashed and Brusilov having to weaken any future offensive to bail out them out. I can imagine it playing out with similar results for Germany in WWII.
WRONG! we were having a siesta and missed the show. :P
Great addition. I hope you do similar ones for Turkey and Sweden. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it.
Love your shows
Awsome I started to miss that metal at the end :D
Another name for tungsten. See comment below.
Pretty sure he's talking about the music.
"We don't need any last minute volunteers, we already have Italy"
SHADE THROWN LOL
Spa Man WHAT? Italy for some of the equipment was the 2 axis power!
I keep telling people like you man. Germany did not need to accept last minute volunteers. They could have turned down the Italian offer. I am sure that Italians back then and myself personally today would have been very glad of such an outcome. But that how it is. When things go well the Germans get the praise and when they go wrong the Italians get the blame. However if the Germans accepted the Italian offer of help should not the Germans at least get the blame for that? In which case the fault is all there own.
SPA MAN DUMB MORON EXPOSED LOL
Very good video!
Most Spanish sources claim that the Germans were first willing to accept Spain in the axis but the Spanish leadership requested a lot of resources in order to enter the war, resources that Germany didn't want to spare or even had by that point. Food, ammunitions, fuel, airplanes, tanks... However Spain was able to buy some Me-109 and a few Pzkpfw. IV and Stug III (which were organized on an experimental battalion asigned to the "1a división blindada Brunete").
I don’t know if it was intentional but you stated that the UK would probably have to invade Portugal? Thats a crazy idea!
Portugal and Britain have the longest and oldest alliance in world history. There is a quite firm treaty in between the two nations, which Churchill eventually called upon in order to utilize Portuguese islands.
vacomments they might have occupied it, like we did during the Napoleonic wars while fighting against France in Spain.
rafael cruz I was talking to OP, not you
rafael cruz No, they are not, most people tend to fall in the belief that some centuries old paper counts as an alliance to this day. That treaty is absolutely invalid, specially since the creation of NATO. Not only is invalid, as it has been broken several times by both sides. The “alliance” has been mostly preserved by interests, and not a treaty from the 14th century. But it's funny how every portuguese person talking about that alliance is still delusional enough to believe that it was still held up throughout the centuries
Rory O'Kane When did Britain occupy Portugal?
Cool Cat What exactly would Britain gain by having Spain and Portugal allied to Germany? Britain depended on the Mediterranean. They couldn’t afford to deal with U-Boats all the way from Suez to England.
Very strategic decision.
One other factor in this is that Admiral Canaris, head of the German Abwehr was working against the Nazi's and repeatedly told Franco to stay out of the war - saying the Axis were going to lose. He specifically told Franco to ask for terms which he knew that Hitler would reject.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Felix
.
The biggest disadvantage IMO was the long coast line which gives a lot of room for a invasion from the allies.
Italy and Germany gave many equipment and weapons to Spanish
Spain was to manufacture the BF 109 under licence with they eventually did. They algo got Pz IV tanks, StuG 3 and Flak 88mm cannons. Considering that Spain was a neutral country is surprising that the Germans who were resource strapped, were willing to export such weapons during the war.
It wasn't Franco's half brother (which only had 3 full siblings, one sister and two brothers , one of them KIA in the Civil War) it was his brother in law (actually the husband of his brother's wife) who was in charge of the negotiations. He was called Francisco Serrano Suñer, he died in 2003 without beeing trialed for his crimes.
thefary3 El Cuñadísimo (Brotherinlawissimus)
Podemos URSS exacto camarada
And the earth is flat. We are descendants of the annunaki, and the earth is 6000 years old
thefary3 isn’t the “husband of his brothers wife” just his brother?
ander azkuna the people who believe in the annunaki don't think the earth is 6000 years old. People who who believe what the Bible says think that the earth is about 6000 years old. And the Bible says the Earth is round, just for you to know.
What role did Admiral Canaris play? He was sent to Franco to negotiate and I've always heard he played some role in talking the Spanish out of joining with the Axis since he slowly became anti-Nazi after the war started and felt they were going to lose.
William Magoffin Given what's discussed in this video, it appears that Canris' role in persuading Franco is overstated.
Always wondered this: now I know!
Also: beard is looking sharp!
This guy totally ignored Hitler's meeting with Franco at Hendaye France October 1940. At that meeting Franco shrewdly made outrageous demands to join the Axis - Transfer of French Morroco, Tunisia and Algeria to Spain. Franco also was wooed by the UK during the Civil War 'if' they (UK) didn't provide arms to the Republican forces then Franco would stand down any alliance with Hitler. In addition as brutal as the Falange was Franco and his junta realized how evil the Nazis were and also saw what an alliance would cost potentially them. Hitler's famous quote after Hendaye 'Rather than go through that again, I would prefer to have three or four teeth taken out'. Franco sent 2 divisions to Russia with the condition those troops were never to be used against the western allies.
Franco was tough as steel, and was able to handle Hitler, in way that - for example - Miklos Horthy could not.
Franco was pretty evil. A medievalist heavy Catholic, cheered on by Paccelli PIus the 12 th. Spain is only now emerging from Franco's black reaction. The Pope was also a cheerer for Mussolini, the Catholic Party in Germany supported Hitler.
As a person with interest in spanish civil war and especially the nationalist side, i have additional arguments.
i might agree on german arrogance in 1940 (reference welcome!), but i see franco's blue division and workers as a way to appease Hitler while earning some much needed money and having his countrymen come back with some marks in their pockets.
Franco was not not a fascist. he may have taken a cloak of fascism, but he was a right-leaning nationalist conservative, who found fascist ideologies as unpleasant, and he effectively castrated his own domestic fascist party, even if he took its emblems.
He had his closest ally in Dr. Salazar of Portugal. both came from a firm christian background and saw the nazi Germany and fascist Italy resurgent pagan states.
as for the blue division and Wolfram, well, it was used to fight communists, Francos' arch-enemies.
as for press, well yes, obviously, Spain was quite right leaning in general, and Germany helped the nation through its' civil war. as most of reporters writing were pro-Franco, it's not surprising that they were praising Germany.
The Blue Division, made of volunteers was a good way for Franco to get rid of the fascist radicals. Franco was really a traditionalist ultraconservative who distrusted the most ideological fascists.
Can you do a video about how you iron your shirt so well? That thing's crisp.
This is an essential post-modern WWII question to ask, and the answers to know. Love your channel. Haven't binged anything like your material since The Wire.
♥️HTX;US
💪😊👌
Spanish blue division fought for germany
On it was part of Army Group North. Near Leningrad.
Not for Germany, Spain had firmed the cooperation with AXIS which is for against communism, then there’s no things more about Spain linked with AXIS
Kind of a polemical question here in Spain! It's good to se an objective analysis, they are sorely lacking in this country. Sadly, they military is trying to restrict access to archives by reclasifying all info which was once clasified, we hope it doesn't end up that way.
I realize this is coming in late, but to give you an idea of the American populace of the knowledge about the Spanish Civil War from the 1940s to the present: Very little!
Americans were aware of Ernest Hemingway's adventures in Spain during the civil war; and that Franco rose to power as the victor; and that's about the sum total of awareness that Americans had about Spain from the 1930s era.
On US TV, the History Channel's only reference about Spain was when Nazi Germany Admiral Canaris undermined Hitler's attempted foothold with Franco; with Canaris advising Franco to make excessive demands for materials from Germany in exchange for the Heer to march to Gibraltar. But for the countless hours of History Channel documentaries over a 15 year stretch, not a single hour devoted to the Spanish Civil War.
The US's Public Broadcasting System TV, for all the historical documentaries they've produced over the years, the closest they got to the Spanish Civil War was a one-hour documentary on Franco, titled "The Dictator's Playbook."
It's very disappointing that American TV has not devoted documentaries about the Spanish Civil War.
But then, in 2017 that marked the 100th anniversary of the US entry into The Great War, PBS devoted a two-hour documentary to it. No other TV documentaries were aired to mark that century milestone.
9:30 "Wolfram" is another name for "tungsten.'
I've always wondered about this.
Same question for Argentina!
Peron estaba ocupado asegurandose de que Argentina se quedara en el tercer mundo por al menos 500 años.
Queirol 21 jajaja qué ignorante que sos , Perón no asume hasta el 46 . en el 39 al inició de la segunda guerra mundial era presidente Ortiz ( radical conservador) , después en el 42 asume Castillo (PND conservador) , en el 43 ocurre un golpe de estado y una de las razones del golpe era que los gobiernos conservadores eran bastante simpatizantes del nazismo y los militares querian preservar la neutralidad Argentina. 43 , asume Rawson , Perón asume cómo secretario de trabajo , después asume Ramirez y después farrell y Perón como su vice . te das cuenta que Perón no tuvo ninguna posición de poder en cuanto a política exterior durante toda la guerra . antes de poner comentarios pelotudos infórmate un poco
No soy argentino asi que disculpa la ignorancia, pero que tipo de conservador se alinearía con socialistas? sobre todo a 20 años de la revolucion rusa.
Queirol 21 con socialistas te referís a Hitler ? , los conservadores en realidad tenían buena relación con Hitler ( creo que porque históricamente arg y Alemania fueron muy cercanos pero no estoy seguro la verdad) y los aliados , el golpe en realidad fue para evitar que Argentina le declare la guerra a Alemania, ya que en el 43 la derrota alemana era casi segura y por eso EE.UU estaba presionando a los gobiernos de América para que le declarasen la guerra al eje , no sé muy bien porque
It has been claimed that after a prolonged discussion with Franco in Hendaye in 1940 Hitler declared that " I would rather have my teeth pulled out than have another discussion with that man.." :D
Yes I am aware of all this. Actually Hitler thought the "Latin race" of people were too 'manyana' to be an effective 'tool' for achieving anything worth while. Hitler was about races and cultures not about countries as much. Hitler didn't "hate" the Latin descent people and nations as he more like despised them for being decadent, lazy, hypocrate, arcaic etc. The previous comment I wrote prematurely before the author here mentioned the same thing.. It is very likely we both read it from the same book. I have about 2500 pages about Hitler in one way or another in my home library :D It also includes biographies on Lenin and Mao.
StPaul76 Hate and despise are pretty much the same thing.
No they are not. They can be though. For an example fear often generates hate as a reaction. Despise does not work that way. Hitler for an example hated Jews and considered them a threat to the German people and culture. Hate often calls for action. Despise not so much.
Gameofender Eh... back then, there was no TGV. Also Marseille people and Lyon people are already VERY different and people from northern france are different again. You must have never been there.
Ce'st absolutement vrai ce ca.. To understand any of Hitler's views one should first read some Nietzche.. And to realize Hitler was never a pragmatic person in his statements.. He was a non-educated layman whose primary impetus, so to speak, was in his oratorial skills to make a point and not get confused with the practical details.. This feature appealed greatly into unsatisfied masses.. Probably nobody knows, at this point at least, whether this Austrian manipulator really thought and believed in what he declared.
I think it was an omission not to mention Wilhelm Canaris ( chief of the Abwehr ) , he was talking to Franco and was considered to be his friend. I think he was able to influence Franco at the time when Canaris was strongly against Hitler.
Totally unrelated to the video, but: Have you ever thought about doing a
podcast or other collaboration with the Mighty Jingles? Although he's running a mainly gaming channel, he's a huge history buff with lots of knowlage about WW2 gear. I think it would be a lot of fun.
4:19 Spain in a nutshell: Good soldiers but awful generals.
Podemos URSS more like good as in mediocre
Well, the soldiers themselver were fairly good, I mean, Spain often won battles against enemy numerical superiority due to the quality of the soldiers. The problem of Spain is one of lack of leadership, what I mean is that both political and military leaders usually take awful decisions.
Podemos URSS No necesariamente los jefes militares eran malos profesionales, sino los jefes politicos, que cuando no eran unos patanes es que tenian una agenda oculta. En el caso de Franco, fué indudablemente un jefe astuto e intuitivo, un artista de manejar los tiempos.
That's basically the Italians as well. Terrible generals like Italo Balbo, and Badoglio, but good soldiers like the fergo. Both nations Italy, and Spain had a severe lack of resources though. And that was one of the main reasons the spaniards didn't join the war (and they were devastated by the civil war), and one of the reasons the Italians performed so poorly. You can't shoot the enemy if you don't have the bullets to do so.
Podemos URSS good soldiers based on what?
Fortunately, Spain didn't join the Axis after German victory in France. Spanish territory would have been important for Germany in North Africa and in the battle on the Atlantic.
And, more imortant, Spain would have been 100% against German declaration of war on USA in december 1941.
Franco did build a nice little gunnery emplacement on the coast near Bilbao, the remnants are still atop the cliff close to Gorliz.
In 1970 we went on a school trip to Spain. Our coach passed a company of Spanish soldiers on a route march. They were all equipped with WW2 style German helmets. Pretty exciting for a bunch of nine year old schoolboys.
I was living in Spain in 1971. At that time, they were still using some of the military equipment supplied to them by Germany during the Spanish Civil War . They also had some equipment salvaged from their Blue Division during WWII, and whatever they could purchase on the open arms market. It was not until after Franco's death in the mid 1970's that Spain could really modernize and upgrade its military. This was after joining NATO in exchange for the closure of most of the US bases that were allowed to be in Spain during the Franco regime. In terms of International Relations one has to admit that the "GENERALISSIMO" was one "cool customer."
In other words, Spain was Germany's Cambodia.
The Nazis ended up benefiting from the fact that Spain did not become their ally because as they were neutral they and hugely sympathetic to the Axis they allowed hundreds of thousands of Nazis and SS men to escape through rat lines that led to either Spain or South America.
Rats to the rats.
Yeah that's why Hitler escaped thru Spain to Argentina it was a hidden agenda not to involve franco
didnt know spains situation was that bad after civil-war, good vid. i guess allies also looked at the map and thought "lets try to keep spain out of the war"
I really love your videos. Strangely, I have more trouble understanding you in this video than most. I am a native speaker of English and usually can understand most accents. It would be really helpful if you had subtitles. Or at least just listed keywords, for example the exports, Allied demands, etc.
Thank you!
Because Generalissimo Francico Franco was TOO DAMNED SMART to join a losing cause.
Thank you for posting - one overlooked factor is that Franco was still fighting the civil war long after it officially ended . For several years after the Communists surrendered guerilla warfare was continuing and Fascist death-squads were in the process of executing over 100,000 former Red leaders and soldiers .
1:52 I did not known that Spain prvide supplies to the AK. Neither about the scorts to Axis vessels . where could I found sources?
Do you have any clash with the youtube channel " military history visualised"?
we are the same guy, although it is visualiZed
Wolfram is Tungsten for all us English speakers :)
Some Small Fish wolfram sounds a lot cooler though!
Wolfram sounds like a character from _Vikings._
"They dont want a second italy" aww lol poor Meds. Always getting picked on by Germans since Teutoburg
but the Mediterranean culture of the romans and greeks is used by practically everyone now lol
Schmitty Von Baun at one point Germany was fused with the Netherlands in what was known as the “Spanish Netherlands.”
Admiral Canaris told Franco not to, that Hitler could not win. Admiral Canaris told Franco to make unreasonable material demands from Hitler that he knew Hitler would not agree to.
You missed all the secret go back and forth between Franco and Canaris of the Abwehr.
Also keep in mind that hitler at one point anticipated an invasion of Spain until he realised that Italy was inferior and that the spanish were completely stronger regardless of its lack of resources. Don’t believe me? Hitler said it himself, search it up its there. Imagine if he did, how different would things be.
Gabriele Carrera you know it ;)
Gabriele Carrera the spanish had the experience from the North African wars and the civil war, it was recovering from a destroyed Spain, Italy struggled defeating Ethiopia the second time after being humiliated by them before ww1.
Not saying that Italians were trash, just saying that they were inferior to their Spanish counterparts that even Hitler himself said that the spanish were the strongest of the Latins (Italians, French and spanish). He expected more from the Italian army, and those expectations were met by the spanish.
Even Bismarck himself, the mastermind of the german empire is quoted “ I am firmly convinced that Spain is the strongest country of the world. Century after century trying to destroy herself and still no success.”
Not going to lie that Italy, armament wise, was superior to Spain, but the Spanish blue division, being equipped by the Nazis performed significantly superior than the entire Italian army which Hitler noticed which led to him quoting that.
You can take it as how you want, but you can’t change history.
Not saying that Italians are weak, just unfortunate circumstances were brought upon Italy, and aswell as spain.
A well drilled, armed, high morale latin is superior to any soldier in this world.
(Btw my grandmother is half Italian, I’m sure don’t want to disrespect her ;) )
Gabriele Carrera idk why you’re so feisty about it? I didn’t deny that they wouldn’t lose or say that the Italians didn’t do any achievements, my grandmothers father fought in ww2 for Italy. But I’m just pointing out that the Italians as a separate army was pretty inefficient and inferior to the Wehrmacht, the reasons are exactly what you stated, and the Italian soldiers like the spanish that fought under german command excelled cause we are latins and we are just superior, we are the descendents of romans after all.
However, everyone knows that Italy did a terrible job in ww2 and was more of a nuisance, a burden on Germany than a beneficial ally.
Spain was in no way prepared for a war and at the time it just had a civil war to overthrow a communist dictatorship for a fascist one. Since 17th century Spain has been embroiled with infighting. So ofc It would lose to a more stable Italy at the time. However, historically and perhaps even modern day, the spanish would easily defeat Italy. But again, Italy was only around for 50 years by ww2. So ofc there was much to learn.
Gabriele Carrera modern day, the spanish army are more armed and better trained. The spanish have always had very good military traditions. Italy right now is no position to fight a war. Your country is being destabilised from the leftist communist youth that plague your country, and your new government hasn’t put their money where their mouth is.
You have one of the worse immigration problems in Europe and you constantly sinking in debt because of this.
Your women are being raped by these thugs and your authorities can’t do anything about it because of political correctness. Italy is still recovering from the economic crisis and according to the statistics, Italy is actually plummeting into more debt.
This “manpower” comes from all those Arab and African migrants that have come to your country and won’t serve your country but only betray it.
Spain right now is the fastest growing EU member in regards to GDP.
It’s paying off its debt very quickly compared to many other EU countries.
Considering that Spain was one of the most heaviest hit countries from the economic crisis, it has completely turned around and headed towards a stronger future without the help of anyone but the Spanish people.
The Spanish people remember what immigration can do to a country, so they Limit it and have received the least amount of migrants in the EU, excluding Poland and Hungary.
Right now the spanish communist youth looks like the threat to the future of the prosperity of Spain, as these people have gone overseas during the economic crisis for work and learnt and are brainwashed about these ideas from countries like America and Germany due to PC culture. Then they come back to Spain as the country is about to boom once more and bring all these ideas with them and start shit. I.e. Catalonian crisis. Catalonians never before have believed that they should be separate from Spain. Many catalonians actually disagreed with the independence movements was only supported by a minority compared to the entire majority of catalonians that did not want to secede.
This is what you call americanisation of a country. So people come and think “hey we should be independent” completely disregard the consequences and issues of such a break up would cause. Just like the idiots of the past that have tried this, they failed.
It’s like as if south Italy, so Neapolitan Naples wanted to secede from Italy. So stupid.
And historically, actually the spanish inherited southern Italy. We never conquered it.
And we actually defended the Italian states from the French. So no, we weren’t there to destroy you. Perhaps protect you is better.
But right now, spain is looking like it’s going to be in a better position than Italy to fight a war. I mean we were the third biggest economic power in Europe before the crisis. Being mass manufacturers of the warships and destroyers for all the world.
Italy only was made rich, exporting cheap goods until you adopted the euro and China outmatched you. So you were never in a real good position in the first place before the crisis unlike Spain which was the biggest agricultural powerhouse in Europe.
they were inferior resource wise. And had inferior generals. But there soldiers were superior to those of the Germans in many aspects. For example when the italians gave germany expeditionary forces on the eastern front the fought more efficiently, better, and longer than the Germans when they used German equipment under German generals, leading up to the broadcast "Only the Italians remain undefeated on the Russian front." -Radio Moscow. Italys generals were so incompitant because all of the former generals under victor emmanuel had been deposed, forcefully retired, or demoted when mussolini came to power (with the exception of Messe). And thats because he feared lack of loyalty, and unrest in the military. Spain couldn't have sustained a war, and this isn't an opinion its a fact. Think about it, how much oil is on spain, or tungesten, or coal, or steel, or really any preciause resource besides gold. Spain doesn't have much of any resources, thats the same problem Italy, Japan, and later Hitler with the invasion of the soviets would run into. Spain could import materials but there next to vichy france, Italy, and Nazi Germany now. If any convoys try to get in or out there gonna get sunk. And Spains navy had been recked, and split during the Spanish civil war. Now its also a fact the Italians literally couldn't have sustained a war against the spaniards for the same reasons. It's not that Italy was inferior, but rather they were both inferior at the same rate.
I was quite interested in Spain's role at that time in history but am sorry. This video was very hard to listen to.
It's the Austrian dialect. Very thick.
Despite his thick Austrian accent, he speaks pretty damn clearly, not sure how you guys have trouble understanding...
Razgul The Kind Regional dialect and accents on both sides get in the way I suppose.
Razgul:
No one said they didn't understand him. He just has a very profound accent that makes him hard to listen to.
In ETO campaign games, I think Spain, Sweden and Turkey should be considered "Axis Neutrals" that provide resource points to Germany, but can't be activated as "Axis Satellites" can after the fall of France.
Will you do videos about the Pacific Theatre?
Fall of Singapore maybe?
oh the singapore stuff was a complete blunder
February '42: Tanks set in concrete facing the sea, expecting a naval invasion. Japanese army comes down the east coast of west Malaysia; Malaya at the time.
It's also important to note that Franco was not a fascist, he was catholic, a strong monarchist, nominally of the Carlist side, distrustful of the UK and deeply anti-communist. He was deeply distrustful of the Falange and rapidly defused it as a fascist party. If anything Franco believed in himself and managed to play a game of getting as much as possible out of playing both sides without incurring the wrath of one side. Franco emerges as one of the big winners of WWII although he was not an active participant, being better off after the war as before the start.
God Bless all volunteers who fought against the Communist scum.
First most of them were not "volunteers" but conscripts, Second they didnt "fought against Communism" they helped with the genocidical siege of Leningrad.
vatsetis Depends on your point of view, throwing around buzz words such as genocidal is not the way to win an argument it's shit throwing at best.
anthony ioane
sorry, but it was a genocide
Gandhi OK good leftists are the worst people to genocide fuck them.
anthony ioane
not an argument
Nice video, would you mind speaking a little bit faster in the next ones?
Can we get a video about the blue division specifically? Extra Plz
They took a nine year siesta.
ignorant
Because Franco was a lazy opportunist masquerading as a Fascist or a Conservative/Monarchist depending on whichever was most expedient for himself. People politicize it, but make no mistake - Franco's only true ideology was power and its accumulation. It is of some irony that after achieving this power he'd spend the rest of his miserable life having to give it up piecemeal in order for Spain to recover from the war he helped to instigate in the first place. There, question answered.
The war was instigated by the shit-head leftist, by burning the clergy alive on the streets.
jurisprudens propaganda much? xD
Fuck off, buddy. It was instigated by the 1936 elections, the clergy-reprisals (done by radical Anarchists and Communists, so kindly shove your catch-all up your ass) contributed to the social unrest (as well as ill-inspired policies like removing crosses from public buildings like post offices) but a bunch of top-brass planned the abortive coup-attempt and instigated subsequent civil war - it wasn't some spontaneous Christian uprising, so fuck off with your political bullshit. The Spanish Civil War is my fucking raison d'être, I've spent long hours researching the subject, I've written paper after paper on the subject, I've talked to people alive during the war - my point is, proceed to make yourself look foolish at your own behest. I love this shit, and I will wipe the fucking floor with you in a debate regarding it.
Fuzzy Dunlop Reminds me of some world leaders we’re stuck with nowadays. Making backroom deals to screw the masses and benefit themselves.
You know how social justice retards and commies hate Christianity.
I may suggest an unspoken part is the Portuguese-British Naval Alliance of 1373/86, With the British already owning Gibraltar, and being a force in the Med having the Atlantic closed off would have created an unbearable food and import/export situation. Also, if the Crown may have been able use Portugal as an unopposed landing site to pressure the Germans from the Southwest, similar to the pressure of attacking Italy in the south. Great video, keep it up!
Not to mention Canaris actively encouraging Franco not to join in...
not even all of spain could have taken over gibraltar.
What would happen if they did take it? It's unlikely, but more legit then Italy doing it.
Justin White if they did, britain would declare war, spain would lose and germany would have to send forces to help.
What i mean is, they take it and the UK can't take it back. How would that effect strategy? Let's say they took it an the UK did not take it back. How would that effect the north African and Italian campaign, seeing how it relied on control of the Mediterranean sea.
Justin White
Had they actually taken Gibraltar, British convoys to North Africa would've been forced to go the long way around the Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Mediterranean, which may have seriously impeded Allied efforts in North Africa. Gibraltar was also used to send reinforcements to Malta, and the lack of this "jumping off-point" might have forced its capitulation (that would have required stronger pressure on the island, in addition to the capture of Gibraltar). The loss of Malta would've made it tougher for the Allies to interdict Axis convoys to North Africa, which would've allowed them to become stronger in that theatre.
In summary, the capture of Gibraltar would've led to a stronger Axis presence in North Africa, and a weaker Allied presence there. All that is assuming Spain could've held out against an invasion to retake Gibraltar, which is by no means assured.
also depends when this happens. 1939 or 1940
Nice Video. But please dont call it "Blue Division"... thats a propaganda name, officially it was the 250 German Division, the personnel was Spanish but the equipment was German, and the unit was fully integrated into the German Heer, its members even pledge loyalty to Hitler as all members of the Wehrmacht. Also it wasnt a "volunteer" force for every "blue shirt" fascist eager to fight communism there was at least a conscript sent to the Soviet Union.
It may have been offficially the "250 German Division" in the German Army Order of Battle, but in Spain it has always been called "La Division Azul". Many videos on TH-cam about this unit. Whether it was made up of conscripts or "volunteers" is debatable, but they did serve on the Eastern Front vs.the Red Army. Years ago, I visited a military history museum in Toledo, Spain where they had an exhibit about" LA DIVISION AZUL". Have no idea if it is still there? FYI: their "propaganda value", as part of an non-German, international fascist fighting force, was a major reason why they were sent to fight in the USSR, along with many other"nationalist" units from various European countries.
To be fair I'd say that Spanish had a reasonable reasons to seek a revenge against Soviet Union.
Franco had forbidden them for them to fight against the democracies. They were supposed fight only against the USSR and other communists.
@@ragingjaguarknight86 Franco was a very smart man.
@@ricardosoto5770 Indeed he was. Plus later, after the war, Spain was allied with the US against the USSR.
Great video mate. Love my World War II history. I had only ever come across sources saying that Franco wanted nothing to do with the war. Good to hear another perspective about it all.
I would love to hear more about Romania's effort both in WWI and WWII. It's often a forgotten country in that respect, but still an important one.
I do know Rumania lost 350.000 Casualties at Stalingrad. From a Rumanian correspondent of mine!
God bless the blue division
eat shit nazi
Franco kept the country out of the war and out of the clutches of Soviets. Everything else is secondary.
Human lives are secondary too for Franco.
The francoist rebels and the fascist regime they install in Spain committed a genocide and kept Spain underdeveloped in cultural and social issues for 40 years.
vatsetis that's not even close to true, and even if it _was_ , that was a far better option than becoming a Soviet puppet state.
Einsatzgruppen Commander Are you responding to every comment with your anti-communist bullshit?
Einsatzgruppen Commander
How was Stalin going to install a puppet state in Spain in 1936?... Stalin wanted to join forces with the west... and if France and GB had helped the Republic the regime wouldnt have been particularly pro soviet. Even if you are ussing alternative system as an argument... which is lame... a «Red» Spain would have been invaded by Germany and later liberated by the allies just like France or Italy... I very much prefer the situation of those countries in the 50s than the one of Spain.
Obviously EC is NS and would have prefered the triumph of the final solution and that Spain and Europe as a whole still live under a fascist dictatorship.
Glad to hear you mention Franco sending a Spanish division to the Eastern Front
Klasse Thema
Spain had a long period of decline, and is still in decline today. Much of Spain decline can be seen during the Napoleonic wars. After the Napoleonic wars, Spain had a series of Civil Wars known as the Carlist Wars, with France and Britain supporting the Monarchs, vs the liberal Spanish pretender. Spain looses its possesions in the new world except for a few Islands. Spain looses Its Empire to the United States in 1898. We call Ottoman the sickman of Europe, but the other sickman of Europe is also Spain. Spain was in no shape to join the war on the side of the axis. The country was still reeling from the affects of the Spanish Civil War, also if Spain joined, Britain would have seized Canary Islands, and the rest of Spain's useless African Colonies and Balearic Islands. If Spain was strong enough, Spain could have given the allies a hard time to secure the Medterrinian.
Otoman sickman of europe? They are not europeans
Ottoman "sickman of europe" nickname came from before WW1, during the 19th and then early 20th century, the ottomans had a larger foothold in Europe with the Balcans and Greece under their firm control. So yea it makes sense to call them the sickman of Europe at the time, as it would for Spain, but I guess Spain wasn't really that relevant at that point...
Portugal was also in a strange position itself. Portugal was a major British ally during the time. Portugal honored its 600 year old alliance with Britain even though they remained neutral and was also under a fascist rule as well. If Spain would have joined the Axis, Hitler would have overran Spain through France, and would have invaded Portugal. As well as invaded Gibraltar, and cut off British access to the Mediterranean. A war between Portugal and Spain would result in a stalemate due to Spain having larger number of soldiers, yet inferior equipment, but Portugal having better equipment being supplied from Britain but lack of soldiers to fight bigger Spain.
Ottoman were clearly part of the European sphere, and dominated a great huge deal of European territory, also their capital Istanbul is located in Europe and not in the Middle East. During this time, Ottomans Europeanized and did rejected anything culturally that made them seem Middle Eastern. The Ottomans were indeed the sickman of Europe.
Spain was lucky that the great powers did not consider them as such, to be honest Spanish Empire was in a much more horrible state in the late 19th century compared to the Ottoman Empire. Ottomans had far more land. Both countries suffered from inflation and poor trade deals.
Well Spain did let Hitler escape to Argentina in 1945! Even Stalin didn't believe he died in the bunker story.
Don't be an idiot, obviously it was aliens in the Vatican that helped Hitler escape through the fourth dimension.
You're all fools. WW2 was entirely fabricated and never happened.
Wolfram is called Tungsten.
I love listening to this stuff especially when stoned ,his narration is spot-on and scratches beneath the surface of Europe during World War II.
Spain ,Turkey and expecially Finland all came out the other side of the war unscaved ,except for Finland who were very very lucky indeed!
Franco of Spain showed some balls standing up to Hitler and denying him access to the Gibraltar Straits, fair play to him.
Good for Spain. Glory be to Francisco Franco.
hoi4 is out what’s your option on it?
Your video link at about 7:15 doesn't seem to work, it's just an image.
it's on the right side, not the left, just checked, it should be there (at least it is in the back-end)
and thank you!
You're right it's on the right, I've not come across that setup before.
Am I blind or in the picture thumbnail it says Spain under France?