E-Book BA 108 - La Légion Condor en Espagne - 1re partie : Les unités de bombardement

Digital version of this book

In order to give Bernard Baeza some time to write his imposing story on the Battle of the Marianas, we invite you to return to Europe, to the last century of course, by tackling for the first time the civil war which ravaged Spain from the summer of 1936 to the spring of 1939. More particularly, thanks to Jean-Louis Roba, we present to you this first part which describes the training and then the operations of the aerial bombardment component of the famous Condor Legion. This unit, set up shortly after the start of the civil war, was a German force intended to help the Spanish putschists to fight the forces of the Republic whose government, democratically elected it must be remembered, hardly "pleased" the clique of generals ultimately led by Francisco Franco. This conflict, in which many see a repeat before the Second World War, literally ruined Spain. For years after this war, the population suffered numerous deprivations, both food and material, surviving in a country that had become bloodless and in many respects backward. Not to mention the fierce repression against Republican prisoners, of whom Franco regularly signed lists of names to be shot while others perished following the mistreatment suffered in captivity, during forced labor. It was not until 1975 and the disappearance of the Caudillo that Spain emerged from a dictatorship that had become exceptional in Europe (with Portugal) and which prevented it from progressing like neighboring countries. Since then, Spain has become a democratic country within the Europe of 27...