Originally posted by Falcon Horus
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The significance of the Spanish Civil War was that it was essentially a precursor of World War II. The Germans and the Italians were on the side of Franco's nationalists while the USSR and the Communist International were on the side of the Republicans; USA was neutral. It was in Spain that the German-made tanks and warplanes first clashed against the Russian-made ones, and it was the success of the Nationalists which made Britain and France fearful of Germany and Italy's war preparedness and enabled the Munich agreement. There were large numbers of foreign volunteers fighting on both sides. Many weapons systems which played crucial role in World War II were first deployed and tested in Spain as well. The first combat use of German 88 mm anti-aircraft guns, for example, was in Spain by the Condor Legion, and their use against tanks, fortifications and for infantry support was pioneered there. The year after Spanish Civil war ended the 88 Flak guns were used to devastating effect against British Matilda tanks and Russian KV, both of which were all but invulnerable to then-standard 37mm anti-tank artillery. The Russian I 16 fighter planes proved superior to the German Heinkel fighters in the Spanish war, which led to the Germans adopting the famous Messerschmitt BF 109 as the main Luftwaffe weapon. Basically, the future Axis and Allies sent their weapons and personnel into Spain to gain experience and had a preview of what the future clash would look like.
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