was spain in ww1

It launched a revolutionary offensive, which failed to extend beyond a rebellion in some cities, and was brutally repressed by the army, by now the guarantor of public order. Nonetheless, after his realistic description of Spain’s military power, he offered an international agenda that bore little resemblance to the realities of Spain’s situation. In the fall of 1918 the Great War in Europe was winding down and peace was on the horizon. The war greatly impacted the economic situation in Spain, producing sudden and unexpected economic growth. Moreover, participating in war would have created an unsupportable tension for the army, the corrupt political system, the outdated economic structures, and the fragile social peace, threatening the very survival of the monarchy. William P. McEvoy. google_ad_height = 60; William P. McEvoy. Although the Prussian army (which in 1870 defeated the French in the Battle of Sedan), had become a reference point and model for Spanish military reformism in the last third of the 19th century, substantial changes were not achieved. However, this attempt was unsuccessful. These are traceable back to the Spanish-American war of 1898, during which the navy was virtually wiped out and, of the Spanish colonies, Cuba was liberated and Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines were lost to America. Additionally, the public was ideologically polarised, due to internal political conflict and the division of public opinion about the war. [38] Some Allied military commanders continued to think that in this way the Western Front would be materially strengthened, supplies would be guaranteed, the flow of minerals to the Allies would be assured, and submarine activity on the coasts of Spain would end. References: Romero, España y la Primera Guerra Mundial 2002, pp. ): Roldán, Santiago / Gracía Delgado, José Luis / Muñoz y Ferrándiz, Juan Bautista et al. The larger of two countries Neutrals, neutrality and the First World War, Amsterdam 2011, pp. Forcadell, Parlamentarismo y bolchevización 1978; and Serrallonga, Joan: Motines y revolución. Lacomba, Juan Antonio: La crisis española de 1917, Madrid 1970; Forcadell, Carlos: Parlamentarismo y bolchevización. Moreover, the army was increasingly determinant in the internal political action, because of its growing instrumentalisation and involvement in politics.[13]. Spain’s lack of military resources, as well as its unfinished naval reconstruction,[14] also put its security in the hands of the Entente, with which it had signed the Cartagena Agreements (Declaraciones or Acuerdos de Cartagena) in 1907. A Falangist Blue Division did serve on the Eastern Front until mid-1943. The measure, however, was not similarly backed by liberal and conservative ministers in Maura’s government, who, despite the German defeat tried to prevent the Spanish dynastic system from collapsing. Since Spain also had solid commercial and financial links with Great Britain it grew economically dependent on Great Britain as well as France, for both raw materials and manufactured goods. Madison: The by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2015-03-20. Spain, in fact, benefited from the World War 1 after 1914. Ponce, Propaganda and Politics 2014, p. 292. in the years leading up to the Great War and remained so throughout. During his leadership, a more benevolent neutrality with the Entente developed, since after Italy’s and Portugal’s entries into the war, and that of the United States in the spring of 1917, some Francophiles, and especially Romanones, believed that Spanish neutrality was increasingly less suitable for the war’s progress and Spain’s interests. 131-169; and Neila Hernández, José Luis: España y el modelo de integración de la Sociedad de Naciones (1919-1939), in: Hispania 176 (1990), pp. In August 1914, President Eduardo Dato explained this to Antonio Maura, indicating that England and France could not reproach Spain because of the pacts between them relating to Morocco. Generally speaking, this phenomenon involved a social coding of the hostilities that had a strong impac… 357-411; Wolper, Gregg: Wilsonian Public Diplomacy: The Committee on Public Information in Spain, in: Diplomatic History 17 (1993), pp. As a neutral, Spain faced incredible difficulties. [35] The failure of Wilson's initiative and the subsequent rupture of relations between Washington and Berlin encouraged the Spanish king in his hopes to replace the American president as future arbiter in possible peace negotiations. This was in part due to Spain’s lack of industrialisation; its old-fashioned social structures; and its unrepresentative political regime. Antecedentes: Desarrollo de la Armada entre 1898 y 1936, Madrid 1978, chapters II and III, pp. Even reserves more than tripled as the war raged, and as a result, the government After the declaration of the Congress of Deputies in favour of Spanish participation in the future League of Nations, Romanones went to Paris with the – frustrated – objective that Spain should participate in some way in the Peace Conference. Díaz-Plaja, Fernando: Francófilos y germanófilos. Espías, diplomáticos y traficantes, Barcelona 2014. 472-473. This increased the difficulties of supply in Spain, and the pro-Allied policy of Romanones. El movimiento obrero español 1914-1918, Barcelona 1978; Romero Salvadó, Francisco, J.: Spain 1914-1918. 179-226; Elizalde, Mª Dolores: Los servicios de inteligencia británicos en España durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, in: Revista de Historia Militar extra 3 (2005), pp. Incited by merit promotions awarded in the war in Morocco, which they believed would damage their already grim-looking professional prospects, the Juntas demanded economic and professional improvements that included a system of promotion based strictly on seniority.[45]. The dangers of a change in Spain’s international orientation were more real than ever in the context of war, and frustrated any negotiations in Germany’s direction, as the country was implacably and inflexibly dependent on the Entente. Franco wrote to Adolf Hitler offering to join the war on 19 June 1940. The king’s decision was unsatisfactory to almost all the political parties, from the conservatives of Antonio Maura to the socialists and the Catalan regionalists of the League. Moreover, since the war, the military had actively intervened to mediate or to directly veto any government, thus increasing political instability, with the dynastic parties increasingly divided into rival factions. 529-554; Spain 1914-1918. The USA suffered 57,476 fatal army casualties during the war. It led to an agreement in October, by which Germany gave Spain six ships to compensate for its loss of tonnage. The pact of the League of Nations initially designated the representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Spain, and Greece as members of the Council, until the first elections were held. It was therefore essential that Spain remain neutral.[36]. Meanwhile, Spain contributed a passive guarantee: of not interfering in overseas territories belonging to either power. They introduced new problems, both regional and military, in a political system that was corrupt and decadent, and which showed its weaknesses and limitations when faced with the challenges from the war. Spain’s international position during the war was determined by its geography; its trade relations; internal weakness and conflict; and its military resources, all of which can help us to understand the reasons for its neutrality. On 5 December of that year, he formed a cabinet in which he retained this portfolio in addition to the presidency. Telegram from the ambassador in Spain (Willard) to the secretary of State, San Sebastián, 23 September 1918; and telegram from the secretary of State to the ambassador in Spain (Willard), Washington, 28 September 1918, Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1918. 23-24. [31], Alfonso XIII, the son of an Austrian archduchess and husband of a British princess, let himself be courted by both sides, thus hoping to improve Spain’s position as a mediator in the conflict. The subsistence crisis led to the fall of Dato’s conservative government, which had declared a neutral position based on his naive view, and was now confronted with the hard reality of the war and its scars in Spain. In World War I, the neutral countries were Argentina, Chile, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Venezuela, Sweden and Switzerland. In 1913, he contemplated the possibility of compensation in return for an active commitment with the Entente. Some of these states had territorial motivations (Italy, Greece and Romania for example, leaned to irredentism), or political motivations (the recently established Portuguese Republic, for instance, tried to gain international acceptance while dealing with internal fragility as well as external threat). The greater understanding of Spanish foreign policy during the First World War has impacted on its European context, as we can appreciate its neutrality as a common experience in other continental states. Supplement, The World War, pp. [29] The tense negotiations which followed, revealed the difficulties the Spanish faced when trying to overcome this impasse. 46-47. There was an increase in migration from the country to the cities, but even in urban centres conditions were difficult during these years. This largely dictated Spanish movements towards the Western Allies during the war. Albes, Jens: Worte wie Waffen. [15] The contenders promoted propaganda in the country, offering resources that fed and encouraged the fight over neutrality. Pardo Sanz, Rosa: España ante el conflicto bélico de 1914-1918: ¿Una espléndida neutralidad? 1725-1726. When the revolutionary general strike occurred in August 1917, the Spanish workers’ movement faced its greatest challenge so far. Cortés-Cavanillas, Alfonso XIII y la guerra del 14 1976; and Pando, Un Rey para la esperanza 2002. There was also the threat of a possible alliance – however tactical and provisional – between the army, the bourgeoisie, and the proletariat. 45-64. The increasing frequency and hostility created by in: Forner, Salvador (ed. Pando, Juan: Un Rey para la esperanza. History of Spain and Portugal: In Two Volumes. [42] The war ended a few weeks later. Moreover, Italy’s entry into the war in 1915 and Portugal’s in 1916 devalued any possible military contribution from Spain. Spain's economy had been The Regionalist League took the initiative and on 17 July called an assembly of parliamentarians in Barcelona, in which a profound constitutional reform was discussed, supported by republicans and socialists. The Catalan bourgeoisie, represented politically by the Regionalist League, tried to enforce changes in the system necessary to enable its economic strength to be recognised in political terms. 25,000 Jews passed through Spain to escape from Europe, while a few thousand remained in Spain under Spanish protection. They tried to redirect Spanish neutrality, although they could not avoid frequent tension with Berlin over submarine action against Spanish shipping. Keegan, John. Although Madrid tried to escape from the conflict, the war impacted on Spain with an explosion of exports towards new markets that had been abandoned by the fighting powers, and a fall in imports. 53-67. 2014, pp. Meaker, Gerald H.: The Revolutionary Left in Spain, 1914-1923, Stanford 1974; and the works of Romero Salvadó, Francisco J.: Spain and the First World War: the structural crisis of the liberal monarchy, in: European History Quarterly 25, 4 (1995), pp. Additionally, the mediating role of one Spanish actor, Alfonso XIII, was essential for maintaining neutrality throughout the war. 28-29. This, however, continued to be indefinite and unspecified given the limited and abstract commitment of 1907, above all because the dangers mainly came from its partners in Cartagena. The new government – led once more by García Prieto – was a coalition. 211-234; and Ponce, Javier: Propaganda and Politics: Germany and Spanish Opinion in World War I, in: Paddock, Troy (ed. 147-178; González Calleja, Eduardo: “Nidos de espías”: los servicios de información franceses en España durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, in: Revista de Historia Militar extra 3 (2005), pp. [40] Willard himself informally told the Ministry of State that in his opinion the United States did not wish to see Spain involved in the war. During WW1, Spain remained totally neutral. [25] However, Romanones began secret contacts with the Allies, instructing the Spanish ambassador in Paris, Fernando León y Castillo (1842–1918), to explore the possibility that Spain would have to obtain Tangiers, Gibraltar, and a free hand in Portugal, if it sided with the Allies. Therefore, the officials of the Barcelona infantry regiments formed groups, the so-called Juntas de Defensa, which extended throughout Spain from the middle of that year. [28] This measure was agreed upon after the first week of August, when Spain had already lost 100 sailors, and sixty ships – 20 percent of the merchant navy's tonnage. This led to a threatening statement by the Entente towards Spain, which was obliged to publish a declaration to impede the repetition of such visits. Neither Washington, nor Paris, nor London – which were also sounded out – seemed anxious to have Spain as an ally in the war, as they would gain little by it, especially as victory was in sight. During World War II, the Spanish State under Francisco Franco espoused neutrality as its official wartime policy. 328-343. As the war continued and the problems of supply increased, the public began to mobilise. This in itself can explain Spanish neutrality during the conflict, which the conservative government of Eduardo Dato (1856-1921) proclaimed from the beginning of the struggle. However, Italy’s participation alongside the Entente, beginning in May 1915, and Portugal’s as of the beginning of 1916, reduced the importance of a possible Spanish entry into the war. Ponce, Canarias en la Gran Guerra 2006, pp. The volume and the price of exports, therefore, increased significantly. Díaz-Plaja, Francófilos y germanófilos 1973; Meaker, A Civil War of Words 1988; and Fuentes Codera, España en la Primera Guerra Mundial 2014. [37] This earned the king of Spain the recognition and gratitude of the belligerent powers, to whom he wished to appear as the representative of the most important neutral country, although his desire to mediate in the peace would come to nothing. Alfonso also took up the case of the civil [33] The certainty that a peace proposal from the neutral countries would be rejected by the Entente, was the reason given by the United States to delay the decision not to support the royal offer until August of 1916. In addition, Spain had an old-fashioned and inefficient army, as it had been shown by its disastrous campaign in Melilla – border with Morocco – in 1909. World War One greatly In addition to the workers’ movement, the Catalan bourgeoisie and the army also began to rebel against the regime. It was also one of the few consensuses which could not prevent neutrality, which tried to be strict in diplomacy, became tainted with variations and orientations when it was reflected in the press, and which was connected to internal political conflict. These were the only 10 countries that were able to remain neutral throughout World War I. España, Francia y la Primera Guerra Mundial, 1914-1919, Madrid 2014; and García Sanz, Fernando: España en la Gran Guerra. Primary and secondary sources lead us to conclude that Spain had to maintain neutrality: the matter was simply non-negotiable. These agreements derived from an exchange of diplomatic notes by Spain with Great Britain and France, in which all parties agreed to maintain the territorial status quo of their respective Mediterranean and Atlantic possessions. A lack of coordination between the forces of the opposition worked in favour of the government. Public opinion became more polarised as the war increasingly impacted on Spain. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999. Southern European states such as Romania, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal initially declared neutrality, but most of them ended up fighting. Original Material © 2000-2009 Michael Duffy | Spain's imperial nation was declining; its formally huge empire diminished into a few possessions, including the Philippine Islands and the Caribbean Islands. The division of public opinion reflected the internal conflict, that was aggravated by social and economic backwardness. Although the king had been able to maintain the monarchical regime, the collapse of Maura’s cabinet in November 1918, coinciding with the end of the war, was evidence of the crisis overwhelming the liberal monarchy. Employing different approaches, pragmatic propagandists, as well as opportunists and even (frustrated) idealists, used all tools on hand. Bordejé y Morencos, Fernando de: Vicisitudes de una política naval. This was in part due to the weaker constitutional character of the Spanish government. 93-115. the most important neutral countries in Europe by 1915 as it was a : Desarrollo de la: el imperio del Rey del Rey an agriculture-based system to centred... 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