The Spanish Civil War was the first conflict to see real clashes between tanks, employed by both sides (at the same time, Italy was fighting in Ethiopia, employing a good number of armoured vehicles, but against an enemy with no tanks at all). Spain was thus the testing ground for modern warfare between armoured vehicles sent from Italy, Germany and Russia. The use of tanks during the Civil War only hinted at some of those aspects that would later make armoured forces one of the decisive elements on the battlefield during the Second World War. In this volume, Spanish-made prototypes and so-called 'tiznaos' will be described.

The Spanish Civil War was the first conflict to see real clashes between tanks, employed by both sides (at the same time, Italy was fighting in Ethiopia, employing a good number of armoured vehicles, but against an enemy with no tanks at all). Spain was thus the testing ground for modern warfare between armoured vehicles sent from Italy, Germany and Russia. The use of tanks during the Civil War only hinted at some of those aspects that would later make armoured forces one of the decisive elements on the battlefield during the Second World War. In this volume, Spanish-made prototypes and so-called ‘tiznaos’ will be described.

The tanks used during the Spanish Civil War are not often examined in any great detail, and are often labeled as little more than test vehicles in a convenient proving ground before World War II. But, with groundbreaking research, armor expert Steven J Zaloga has taken a fresh look at the tanks deployed in Spain, examining how future tanks and armored tactics were shaped and honed by the crews' experiences, and how Germany was able to benefit from these lessons while their Soviet opponents were not. Based on recently uncovered records of Soviet tankers in Spain and rare archival accounts, this book describes the various tanks deployed in Spain, including the PzKpfw I and the T-26.

During the Spanish Civil War, foreign military officers wrote highly elaborate reports of their experiences at the front. One was attaché Col. Stephen O. Fuqua of the U.S. Army, who had once held the rank of major general. His presence was highly unusual, for most military observers were less-experienced captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels. Fuqua’s reports contained important observations about Spanish armament and troop movements, and he managed to acquire Nationalist propaganda and information despite being situated entirely within Republican military lines. His reporting was considered so valuable that during World War II, Fuqua was tapped to be Time’s military commentator. Editor James W. Cortada brings Fuqua’s--and others’--insightful observations to light. The result is a volume of such immediacy that the reader feels transported to a time of great historical uncertainty amid the twentieth century’s great "dress rehearsal” for fascism and the conflagration of World War II.

The Spanish Civil War was the curtainraiser to World War II and involved a complex collection of forces, particularly on the Republican side. This title illustrates how diverse the Republican forces were, drawn from loyal elements of the Spanish army that rejected the appeal of the rebel generals, a wide range of volunteer regional units and political militias, and supported by volunteers from many other countries, including Great Britain, France and Germany, in units known as the International Brigades. The wide range of equipment and uniforms worn by these troops is revealed, as is, the organization of militias into conventional brigades and divisions. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork, this second part of a two-part study depicts the fighting men of the Republican forces and examples of their foreign comrades.