Reluctant warriors : republican Popular Army and Nationalist Army conscripts in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

257 Pages·2012·1.48 MB·English

by  Matthews

RELUCTANT WARRIORS
OXFORD HISTORICAL MONOGRAPHS
Editors
p. clavin r. j. w. evans
l. goldman j. robertson r. service
p. a. slack b. ward-perkins
j. l. watts
Reluctant Warriors
Republican Popular Army and
Nationalist Army Conscripts in the
Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939
J AMES M ATTHEWS
1
3

G reat Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© James Matthews 2012
Th e moral rights of the author have been asserted
First Edition published 2012
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press,
at the address above
You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover
and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Data available
ISBN 978–0–19–965574–8
Printed in Great Britain by
MPG Books Group, Bodmin and King’s Lynn
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
For Carol, Alan, and Hannah
Acknowledgements
My long-standing interest in the Spanish Civil War stems, in part, from
growing up in Madrid and witnessing the latter part of the country’s tran-
sition to democratic stability. Spain has changed enormously since Gen-
eral Franco’s death in 1975, but the civil war and its legacy have remained
close to the surface, both in politics and society, and have frequently div-
ided Spaniards to this day. In many ways, this history is an attempt to
shed light on a diff erent and more benign Spain during the 1936–9 war—
one that is often underrepresented in traditional historiography––in
which citizens were not suffi ciently militant to fi ght and kill to impose
their political will on other Spaniards.
Many people have supported my work on Spanish history over the
years and I am delighted to have the space to thank formally those who
have helped me through this project. My research has benefi ted a great
deal from their input, although its shortcomings remain mine alone.
First and foremost, my greatest academic debt is to my doctoral super-
visor, Frances Lannon, for her excellent guidance and detailed feedback at
every stage of this project. Her constructive criticism has made this study
immeasurably richer, and it was both a challenge and a pleasure to work
under her supervision during four years as a postgraduate student. I am
also very grateful to her for taking on the role as editor for this
publication.
I am grateful to Michael Alpert and Tom Buchanan, who examined
the doctoral thesis on which this book is based, as well as Mary Vincent
for their insightful and detailed critiques that have helped sharpen my
arguments in multiple places. I would also like to thank Robert Gildea
for commenting on parts of my work in draft. I am grateful to Julius
Ruiz for his generous advice during the planning stages of this project,
and for his comments on my earlier work examining conscription on
both sides in the Spanish Civil War. Most recently, I would like to thank
Stephanie Ireland, Emma Barber, and Gunabala Saladi at Oxford Uni-
versity Press for their editorial support, and Jane Robson for her careful
copy-editing.
Oxford University, through the Sir George Labouchere Travel Grants
in Spanish Studies, provided two grants for my research. Th eir generosity
allowed me to spend a total of ten months in various archives. Th e univer-
sity’s Scatcherd European Scholarship also funded me while I researched
Republican conscripts. Furthermore, I would like to thank the Institute
Acknowledgements vii
for Advanced Study in Princeton for appointing me as a member (sup-
ported by the George F. Kennan Fund) during the 2011–12 academic
year and for providing the ideal environment to fi nalize this work.
Th is book is largely based on primary sources and the members of staff
at the Spanish archives, libraries, and museums that I consulted have
helped me navigate the wealth of material available. In particular, I want to
mention and thank Agustín Carreras Zalama at the Ávila military archive
and María José Benito de Lucas at the Guadalajara military archive.
Rosana Collepardo has shared every step of writing this book and her
love, company, and encouragement made my time at Oxford and later in
New York especially exciting and worthwhile.
Finally, I want to thank my family—my parents, Alan and Carol, and
sister, Hannah—for a lifetime of constant motivation and for providing
me with every encouragement to pursue my academic interests. Without
their unconditional support, I would not have been able to complete this
study. Th is book is dedicated to them.
J.M.
Princeton
October 2011
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
Contents
List of Illustrations x
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1. Militarization and Wartime Conscription 14
2. Mechanisms of Conscription 34
3. Mobilizing Myths and Conscript Soldiers 63
4. Daily Life in the Trenches: Morale and Mundane Needs 102
5. Discipline and Loss of Morale 137
6. Escaping the Front: Desertion, Dissembling, and Defection 180
Conclusions 216
Bibliography 224
Index 237