Britain, Military Intellectuals and the Experience of the Spanish Civil War

Abstract

The historiography on the European reaction to the Spanish Civil War has been dominated by studies of the ‘lessons learned’ by the major European powers. However, these studies take a narrow approach, looking primarily at tactics and technology and excluding the ideological element. This article aims to reexamine the debate on the Spanish Civil War by comparing the military assessments made by British military attachés with the views of three ‘military intellectuals’ who experienced the Spanish Civil War first hand: the war correspondent, Major-General J.F.C. Fuller; the officer in the British Brigade, Tom Wintringham; and, the Republican staff officer, F.O. Miksche.