Homage to Catalonia

[The Teacher]

Just finished reading Orwell's book on the Spanish civil war. He should have titled it "How to Lose the Revolution."

After the first few chapters it was extremely clear why Franco won the civil war. He united the far right groups while the leftists fought each other. The most heartbreaking part of the purges was the thought of POUM troops fighting at the front not knowing that they would be arrested if they came back wounded or on leave.

Franco got military aid from Germany and Italy with few strings attached, the Republican forces got captured rifles from WWI and earlier, at vastly over inflated prices (paid in gold) and at the cost of handing the political direction of the country to the Comintern.

Regardless of how you feel about politics, it is easy to see why authoritarians (statists, capitolists, etc.) have historically had an advantage over freedom fighters. They force conformity and direct the efforts of others, its all they can do really. The workers and revolutionaries act in a more sponateous manner and are also easy to co-opt by another authoritarian influence.

How many times have the freedom fighters been used as a pawn in a war between authoritarians?

Anyway, the book is a good read if you are interested in that period of history.

[Rakhmetov]

Just finished reading Orwell's book on the Spanish civil war. He should have titled it "How to Lose the Revolution."

After the first few chapters it was extremely clear why Franco won the civil war. He united the far right groups while the leftists fought each other. The most heartbreaking part of the purges was the thought of POUM troops fighting at the front not knowing that they would be arrested if they came back wounded or on leave.

Franco got military aid from Germany and Italy with few strings attached, the Republican forces got captured rifles from WWI and earlier, at vastly over inflated prices (paid in gold) and at the cost of handing the political direction of the country to the Comintern.

Regardless of how you feel about politics, it is easy to see why authoritarians (statists, capitolists, etc.) have historically had an advantage over freedom fighters. They force conformity and direct the efforts of others, its all they can do really. The workers and revolutionaries act in a more sponateous manner and are also easy to co-opt by another authoritarian influence.

How many times have the freedom fighters been used as a pawn in a war between authoritarians?

Anyway, the book is a good read if you are interested in that period of history.

It was Stalin's meddling that cost the victory of the workers. I swear everything that motherfucker Stalin touched he destroyed.

[Kamos]

It was Stalin's meddling that cost the victory of the workers. I swear everything that motherfucker Stalin touched he destroyed.

Like Nazi Germany. DURR

[Rakhmetov]

Like Nazi Germany. DURR

LOL! The Red army had nothing to do with it, eh? When the Germans invaded, Stalin retreated from view and reach of all his advisors, no one could get access to him. What a cowardly fiend!

[Kamos]

LOL! The Red army had nothing to do with it, eh? When the Germans invaded, Stalin retreated from view and reach of all his advisors, no one could get access to him. What a cowardly fiend!

I'm sure that everyone, including yourself, sees why that argument is simply terrible. As if Stalin was a coward because he didn't grab a gun and go to the front line.

[Rakhmetov]

I'm sure that everyone, including yourself, sees why that argument is simply terrible. As if Stalin was a coward because he didn't grab a gun and go to the front line.

I'm saying he was a coward because when Germany invaded he had a nervous breakdown and retreated into seclusion for a couple of weeks. That is a sign of weakness! Man of Steel ... indeed!!!

[VirgJans12]

I'm saying he was a coward because when Germany invaded he had a nervous breakdown and retreated into seclusion for a couple of weeks. That is a sign of weakness! Man of Steel ... indeed!!!

He's far from my favorite USSR leader, but he did industrialize the country in just 10 years, enabling the Soviet-Union to win the war against Germany. Coward or not. If he hadn't the Germans would have conquered Russia and there'd have been no stopping the Axis anymore by the U.S., UK, China and Canada. It's the one thing he has my eternal thanks for. On all else - screw that murderer.

[x359594]

...After the first few chapters it was extremely clear why Franco won the civil war. He united the far right groups while the leftists fought each other...

There's much more to it than what Orwell surmised. He wrote the book in 1938 when the outcome was still in doubt. Since then, there's been much research done by historians with access to US, European, Soviet and Spanish archives that complicate the picture.

Whatever else you can say about him, Orwell was honest and was ready to revise earlier opinions in light of new information. I think it's fair to say that had he lived long enough he would have contextualized his 1938 book with current scholarship.

For a more comprehensive account, read The Revolution and Civil War in Spain by Pierre Broue and Daniel Temime and The Spanish Revolution by Burnett Bolleton.

[Belleraphone]

Of course the anarchists didn't ally with them. Stalin sent out kill squads and was being VERY uncooperative with the anarchists. Stalin was a notch above Hitler, makes sense that they wouldn't want to ally with him.

[citizen of industry]

I enjoyed reading that book. Another read is Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. But I don't know much about the Spanish Civil war aside from those two books. What was the arms situation regarding the forces on the left? How many of their arms were supplied by the USSR?

Stalin purged the cream out of his army so many times that when the Germans attacked they were poorly-led, woefully under-prepared and under-trained. He ignored reports that Germany was going to attack, trusting in the non-aggression pact with Hitler, even though Hitler was virulently anti-Russian, communist and soviet. He had his nervous breakdown, but after that he did move production into Asia after the nazi's attacked, which was wise. It enabled the Russians to produce tens of thousands of T-34 tanks out of reach of the Germans, and surprise them in winter the next year.