The Ebro 1938: Death knell of the Republic (Campaign) [Paperback]

Chris Henry (Author), Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 1999 | Series: Campaign (Book 60)

Osprey's examination of the last major Republican offensive of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The Battle of the Ebro was a vitally important episode in the Spanish conflict and, although ultimately a Republican defeat it proved a severe setback for the Nationalist forces under General Francesco Franco Bahamonde. According to many historians it extended the war for an extra year. Ultimately however it was probably the death knell of the Republic; their armies lost vast amounts of men and materials and they were left incapable of defending their remaining territory effectively. The consequences for Europe were immense.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

Chris Henry has been interested in military history since he was a small boy. His interest in artillery developed whilst a volunteer worker at the Tower of London and he became Senior Curator at the Royal Armouries Museum of Artillery at Fort Nelson. Formerly the Head of Collections at Firepower!, the Museum of the Royal Artillery, he is now Curator of Explosion!, the Museum of Naval Firepower at Priddy’s Hard, Hampshire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (March 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855327384
• ISBN-13: 978-1855327382
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,006,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good account of the most famous battle of the Spanish Civi, November 7, 2000

By 

manuel sanchez - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ebro 1938: Death knell of the Republic (Campaign) (Paperback)

The book is well writen and documented. The Ebro is possibly the most famous battle of the Spanish Civil War, and some of its images are classical icons of that period of history as the Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" or the Robert Cappa's picture of the fallen militia men. Its very clear in its explanations of the strategies and the development of the actions from both parts. At the same time, it had a lot of pictures from the places were the fight took place, so the reader can grasp a very good idea of the battles.

Nevertheless it has some flaws. The most important in my opinion is the low detail of the campaing main map in page 30. Some villages, mountain ridges and roads that are later named in the text, are missing in this map. Even for a spaniard is difficult to locate those places without the help of a map. The explanation of the objetifs of the Republican side is confussed due to this lack of detail. Another is the few pictures of the leaders from both sides. In other Osprey books the leader section usually depicts a lot of pictures of the leaders, but here you can see only three and in one of them only the back of a nationalist leader instead of his face. Finally, if has the typical english mistakes with the spanish names (Is so hard to check an spanish atlas?). The most funny is the name of the source from some pictures. You can read "Partido Comunista Española" instead of "Partido Comunista Español". Well, in spanish language as opposed to english language, some things and its adjetifs have gender. For example "a red table" is in spanish a "female" thing (una mesa roja). A political party is a "male" thing. So it was delightful to check that a posible translation for the PCE is the Comunist Party of Spanish Woman.

Despite those things I recomend its lecture even for those not interested in pure military history but only in the spanish modern history.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ebro, an unknown battle, December 20, 2001

By 

derek emson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ebro 1938: Death knell of the Republic (Campaign) (Paperback)

I thought this book dealt pretty well with an unknown battle from the Spanish Civil War. Up to now there are few books on the military campaigns and this one plugs the gap.
There are a few errors in the text but judging by the bibliography the author has attempted to look at a wide range of sources.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Ebro 1938: Death Knell of Scholarship, September 19, 2001

By 

Richard E. Wynn (Calhoun, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ebro 1938: Death knell of the Republic (Campaign) (Paperback)

Many of the newly-released Osprey titles are delightful to read or expand our knowledge of less well-known subjects. This entry is neither. Its text is undistinguished, its color illustrations poor, and its technical content execrable! The latter is particularly annoying in light of claims that the author is a "curator at the Royal Armories at Fort Nelson." Obvious errors abound. Some are typographical -- "7.62mm" mortars, "60-pounder" cannon, 1910 transmuted to 1901 in the same paragraph, and the "Write" airplane engine (invented by the Right brothers)-- but this begs the question, doesn't Osprey have any editors? Weapons/equipment data are awful: one photo shows a Model 93 Mauser rifle "in 7.65 mm, the standard" (caliber). In point of fact, all 93's were made in 7x57mm which was the standard; another shows a (1937) "Lanchester submachine-gun copy." This would be a remarkable feat, since the Lanchester was invented in 1941! (The gun is a copy of a German Bergmann). Some weapons are pure fantasy: the "Czech 7.62mm Mannlicher," for example. Likewise, aircraft and tank data differ from that found in easily accessible references. Since the numbers/types of aircraft used are at variance with other sources, this makes his Order of Battle (strengths and organization) information highly suspect. If the author has a real understanding of the strategic significance of this battle, he does not make it clear to the reader. His battle analysis is awkward, and its accuracy is highly suspect. Overall, the book has no credibility and should owe several stars!