Customer Reviews

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

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3 star:		(1)
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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.

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.

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!

I heartily endorse this book. It is a comprehensive and detailed description of the battle of the Ebro in 1938, as well as the events that led to the Spanish Civil War.

One of the main reasons why I find this book appealing is, that it is the only Osprey book on the Spanish Civil War I have read so far that can be described as neutral in a political sense. Most other books such as Patrick Turnbull The Spanish Civil War 1936-39 (MAA 74) - appear to automatically portray Franco and his followers as the good guys in the conflict, on the grounds that their adversaries consisted mostly of anarchists and various socialist fractions.

Historians who attempt to rehabilitate Franco's reputation often tend to overlook the fact that whereas the Republicans generally tried to avoid unnecessary acts of brutality during the war, the Nationalists did exactly the opposite. Mass killings, rapes, looting and wanton destruction were commonplace as they terrorised the civilians in the newly conquered areas, trying to discourage them from putting up a resistance. The repression of political opponents continued virtually throughout the duration of the Franco regime.

The fact that Franco fought communism is no reason to glorify him. After all, Hitler did the same, but the homicidal aspects of his politics are so blatantly obvious that it would be quite impossible to depict him as anything resembling a heroic figure. In my opinion, defending Franco is as outrageous from an ethical point of view as it would be to defend Hitler, Mussolini or Stalin.

The Ebro 1938 does not deal with war crimes in any sense on either side of the conflict but neither does it attempt to side with the Francists. That's good enough for me.