Franco's International Brigade: Adventurers, Fascists, and Christian Crusaders in the Spanish Civil War 1st Edition

by Christopher Othen (Author)

12 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-1849042475

ISBN-10: 1849042470

Why is ISBN important?

Trade in your item
Get a $2.13
Gift Card.

Trade in
Learn More

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Buy used On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

$14.21 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

Condition: Used - Like New

In Stock. Sold by allnewbooks

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

8 Used from $14.21

+ $3.99 shipping

Buy new On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

$24.40 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

Temporarily out of stock.
Order now and we'll deliver when available. Details

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

12 New from $14.67

| Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime

Turn on 1-Click ordering

More Buying Choices

12 New from $14.67 8 Used from $14.21

20 used & new from $14.21

See All Buying Options

Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

Foreign volunteers fought on behalf of General Franco and the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War for a right-wing cause whose aim was to smash democracy. These assorted adventurers, fascists, and Catholic crusaders were on the winning side, but their role has remained strangely hidden until now. Men from Portugal and Morocco signed on for money and adventure. General Eoin O'Duffy organised 700 Irishmen in a modern Crusade; 500 Catholic Frenchmen fought in the "Jeanne D'Arc" unit; and thirty British volunteers, including aristocrats and working-class fascists, also took up arms. Romanian Iron Guard extremists died at Majadahonda and an Indian volunteer fought in the fascist militia. There were Russians, Americans, Finns, Belgians, Greeks, Cubans, and many more. Goose-stepping alongside the volunteers were fascist conscripts from Germany and Italy, in training for the next world war. Foreigners, whether unknown individuals like British pilot Cecil Bebb or infamous figures like the German dictator Adolf Hitler, were essential to Franco's victory. Without Bebb--who flew General Francisco Franco from the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco in 1936, a journey which was to precipitate the onset of the Spanish Civil War--the war would never have started; without Hitler, Franco would never have won.

Franco's International Brigade: Adventurers, Fascists, and Christian Crusaders in the Spanish Civil War

$24.40 | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

Total price: $42.40

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:Franco's International Brigade: Adventurers, Fascists, and Christian Crusaders in the Spanish Civil… by Christopher Othen Paperback $24.40
Temporarily out of stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Frontline Madrid: Battlefield Tours of the Spanish Civil War by David Mathieson Paperback $18.00
Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

David Mathieson

2

Paperback
$18.00
Julius Ruiz

2

Paperback
$33.99
Adam Hochschild

177

Hardcover
$18.02
Michael Seidman

6

Paperback
$23.96
Ken Bradley

7

Paperback
$16.73
Stanley G. Payne

23

Paperback
$25.31

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a highly readable, engaging work that plugs a major gap in the literature on the Spanish Civil War, approaching the topic from an original angle--that of the foreign volunteers who fought on the side of Franco and the Nationalists. It systematically covers all the volunteers from each foreign country and, in the process, elaborates on the wider historical context, both in the countries in question and in Spain itself. It thereby sets the Nationalist cause in Spain in a wider context of conservative, Catholic and fascist currents in Europe and the world, explaining the importance of the conflict in the thinking and perception of members of such currents."--Dr. Marko Hoare, Kingston University

"An entertaining read which draws on many hitherto unexplored books, newspaper articles and personal sources, Franco's International Brigades offers an intriguing insight into a ragbag of extreme right-wingers, adventurers and misfits."--Michael Alpert, author of A New International History of the Spanish Civil War

"Informed, highly readable and packed with fascinating details, Franco's International Brigades is a key book for understanding the international dimensions of the Spanish Civil War--it wasn't all about romantic young men fighting for the Republic. Recommended both for newcomers to the subject and for those wishing to extend their knowledge of this most fascinating of periods in recent history."-- Jason Webster, author of ¡Guerra!: Living in the Shadows of the Spanish Civil War

About the Author

Christopher Othen studied Linguistics and Literature at university, and Law at postgraduate level. Othen has worked as a journalist, legal representative for asylum seekers and English language teacher.

If you buy a new print edition of this book (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for only $2.99 (Save 63%). Print edition purchase must be sold by Amazon. .

Start reading Franco's International Brigades on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product Details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Hurst; 1 edition (February 12, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1849042470
ISBN-13: 978-1849042475
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 1 x 5.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1092 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military
- #1640 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe
- #7534 in Books > History > Europe

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		67%
4 star		17%
3 star		8%
2 star		0%
1 star		8%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Byphoebus athanassiouon May 5, 2015

Format: Paperback

I would very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in European 20th century history. With the exception of a few minor editorial errors (which could easily be corrected ahead of a future edition of this book), the manuscript provides a very well-written, engaging and, in places, almost entertaining account of a relatively little-researched subject (that of the contribution of European nationals to the Natioalist forces' war effort in Spain). The author has clearly done a good deal of research into his subject, reflected in the many endnotes and references, in the text, to contemporary eyewitness accounts and statements. Yet, far from reading like a dry, scientific account of the Spanish Civil War, as many of the professional historians' (or military historians') extant works, the book is approachable to the amateur history enthusiast, who is bound to find it both very interesting and edifying. Besides, the book rewards careful reading, as there is a good deal more to it than the biographies of non-Spanish volunteers to the Nationalist forces in Spain, including an account of the general geopolitical context in Europe of the mid-30s as well as of the motives of Italy, Germany, Portugal and the Spanish Morrocan protectorate in becoming involved in Franco's war effort. I expect to be reading this book again in the future. One suggestion I would have is the inclusion, in the book, of a map of the Iberian Peninsula, and Northern Morocco, to enable the reader to follow, more easily, the various events detailed in the book's pages.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

excellent work on a neglected subject

Byfitzg7on July 17, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

Concise and readable overview of the Civil War and the foreign soldiers who fought for the Nationalists. It is hard to find a relatively neutral work such as this as most Spanish Civil war works of this nature seem to tend toward hagiography of the left and excoriation of the right with only limited research being provided.

Well worth the trouble to read for a different prospective on the bloody tragedy of Spanish politics and the war.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

interesting perspective

ByWilliamon July 28, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I have never read this side of the story. For some reason the communist side is glorified and the fascist side vilified. This book treats both sides and shows the bitterness that is associated with Civil War.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

... books on the Spanish civil war with many - like George Orwell’s - focusing on the role of foreign ...

ByDavid McClureon June 27, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition

Starting with the 1938 classic “A Homage to Catalonia” there has been a steady stream of books on the Spanish civil war with many - like George Orwell’s - focusing on the role of foreign volunteers fighting for the Republicans. In “Franco’s International Brigades” Christopher Othen tries to rectify this imbalance by turning the spotlight on of those foreigners who flew the Nationalist flag.

Illuminating a rogue’s gallery of adventurers, renegades and rightwing head bangers, the book contains many fascinating details about Franco’s foreign legion. Moroccan volunteers were vital in the early days of the failed coup to keep the rebellion alive; then up to 80,000 Italians waded in to capture (and administer) Majorca for the Nationalists; and later 700 Irish came to the party in a spirit of co-Catholicism, although they left early after failing to show the requisite military discipline. The coup de grace came from Germany’s Condor Legion which infamously bombed Guernica

Anyone who has written on the Spanish Civil war will recognise the danger of drowning in the alphabet soup of the myriad initials of political parties (POUM /PSOC/PSE) and the author deserves credit for not getting bogged down in the intricacies of Spanish factionalism and keeping the narrative flowing. The book is always readable written in an accessible, almost breezy style although perhaps one did not need to be reminded that Mussolini was “granite-jawed” or Hitler had a “toothbrush moustache.”

Although the command of the multi-sourced material is impressive, a better blue pencil might have amended a few slips of the pen. The occupation of the Rhineland was of course in 1936 and not 1935, British Airways (referred to by name in 1936) was not established until 1974 and George Orwell who “abandoned upper crust life” in Britain for Spain was actually living in a primitive rural cottage with no electricity or proper plumbing.

Nevertheless, this is an interesting story well told with considerable wit and erudition which merits a wider readership.

11 commentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

A secret side of the Spanish Civil War

ByAJ Granton August 1, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Given the world-wide rise of right wing populists spouting bile about refugees, immigrants, Muslims and Mexicans, Christopher Othen's immaculately researched account of the rabble rousers keen to join the fascists during the Spanish Civil War, is timely indeed. Back then the views of Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and Nigel Farage wouldn't be considered extreme in the least. Not when Franco was inspiring fighters from a dozen nations to join him.
What IS scary is that those same views are attracting disaffected voters the world over some 75 years later.
The picture painted here is far from the romance and gentlemanly battles that Hemingway served up. The passionate, yet tragically naive soldiers were needlessly sacrificed as revolutionaries plotted each other's downfall on both sides.
A highly accessible insight into how Franco harnessed the fear of communism to recruit the brigades that ultimately brought him to power for 36 years. GOP die-hards be warned!

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Interesting book

BySusan Eon July 1, 2016

Format: Paperback

Having read Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls as a teenager I have always had an interest in the Spanish Civil war so was looking forward to reading this book. I wasn’t disappointed. It is an extremely interesting account of the foreign volunteers who threw in their lot with General Franco’s Nationalists. The author’s style is easy to read and the book has given me a much clearer picture of this side of the conflict.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

The Other Side of the Story

ByStephen J. Britton June 27, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In marked contrast to the foreigners who went to Spain to fight for the Republic (and for the Soviet Union), there is not much of a story here. Mr. Othen does a creditable job of pulling the disparate threads together to weave a narrative, and his research is impressive,