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The Localization of the Spanish War

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Francis O. Wilcox
Francis O. Wilcox
Affiliation:
University of Louisville
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Extract

In July, 1936, none of the Great Powers wanted a European war. But, as in 1914, the preceding three or four years had brought in their wake a series of incidents and developments which increased tension considerably and made statesmen realize that a general war was far from impossible. The armaments race, the Italo-Abyssinian affair, the remilitarization of the Rhine zone, the Franco-Soviet alliance and the resulting denunciation of Locarno by Germany, the growth of nationalism and dictatorship, the increasing hostility of bolshevism and fascism, the apparent breakdown of world peace machinery—to mention only a few aspects of the situation—produced considerable pessimism about the chances for keeping the peace. On July 1, 1936, M. Blum, speaking in the League Assembly, emphasized “with what serious apprehension France views the present situation.” “The world at this moment,” he said, “is not a world of peace … We feel the atmosphere growing heavy; we see the shadow looming. Everywhere the world is arming … For the first time in eighteen years, a European war is once again looked upon as a possibility.”

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 1938 , pp. 237 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1938

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References

1 Official Journal, Special Supplement No. 151, p. 28.

2 Le Temps, July 25, 1936.

3 London Times, July 30, 1936.

4 Ibid., Aug. 5, 1936.

5 Cf. Frankfurter Zeitung, July 26, 27, 31, 1936.

6 London Times, July 31, 1936.

7 Le Temps, July 30, 1936.

8 Note dated Aug. 1, 1936, in L'Europe Nouvelle Documentaire, No. 55.

9 London Times, Aug. 7, 1936.

10 Cf. ibid., Aug. 8, 1936.

11 Ibid., Aug. 17, 1936.

12 Ibid., Aug. 20, 1936.

13 See La Documentation Internationale, Nos. 32–33, pp. 18–20.

14 Texts in L'Europe Nouvelle Documentaire, No. 44. For an analysis, see Padelford, N. J., “The International Non-Intervention Agreement and the Spanish Civil War,” American Journal of International Law (cited as A.J.I.L.), October, 1937, pp. 580 ff.Google Scholar

15 See the Italian reservation concerning “indirect non-intervention”; also those of Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Turkey, Yugoslavia, and Rumania.

16 Oppenheim, L., International Law, 1926, II, p. 475Google Scholar. My italics.

17 Convention on Maritime Neutrality (Article 16) adopted at Havana in 1928. Hudson, M. O., International Legislation, IV, p. 2408Google Scholar.

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24 The Rumanian government, for example, declared that “it constitutes a particular case which cannot create a precedent and which does not imply, for the Rumanian government, the obligation of recognizing the principle that a legal government cannot obtain, at its demand, the assistance of another government against a rebellion.”

25 Besides Spain, Switzerland is the only European state not a member. Because of the nature of the permanent neutrality of the Confederation, Switzerland adopted non-intervention measures of her own.

26 For the position of the United States, see Finch, G. A. in A.J.I.L., Jan., 1937Google Scholar.

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28 Communiqué of Committee, Sept. 9, 1936.

29 Document Cmd. 5300, Spain No. 2 (1936). For an analysis of this material, see N. J. Padelford, cited above.

30 Communiqué of Committee, Sept. 21, 1936.

31 Text in L'Europe Nouvelle Documentaire, No. 56, p. 1.

32 London Times, Oct. 10, 1936.

33 Communiqué, Oct. 9, 1936.

34 See, for example, Communiqué, Oct. 28, 1936.

35 London Times, Aug. 8, 1936.

36 Ibid., Oct. 6, 1936.

37 See above, p. 242.

38 Communiqué, Dec. 2, 1936.

39 La Documentation Internationale, No. 34, p. 44. See also London Times, Dec. 8, 1936.

40 Texts in L'Europe Nouvelle Documentaire, No. 57.

41 London Times, Dec. 28, 1936.

42 L'Europe Nouvelle Documentaire, No. 57.

43 It was reported from Berlin that the final decision “may be drawn out … until one more desperate effort has been made by General Franco's forces on the present basis.” London Times, Jan. 1, 1937.

44 Ibid., Jan, 11, 1937.

45 Text in L'Europe Nouvelle Documentaire, No. 57.

46 Le Temps, Jan. 16, 1937.

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48 For examples, see Bulletin of International News, XIII, pp. 503, 506, 605, 608, 645Google Scholar.

49 Text in L'Europe Nouvelle Documentaire, No. 58.

50 Le Temps, February 20, 1937; London Times, Feb. 22, 1937.

51 See also the Portuguese note of August 21, 1936, and the statement of the Italian representative on September 14, 1936, in La Documentation Internationale, Nos. 32–33, pp. 20, 28.

52 Ibid., p. 35.

53 Communiqué, Oct. 28, 1936.

54 The air control project was omitted, since certain states had not approved.

55 Text in London Times, Feb. 22, 1937.

56 Document Cmd. 5399, Spain No. 1 (1937).

57 Ibid., p. 19.

58 Document Cmd. 5399, pp. 4–5.

59 Ibid., pp. 11, 19.

60 One officer in case of small ships.

61 See Document Cmd. 5399, Sec. IV. Vessels complying with the regulations were to fly a special pennant.

62 Ibid., p. 9.

63 London Times, March 23, April 22, 1937.

64 Germany's action was undoubtedly drastic, for it is generally agreed that a state should resort only to those reprisals which are “as mild and delimited as the exigencies of the remedial requirements will permit.” See Stowell, E. C., International Law, pp. 480 ff.Google Scholar

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65 Ibid., June 14, 1937.

66 Text of Communiqué in London Times, July 17, 1937.

67 Communiqué in London Times, June 23, 1937.

68 Germany declared she was “not willing to expose her naval forces, while entrusted with an international task, to further target practice off Red Spain.” Text in London Times, June 24, 1937.

69 Text in New York Times, Sept. 15, 1937.

70 Confirmed by the London Protocol, November 6, 1936.

71 The London Treaty provides that submarines, like warships, “except in the case of persistent refusal to stop on being duly summoned, or of active resistance to visit or search … may not sink or render incapable of navigation a merchant vessel without having first placed passengers, crew, and ship's papers in a place of safety.” Text in Hudson, V, p. 417.

72 New York Times, Sept. 18, 1937.

73 An Associated Press dispatch of November 11 indicates that between 30 and 40 Italian warships finally joined the patrol, which for nearly two months had been made up of some 150 British and French ships.

74 According to the New York Times (Sept. 30, 1937), Italian ships were to patrol Italy's own coast line, the Tyrrhenian Sea about Sardinia, and the coast of Libya.

75 Two such attacks in January, 1938 (the first incident of the kind in over two months), caused the British government to propose a “quarantine” of submarines in the Mediterranean so that all submarines found outside Spanish territorial waters would be “classified as pirates and be liable to attack as soon as located.” See United Press Reports for February 2, 3, 1938.

76 Communiqué in London Times, March 24, 1937.

77 Ibid., May 27, 1937.

78 Monthly Summary of the League of Nations, May, 1937, p. 98Google Scholar.

79 Document Cmd. 5521, Spain No. 2 (1937).

80 For the limitations, see ibid., pp. 4–5. Such restrictions on the normal exercise of belligerent rights seem wholly outside the pale of existing international law.

81 Text in London Times, July 15, 1937. Included were combatants, prisoners of war, arms-makers, etc., as well as all “those whose activities are in any way susceptible of prolonging or embittering the present conflict.”

82 Communiqué, London Times, July 21, 1937.

83 See Prize Cases (1862) 2, Black, 635.

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86 On November 29, 1937, following an announced blockade of Loyalist ports by the Insurgents, the British government denied the right of Franco to blockade Spain or to attack merchant ships in or out of Spanish waters until belligerent rights had been granted. New York Times, Nov. 29, 30, 1937.

87 The French plan included immediate withdrawal of volunteers, limited belligerent rights, a proportional “token” withdrawal, and the perfection of the control system.

88 New York Times, October 17, 21, 1937.

89 Ibid., October 27, Nov. 3, 1937. United Press reports of November 5 announced the unofficial acceptance of the withdrawal project by both parties in Spain.

90 During December and January (1937–38), the Sub-Committee held a number of meetings to study the mechanics of withdrawal, but so far little progress has been made. On January 11, for example, the question as to what constitutes “substantial withdrawal” was still unsettled. New York Times, Jan 12, 1938.

91 Ibid., Nov. 9, 1937.

92 By December 1, 1937, seven states—Japan, Germany, Italy, Albania, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua—had formally recognized the Franco régime. Austria and Hungary followed in January. New York Times, Jan. 13, 1938.

93 O'Rourke, V. A. in A.J.I.L., July, 1937, p. 413Google Scholar.

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95 Minutes of the 95th (Extraordinary) Session of the Council, p. 19.

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97 Monthly Summary of the League of Nations, May, 1937, p. 98.

98 New York Times, Sept. 21, 1937.

99 Article XV, par. 8, excludes matters of “domestic jurisdiction.”

100 Art. 17.

101 See Bulletin of International News, XIII, p. 495Google Scholar. On December 11, 1937, Italy's intention to withdraw from the League was announced.

102 See above, p. 242.

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105 In the words of Mr. Chamberlain (June 25, 1937), Great Britain's policy “has been consistently directed to one end and to one end only—namely, to maintain the peace of Europe by confining the war to Spain.” London Times, June 26, 1937.

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