Foreign involvement in the Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War had large numbers of non - Spanish citizens participating in combat and advisory positions . The governments of Germany , Italy , - - and to a lesser extent Portugal — contributed money , munitions , manpower and support to Nationalist forces led by Francisco Franco . The government of the Soviet Union , and to a lesser extent France and Mexico , likewise aided the " Loyalist " or " Republicans " of the Second Spanish Republic . The aid came even after all the European powers had signed a Non - Intervention Agreement in 1936 . While individual sympathy for the plight of the Spanish Republic was widespread in the liberal democracies however , pacifism and the fear of another world war prevented them from selling or giving arms . The Nationalist pleas meanwhile were answered within days by Hitler and Mussolini . International non - intervention . Non - intervention had been proposed in a joint diplomatic initiative by the governments of France and the United Kingdom , responding to antiwar sentiment . France was also worried that the civil war in Spain might spread to France . It was part of a policy aimed at preventing a proxy war , and escalation of the war into a major pan - European conflict . On 3 August 1936 , Charles de Chambrun presented the French government ' s non - intervention plan ; Galeazzo Ciano promised to study it . The British , however , accepted the plan in principle immediately . The following day , it was put to Nazi Germany by André François - Poncet . The German position was that such a declaration wasn ' t needed . A similar approach was made to Russia . On 6 August , Ciano confirmed Italian support in principle . The Soviet government similarly agreed in principle , so long as Portugal was included , and that Germany and Italy stop aid immediately . On 7 August , France unilaterally declared non - intervention . Draft declarations had been put to German and Italian governments . Such a declaration had already been accepted by the United Kingdom , Belgium , the Netherlands , Poland , Czechoslovakia and Russia , renouncing all traffic in war material , direct or indirect . The Portuguese Foreign Minister , Armindo Monteiro , was also asked to accept , but held his hand . On 9 August , French exports were suspended . Portugal accepted the pact on 13 August , unless her border was threatened by the war . On 15 August , the United Kingdom banned exports of war materiel to Spain . Italy agreed to the pact , signing on 21 August . Although a surprising reversal of views , it has been put down to the growing belief that countries could not abide by the agreement anyway . On the 24th , Germany signed . The Soviet Union was keen not to be left out . On 23 August , it agreed to the Non - Intervention Agreement , and this was followed by a decree from Joseph Stalin banning exports of war material to Spain , thereby bringing the USSR into line with the Western Powers . Non - Intervention Committee . It was at this point that the Non - Intervention Committee was created to uphold the agreement , but the double - dealing of the USSR and Germany had already become apparent . The ostensible purpose of the committee was to prevent personnel and matériel reaching the warring parties of the Spanish Civil War , as with the Non - Intervention Agreement . The Committee first met in London on 9 September 1936 . It was chaired by the British W . S . Morrison . Charles Corbin represented the French , Italy by Dino Grandi , and the Soviets by Ivan Maisky . Germany was represented by Ribbentrop ; Portugal , whose presence had been a Soviet requirement , was not represented . The second meeting took place on 14 September . It established a subcommittee to be attended by representatives of Belgium , Czechoslovakia , France , Germany , Italy , the Soviet Union , Sweden and the United Kingdom to deal with the day - to - day running of non - intervention . Among them , though , the United Kingdom , France , Germany and Italy dominated , perhaps worryingly so . Soviet non - military aid was revived , but not military aid . Meanwhile , the 1936 meeting of the League of Nations began . There , Anthony Eden convinced Monteiro to have Portugal join the Non - Intervention Committee . Álvarez del Vayo spoke out against the Non - Intervention Agreement , claiming it put the rebel Nationalists on the same footing as the Republican government . The Earl of Plymouth replaced W . S . Morrison as British representative . Conservative , he often adjourned meetings – to the benefit of the Italians and Germans – and the Committee was accused of an anti - Soviet bias . On 12 November , plans to post observers to Spanish frontiers and ports to prevent breaches of the agreement were ratified . France and the United Kingdom became split on whether to recognise Franco ' s forces as a belligerent as the British wanted , or to fail to do as the French wanted . This was subsumed by the news that the Italian and German governments had recognised the Nationalists as the true government of Spain . The League of Nations condemned intervention , urged its council ' s members to support non - intervention , and commended mediation . It then closed discussion on Spain , leaving it to the Committee . A mediation plan , however , was soon dropped . The Soviets met the request to ban volunteers on 27 December , Portugal on 5 January , and Germany and Italy on 7 January . On 20 January , Italy put a moratorium on volunteers believing that supplies to the Nationalists were now sufficient . Non - intervention would have left both sides with the possibility of defeat , which Germany , Italy and Russia in particular were keen to avoid . Control plan . Observers were posted to Spanish ports and borders , and both Ribbentrop and Grandi were told to agree to the plan , significant shipments already having taken place . Portugal would not accept observers , although it did agree to personnel attached to the British Embassy in Lisbon . Zones of patrol were assigned to each of the four nations ; an International Board was set up to administer the scheme . There were Italian assurances that Italy would not break up non - intervention . In May , the Committee noted two attacks on the patrol ' s ships by Republican aircraft . It iterated calls for the withdrawal of volunteers from Spain , condemned the bombing of open town s , and showed approval of humanitarian work . Germany and Italy said they would withdrawn from the Committee , and from the patrols , unless it could be guaranteed there would be no further attacks . Early June saw the return of Germany and Italy to the committee and patrols . Following attacks on the German cruiser " Leipzig " on 15 and 18 June , Germany and Italy once again withdrew from patrols , but not from the Committee . This prompted the Portuguese government to remove British observers on the Spain – Portugal border . the United Kingdom and France offered to replace Germany and Italy , but the latter powers believed these patrols would be too partial . Germany and Italy requested that land controls be kept , and belligerent rights be given to the Nationalists , so that rights of search could be used by both the Republicans and Nationalists to replace naval patrols . A British plan suggested that naval patrols would be replaced by observers in ports and ships , land control measures would be resumed . Belligerent rights would only be granted when substantial progress was made on volunteer withdrawal . It culminated in a period during 1937 when all the powers where prepared to give up on non - intervention . By the end of July , the Committee was in deadlock , and the aims of a successful outcome to the Spanish Civil War was looking unlikely . Unrestricted Italian submarine warfare began on 12 August . The British Admiralty believed that a significant control effort was the best solution to attacks on British shipping . It was decided by the Committee that naval patrols did not justify their expense and would be replaced with observers at ports . The Conference of Nyon was arranged for all parties with a Mediterranean coastline by the British , despite appeals by Italy and Germany that the Committee handle the piracy and other issues the conference was to discuss . It decided that French and British fleets patrol the areas of sea west of Malta , and attack any suspicious submarines . Warships that attacked neutral shipping would be attacked . Eden claimed that non - intervention had stopped European war . The League of Nations did report on the Spanish situation , noting the ' failure of non - intervention ' . On 6 November , the plan to recognise the Nationalists as belligerents once significant progress had been made was finally accepted . The Nationalists accepted on 20 November , the Republicans on 1 December . On 27 June , Maisky agreed to the sending of two commissions to Spain , to enumerate foreign volunteer forces , and to bring about their withdraw . The Nationalists wished to prevent the fall of the favourable Chamberlain government in the United Kingdom , and so were seen to accept the plan . National non - intervention . United Kingdom and France . The United Kingdom proclaimed itself neutral ; however , the British establishment were strongly anti - communist and tended to prefer a Nationalist victory . The ambassador to Spain , Sir Henry Chilton , believed that a victory for Franco was in the establishment ' s best interests and worked to support the Nationalists . British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden publicly maintained the official policy of non - intervention but privately expressed a preference for a Nationalist victory . Eden also testified that his government " preferred a Rebel victory to a Republican victory . " Admiral Lord Chatfield , British First Sea Lord at the time of the conflict , was an admirer of Franco and , with government support , the British Royal Navy favoured the Nationalists during the conflict . As well as permitting Franco to set up a signals base in Gibraltar , a British colony , the Germans were allowed to overfly Gibraltar during the airlift of the Army of Africa to Seville . The Royal Navy also provided information on Republican shipping to the Nationalists , and was used to prevent the Republican navy shelling the port of Algeciras . The German chargé d ' affaires reported that the British were supplying ammunition to the Republicans , as well as passing on information about Russian arms shipments to the Germans . During the fighting for Bilbao , the Royal Navy supported the Nationalist line that the River Nervión was mined , telling British shipping to keep clear of the area - and were badly discredited when a British vessel ignored the advice and sailed into the city , finding the river unmined as the Republicans had claimed . Despite this , the British government discouraged activity by its ordinary citizens supporting either side . There was popular support in both countries for the plan , although whilst in the United Kingdom the Labour Party was strongly in favour , the political left in France wanted to directly aid the Republicans . The Labour Party would reject non - intervention in October 1937 . The British Trades Union Congress was split . Both the British and French governments were aware of the First World War . France was reliant on British support in general . Blum believed that support for the Republic would have led to a fascist takeover in France , and ultimately no change in Spain . In the United Kingdom , part of the reasoning was based on an exaggerated belief in Germany ' s and Italy ' s preparedness for war . The Anglo - French arms embargo meant that the Republicans ' chief foreign source of matériel was the USSR while the Nationalists received weapons from Italy and Germany . The last Republican prime minister , Juan Negrín , hoped that a general outbreak of war in Europe would compel the European powers , mainly the United Kingdom and France , to finally help the Republic , but World War II would not commence until months after the Spanish conflict had ended . Ultimately neither the United Kingdom nor France intervened to any significant extent . The United Kingdom supplied food and medicine to the Republic , but actively discouraged the French government of Léon Blum from supplying weapons . Claude Bowers , the American Ambassador to Spain , was one of the few ambassadors friendly to the Republic . He later condemned the League of Nations Non - Intervention Committee , saying that each of their moves had been made to serve the cause of the rebellion , and that ' This committee was the most cynical and lamentably dishonest group that history has known . ' Winston Churchill , initially an enthusiastic supporter of non - intervention , was later to describe the workings of this committee as ' an elaborate system of official humbug . ' Following the withdrawal of Germany and Italy from patrols , the French considered abandoning border controls , or perhaps leaving non - intervention . However , the French were reliant on the British , who wished to continue with patrols . The United Kingdom and France thus continued to labour over non - intervention ; whilst they judged it effective , some 42 ships were estimated to have escaped inspection between April and the end of July . In trying to protect non - intervention in the Anglo - Italian meetings , which he grudgingly did , Eden would end up resigning from his post in the Foreign Office . On 17 March 1938 , French Socialist Premier Léon Blum reopened the border to arms traffic and Russian arms flowed in to the Republicans in Barcelona . The United Kingdom and France recognised the Nationalist government on 27 February . Clement Attlee criticised the way it had been agreed , calling it ' a gross betrayal . . . two and a half years of hypocritical pretence of non - intervention ' . United States . The U . S . saw Soviet involvement in the 1931 ouster of the Spanish monarchy , though there is little evidence of significant involvement . In 1931 , Herbert Hoover was President of the United States . The U . S . was thus hostile to the new Republican government . Tensions escalated when the Manuel Azaña government expropriated the pro - fascist ITT Corporation . When the Civil War erupted after the failed right - wing coup , Secretary of State Cordell Hull moved quickly to ban arms sales to the Spanish government , forcing the Popular Front to turn to the Soviet Union for support . From the outset the Nationalists received important support from some elements of American business . The American - owned Vacuum Oil Company in Tangier , for example , refused to sell to Republican ships and at the outbreak of the war , the Texas Oil Company rerouted oil tankers headed for the republic to the Nationalist controlled port of Tenerife , and supplied gasoline on credit to Franco until the war ' s end . On 5 August 1936 , the United States had made it known that it would follow a policy of non - intervention , but did not announce it officially . This isolationism on the Spanish war would later be identified as disastrous by Under - Secretary of State Sumner Welles . Five days later , the Glenn L . Martin Company enquired whether the government would allow the sale of eight bombers to the Republicans ; the response was negative . It also confirmed it would not take part in several mediation attempts , including by the Organization of American States . President Franklin D . Roosevelt ruled out US interference with the words ' [ there should be ] no expectation that the United States would ever again send troops or warships or floods of munitions and money to Europe ' . On 6 January , the first opportunity after the winter break , both houses of Congress in the United States passed a resolution banning the export of arms to Spain . Those in opposition to the bill , including American socialists , communists and even many liberals , suggested that the export of arms to Germany and Italy should be halted also under the Neutrality Act of 1935 , since foreign intervention constituted a state of war in Spain . Cordell Hull , continued to doubt the extent of German and Italian operations , despite evidence to the contrary . At the same time , the automakers Ford , Studebaker , and General Motors provided a total of 12 , 000 trucks to the Nationalists . After the war was over , José Maria Doussinague , who was at the time undersecretary at the Spanish Foreign Ministry said , " without American petroleum and American trucks , and American credit , we could never have won the Civil War . " Support for the Nationalists . Italy . The Italians provided the " Corps of Volunteer Troops " . The use of these troops supported political goals of the German and Italian fascist leaderships , tested new tactics and provided blooding so they would be ready for battle in any future war . The Italian contribution amounted to over 60 , 000 troops at the height of the war . The involvement helped to increase Mussolini ' s popularity . Italian military help to Nationalists against the anti - clerical and anti - Catholic atrocities committed by the Republican side worked well in Italian propaganda targeting Catholics . On July 27 , 1936 the first squadron of Italian airplanes sent by Benito Mussolini arrived in Spain . The government of Fascist Italy participated in the conflict via a body of volunteers from the ranks of the Italian Royal Army ( " Regio Esercito " ) , Royal Air Force ( " Regia Aeronautica " ) , and Royal Navy ( " Regia Marina " ) formed into an expeditionary force known as the Corps of Volunteer Troops ( " Corpo Truppe Volontarie " , CTV ) . The maximum number of Italians in Spain , at one time , fighting for the Nationalists , was 50 , 000 in 1937 . Probably a total of 75 , 000 Italians fought in Spain for the Nationalists . Italians also served in the Spanish - Italian Flechas Brigades and Divisions . The airborne component of Aeronautica pilots and ground crew were known as " Aviation Legion " ( " Aviazione Legionaria " ) and the contingent of submariners as Submarine Legion ( " Sottomarini Legionari " ) . 6 , 000 Italians are estimated to have died in the conflict . " The New York Times " correspondent in Seville , Frank L . Kluckhohn , reported on 18 August that " . . . the presence of the Italian destroyer " Antonio da Noli " here means that an ally has come to help the insurgents . " The Italian Government sent large amounts of material aid to the Nationalists . This aid included : 91 Italian warships and submarines also participated in and after the war , and sank about 72 , 800 tons of shipping , and lost 38 sailors killed in action . Italy presented a bill for £80 , 000 , 000 ( $ 400 , 000 , 000 ) in 1939 prices to the Francoists . Italian pilots flew 135 , 265 hours during the war , partook in 5 , 318 air raids , hit 224 Republican and other ships , engaged in 266 aerial combats , and reported to have shot down 903 Republican and allied planes , and lost around 180 pilots and aircrew killed in action . Germany . Despite the German signing of a non - intervention agreement in September 1936 , various forms of aid and military support were given to both sides by Nazi Germany , almost all in support of the Nationalist faction . It included the formation of the Condor Legion as a land and air force , with German efforts to move the Army of Africa to mainland Spain proving successful in the early stages of the war . Operations gradually expanded to include strike targets , and there was a German contribution to many of the battles of the Spanish Civil War . The bombing of Guernica on 26 April 1937 would be the most controversial event of German involvement , with perhaps 200 to 300 civilians dead . German involvement was also made through various other means , including Operation Ursula , a U - boat undertaking , and contributions from the Kriegsmarine . The Condor Legion spearheaded many Nationalist victories , particularly in the air dominance from 1937 onwards ; 300 victories were claimed , dwarfed by some 900 claimed by Italian forces . Spain provided a proving ground for German tank tactics , as well as aircraft tactics , the latter only being moderately successful – ultimately , the air superiority which allowed certain parts of the Legion to excel would not be replicated because of the unsuccessful Battle of Britain . The training they provided to Nationalist force would prove as valuable , if not more so , than direct actions . Perhaps 56 , 000 Nationalist soldiers were trained by various German detachments in Spain , who were technically proficient ; these covered infantry , tanks and anti - tank units , air and anti - aircraft forces , and those trained in naval warfare . Probably a total of 16 , 000 German citizens fought mostly as pilots , ground crew , artillery men , in tanks , and as military advisers and instructors . About 10 , 000 Germans was the maximum at any one time . Perhaps 300 were killed . German aid to the Nationalists amounted to approximately £43 , 000 , 000 ( $ 215 , 000 , 000 ) in 1939 prices . This was broken down in expenditure to : 15 . 5 % used for salaries and expenses , 21 . 9 % used for direct delivery of supplies to Spain , and 62 . 6 % expended on the Condor Legion . ( No detailed list of German supplies furnished to Spain has been found . ) Nationalist foreign volunteers . Volunteer troops from other countries fought with the Nationalists but only a few as national units . Among the latter were Eoin O ' Duffy ' s 700 strong Irish Brigade and the 500 strong French Jeanne D ' Arc company of the Spanish Foreign Legion , formed mostly from members of the far - right Croix de Feu . Approximately 8 , 000 Portuguese , known as Viriatos , fought for Franco although never as a national unit . Another 1 , 000 volunteers from countries as diverse as Spanish Guinea , Brazil , Norway , Belgium , the UK , and Australia fought in the Nationalist ranks . In 1937 General Franco turned down separate offers of national legions from Belgium , Greece , and exiled White Russians made by foreign sympathisers . Ion I Moţa , Romanian deputy - leader of the Legion of the Archangel Michael ( or Iron Guard ) , led a group of seven Legionaries who visited Spain in December 1936 to ally their movement to the Nationalists with the presentation of a ceremonial sword to survivors of the Alcazar siege . While in Spain the Legionaires decided , against the orders given to them in Bucharest , to join the Spanish Foreign Legion . Within days of joining Moţa and Vasile Marin ( another prominent Legionary ) were killed on the Madrid Front at Majadahonda . After the ostentatious funerals of Ion Moţa and Vasile Marin , they became a prominent part of Legionary mythology . Irish volunteers . Despite the declaration by the Irish government that participation in the war was illegal , around 250 Irishmen went to fight for the Republicans and around 700 of Eoin O ' Duffy ' s followers ( " The Blueshirts " ) went to Spain to fight on Franco ' s side . Both sides were former IRA members . On arrival , however , O ' Duffy ' s Irish contingent refused to fight the Basques for Franco , seeing parallels between their recent struggle and Basque aspirations of independence . They saw their primary role in Spain as fighting communism , and defending Catholicism . Eoin O ' Duffy ' s men saw little fighting in Spain and were sent home by Franco after being accidentally fired on by Spanish Nationalist troops . International . Due to the anti - clericalism and the murder of 4 , 000 clergy and many more nuns by the Republicans , many Catholic writers and intellectuals cast their lot with Franco , including Evelyn Waugh , Carl Schmitt , Hilaire Belloc , Roy Campbell , Giovanni Papini , Paul Claudel , and those associated with the Action Française . Others , such as Jacques Maritain , François Mauriac , and Georges Bernanos initially supported Franco but later grew disenchanted with both sides . Many artists with right - wing sympathies , such as Ezra Pound , Gertrude Stein , Salvador Dalí , Wyndham Lewis , Robert Brasillach , and Pierre Drieu La Rochelle voiced support for the Nationalists . Brasillach collaborated with Maurice Bardèche on his own " Histoire de la Guerre d ' Espagne " and the protagonist in Drieu La Rochelle ' s novel " Gille " travels to Spain to fight with the Falange . Wyndham Lewis ' s " The Revenge for Love " details what he saw as the Communist intrigue leading to war . Support for the Republicans . USSR . Due to the Franco - British arms embargo , the Government of the Republic could receive material aid and could purchase arms only from the Soviet Union . To pay for these armaments the Republicans used US $ 500 million in gold reserves . At the start of the war the Bank of Spain had the world ' s fourth largest reserve of gold , about US $ 750 million , although some assets were frozen by the French and British governments . The Soviet Union also sent more than 2 , 000 personnel , mainly tank crews and pilots , who actively participated in combat , on the Republican side . Mexico also aided the Republicans by providing rifles and food . Other countries ( see below ) aided the Republican side through sale of weapons and through volunteer military units . Throughout the war , the efforts of the elected government of the Republic to resist the Nazi and Fascist armies and the rebel army were hampered by Franco - British ' non - intervention ' , long supply lines and intermittent availability of weapons of widely variable quality . The British and French naval embargo allowed Germany and Italy to reinforce their armies in Spain ; the embargo hampered only the Soviet efforts to arm the legitimate Republican government . The Soviets claim to have 537 Volunteers who served in Spain . The maximum number of Soviets in Spain at any one time is believed to have been 700 , and the total during the war is thought to have between 2 , 000 — 3 , 000 . Estimates for Soviet pilots who took part in the conflict are given at 1 , 000 . The Republic sent its gold reserve to the Soviet Union to pay for arms and supplies . That reserve was worth £63 , 000 , 000 ( $ 315 , 000 , 000 ) in 1939 prices . In 1956 , the Soviet Union announced that Spain still owed it $ 50 , 000 , 000 . Other estimates of Soviet and Comintern aid totaled £81 , 000 , 000 ( $ 405 , 000 , 000 ) in 1939 value . The German military attache estimated that Soviet and Comintern aid amounted to : Much of this material was purchased in France , Czechoslovakia , the United States , the United Kingdom and Mexico . Mexico furnished $ 2 , 000 , 000 in aid , and another $ 2 , 000 , 000 came from the United States for humanitarian purposes . President Lázaro Cárdenas saw the war as similar to Mexico ' s own revolution although a large part of Mexican society wanted a Nationalist victory . The rest of Latin America sympathized with the Nationalists or was neutral . The Republic was continuously swindled and short - changed in its purchases . Modern research conducted after the collapse of the Iron Curtain shows that Poland was second after the USSR in selling arms to the Republic . In the autumn of 1936 , indeed , Poland was the only nation to offer arms to the Republic in any quantity . At that time the Republic was in great need as the Nationalists were at Madrid . The Republic also made poor buys for ammunition . The arms trade has a standard that with every rifle , 1 , 000 rounds of ammunition are included ; with every machine gun , 10 , 000 rounds are included ; and with every artillery piece , 2 , 400 shells should be included . Otherwise the hardware quickly becomes useless for lack of ammunition . A great bulk of the purchases fell far short of this standard . Soviet foreign policy considered collective security against German fascism a priority , the Comintern had agreed a similar approach in 1934 . It walked a thin line between pleasing France and not being seen to hinder the World revolution and communist ideals . This was also the time of the first significant trials of the Old Bolsheviks in Russia . Soviet press and opposition groups were entirely against non - intervention ; Mexico . The Mexican Republic supported fully and publicly the claim of the Madrid government and the Republicans . Mexico refused to follow the French - British non - intervention proposals . President Lázaro Cárdenas saw the war as similar to Mexico ' s own revolution although a large part of Mexican society wanted a Nationalist victory . Mexico ' s attitude gave immense moral comfort to the Republic , especially since the major Latin American governments — those of Argentina , Brazil , Chile , and Peru — sympathized more or less openly with the Nationalists . But Mexican aid could mean relatively little in practical terms if the French border were closed and if the dictators remained free to supply the Nationalists with a quality and quantity of weapons far beyond the power of Mexico . Mexico furnished $ 2 , 000 , 000 in aid and provided some material assistance , which included a small amount of American - made aircraft such as the Bellanca CH - 300 and Spartan Zeus that served in the Mexican Air Force . International . Volunteers from many countries fought in Spain , most of them on the Republican side . About 32 , 000 men and women fought in the International Brigades including the American Lincoln Battalion and Canadian Mackenzie – Papineau Battalion , organized in close conjunction with the Comintern to aid the Spanish Republicans . Perhaps another 3 , 000 fought as members of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( CNT ) and the Workers ' Party of Marxist Unification ( POUM ) militias . Those fighting with POUM most famously included George Orwell and the small ILP Contingent . While not supported officially , many American volunteers such as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fought for the Republicans . ' Spain ' became the cause célèbre for the left - leaning intelligentsia across the Western world , and many prominent artists and writers entered the Republic ' s service . As well , it attracted a large number of foreign left - wing working class men , for whom the war offered not only idealistic adventure but also an escape from post - Depression unemployment . Among the more famous foreigners participating on the Republic ' s side was George Orwell , who went on to write about his experiences in " Homage to Catalonia " . Orwell ' s novel " Animal Farm " was loosely inspired by his experiences and those of other members of POUM at the hands of Stalinists when the Popular Front began to fight within itself , as were the torture scenes in " Nineteen Eighty - Four " . Ernest Hemingway ' s novel " For Whom the Bell Tolls " was inspired by his experiences in Spain . George Seldes reported on the war for the " New York Post " . The third part of Laurie Lee ' s autobiographical trilogy , " A Moment of War " , is also based on his Civil War experiences . Norman Bethune used the opportunity to develop the special skills of battlefield medicine . As a casual visitor , Errol Flynn used a fake report of his death at the battlefront to promote his movies . In the Philippines , a pro - Republican magazine named Democracia had writers including anti - fascist Spaniards and Filipino - Spaniards as well as Filipino progressives like Pedro Abad Santos , chairman of the Socialist Party , and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay of the Philippine Independent Church . < ref name = " http : / / www . timawa . net / forum / index . php ? topic = 13679 . 0 ; wap2 " > < / ref > International Brigades . Probably 32 , 000 foreigners fought in the International Brigades ( which probably never exceeded 20 , 000 at any one time ) . An estimated 3 , 000 volunteers fought in other Republican forces during the conflict . Additionally , about 10 , 000 foreigners participated in medical , nursing , and engineering capacities . The International Brigades included 9 , 000 Frenchmen , of whom 1 , 000 were killed ; 5 , 000 Germans and Austrians of whom 2 , 000 died , and also about 3 , 000 from Poland at the time . The next highest number was from Italy with 3 , 350 men . Then came the United States ( 2 , 800 men with 900 killed ) and the United Kingdom ( 2 , 000 with 500 killed ) . There were also 1 , 500 Czechs ; 1 , 500 Yugoslavs ; 1 , 500 Canadians ; 1 , 000 Hungarians and 1 , 000 Scandinavians , about half of whom were Swedes . The rest came from a " claimed " 53 countries . Seventy - six Swiss were killed and 90 Mexicans fought . It has been estimated that between 3 , 000 to 10 , 000 of the volunteers were Jewish . About 200 volunteers were from Palestine ( of Jewish and Arab origin ) . Approximately one third of Irishmen who fought for Republicans died , a group composed primarily of socialists , trade unionists , and former IRA members . The " Connolly Column " of the International Brigades was named after the Irish socialist leader executed after 1916 Easter Rising , James Connolly . Patriotism invoked to oppose " the invader " . Patriotism was invoked by both sides and the struggle presented as one of the Spanish people against the foreign invasion . The instrumental use of nationalism on the republican side came from the communists . The heroic Spanish people were to rise against foreign invasion directed by traitors belonging to the upper classes , the clergy and the army , now at the service of the ' fascist - imperialist world coalition ' . The " true " Spain was represented by the lower classes ; - outside the " nation in arms " were bourgeois traitors , the fascists , the clergymen , and " false revolutionaries " ( dissident communists , radical anarchists , etc . ) ' serving fascism ' . With the exception of the anti - Stalinist communists of the POUM , nationalist rhetoric developed by the PCE soon extended to other left - wing and republican literature . Republican propaganda made use of pre - existing icons depicting foreigners in certain ways . The Italians were presented as effeminate , cowardly and presumptuous , the Germans as arrogant . The Foreign Legionnaires were an international mob of criminals and thieves . Cartoons in the republican press often depicted the rebel army as a multinational gang of foreign mercenaries . The presence of Moorish troops was exploited from the outbreak of the conflict and Moorish troops presented as black - faced , barefoot , hungry , and eager to steal and kill . " The Moors were supposedly wild and cowardly , uncivilized and anxious to rape white women . Only a few appeals during the first months of the war were aimed at convincing the ' Moorish proletarian brother ' to desert . " Spanish nationalist sentiment was used by the rebels to present the struggle as one for the " patria " and its Catholic essence which was supposed to be under the threat of becoming a ' Russian colony ' , the fault of traitors and ' international agents ' . ' Anti - Spain ' was embodied by liberalism , atheism , freemasonry , international Jewry and regional separatism . The communist invader was a dehumanised foreigner - the ' wolves of the Russian Steppes ' . A legionnaire officer emphasised that the war was one ' of Spaniards against Russians ! ' Francoist propaganda presented the enemy as an invading army , or as the puppet of foreign powers . The involvement of Moorish troops in a Catholic crusade was explained as that of defenders of religion in the face of the godless , the anti - clerical , the anti - Islamic , and a common religious rival ( the Jews ) - and they were forced to ignore the previous Moroccan war propaganda that had presented Moors as brutal and savage . The presence of Italian and German troops on the rebels ' side was hidden as much as possible . Foreign correspondents . Foreign press coverage of the Spanish Civil War was extensive , with around a thousand foreign newspaper correspondents working from Spain .