Intervention in the French Civil War

**Intervention in the French Civil War, or** **Italian-Spanish Intervention in the French Revolution**, was a political crisis staged between Spain, Italy and the various fighting factions in France, eventually culminating in the creation of a military alliance between Italy and Spain, and the occupation of French territories and colonies by both countries.

This event would go on to greatly destabilize the French Fourth Republic, being a main catalyst for the fall of the French Left, which once stayed united during the war. By the new year of 1936, the only remanent of the French United Front is the Communard Coalition, made up of the dominating syndicalist French Labor Party, a vast array of trade unions, the French Communist Party and the French Section of the International.

## Background

### Split of Western politics, rise of Italy & fall of France

Arguably, the conditions for such a political crisis that evolved out of France into Spain, Italy, Britain and Russia goes back to 1919 with the fall of the British, German and American states. Out of the revolutions and wars, Spain and Italy gained significant power, not only by fulfilling land claims or by military dominance but by regional authority as well. With much of the world falling to the allure of radical politics throughout the 1920s, both Italy and Spain, while avoiding collapse, were vulnerable.

Both Spain and Italy in that decade tightened their diplomatic relations with one and another, while those countries took out increasingly authoritative measures to ensure the power of their monarchs. Socialists and nationalists were increasingly sidelined and censored, and the tireless work paid off. By the time of the 30s, Italy remains a valuable and stable force in Europe, while Spain is still destabilized due to a growing tide of republicanism and radical socialism.

France, for its part, was unsuccessful in ensuring the political stability of its republic. The radical approach of the far-right coupled with the influence of the SFIO, syndicalist trade unions and the PCF was uncontrollable and by the early 30s many were fearing a national meltdown of the country to be imminent. With the revolt of the CGT in Northern France, Spain and Italy, unexpectedly supported by the British, found themselves in a tough situation.

## Breakout of revolution

### Anti-Socialist paranoia

While initially supporting the Republicans in their effort to fight the far-left, supplying them with guns, manpower and material, it soon became clear that the Republicans were too disorganized to put up a meaningful fight. With loss after loss on the mainland, Italian and Spanish leaders met in Rome in late January to discuss the plausible possibility of a Communard victory. Should France fall to the far-left, it would almost signify the dominance of Western socialism that Italy and Spain had feared for so long, but it wasn’t just the Mediterranean states which had much to lose. Britain and Russia, reeling from the wars of the 1910s and the 20s, would see their power and influence wane if France drifted into the sphere of the German Union, which it most likely would.

### British & Russian involvement

In early February, with socialist momentum building, British and Russian advisors were also sent to Italy as a way to discuss any possible way of limiting Communard offensives, but there were issues with involving themselves in the war. Other than Spain and Italy, Britain and Russia were still not fully recovered from the civil wars they suffered years prior, and couldn’t see their own populations getting behind this foreign involvement. Eventually, just one week into discussions, both London and Moscow resigned their delegates as a way to safeguard their government’s image in the eyes of the people. War was still a touchy subject, and both Oswald Mosley and Lavr Kornilov, as authoritative as they were, feared losing popular and even military support through involvement, but both countries would go on to sign trade agreements with Italy and Spain, using them as a bulwark against the socialist International.

### Abandonment of the 3rd Republic

With the far-left decimating the 3rd Republic and its military, those in Rome knew something had to be done. Preparations for a total war were initially made but scrapped, knowing the futility in fully involving themselves in the revolution. Instead, seeing the writing in the wall, even before the fall of Paris, Rome and Madrid withdrew their forces, seeing it as a futile endeavor to stop the Red Tide, but instead a new plan was made, one which would turn out to be surprisingly effective in weakening the French socialists.

### Operation Avalanche

With the gamble of propping up the 3rd Republic seemingly lost, a new plan emerged in the Italian capital, which would involve a rapid capture of various French colonies and neighboring provinces. While initially disliked, it was soon favored over all other ideas, specifically because it would establish Italian/Spanish political dominance over that of the socialists. Seeing the gradual return of Germany on the world stage, Italy and Spain’s main concern would be to keep the new country docile and compliant.

On March 25th, after weeks of rushed negotiations, and after one week of the declaration of the Fourth Republic of France, Operation Avalanche began. With the mutual support of the Spanish and Italian militaries, the Operation only lasted two days, but it was swift and effective. Immediately, the Italian navy occupied Nice, Ajaccio and Tunis, while the army invaded the French provinces of Savoy, Corsica and Tunisia. Around the same time, the Spanish army, stationed in the northwest and northeast of the French border, moved into French territory, occupying the French Basque region and Roussillon. Despite the rush and heavy gamble on Avalanche, it turned out to be a success. In a twist of irony for France, they proved powerless to stop and even defend their lands from Italy and Spain. As the 3rd Republic was driven out the mainland, yet fighting remained for several months, the 4th Republic made the controversial move to recognize Italian and Spanish occupation, upsetting much of the French population. For now, Tunisia, Corsica, the French Basque and Roussillon were indefinitely stripped from the Republic.

## Aftermath

The Operation, as chaotic as it was, became a high victory, not just for Italy and Spain but for Russia and the United Kingdom in their ideological principles of anti-socialism. For the first time, the Third International was heavily weakened and forced back in their political objectives of world revolution which seemed unstoppable for the German Union. The Italian and Spanish states politically profited in ways unseen in decades. Italian Irredentism was finally achieved under the Kingdom, almost cementing the King’s rule as legitimate. Spain was shaky and unstable even as they gained new colonies and Gibraltar following the Cairo War, but after Operation Avalanche, the Spanish monarchy saw its highest jump in support in years, temporarily forestalling Republican influence in the country.

For France, this was a humiliation too high to bear. The occupation left deep scars in the national pride of France, which became a major reason for the start of the French-African War, as the Parisian government became stubbornly unwilling to lose their colonial holdings and territories after such a loss. The invasion, coupled with an increasingly divided government, created a schism in late December of 1935. The Communard Coalition holds the majority in the French parliament and senate, representing what seems as a bygone era of early revolutionary politics.