What Book Are You Reading at the moment?

[warspite1]

Hmm so civil war no naval power both sides. Perhaps not enough institutions. I'll wait for Warspite1 answer as he has the 'book'.

warspite1

Hi gamer78, the title refers to the fact that the Nationalists and Republicans each took control of various ships of the Spanish Fleet at the outbreak of the civil war. Having done so, both sides used their ships for a variety of purposes - including blockade, shore bombardment in support of ground offensives and landings, convoy duty (both troop and supply convoys), offensive sorties etc.

When you say "no naval power both sides" this was not the case. Both sides were able to commandeer units of the fleet - albeit the split of forces was far from equal - the Nationalists for example had no submarines and only one destroyer, while they did have access to the newer cruisers.

Yes I mean by numbers. Ofcourse they've navy institutions. How many submarines and destroyers if not copright issue. And navy was that much important? Royal Navy and France let Franco cross the Gilbatar from N.Africa. Apart from navy Buenaventura Durruti's anarchists to Zaragoza interesting also to a 3rd party to civil war.

warspite1

I'm not sure what you mean by the last sentence, but to answer the first two queries:

1. The make-up changed a little over time and some ships were sunk, damaged, captured or foreign vessels were added to the OOB. However, as a rough guide the make-up of each was as follows:

Nationalists

Battleship
Espana

Heavy Cruisers
Baleares
Canarias

Light Cruisers
Cervera

Destroyers
Velasco

Submarines
None


Republicans

Battleship
Jaime I

Heavy Cruisers
None

Light Cruisers/old
Libertad
Cervantes
Nunez
Republica

Destroyers
16 either built or under-going construction

Submarines
B1 - B6
C1 - C6

In addition, various smaller vessels were employed by one or both sides

2. I'm not sure what you mean by British and French allowed the Nationalists to cross from Morocco. The Republicans were the ones fighting the Nationalists. I can't imagine, with everything going on in the rest of Europe, the British and French want to get involved in a Civil War and, at the same time, potentially get into a shooting war with the Germans & Italians....let alone find themselves fighting alongside Communists (I mean that would never happen would it )

I'd strongly recommend you give this a try if possible.

[gamer78]

Thanks for the numbers and names of the fleets. Not to judge any politics at the time but nationalists become fascists and rebublicans become communists. Even İsmet Pasha(kaiser) with Marshall aid only with progressive village institutes become communist. It was easy to become communist I think at that time.

[terminator]

OIP.png (359.52 KiB) Viewed 153 times

The Winter Warriors is a historical novel written by Olivier Norek, which focuses on the journey of Simo Häyhä, a Finnish sniper who became a national hero during the Winter War (1939-1940) between Finland and the USSR. The book highlights the resistance of the Finnish people against the Soviet invader, while drawing inspiration from dialogue and real events. The novel was shortlisted for the 2024 Prix Goncourt, highlighting its impact and relevance.

[gamer78]

From Soviet invader:
Üzeyir Hacıbəyov, Azerbaijan 'Molière'. Məşədi İbad
folk dance fascinating. Not a book but comma in history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8J1qJm ... rt_radio=1

[OldSarge]

I'm currently reading two of Antony Beevor's books:
D-Day: The Battle for Normandy and Ardennes 1944: The Battle of the Bulge.

So far, they've been very interesting.

[RFalvo69]

"Soldiers of Destruction", by Charles W. Sydnor Jr.

This is the story of the 3rd SS Division 'Totenkopf', although the author is clearly fascinated by its founder, Theodor Eicke. The division was made up of concentration camp guards, and the first part of the book is about how they were created and run. I read this book once before a long time ago, and it is incredibly absorbing and fascinating.