Prelude to War

The scope of this book is confined to the international aspects of the Spanish civil war. It is primarily a study in international relations at a crucial period in the inter-war years. The separate military campaigns of the civil war itself, the political situation in Spain, and the historical forces that gave rise to the conflict have only been sketched in the opening chapters as a background to the diplomatic relations which took place among the European nations as a result of the civil war. The history and causes of the conflict itself are dealt with fully and authoritatively in the publications of scholars such as Gerald Brenan, Salvador de Madariaga, E. Allison Peers and Franz Borkenau in England, Alfred Mousset and Robert Brasillach in France and E. J. Hughes in the United States. It is the most serious handicap in dealing with contemporary history that it is impossible to write a definitive work because all the necessary documentation has not appeared. Nevertheless, many new facts have emerged in this study on the basis of mate­ rial published in the last ten years. Stories that were thought to be true at the time can now be supported or refuted by document­ ary evidence. There is proof in Serrano Su er's memoirs, for example, relative to the plotting of the civil war by the Spanish generals which corroborates the account of General Mola's secretary, Jose Ibarren.