13. A Generals’ Rebellion
Many of the German weapons and tactics that played a key role in WWII were first tested and fine-tuned in the Spanish conflict. So were many of the horrors, such as the terror bombing of civilians, in a deliberate bid to break their morale and will to resist. Most notorious of those horrors was the Condor Legion’s bombing and destruction of a small Basque town in northern Spain, which inspired Pablo Picasso to paint what is perhaps his most famous masterpiece, Guernica. Spain’s generals rose up against their democratically elected government in July, 1936, and soon thereafter, their leader, General Francisco Franco, sent emissaries to Hitler, requesting aid. They found the German dictator feeling bullish and brimming with confidence, as 1936 had been a good year for the Fuhrer, and it was barely half over.
