| A well-planned military uprising supported by conservative elements within Spain began on this day in garrison towns throughout the country, initiating the bloody Spanish Civil War (1936–39). The Nationalists, as the rebels were called, received aid from fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union, as well as from International Brigades, composed of volunteers from Europe and the United States. On the Nationalist side were most Roman Catholics, important ... |