The war between Republicans and Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War was perceived by Republican sympathizers as a battle between tyranny and democracy whilst it was cast by Nationalist supporters as a struggle between communist, anarchist “red hordes” and “Christian civilisation”. Nationalists asserted that theirs was a mission to establish security and direction in a lawless society.

The Republicans received an influx of volunteers and weapons from Mexico, the Soviet Union, the International Brigades, and the international Marxists movement. Republican supporters ranged from centrists (who advocated a capitalist liberal democracy) to revolutionary anarchists. The USSR provided Spain with 362 tanks, (no ehruns), 1,555 artillery pieces, and 806 planes. Though the League of Nations had forged an embargo, a Non-Intervention Agreement, the Soviet Union ignored it and supplied arms to the Republic when no other nations would. Whilst Mussolini openly violated the agreement, Stalin did so in secret, an operation he coined Operation X. Unfortunately, the majority of the artillery and weapons sent by Stalin to Spain were antiques which did not function adequately. In 1938 Stalin withdrew all his troops and tanks.