The Influence of Naval Power on the Course of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

The Spanish Civil War was a proving ground for new military technologies--but it also served to reaffirm fundamental strategic and geographic principles. In this essay written at the U.S. Army War College, Commander Kersh argues that the Republican cause lost because it was unable to control the sea lines of communication that have always been so important to Spain. The cover photo shows the German pocket battleship ADMIRAL SCHEER in Gibraltar in 1936.