The more things seem to change, the more they remain the same....

The Communist Party of Spain joined with other left-wing groups using the name Popular Front and won the election of February 1936. The Spanish Fascists, called Falangists, challenged the Popular Front, which resulted in open violence. The Falangists planned a coup d’etat that involved two Spanish generals; however, the government discovered the plot and quickly reacted by discharging or prematurely retiring any officer whose loyalty was suspect. Other officers were assigned to posts outside the Spanish mainland. The latter included Generalisimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde, who was exiled to command the Canary Islands, off the west coast of Africa.

On July 18, 1936, garrisons rebelled all over Spain, and many Spanish generals joined the rebels, with the result that some of northern Spain fell to the insurgents.

After a long and bloody conflict where international brigades played important roles in the struggle between the politically opposite extreme factions, on March 27, 1939, white flags were finally seen flying over Madrid, and the city surrendered the following day. Generalisimo Franco declared the Spanish Civil War had ended on April 1, 1939 with the total defeat of the national and international communist hoards.