Editor says, what if Benito Mussolini had been able to commit more resources to the Regia Marina? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the July 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.

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Editor says, in our timeline with the defeat of the Republic in 1939, he fled to France, resigned his office, and died in exile shortly afterwards.. Please note that in authoring this post we have repurposed a considerable amount of content from Wikipedia.

Scott Palter commented on 2012-06-29 06:24:23 ~ French considered this several times and French intervention would have ended the war.

Chris Oakley commented on 2012-06-29 16:06:52 ~ I'd like to hear further details on how the Spanish Civil War ended this quickly.

Scott Palter commented on 2012-06-29 17:03:38 ~ Franco almost took Madrid in OTL. Hypothesize that Adolph uses the Franco revolt as an excuse to dump some of his unwanted [Jews, Catholics etc.] and sends a light division of WW1 vets [their families hostage to their good behavior]. Madrid falls. The French intervene to avoid being surrounded by fascists on three sides. Franco had no way to fight the French and the Republic had no way to refuse this 'gift'. Partition and exchange of prisoners follows.

Matthew Dattilo commented on 2012-06-29 17:32:37 ~ Great AH! Lends credence to the Italian commitment of resources for naval construction later in the timeline.

Scott Palter commented on 2012-06-29 18:55:51 ~ Yes but that was the purpose. To get a larger Italian anything Italy has to not finish going bankrupt from a three year war in Spain. The easiest way to do so has Madrid falling. This pushes France to actually intervene instead of playing Hamlet and pondering intervention at endless length. Hitler had a fair number of surplus Jews. Franco was already using Moroccans so adding Jews is not out of line. Hitler also had a coven of Catholic officers from von Schleicher's group that were not trusted. Putting together a storm division of WW1 vets and some hastily trained younger men would be child's play. The German fleet could easily transport such a force [say 10K men with a few field guns] to Cadiz. Given the chaos of revolutionary Madrid one division capable of street fighting and the city falls.

Mike McIlvain commented on 2012-10-16 06:00:39 ~ Had this happened, it would be very interesting to see who would have run Spain after World War II. Franco, or the allies, the French, or someone else. I have been to Spain 12 times, and can seriously wonder how it would have effected that country. It is hard to find a lot o positives about Franco's tenure, other than that he did invest some time and money into the infrastructure.

Eric Oppen commented on 2012-10-16 09:16:09 ~ There were separatist movements already in Catalonia and the Basque country, and I wouldn't doubt that others existed.

Scott Palter commented on 2012-10-16 11:56:47 ~ Odds are the partition holds. Remember that roughly half the country rose for the Nationalists. Given a choice of church burners or reactionaries they willingly chose reactionaries. Franco called up the reservists as he advance north. Few deserted and few of those who did deserted to the Republicans/Reds. So Franco rules a state called Spain with a capital of Madrid. Catalonia and the Basque Country are independent states. Possibly Galicia as well. There is also a Spanish Republic with a partially to totally Stalinist government centered on Valencia.