Reluctant Warriors

Republican Popular Army and Nationalist Army Conscripts in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

James Matthews

Oxford Historical Monographs

Challenges traditional political interpretations of the conflict
Provides a view of the conflict from the perspective of 'ordinary' combatants
The first history of conscription in the Spanish Civil War; aids understanding of social and military challenges both sides faced in mobilizing their populations
Contributes to an understanding of why the Nationalists won the war and the Republic lost
Draws extensively on unpublished archival material including combatants' letters: a rarity in Spanish Civil War historiography

Reluctant Warriors

Republican Popular Army and Nationalist Army Conscripts in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

James Matthews

Description

Reluctant Warriors challenges traditional political interpretations of the Spanish Civil War, and sets it in a new and immediately human light. It is a comparative study of Nationalist Army and Republican Popular Army conscripts, and analyses the conflict from the perspective of those who were involved against their will. While militants on both sides joined the conflict voluntarily, millions of Spanish men coped with the military uprising as an unwanted intrusion into their lives.

James Matthews firstly examines the climate in which both sides implemented mass conscription within their zones. He analyses the process of conscription from call-up to placement in a unit, and looks at the methods employed to motivate and maintain the morale of drafted men, as well as the approaches to discipline in the two armies. Finally, he examines situations in which men avoided front line service. These accounted for constant manpower losses on both sides, and were particularly marked for the Republic.

Reluctant Warriors reveals that the Nationalist Army managed its conscripted men better than the Republican Popular Army; a vital factor in determining the ultimate outcome of the war.

Reluctant Warriors

Republican Popular Army and Nationalist Army Conscripts in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

James Matthews

Oxford Historical Monographs

Introduction
1:Militarisation and Wartime Conscription
2:Mechanisms of Conscription
3:Mobilising Myths and Conscript Soldiers
4:Daily Life in the Trenches: Morale and Mundane Needs
5:Discipline and Loss of Morale
6:Escaping the Front: Desertion, Dissembling, and Defection
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Reluctant Warriors

Republican Popular Army and Nationalist Army Conscripts in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

James Matthews

Oxford Historical Monographs

Author Information

James Matthews, Member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA

James Matthews is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA, and received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2008. His research interests lie at the intersection of social and military history in twentieth-century Europe. He was born in Lisbon and grew up between Spain and Portugal. His next research project is a study of military volunteerism during the militia period of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.

Reluctant Warriors

Republican Popular Army and Nationalist Army Conscripts in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

James Matthews

Oxford Historical Monographs

Reviews and Awards

Winner of the ASPHS Best First Book Prize 2013

"Based on painstaking research, it makes an important contribution to knowledge in so many aspects of the military life on both sides. Even-handed throughout, it demonstrates sophisticated judgement and is written in lucid prose." - Paul Preston, War in History

"meticulously researched and engagingly written with verve and wit... What stands out throughout this compelling book is its deep commitment to archival research, with Matthews basing his conclusions on nuanced and comparative analysis of a vast array of sources gleaned from multiple archives. It is an impressive and profound model of the historian's craft. We congratulate him." - ASPHS Best First Book Prize Judges Panel

"the publication of Reluctant Warriors, James Matthewss examination of the experiences of these ordinary Spaniards drafted into the armies of both sides, is to be warmly welcomed." - Richard Baxell, English Historical Review

"a book that is certain of a place among the indispensable works on the conflict. Based on painstaking research, it makes an important contribution to knowledge in so many aspects of the military life on both sides. Even-handed throughout, it demonstrates sophisticated judgement and is written in lucid prose." - Paul Preston, War in History

"Employing an innovative and broad definition of military history, this excellent volume explores the experiences and effectiveness of the nearly two million Spaniards, over ninety percent conscripts, who were under arms during the civil war." - Michael Seidman, Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies