Republican Army and People's Front

[en.wikipedia.org]

[en.wikipedia.org]

[en.wikipedia.org]

[en.wikipedia.org]

[en.wikipedia.org]

[en.wikipedia.org]

[en.wikipedia.org]

Local tanks used by the Republican Government

arrived at Cartagena in 1936. They quickly entered combat just two weeks after, near the town of Seseña. These tanks were superior to the national side armored vehicles, and the nationals decided to give 500 pesetas for each T-26 captured from the republicans.T-26 were sent to Spain during the war, being the most numerous tank of the conflict. Most, if not all, were T-26B.BT tanks fought on the Republican side, manned by members of the International Brigades trained in the USSR and by some Soviet tankists. They were probably the fastest tanks in the war. Their first combat was disastrous and 13 were lost due to bad tactics. Some of them were also captured by the nationalists. The first armored vehicle of the Spanish army, the Renault FT-17 tank, was widely popular in Europe and the Spanish Government bought one from France in 1919. After succesful tests, in 1921 more were bought, armed with 7,7mm guns. This helped Spain modernize their army during the heavy losses from the Rif War and they were stationed in Morocco until 1930. They were also used during anti-riot activites in Spain in the early 30's. Only 10 of these tanks were operational at the start of the Civil War, 5 of wich were instantly captured by the nationalists. Poland and France also sent the Republic at least 30 tanks of this model during the war. Six of this french tanks from the Great War were sold to Spain in 1921, and were used during the Rif War. One of them survived the Civil War and is currently the oldest tank still operational.