Bombing of Barcelona facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bombing of Barcelona |
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| Part of the Spanish Civil War | |||||||
.jpg) Aerial photo of bombs exploding in Barcelona |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spanish Republic |
 Nationalist Spain Italy Germany |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Andrés García Calle |
Vincenzo Velardi |
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| Strength | |||||||
| Anti-aircraft artillery | Unknown number of He-51 fighters Unknown number of Sa-79 and Sa-81 Italian bombers |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,000–1,300 civilians dead 2,000 civilians wounded |
None | ||||||
The Bombing of Barcelona was a series of air attacks that happened during the Spanish Civil War. These attacks were carried out by planes from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. They were helping the Franco-led Nationalist army, who were fighting against the Spanish Republic.
The bombings took place from March 16 to March 18, 1938. During these attacks, between 1,000 and 1,300 people were killed. At least 2,000 more people were injured.
Why Barcelona Was Bombed
In March 1938, the Nationalist army started a big attack in an area called Aragon. This happened after a battle in Teruel. Around the same time, the French government decided to open its border with Spain again. This allowed supplies from the Soviet Union to reach Barcelona, which was a key city for the Spanish Republic.
The leader of Fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini, decided to bomb Barcelona heavily. He did this without telling Francisco Franco first. Mussolini believed that these air raids would "weaken the spirit of the Reds," meaning the Republican side. He thought that airplanes could win a war by bombing important areas to scare people and destroy things. This type of bombing is sometimes called strategic bombing or "terror bombing." Mussolini personally ordered his air force, the Aviazione Legionaria, to bomb Barcelona continuously.
The Bombing Attacks
From March 16 to 18, 1938, Italian planes from the Aviazione Legionaria bombed Barcelona. These planes flew from Mallorca and had Spanish markings to hide where they came from.
The first attack happened at 10:00 PM on March 16. German Heinkel He 51 fighter planes were involved. After that, Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 bombers carried out seventeen more air raids. These attacks happened every three hours until 3:00 PM on March 18. On the night of March 18, areas where many working-class people lived were hit very hard. The Spanish Republican Air Force (FARE) did not send its own fighter planes to Barcelona until the morning of March 17.
Barcelona had very few anti-aircraft guns to shoot down planes. It also had no fighter planes to protect it from the air. This meant the city was almost completely defenseless. The bomber planes would fly silently at high altitudes over the city. They would turn off their engines and glide down. They only restarted their engines after dropping their bombs. This made it impossible to sound an alarm or detect the planes until after the bombs had already exploded.
The Italian forces used special bombs. Some had delayed fuses, meaning they would go through a roof and then explode inside a building. Others were a new type that exploded with a strong side force, destroying things close to the ground. Because the attacks happened in waves, one after another, the city's air raid alarms became useless. People didn't know if the sirens meant an attack was starting or ending.
The Italian bombers dropped a total of 44 tons of bombs. They were not just aiming at military targets. Their goal was to destroy factories and make the Republican side lose hope. Some historians say this was the first time in history that planes used carpet bombing, where bombs are dropped over a wide area. While they claimed to target military warehouses, arms factories, and the port, many civilian buildings, cinemas, and theaters were also hit or destroyed.
What Happened Next
Countries around the world, especially Western democracies, spoke out against the bombing. U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull said that no reason for war could make such actions right. He felt he was speaking for all Americans.
Francisco Franco, the Nationalist leader, was not told about the attacks beforehand. He was unhappy about them. On March 19, he asked for the bombings to stop because he worried about problems with other countries.
However, Benito Mussolini was very happy with the bombings. His son-in-law, Galeazzo Ciano, who was Italy's Foreign Minister, said that Mussolini was pleased. He liked that Italians had caused horror with their aggression instead of being known for peaceful things like mandolins. Ciano believed this would make Germany respect Italy more, as Germany liked "total and ruthless war."
Later that year, a British journalist named John Langdon-Davies wrote about the attacks. He had been in Barcelona during the bombings. He reported that the bombers used a "silent approach." They glided in high up to avoid being found by sound detectors. They only turned their engines back on after dropping their bombs. This meant people didn't know an attack was coming until the bombs exploded.
This tactic, along with the changing times between attacks, made people very anxious. The fear was much greater than the actual number of bombs dropped. Langdon-Davies also noted that the targets in the city had little military value. He thought the raids were a deliberate experiment. He believed Germany and Italy were practicing these tactics for future wars against countries like the United Kingdom.
In Literature
- The author Carlos Ruiz Zafón starts his book The Labyrinth of Spirits with a story about the bombing of Barcelona in March 1938.
See also
In Spanish: Bombardeos aéreos de Barcelona en marzo de 1938 para niños
