was Spain an Allie of Germany?

Question

if Spain was an Allie of Germany why was Gibralter not invaded

wow thanks you guys .

Answer 1

Spain was an ALLY of Germany.

While Francisco Franco did not enter Spain in the war on the side of the Axis, and Spain declared neutrality on Sept. 1st, 1939, he let Spanish volunteers join the German Army. Hitler approved the use of Spanish volunteers (June 24th, 1941 - and soon there were four infantry regiments that comprised the Heer's (Wehrmacht) 250 Infantry Division. This unit served in Russia (from August 1941 - October 1943) with the German 16th Army Group, Army Group North.

The British wisely maintained Gibraltar as a fortress since 1704. Franco planned to attack Gibraltar with German help (Operation Felix), but the plan never took place after the invasion of Russia made greater demands on the German military.

Answer 2

[edit] The case of Spain
Main article: Spain in World War II

Spanish StateGeneralísimo Francisco Franco's Spanish State gave moral, economic, and military assistance to the Axis powers, while nominally maintaining neutrality. Franco described Spain as a "nonbelligerent" member of the Axis and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941 with Hitler and Mussolini.

Franco had won the Spanish Civil War with the help of Germany and Italy. Spain owed Germany over $212 million for supplies of matériel during the Spanish Civil War, and Italian combat troops had actually fought in Spain on the side of Franco's Nationalists.

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Franco immediately offered to form a unit of military volunteers to join the invasion. This was accepted by Hitler and, within two weeks, there were more than enough volunteers to form a division - the Blue Division (División Azul in Spanish) under General Agustín Muñoz Grandes.

Additionally, over 100,000 Spanish civilian workers were sent to Germany to help maintain industrial production to free up able bodied German men for military service.

Answer 3

In WWII Spain was officially neutral but before the war started the Germans had used their air force to support the fascists and practiced bombing on helpless Spanish cities they sup[plied both troops and air force personnel (the Condor Legion))to assist the fascists.In WWII Spain actually sent troops to fight alongside the Germans on the Russian front but at no time actually joined the Axis alliance with Germany,Japan and Italy.Gibraltar was a major base and was extremely well defended and if attacked by Spain would have brought retaliation by the British against a country which had just undergone a civil war and where obviously the beaten side in that war would no doubt have used it has an opportunity to start fighting against Francos fascists with British and allied support

Answer 4

To the extent of allowing volunteers to fight for the Germans, yes. To the extent of offering genuine aid to the Germans, no. Hitler wanted to send German troops to reduce Gibraltar, and was refused. Hitler did one of his temper-dances and shouted, "We're going to get nothing out of that little man!" (Franco). Hitler was also furious that nothing was done to stop revictualling of Gibraltar from Spain.

The Spanish civil war was rather more complicated than some of the other answers suggest. Both sides were coalitions: on the government side, there were Communists, Anarchists, some Liberals, Trotskyists etc. On the Nationalist side there were Falangists (of whom some were Fascists), most of the Catholic organisations (though the Dominicans came out, rather indecisively, for the Government), Royalists and some Liberals. These factions were composed mainly of educated people and trades unionists in the cities. Most of the common people in the countryside took no side, and were conscripted to fight for whichever army had local control. That there was no popular enthusiasm for either cause is shown by the fact that conscription was necessary, and also by the fact that neither army had trouble with the populations it controlled in the rear of the front line. The police and the Civil Guard seem to have cooperated with whichever side held an area.

One of the reasons why Franco won despite, at the outset, controlling no major industrial centre, was that he was adept at manipulating the unwieldy coalition that made up his faction, whereas infighting between different trades union groupings and different political parties seriously handicapped his opponents.

Although authoritarian and at times violent, Franco was not really a Fascist. There were certainly Fascists in the Falange, and he had to work with them, but he could not come out openly and ally Spain with the Axis without antagonising the Royalist and Catholic sections of his coalition. The Catholics, after seeing what happened in Italy and Germany, would have been anti, and the Royalists were in any case only putting up with Franco as being marginally better than the Socialists. At a time when Spain was only just coming together after a three years' war, it was not politically possible to engage in another war on either side.

I is also said, how truly I don't know, that Franco's mother had Jewish blood (the rumour was spread about in Madrid in the civil war, but may only have been an attempt to smear an enemy), and so he was suspicious of Hitler. It was one thing accepting aid: it would have been quite another to allow the German army across the frontier.

So the answer is a bit vague. Franco probably did not care who won the war, but found it convenient to get rid of some unemployable ex-members of his army to die on the Eastern Front (nice guy, Franco), and beyond that was for staying out and trying to rebuild a rather shattered country.

Answer 5

Officially Spain was Netural. However it did support the Facist regiemes of Italy and Germany as much as it could.
Operation Felix, the Invasion of Gibraltar from Spain was considered by Germany, but for the allowance of troops to pass through Spain, or for Spain to enter the conflict, France placed a high price tag on his terms and conitions to allow this.
Germany even considered attacking Spain and Portugal to ensure the Western Med was closed and to open more bases for the Krigsmarine, but cooler heads prevailed as a Fascist Power attacking another would not have looked good.

Answer 6

Spain was an ideological ally of Germany, but remained neutral during the war. Hitler asked Franco permission to invade Gibraltar through Spanish territory, but Franco said NO.
It was a very risky decision. Hitler might have invaded Spain, like he did with Italy, but Franco took that risk

Answer 7

officially neutral but partial Spain was a major refuelling and restocking point for uboats,also the Spanish police and
imtelligence services actively helped Nazi agents tracking down and deporting or executing people considered enemies of the reich. Gibralter was not invaded because they could not invade without infringing Spanish soveriegnity -Spain claimed Gibralter also they just could not
physically manage to do it

Answer 8

The Spanish were friendly with Germany but not a combatant nation in the second world war. Prior to the second world war there was a civil war in Spain between the Basque republicans and Franco's nationalists. Germany was aiding Franco, while the Soviet Union was aiding the republicans. Following the civil war, it is possible the Spanish did not want to be involved in fighting again so soon

Answer 9

Having just come through the Civil War, Spain chose to be 'neutral' during WWII. Since Franco was the first of the fascists (Franco, Il Duci, Hitler) and the German airforce practised their aerial bombing in Spain in support of Hitler, Spain's neutrality was somewhat suspect.
Legend has it that Gibraltar will remain in British hands until the Barbary apes leave the rock..

Answer 10

Spain wisely chose nuetrality in public...but Franco was in bed with Hitler