Behind Fascist Lines: A Firsthand Account of Guerrilla Warfare During the Spanish Revolution

by Anna Starinov

Deep behind Nationalist lines during the Spanish civil war, modern guerrilla warfare came of age. In this extraordinary memoir, Russian guerrilla fighter Anna Starinov tells how it happened. . . .

Sent by Stalin with other Soviet advisers to help the Spanish overcome Franco, Anna Starinov arrived in Spain in November 1936. Originally assigned to a Russian demolitions and guerrilla-warfare expert as an interpreter, Starinov soon found herself helping him build an effective partisan army literally from scratch and acquitting herself as a talented guerrilla.

Anna helped train student guerrillas to make bombs and grenades, set ambushes, and carry out raids. Working under cover of darkness, the teams dodged enemy patrols as they pummeled the enemy in his own backyard: blowing up trains and bridges, destroying tunnels, and gathering valuable intelligence.

The Spanish revolution was ground zero for modern warfare. Breakthroughs in guerrilla techniques, weapons, and strategies were developed that would play an integral part in World War II. Anna Starinov performed a pivotal role in that enterprise and her memoir provides an inside look at that turbulent time.

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 3, 1995

Reviews

[Otto]

A female soviet demolition expert's stories of the spanish civil war. Interesting technically, culturally, and politically. Lots of anarchist bashing, most of it deserved. Displays the uneasiness of the republican government with irregular troop formations and geurilla warfare. The interactions between the soviet and spanish comrades are amusing, especially those highlighting the conflicts between the machismo of the spanish men and the ideological orientation of the new soviet woman.