Franco Quotes

“Above all, Franco understood how to take advantage of opportunities when they arose. His natural caution and conservatism proved particularly valuable during the civil war, as did the lessons he took from years of service in Morocco.”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator

“The undeniable tactical skills and successes of the twentieth-century German military often obscure a greater truth: in wars the Germans always met defeat.”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator

“And in a more general context, after World War I, many air force leaders had come to see civilians as legitimate targets, often advocating far more massive and deadly attacks than those that actually took place on Spanish soil.”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator

“The most famous bombing of Republican territory occurred at the hands of German and Italian pilots at Guernica in the Basque Country on 26 April 1937 and inspired Pablo Picasso to paint his famous artistic protest against the war. In Madrid, Barcelona, and elsewhere civilians”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator

“Widespread violence against civilians also demonstrated that the Spanish Civil War was, sadly enough, not a unique case in modern history: such terror has been a common component in many civil wars, including those in twentieth-century Russia, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Finland.”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator

“The seizure of the church and other lands and the closing of Catholic schools were among the developments that deeply disturbed many Spaniards on the Right. With these conditions as a backdrop, even the ever-cautious Franco finally agreed to participate in an attempt by other military officers to take over the country.”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator

“During the first part of the 1930s, Spain saw the fall of its monarchy, its first democracy, a major revolutionary insurrection, an attempted military coup, growing street violence, and an array of evolving political parties and coalitions.”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator

“Like more than a few of his colleagues, he believed the Spanish army—or at least the sector of the army that shared his outlook—to be the true representative of the Spanish nation.”
― Geoffrey Jensen, Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator