ABSTRACT
When news of the rebellion reached the outside world, it was greeted by a spontaneous international surge of solidarity with Republican Spain, which symbolised, particularly for those with left-wing views, a signpost to an idealistic future and a bastion of resistance to fascism—as well as being the democratically elected government. This rather diffuse support was brought into focus by the Comintern, which recruited volunteers from all over the world, whom they sent to France and thence either by sea or over the Pyrenees into Spain, where they were transported to Albacete for military training modelled on the Red Army. The earliest contingents of the future International Brigades (IBs) arrived from Marseilles in October 1936, and exiles from the totalitarian regimes ruling Germany and Italy were among the first to join their ranks. In early November they were deployed to the Madrid front, where they formed around one fifth of the defending force, and despite deficiencies in training they played a decisive role in repelling the Nationalist onslaught and preventing an abrupt conclusion of the war. Their presence exerted a beneficial effect on morale throughout the government zone out of proportion to their strength, because they demonstrated that Republican Spain was not alone but was part of an international brotherhood. It is thought that some 40,000 foreigners fought with the IBs (although one estimate puts the number at almost 60,000; Castells 1974: 377–384), and another 5,000 with the Republican forces, about 18,000 at the most being on active service at any one time. Their approximate numbers and countries of origin were as follows: https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
France
10,000
Germany and Austria
5,000
Poland and Ukraine
5,000
Italy
3,350
United States
2,800
United Kingdom
2,000
Yugoslavia
1,500
Czechoslovakia
1,500
Canada
1,200
Scandinavia
1,000
