The
Spanish Civil War , widely known in
Spain simply as
The Civil War or
The War , took place from 1936 to 1939 and was fought between the
Republicans, who were loyal to the democratic, left-leaning
Second Spanish Republic, and the
Nationalists, a
falangist group led by General
Francisco Franco. The Nationalists won, and Franco then ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from April 1939 until his death in November 1975.