The Siege of Bilbao, 1937. Basque Culture Systematically Erased. Hitler Helps Spain in a Preview of WWII Atrocities and Experiments.
05/13/25 • 27 min
The fall of Vizcaya’s capital was both a tactical defeat and the moment the spine of Basque resistance snapped. With it went the last coordinated defense of autonomy in the north. From that point forward, there would be no organized Basque military stand, no political bargaining power, and no seat at the table in the war that continued to rage across Spain.
What followed was more than occupation; it was a deliberate and calculated dismantling of Basque nationalism. Schools were purged. Language forbidden. Symbols outlawed. Nationalist Military leaders didn’t just take territory, they moved to erase the very idea of a separate Basque identity.
That loss in Vizcaya marked more than the end of a campaign. It triggered a generational suppression that would outlast the war itself: etched into law, enforced by decree, and remembered in silence.
Bilbao. March 31 - une 19, 1937.
Spanish Nationalist Forces: ~ 50,000 Spanish, Italian, and Moroccan Troops.
Basque Republican Forces: ~ 45,000 Troops.
Additional Reading and Episode Research:
- Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War.
- Gibbs, Jack. The Spanish Civil War.
- Jackson, Gabriel. A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War.
Social Media:
www.HistorysGreatestBattles.com
Youtube | TikTok
Support The Show:
https://covertwars.com
The fall of Vizcaya’s capital was both a tactical defeat and the moment the spine of Basque resistance snapped. With it went the last coordinated defense of autonomy in the north. From that point forward, there would be no organized Basque military stand, no political bargaining power, and no seat at the table in the war that continued to rage across Spain.
What followed was more than occupation; it was a deliberate and calculated dismantling of Basque nationalism. Schools were purged. Language forbidden. Symbols outlawed. Nationalist Military leaders didn’t just take territory, they moved to erase the very idea of a separate Basque identity.
That loss in Vizcaya marked more than the end of a campaign. It triggered a generational suppression that would outlast the war itself: etched into law, enforced by decree, and remembered in silence.
Bilbao. March 31 - une 19, 1937.
Spanish Nationalist Forces: ~ 50,000 Spanish, Italian, and Moroccan Troops.
Basque Republican Forces: ~ 45,000 Troops.
Additional Reading and Episode Research:
- Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War.
- Gibbs, Jack. The Spanish Civil War.
- Jackson, Gabriel. A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War.
Social Media:
www.HistorysGreatestBattles.com
Youtube | TikTok
Support The Show:
https://covertwars.com
Previous Episode
The Siege of The Alamo, 1836. The Violent Slaughter that made modern America. Heroic Last Stand.
The fall of the Alamo ignited a fierce, unrelenting resistance to Santa Anna’s advance, forging the resolve that would drive his army into the dirt and wrest from him the independence of Texas.
The Alamo. February 23 - March 6, 1836.
Texian Forces: ~ 189 Texans.
Mexican Forces: 4,000 - 6,000 Soldiers.
Additional Reading and Episode Research:
- Hardin, Stephen. Texian Iliad.
- Huffines, Alan. Blood of Noble Men.
- Proctor, Ben. The Battle of the Alamo.
- Long, Charles. 1836: The Alamo.
Related Episodes:
Social Media:
www.HistorysGreatestBattles.com
Youtube | TikTok
Support The Show:
https://covertwars.com
Next Episode
The Siege of Khartoum, 1885. Muslim Religious Zeal Cracks the British Empire. British-Muslim Policy Established.
Gordon’s fall shattered what remained of Egyptian authority in Sudan. The region, once claimed in maps and ledgers, slipped into the hands of the Mahdist state. But in Britain, the loss reverberated beyond strategy. It struck the national psyche... a public accustomed to victory saw one of its most revered officers abandoned and butchered. The outcry wasn’t fleeting. It hardened into a new imperial posture: less hesitant, more aggressive. From that point forward, British ambition in Africa intensified... not merely to reclaim lost territory, but to prove that the empire would never again tolerate humiliation at the hands of those it considered beneath its dominion.
Khartoum. March 12, 1884 - January 26, 1885.
Mahdist (Muslim) Forces: ~ 60,000 Men.
British/Egyptian Forces: ~ 8,000 Egyptian Regulars and ~ 3,000 Sudanese Volunteers.
Additional Reading and Episode Research:
- Neillands, Robin. The Dervish Wars.
- Farwell, Byron. Queen Victoria's Little Wars.
- Royle, Charles. The Egyptian Campaigns, 1882 to 1885.
Social Media:
www.HistorysGreatestBattles.com
Youtube | TikTok
Support The Show:
https://covertwars.com
History's Greatest Battles - The Siege of Bilbao, 1937. Basque Culture Systematically Erased. Hitler Helps Spain in a Preview of WWII Atrocities and Experiments.
Transcript
Thanks for tuning into this episode of History's Greatest Battles, season two, where we explore history's greatest sieges. If you know anybody that enjoys this genre of history, please share the podcast with them; and, give us a review.
Spain in 1936 was not a unified nation but a fragile collection of competing ideologies and identities, monarchists, anarchists, communists, Catholics, regional nationalists, all compressed into a republic that had only narrowly held itself together for f
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