English language books on the use of armor during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 are few and far between. Into this void now steps the well qualified Anthony J. Candil. He is a former senior officer in the Spanish Army with extensive training and experience in armored warfare. His expertise and background is evident in his approach to this topic, and is welcome.
Tank Combat in Spain is concise, well organized, and offers important insight into the employment of tanks during the war, lessons learned (or not learned) by the participating armed forces, as well as other armies observing
Though it is popular to think of the 1939-1941 "Blitzkrieg" era Wehrmacht as a near unstoppable war machine, reality is far different. Material shortages similar to those afflicting the German army in the years 1944-1945 were all too apparent during the Third Reich's early war march across Europe and the Mediterranean littoral. Ironically, however these shortages had far more to do with German decision making than the commonly held view that Germany didn't have enough economic resources capable of being converted into military strength.
