The bombing of

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

was an aerial attack against the Spanish city of Alicante on 25 May 1938. It was one of the deadliest aerial bombings of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

Background

After the

Aragon Offensive The Aragon Offensive was an important military campaign during the Spanish Civil War, which began after the Battle of Teruel. The offensive, which ran from March 7, 1938, to April 19, 1938, smashed the Republican forces, overran Aragon, and conqu ...

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

wanted to eliminate the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

maritime commerce and destroy the Republican morale, so he authorized the ''

Aviazione Legionaria The Legionary Air Force ( it, Aviazione Legionaria, es, Aviación Legionaria) was an expeditionary corps from the Italian Royal Air Force that was set up in 1936. It was sent to provide logistical and tactical support to the Nationalist facti ...

'' and the ''

Legion Condor The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...

'' to undertake indiscriminate bombings of the Republican cities. Valencia,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Alicante,

Granollers Granollers () is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental. Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from a t ...

, and other Spanish town and cities were bombed.

The bombing.

On 25 May 1938, between seven and nine Italian

SM.79 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 ''Sparviero'' (Italian for sparrowhawk) was a three-engined Italian medium bomber developed and manufactured by aviation company Savoia-Marchetti. It may be the best-known Italian aeroplane of the Second World War. Th ...

and

SM.81 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 ''Pipistrello'' (Italian: bat) was the first three-engine bomber/transport aircraft serving in the Italian '' Regia Aeronautica''.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 188. When it appeared in 1935, it represented a real s ...

bombers of the ''

'' bombed Alicante. The anti-aircraft artillery of the city was obsolete, and the air-alarm system of the city didn't work. The bombers dropped ninety bombs and many of them fell on the central market of the city. There were between 275 and 393 civilian deaths (100 men, 56 women, 10 children, and more than 100 unidentified bodies), and 1000 wounded. Preston said that there were several hundreds of civilians killed.

Aftermath

The bombings of Alicante and Granollers, and the attacks against British shipping provoked protests in London.Preston, Paul. ''Franco.'' Fontana Press. 1995. London. p. 307

References

Explosions in 1938 Mass murder in 1938 Battles of the Spanish Civil War 1938 in Spain Conflicts in 1938 Alicante Spanish Civil War massacres May 1938 events {{SpanishCivilWar-stub