"We are witnessing events which match the behaviour of the Nazi regime in Guernica in Spain"

So here it is, my first entry in this new blog which is all about how correct people are when they relate acts to the past.

This first entry, the quotation in question is the following from Andrew Mitchell MP on the 10th October 2016.

"We are witnessing events which match the behaviour of the Nazi regime in Guernica in Spain1"

This was in regards to the current conflict happening in Syria particularly the actions by the Russian Air Force and Syrian forces working alongside them. So what is happening in Syria?

The Current Situation

The Syrian Civil War is a current conflict in Syria between multiple parties within Syria's borders as well as international interventions2 from numerous parties supporting various belligerents. Effectively it all started with civil unrest in opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's regime which strongly (read violently) put it down3.

Since then the conflict has degenerated into multiple parties with the government being supported by Russia (which has history of supporting Syria in the past), the opposition backed by NATO, Kurdish groups and the "extremist" group ISIL4.


The conflict is fluid to say the least and because of this there is no easy direction in which civilians can flee meaning many are leaving the country and trying to enter (amongst other areas) Europe5.

ISIL (ISIS/IS/Daesh) is the fundamentalist militant group whose caliphate has control over areas of land across Syria and northern Iraq and has worldwide cells6. It is  against this group which NATO and Russia started air attacks and supporting ground forces opposed to these. However NATO does not support the government, and Russia does not limit its attacks to those targeted against ISIL7.

This has obviously led to confrontation between Russia and the other external nations which has led to Turkeu shooting down a Russian warplane back in November8 with queries over whose airspace the event occurred. This has been followed by the attack on an UN convoy by what appears to have been a Russian plane9.

Spain

What are we comparing this to? The Spanish Civil War ran from 1936 to 1939 and was a conflict between the Spanish Republic and the Nationalists led by General Franco. The Republican were backed by the communist Soviet Union whilst the Nationalists were supported by Nazi Germany as well as Mussolini's Italy10.

The Soviets supporting the left had opposing perspectives and objectives to the German and Italian forces involved and escalation of external forces led to the involvement of the Condor Legion which was made up of personnel from the German Military and consisted of air and ground formations11.

As the war progressed, the Nationalists were pushing into Biscay on their way to capturing Bilbao which they believed  was one of the keys to winning the war. The Basque (Republican) ground forces were in full retreat passing through Guernica which was subjected to a devastating and controversial attack on the 26th April 193712.

Waves of modern German (and Italian) bombers attacked to town (as requested by Nationalist ground forces) and civilian casualties were between 170 and 300 (although at the time they were vastly exaggerated at over 1700!13).

For the Germans (and Italians) this was a perfect opportunity to test new tactics and equipment including strategic bombing of non-military targets and the Heinkel He-111 and Ju-52 medium bombers.

Condor Legion Heinkel He 111 14

Valid Comment?

On one hand the situation in Spain was considerably simpler - there were 2(ish) sides and the external involvement was mostly unofficial (volunteers etc). As such any controversy could be denied by the parent nation. The 1 on 1 nature as well means that there is no supporting one side harms another which in turn supports a 3rd party. Any action was a positive to one and negative to the other. But the nature of using modern weaponry in a civilian zone with relatively inaccurate weapons (cluster bombs) is seen in both. Guernica and the UN Convoy attack are - although different in scale - arguably very similar actions which will put a dark stain on both respective air forces.

The only problem is, NATO are being involved in airstrikes which are causing civilian casualties too. The US admitted to "probably" killing at least 2 children in a strike15. Can we be making comments such as these when our own (allied) operations are also causing civilian casualties?

Conclusion

The matter in hand just purely on this comment by Andrew Mitchell can be seen as a valid use of a historical analogy. What its effects will have remains to be seen but using The Nazis to compare the actions of a nation which is still most defined by its handling by that regime is certain to make his words be heard.

References:

1. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/syria-civil-war-russia-assad-putin-andrew-mitchell-air-strikes-parliament-uk-debate-a7354986.html
2. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-syria-idUSKCN0RV41O20151002
3. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-crackdown-has-killed-5000-people-un-says/
4. http://www.mei.edu/content/syrias-rebels-radicalization-and-division
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36157422
6. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/isis-now-has-military-allies-in-11-countries.html
7. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34431027
8. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34907983
9. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-37430824
10. Zara Steiner, The Triumph of the Dark: European International History 1933–1939 (2013) pp 181–251
11. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum (2010): Krieg und Fliegenp. 109 (ISBN 978-3-506-76747-9)
12. http://www.buber.net/Basque/History/guernica-ix.html
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6583639.stm
14. http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/heinkel-he-111?page=2&sort=mostpopular&excludenudity=true&mediatype=photography&phrase=heinkel%20he%20111
15.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-32840132