No one mentioned the role of the Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War. For supporting the fighting Republic they took her gold reserves, and after Franco's victory kept them. Methinks Art's parallel is wrong. Several nations supported the warring parties, but mostly used Spain as a trainig ground for their troops - the Germans mainly for their freshly formed Air Force (Luftwaffe). The efforts were marginal in comparison with a real big natonal war as WWII (seen from the German side). For the International Brigades: it was a good occasion for the communists to ged rid of a lot of unruly spirits in the Spanish fields of fire. The Spanish Republic was doomed in this fight because of her lack of unity; the Republican forces consisted of different political directions fighting not only Franco but often one another. Better than in Hemingway's book you may find it in Orwell's reminiscences of the Spanish war.