One of the most durable, canny and empirical of modern dictators, Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teodulo Franco y Bahamonde became master of Spain as a result of a military conspiracy, a dash of luck, timely help from foreign corporations, the influence of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and crucial armed assistance from Hitler and Mussolini.
He became dictator in 1939 in the culmination of a three-year civil war. He was aided in winning the war by the internal weaknesses of the incumbent Government, principally its inability to achieve political unity among its disparate parties and factions.
Although the Government put up a valiant defense, it had fatal difficulty in buying arms abroad. Its armed forces, moreover, were beset by the same sort of disunity that hobbled the Cabinet.
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