A Fleet Torn Asunder

As my regular blog readers will know, I have had an abiding interest in the Spainsh Civil War ever since I went to Spain on a package holiday in the 1960s. Over the years, I collected many books on the subject and this led to me writing several sets of Spanish Civil War wargame rules (including íARRIBA ESPAÑA!) and eventually a source book about the war ... LA ULTIMA CRUZADA.

One aspect of the war that is rarely covered is the role of the Republican and Nationalist navies ... and yet, it was much more significant than many people realise because so much of the material used by both sides arrived by sea. If one side had been able to achieve superiority at sea early in the war, they would have been able to strangle their opponent's ability to fight, and the war would have ended almost as soon as it started. As it was, neither side was able to maintain a full blockade of the other's coastline until the end of the wat in April 1939.

Any book that covers the naval aspects of the Spanish Civil War is bound to attract my attention, and when I heard that the doyen of UK naval wargame designers – Professor David Manley - was about to publish one, I looked forward to acquiring a copy. Luckily, he knew that I might be interested and arranged for a copy to be sent to me when it was published.

A FLEET TORN ASUNDER ...

... is split into the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. A Fleet Torn Asunder
3. Spanish Civil War Scenarios
4. Scenario 1: “The Strait Must Be Crossed” – July–August 1936
5. Scenario 2: “Cape Espartel” – 29 September 1936
6. Scenario 3: “The Torpedo in Cartagena” – 22 November 1936
7. Scenario 4: “The Battle of Cape Machichaco” – 5 March 1937
8. Scenario 5: “The Deutschland Incident” – 29 May 1937
9. Scenario 6: “The Neutrality Patrols” – 1937–1938
10. Scenario 7: “The Final Sortie” – March 1939
11. Spanish Civil War Campaign System
12. Orders Of Battle
13. Fleet Fragmentation Mini-Game
14. Air Orders Of Battle
15. Spanish Civil War Ship and Aircraft Data Tables
16. Active Ports

The first two sections give the reader a brief but very informative explanation of the course of the maritime war, including the actions of the so-called neutrals and the role of air power. The scenarios cover all the major naval actions that took place, and the campaign system is easy to understand and includes an excellent campaign map and the option to include a simple land campaign as well.

The ship and aircraft data tables are designed to be used with David Manley's FIND, FIX AND STRIKE naval wargame rules and cover all the ships and aircraft – including those of Germany, Italy, the USSR, the UK, and France – that one could possibly envisage using!

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in the naval aspects of the Spanish Civil War. It is worth the price just for the scenarios ... as is the campaign system! If I was grading out of ten, it would get a ten star!

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A FLEET TORN ASUNDER was written by Professor David Manley and published in 2026 by Long Face Games. It is available as a watermarked PDF from Wargame Vault and costs £8.00/$10.87.

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Writing this review has given me an excuse to republish some photographs of the Navarra, ...

... a World War One-era light cruiser that was extensively modernised in Cadiz and joined the Nationalist fleet just before the end of the Spanish Civil War.