Spanish civil war – Working Class History

June 17, 2020March 8, 2026 Working Class History Podcast

E39-40: The Spanish civil war

Double podcast episode where we give a brief general overview of the Spanish civil war and revolution which broke out after the attempted military coup by right-wing general Francisco Franco 1936-1939.

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July 29, 2018July 7, 2025 Working Class History Podcast

Spanish civil war podcast

John from WCH tells the story of the Spanish civil war and revolution of 1936-9 on the Revolutionary Left Radio podcast. Continue reading “Spanish civil war podcast” →

25 August 1921: Battle of Blair Mountain - On This Day in Working Class History

On this day, 25 August 1921, the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed rebellion in the US since the civil war, began in West Virginia.Miners and their supporters had been killed in Welch and Sharples, and other miners were being held in jail under martial law in Mingo County, the last anti-union stronghold in the southern part of the state.Thousands of striking coal miners, dubbed "rednecks" due to the red bandanas they wore around their necks, were determined to march on Mingo, and armed themselves. Union leaders ordered them to turn back, but thousands of miners ignored their leaders and headed onwards.Meanwhile, mine bosses set up defences on Blair Mountain, which separated Mingo from the already-unionised territory. They deployed thousands of deputies, state police and mine guards, and also armed others like strikebreakers and store clerks, and set up machine-gun posts around the mountain.The miners attacked, and fought days of fierce battles. Mine bosses also brought in National Guard and used planes to drop bombs on the miners. Eventually, federal troops were brought in, and facing their overwhelming firepower, the miners eventually surrendered or returned home by September 4.You can learn more about the battle, and its context in the West Virginia Mine Wars, in our first graphic novel, Black Coal and Red Bandanas: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/products/black-coal-and-red-bandanas-an-illustrated-history-of-the-west-virginia-mine-warsMore info in our podcast episodes 57-58 on the West Virginia mine wars: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e57-west-virginia-mine-wars-1902-1922/Pictured: a striking miner in the dispute Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History