2.4.1 Republican Weaknesses

• Republican forces were not as well trained or experienced in conventional warfare as the Nationalist army. However, the Republican leadership refused to change their tactics as guerrilla warfare was associated with the resistance movement
• The quality of Soviet firearms, rifles, and machine guns was inferior to the more modern German equipment, dating back to the 1880s. However, some Soviet equipment, like the T-26 tanks, was excellent and proved decisive in early campaigns
• While the Nationalists easily obtained food supplies by controlling most of Spain's agricultural regions, the Republic struggled to access supplies from its diminishing territories
• The establishment of independent, anarchist agricultural collectives complicated food distribution for the Republican government. These collectives lacked a centralised system and were only willing to distribute food to anarchist militia groups, not the regular army
• The abolition of money in many of the collectives, where a barter economy prevailed, also caused problems in negotiations with the government. This was in stark contrast to the highly centralised control in the Nationalist zones
• As the Republic faced difficulties in transporting essential food supplies to key cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao, which were under siege by the Nationalists, food prices increased. Rationing was also introduced, which worsened civilian morale