2.4.3 The Role of Franco

• Franco united the various factions within the Nationalist movement such as the Falange, the Carlists and monarchists. He avoided public statements that identified him too closely with a particular group and could subsequently appeal to all of them
• Franco merged the Carlists and the Falange into the FET de las JONS after the assassination of Falange leader Antonio Primo de Rivera in 1936. Taking personal charge of the new group, Franco made it the only legal party in Nationalist Spain
• Franco's tactics of attrition and prolonging the war ensured the Nationalists were better organised and supplied than the Republicans, who had insecure supply routes. Over time, the Republicans faced severe shortages and were eventually exhausted due to Franco's strategy of extending the conflict