Bombing of Guernica
The bombing of Guernica (26 April 1937) was an aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica ("Gernika" in Basque) during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion and the Fascist Italian Aviazione Legionaria, under the code name 'Operation Rügen'. The operation opened the way to Franco's capture of Bilbao and his victory in northern Spain.