<P> The Spanish Civil War ( Spanish : Guerra Civil Española ) , widely known in Spain simply as The Civil War ( Spanish : La Guerra Civil ) or The War ( Spanish : La Guerra ) , took place from 1936 to 1939 . The Republicans , who were loyal to the democratic , left - leaning and relatively urban Second Spanish Republic , in an alliance of convenience with the Anarchists and Communists , fought against the Nationalists , a Falangist , Carlist , Catholic , and largely aristocratic conservative group led by General Francisco Franco . The war has often been portrayed as a struggle between democracy and fascism , particularly due to the political climate and timing surrounding it , but it can more accurately be described as a struggle between leftist revolution and rightist counter-revolution similar to the Finnish Civil War , the Russian Civil War , and the wars fought over the formation of the Hungarian and Slovak Soviet republics . In early 1939 , the Nationalists won , and Franco ruled over all of Spain until his death in November 1975 . </P>
who was the spanish civil war fought between
Republicans Nationalists