Corpo Truppe Volontari

Corps of Volunteer Troops Corpo Truppe Volontarie
A column of Italian troops at the Battle of Guadalajara.
Active	December 1936 - April 1939
Country	Fascist Italy
Allegiance	Nationalist faction
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Motorized infantry
Size	• 50,000 troops • 758 planes
Engagements	Spanish Civil War Battle of Málaga Battle of Guadalajara War in the North Battle of Santander Aragon Offensive Battle of the Ebro Catalonia Offensive
Commanders
Notable commanders	Mario Roatta Ettore Bastico Mario Berti Gastone Gambara

Spanish Civil War

The Corps of Volunteer Troops (Italian: Corpo Truppe Volontarie, CTV) was a Fascist Italian expeditionary force which was sent to Spain to support the Nationalist forces under General Francisco Franco against the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39.

In July 1936, at the beginning of Spanish Civil War, most of the elite Nationalist forces were isolated in Spanish Morocco or on the Canary Islands. Meanwhile, in Spain, smaller formations of Nationalists and Guardia Civil forces were locked in combat with pro-government militias, Assault Guards and those army units which remained loyal to the leftist Popular Front government. Making the situation more difficult for the Nationalists was the fact that the Spanish Republican Air Force and Navy generally remained loyal to the government.

If the Nationalist forces fighting in Spain did not receive reinforcements, the rebellion could soon fail. General Franco and the other Nationalist leaders sent emissaries to Berlin and Rome to ask for help. Both German dictator Adolf Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini immediately responded in a positive manner. They sent transport aircraft and crews to Morocco to airlift Nationalist forces from there to Spain. The colonial troops from Morocco allowed the Nationalist forces to take the initiative on mainland Spain.