Spanish Civil War labourers, and parts of the middle class. The conservative, strongly Catholic Basque country, along with Catholic Galicia and the more left-leaning Catalonia, sought autonomy or independence from the central government of Madrid. The Republican government allowed for the possibility of self-government for the two regions, whose forces were gathered under the People's Republican Army ("Ejército Popular Republicano", or EPR), which was reorganized into mixed brigades after October 1936. A few well-known people fought on the Republican side, such as English novelist George Orwell (who wrote "Homage to Catalonia" (1938), an account of his experiences in the war) and Canadian thoracic
1938–39 in the Spanish Civil War 1938–39 in the Spanish Civil War "This article covers the Spanish Civil War in the period from the start of 1938 to the end of 1939. For a historical context, see Timeline of Spanish history#20th century." By this period, Francisco Franco had already become dominant, yet the outcome of the war was still not certain. This was to progressively change as the Nationalist forces notched up several victories. The Battle of Teruel was an important confrontation between Nationalists and Republicans. The city belonged to the Republicans at the beginning of the battle, but the Nationalists conquered it in January. The