A Struggle for Equidistance? The Blue Division, Spanish Diplomacy, and the Theory of Three Wars

Resumen

This article addresses two interconnected issues. On one hand, the specific weight of the Spanish Volunteer Division (The Blue Division) in shaping Spanish foreign policy during World War II, up until 1943. In relation to this, the text focuses on a moment of significant importance: the months between the Allied landing in North Africa (Operation Torch) and the exponential increase of Allied pressure on Spain in the summer of 1943. Throughout those months, under the leadership of its resourceful Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Jordana, Franco's Spain deployed what is perhaps the most distinctive phase of Spanish policy during the war. This is what we refer to as the phase of imperfect equidistance. Our thesis connects the existence of the Blue Division and the regime's determination to keep it at the frontlines with the design of this policy. The unit fighting in the East was indeed a fundamental piece in asserting the unique and independent nature of Spanish foreign policy.