Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)

Republican faction
Bando republicano
Flag of the Second Spanish Republic
Dates of operation	17 July 1936 – 1 April 1939
Ideology	Spanish republicanism Anti-fascism Internal factions: Progressivism Communism Socialism Anarchism Libertarian socialism Liberalism Radicalism Social democracy Catalan nationalism Basque nationalism Regionalism
Political position	Centre-left to far-left
Allies	Soviet Union  Mexico
Opponents	Nationalist faction  Spanish State  Italy  Germany  Portugal Holy See
Battles and wars	Spanish Civil War Red Terror
Succeeded by Maquis

The Republican faction (Spanish: Bando republicano), also known as the Loyalist faction (Bando leal) or the Government faction (Bando gubernamental), was the side in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939 that supported the government of the Second Spanish Republic against the Nationalist faction of the military rebellion.^[1] The name Republicans (republicanos) was mainly used by its members and supporters, while its opponents used the term Rojos (Reds) to refer to this faction due to its left-leaning ideology, including far-left communist and anarchist groups, and the support it received from the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the war, the Republicans outnumbered the Nationalists by ten-to-one, but by January 1937 that advantage had dropped to four-to-one.^[2]