The significance of the Spanish Civil War for Europe lay in its role as a precursor to World War II and a battleground for competing ideologies. Fought between 1936 and 1939, it pitted the Republicans, who sought to defend the democratic government, against the Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco, who advocated for fascist ideals. The war attracted international attention, with various countries providing support to both sides, serving as a testing ground for military tactics and technologies that would later be employed in the larger conflict of WWII. Its outcome solidified Franco's dictatorship, influencing European politics and contributing to the rise of authoritarianism during the interwar years.