Jonathan S. Swift

Barnthorn will be publishing his latest work, The Spanish ‘Blue Division’: Franco Confronts Communism in Russia.

The book starts by giving the political background to the formation of the Division, its roots in the Spanish forces and Falangists. It is essential that the reader understands the political motivation that led Franco to authorise the formation and employment of a division of Spanish volunteers. At the time (early 1941), the Spanish were feeling ‘squeezed’ between Hitler and the Allies: the Germans had taken France the previous year, and Rommel’s Afrika Korps was arriving to challenge British interests in North Africa. There was talk that German forces were planning to seize Gibraltar from British control. Franco’s Blue Division, therefore, was useful as it provided Franco with practical help that he could give to Hitler, in return for German assistance to Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War. Secondly, it demonstrated to the Allies that Spain, although neutral in the War, was prepared to fight–but that Allied interests (such as Gibraltar) were not in danger, as Spanish forces were too busy elsewhere.

Jonathan goes on to cover the Division’s recruitment, it’s organisational structure, and the German perceptions of the Division.

The Blue Division at War is the central element to the book, as it details chronologically the actions that took place from the first to the last actions the division fought. Where possible, the activities of the division are placed within the context of the wider military situation on the Leningrad Front, and reference is also made to the international politico-military situation: it was the political pressure exerted by the Western Allies, rather than military pressure from the Russians, that ultimately defeated the Spanish.

Jonathan concludes by looking at the Division’s disbandment, fighting in Berlin and the story of the Prisoners of War from the Division.

Jonathan’s Bio:

Before his retirement, Jonathan was a Senior Lecturer in International Business & Marketing at Salford Business School, the University of Salford, Manchester. Prior to his involvement at Salford, he taught at Staffordshire Business School, Stoke-on-Trent, and was a regular contributor to international MSc Management courses at Manchester University, and at the Manchester Business School, where he was involved in socio-linguistic pre-departure training for personnel from major companies who were to go to Latin America to take up positions there.

Jonathan comes from Bowness-on-Windermere, in the UK’s Lake District, and was educated at Heversham Grammar School, near Kendal. After studying at Portsmouth University, and spending a year in Mexico, he began an academic career as a teacher of Spanish and French, at Castlebrook High School, Bury, Lancashire. He gained an MA in Latin American Studies at Liverpool University, and an MSc in Marketing at Manchester University (UMIST), before completing his PhD in Applied Linguistics at Liverpool University.

His main research interests include foreign languages, military history, politics, cross-cultural interaction, and all things dealing with Latin America and Spain. He has lived and worked in a number of countries: Brazil, Colombia, Italy, and Mexico, has travelled extensively throughout Europe and Latin America, and has been to China on a number of occasions. He is fluent in Spanish, can get by in French, and has an understanding of Italian.

Jonathan has written numerous academic articles and books, and is an honorary member of the Bruges Group, and a regular contributor to their blogs. He has just finished a book dealing with the Russian attack on Ukraine, Russia and Its Neighbours: Could History Have Predicted the Attack on Ukraine? In addition, he has another book awaiting publication: The South American Pacific War: Nationalism, Nitrates, Gunboats and Guano, which deals with the war between the Peruvian-Bolivian Alliance and Chile (1879-1884). His two most recent publications are: Brexit KBO (2018), and Understanding Business in the Global Economy: A Multi-Level Relationship Approach (2017).

He has also written his first novel (Covid 19- the Birth of a Killer) which is set in Wuhan, China, and suggests a scenario in which the Chinese military developed the Covid virus as a bio-weapon, and reasons why it leaked into the wider world.

Jonathan is married, has three children, a border collie, and lives in Lancashire.