Why did Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini provide aid to the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War?

Answer 1

There were three main reasons:

1) They agreed politically with the Fascists (nationalists) and sought to make Spain their ally in Europe.

2) They wanted to test their latest advancements in military technology.

3) They wanted to test this equipment along with the strategies they had developed, to see how they worked in actual combat. The German and Italian "advisors" studied the tactics used and were able to train their own armies. Some German armed forces took part in the fighting, and Franco returned the favor by supplying a brigade of soldiers to the German Army during the battles with the Soviets in World War II.

Answer 2

There were three main reasons:

1) They agreed politically with the Fascists (nationalists) and sought to make Spain their ally in Europe.

2) They wanted to test their latest advancements in military technology.

3) They wanted to test this equipment along with the strategies they had developed, to see how they worked in actual combat. The German and Italian "advisors" studied the tactics used and were able to train their own armies. Some German armed forces took part in the fighting, and Franco returned the favor by supplying a brigade of soldiers to the German Army during the battles with the Soviets in World War II.

Answer 3

To give their newly-built armies and air-forces some active service experience, to test the men, the equipment and the administrative systems.