Almost 90 years ago, Europe hosted a bloody preview of the Second World War, as the Spanish Civil War raged from July 1936 until April 1939. Like what we see in Ukraine, the Spanish Civil War became an international arms bazaar and testing ground. Machine guns and artillery were in short supply, and the ability to train specialist troops was particularly limited. The Soviets provided the Republicans with a significant number of Maxim PM1910 water-cooled machine guns (7.62x54 mmR). Lessons Learned, Ignored or ForgottenOn April 1, 1939, the Spanish Civil War came to an end as the Nationalists defeated the Second Spanish Republic.