Extract from 'The German Navy 1935–45'
The first armed action by the Kriegsmarine was its intervention in the Spanish Civil War (17 July 1936–1 Apr 1939), in support of the Nationalist Gen Francisco Franco’s forces against those of the Spanish Republic. In Nov 1936 the German Navy sent a first 13-man advisory group; the subsequent North Sea Group (Gruppe Nordsee), with 34 instructors, remained with the Nationalist Navy until Mar 1939.