Fifth Column

It's named for an event in the Spanish Civil War of the 20th century. (Incredibly, Spain had a history before the 20th century, including a civil war.)

Strictly speaking, it would apply to a situation in a civil war, although i suppose the term could be applied to the partisans of an invading force who are native to the country being invaded.

This source gives a brief but specific account of the origin of the term.

An event or a statement by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the Spanish Civil War that as his four columns of troops approached Madrid, a "fifth column" of supporters inside the city would support him and undermine the Republican government from within?

Did it occur in Spain? In the invasion of other countries?

From the source i provided:



I suppose it would be possible to describe natives of a nation being invaded as fifth columnists if they acted against their own nation's forces in support of the invader. No, i don't know of any examples of that.

You do know that Madrid is the capital of Spain, right?

Setanta-
Thank you. Yes, I know that Madrid is the capital of Spain. I know that four columns of troops invaded. I know that there was a fear of indigenous Spaniards (i.e., a fifth column") helping the invaders.

I asked whether there were any significant cases in Spain and/or elsewhere when the indigenous "fifth column" actually rose up and helped the invader.

Mola and the Nationalists weren't invaders, they were Spaniard's fighting in the civil war against the Second Republic, which Mola believed to be bolshevik dupes of an international Jewish conspiracy. He believed that Jews were behind conspiracies to take over Europe, and that therefore fascism was justified. It was not an invasion.

I've already told you i know of no case in which indigenous fifth columnists rose to aid an actual invasion.

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Here, read about the Spanish Civil War. Ya can't tell the players without a score card.

Apropos of absolutely nothing, the only play for the stage that Ernest Hemingway ever wrote was entitled The Fifth Column. It may have had something to do with popularizing the expression at that time. It was a dreadful play. (Yes, I've read it.) It was set in Spain during the civil war. Don't know if it was ever actually performed or not.