The term ''International Brigade'' is linked to The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Associated with those political factions who opposed The Nationalist Government of Francisco Franco, many were aligned with Communist (Marxist) ideologies. The Republican Army did not have the manpower to sustain a continual state of warfare against the superior National Army. The ''Call'' for Volunteers went out throughout The World. This attracted a wide variety of ''adventure seekers, mercenaries and ruffians''. These Volunteers were placed into Brigades known collectively as ''International Brigades''. They used the standard Republican Flag which consisted of (3) horizontal stripes of Red, Gold and Purple. Centered, was the ''Three Pointed Star'' of The Popular Front. Banner phrases were placed (in Spanish traditionally), which identified The International Brigade as well as a numerical placement (eg ''15th International Battalion''). Still, many of these Units chose to use their own Flag/Unit Identifiers. The most well known was The ''Abraham Lincoln'' Battalion (mostly American Volunteers). They used several variants for flags. One such, featured a Blue Field with a series of White Banner Phrases specifically identifying The Battalion. Some other variants resembled The US National Flag in general design, but consisted of (3) horizontal stripes of Red, White and Red. The Canton near The Hoist was a triangle with was Blue. This pattern also included a series of (13) White Stars. Other known flags were related to Company Flags, and were much like Battle Flags seen in The American Civil War of 1861-65. Often Commander names and shapes such as Artillery Cannon or Machine Guns were used to identify the specialty of The Unit.